fishing christchurch harbour

[novicedave]

just blanked christchurch quay!
locals seem to think its good for bass ,mullet,flounder etc ,
tried spinnig,baits,artificial baits ? no joy
any advice please

[Lands End Tony]

just blanked christchurch quay!
locals seem to think its good for bass ,mullet,flounder etc ,
tried spinnig,baits,artificial baits ? no joy
any advice please

Depends what your fishing for!!

For example......when mullet fishing there are many areas worth a try. One is over at stand pit marshes just at the start to the river at Christchurch itself. Find a spot to fish....groundbait with mashed bread pilchard oil and maggots (yes maggots). Use a swim feeder or loafer float on a standard carp set up. I use 4-6lb main line straight through to wide gaped forged size 8 or 10 hook. I bait with 6-10 maggots...or a big lump of bread.

Takes are fierce and confident. In one session last year with my brother we landed 9 mullet. 2 thinlips 1 over 3lb, and 7 thicklips the biggest just short of 5lb. This river produces fish upto 9lb.

http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.c...x=290&down.y=6

You can park near the leisure centre and walk out onto the marshes following the red dotted lines(footpath). I tend to fish as far up the river as posibble before you come to the moored yachts.

It can be very strange as in 1 session here I had mullet, bass, roach, dace, bream and sea trout. Can be very good on adapted spinners baited with harbour rag.
When bass fishing I have had some success down on mudiford quay at night time right down the side of the harbour wall in the main tidal flow using live prawns, eels or big mackerel baits.

[Nico]

just blanked christchurch quay!
locals seem to think its good for bass ,mullet,flounder etc ,
tried spinnig,baits,artificial baits ? no joy
any advice please

Mate, PM me and let me know where you are fishing and what you are fishing for.

As a rule, spinning using spoon or adapt a light spinner to include a 1-2 inch hook snood with size 1/0 hook with Rag for the bass.

[Lands End Tony]

I spoke with the chap in Christchurch angling last year on just this subject.

No signs up now....or none that I could see. THis area is very tidal and I suspect that you could argue it is an estuary.

I was informed that a rod license is not required if you are targeting sea species.

There may be a bye law in place though....any thoughts? or does anyone have knowledge?

[smart201]

Hi,
Pretty much as H.A has said - you will need a rod licence and Day / week ticket, or at least you did the last time I fished, which was a few years back. When I was younger, a few of us regularly hired a rowing boat and attempted to coarse fish, hoping to catch the thin lips, all to no avail, although we caught loads of normal coarsh fish using maggots and bread. However, after attending a BASS AGM, we saw a video produced by Steve Pitts and Mike Ladle on Mullet fishing, and after a lengthy discussion, decided on our next trip. We opted for some Mepps spinners - I think no3 and disconnected the treble hook, substituting for a 3 - 4 inch length of 10 lb mono, with size 6 hooks pennel rig style. Small ragworm were threaded up the bottom hook, and nicked into the top hook, and the spinners were cast across the tide, with no additional weight used, and retrieved slowly - the ideal speed is so that they can be seen just below the surface, with the blade sometimes breaking the surface film. This was a real eye opener for us, as we would catch a dozen or so mullet each, every time we tried the method, and the sport from these fish is unbelievable. Just remember to respect the fish and return them immediately. Any proper coarse fisherman will cringe at this tecnique, and I can see why, as I would rather catch these fish on a match rod, but do not possess the necessary skill / technique. But use this as a means to get some thin lips under your belt, before maybe moving on to tecniques with more finesse - for us it was one or two trips per year as a nice change. The fish by the way can be felt nibbling on the worm as you retrieve, and you must continue to wind until the rod is wrenched over - striking is almost impossible to resist at first, but always results in missed fish. The Baliff was always active when we went, and would check our gear, as we were obviously spinning, to make sure there was no chance we were sea trout fishing - but once satisfied, was a great help and source of knowledge, and put us onto some great sport. Look on the day ticket to see where you can legally fish - the bank fishing is just as productive. Note this method is for thins only - the thicks do not seem to be caught using this approach. Incidentally, my mate Miles has had a Bass just over 6 lbs using this method, which also went back.
Tight lines,
Smart 20 (at Home)