Good morning members,
I make no apologies for repeatedly referring to the halcyon days of sea angling, the late 60's, 70's and into the 80's, a period whch enjoyed a "revolution" in tackle, techniques and aspirations born of that period, and the upturn in catch rates for those who grasped the opportunity with both hands. Not every angler embraced these changes, even ignoring the opportunity and future potential of the new movement. Fortunately, the presentation and enthusiasm with which the new scene was promoted both through the magazine ANGLING and the thought provoking articles of the team, there was a general awakening to the new look, methods, mental approach and principle of taking the fight to the fish rather than relying on good fortune for any successes! Whilst a lot of the attention at the time was put to improving tackle, rods, reels for the sole purpose of achieving "long distance casting" aimed primarily at the substantial stocks of winter cod present off the East coast of England at the time, practitioners practiced rigorously and performed these skills where appropriate all around the coast of Great Britain including South Wales (cod fests of the 80's) and beyond! This is one aspect of the "revolution", long distance casting, that has endured and improved beyond recognition down the years until today where lead only casts are reaching well over 200 metres. (Surfcast Wales results). Isolated incidents and special individuals have passed the "Holy Grail" of LDC, with throws of 300 metres plus! Good News!!! All due to technical advances in tackle down the years, accompanied by style improvements applied to the early, original fledgling Pendulum.
Although embracing and applying the benefits of the new style on the beach including involvement in the promotion/demonstration of the "Long DistanceCasting" programme in the early days, my instincts moved me the other way from Big Sticks to light and ultralight tackle/techniques/tactics with several species but specifically bass, right up until I "retired" from active fishing. Looking back, it was the right decision for me and attempting to land fish (barbless hooks), not by bullying them ashore, but by giving them full rein to run all over the sea testing the skills of the "captor" to the max, particularly in rough ground. This, plus improved sensitivity and the accompanying adrenalin rush, is what light tackle can offer!
Light Tackle means different things to different anglers but the mere fact that they are motivated to think along these lines, bearing in mind a tolerance allowance for difficult ground, is welcome. It does mean predetermining the species being sought, whether rays, smoothounds, bass, flounders etc together with the chosen location, and tackle up as appropriate with "Light tackle" for the species and the nature of the ground. It is amazing what monofilament can withstand, 15 lb (blue Sylcast) plus leader was the max for most species like rays, smoothounds and cod, from the beach, when accompanied by a minimum of 8 turns (see Surfcast Wales rules/recommendations) of an appropriate strength monofilament leader and a tough knot. Monofilament lines for bass were 6-8lbs on a clean beach, 10lbs in semi rough ground, 15lb in really testing terrain, plus leader if appropriate. Investing in additional spools, loading each with a chosen line test as above, was a big convenience at the venue, selecting the spool to cope with the fish, the reality of the weather conditions and terrain on the day was a big plus!
A classic example of "over engineering" or "grossly outgunning a species" is fishing for flounder or a similar flatfish with a root and branch beachcaster, replaced by a spinning rod, 1000 rated fixed spool reel outfit! Flounder possibly weighing in at circa 1 lb would produce resistance, a 2 lb fish a more active resistance plus the weight factor, a rare 3 lb plus fish would definitely give the angler the run around testing the skills and managing the extra weight factor. This happened to a pal of mine on one of our early 70's trips to southern Ireland. We were fishing apart when he turned up carrying this huge wriggling 3 lb plus flatfish, a plaice as it happens. We had it for tea back at the lodgings! In all cases a single 12 inch, beaded, baited, small hook, snood attached to the mainline or trace about 24 inches above the 1 (or 2) ounce lead is an attractive set up. Holding the rod, wind in a small amount of line every now and then, this will cause the lead to kick up a cloud of sand or silt, curiosity attracting the fish to the bait. Flatfish are notorious for taking down the hook so holding the rod gives the angler half a chance at preventing this, good practice if the fish is to be returned. Around the end of November, beginning of December, usng a similar technique and tackle as above, has provided an hour or so of simple fun with small flounder on a local shelving beach. I had a similar very enjoyable session at a mark in Barry with Richard (10 rods) using the described outfit, casting along the surf line picking up small flounder in early January, the extreme cold was held at bay by the continuous run of small flounder up to circa 3/4's lb. This is a good way of getting the feel for light tackle and treasuring that moment when the instincts and a "feel" of fish interest at hook is identified.
Down the years, some of the ideas born of the halcyon days have either been lost or at least watered down as commercialisation of sea angling has taken hold. The resourcing of materials or even the desire to design and build your own specialised rod is in decline, assembling your own traces, collect or dig your own bait are also largely at the mercy of commercialism, searchng and the thrill of locating a successful "secret" mark alas is replaced by the likes of Google and Social media. "It is what it is"!!
Best regards,
Ticker (Derek)
I make no apologies for repeatedly referring to the halcyon days of sea angling, the late 60's, 70's and into the 80's, a period whch enjoyed a "revolution" in tackle, techniques and aspirations born of that period, and the upturn in catch rates for those who grasped the opportunity with both hands. Not every angler embraced these changes, even ignoring the opportunity and future potential of the new movement. Fortunately, the presentation and enthusiasm with which the new scene was promoted both through the magazine ANGLING and the thought provoking articles of the team, there was a general awakening to the new look, methods, mental approach and principle of taking the fight to the fish rather than relying on good fortune for any successes! Whilst a lot of the attention at the time was put to improving tackle, rods, reels for the sole purpose of achieving "long distance casting" aimed primarily at the substantial stocks of winter cod present off the East coast of England at the time, practitioners practiced rigorously and performed these skills where appropriate all around the coast of Great Britain including South Wales (cod fests of the 80's) and beyond! This is one aspect of the "revolution", long distance casting, that has endured and improved beyond recognition down the years until today where lead only casts are reaching well over 200 metres. (Surfcast Wales results). Isolated incidents and special individuals have passed the "Holy Grail" of LDC, with throws of 300 metres plus! Good News!!! All due to technical advances in tackle down the years, accompanied by style improvements applied to the early, original fledgling Pendulum.
Although embracing and applying the benefits of the new style on the beach including involvement in the promotion/demonstration of the "Long DistanceCasting" programme in the early days, my instincts moved me the other way from Big Sticks to light and ultralight tackle/techniques/tactics with several species but specifically bass, right up until I "retired" from active fishing. Looking back, it was the right decision for me and attempting to land fish (barbless hooks), not by bullying them ashore, but by giving them full rein to run all over the sea testing the skills of the "captor" to the max, particularly in rough ground. This, plus improved sensitivity and the accompanying adrenalin rush, is what light tackle can offer!
Light Tackle means different things to different anglers but the mere fact that they are motivated to think along these lines, bearing in mind a tolerance allowance for difficult ground, is welcome. It does mean predetermining the species being sought, whether rays, smoothounds, bass, flounders etc together with the chosen location, and tackle up as appropriate with "Light tackle" for the species and the nature of the ground. It is amazing what monofilament can withstand, 15 lb (blue Sylcast) plus leader was the max for most species like rays, smoothounds and cod, from the beach, when accompanied by a minimum of 8 turns (see Surfcast Wales rules/recommendations) of an appropriate strength monofilament leader and a tough knot. Monofilament lines for bass were 6-8lbs on a clean beach, 10lbs in semi rough ground, 15lb in really testing terrain, plus leader if appropriate. Investing in additional spools, loading each with a chosen line test as above, was a big convenience at the venue, selecting the spool to cope with the fish, the reality of the weather conditions and terrain on the day was a big plus!
A classic example of "over engineering" or "grossly outgunning a species" is fishing for flounder or a similar flatfish with a root and branch beachcaster, replaced by a spinning rod, 1000 rated fixed spool reel outfit! Flounder possibly weighing in at circa 1 lb would produce resistance, a 2 lb fish a more active resistance plus the weight factor, a rare 3 lb plus fish would definitely give the angler the run around testing the skills and managing the extra weight factor. This happened to a pal of mine on one of our early 70's trips to southern Ireland. We were fishing apart when he turned up carrying this huge wriggling 3 lb plus flatfish, a plaice as it happens. We had it for tea back at the lodgings! In all cases a single 12 inch, beaded, baited, small hook, snood attached to the mainline or trace about 24 inches above the 1 (or 2) ounce lead is an attractive set up. Holding the rod, wind in a small amount of line every now and then, this will cause the lead to kick up a cloud of sand or silt, curiosity attracting the fish to the bait. Flatfish are notorious for taking down the hook so holding the rod gives the angler half a chance at preventing this, good practice if the fish is to be returned. Around the end of November, beginning of December, usng a similar technique and tackle as above, has provided an hour or so of simple fun with small flounder on a local shelving beach. I had a similar very enjoyable session at a mark in Barry with Richard (10 rods) using the described outfit, casting along the surf line picking up small flounder in early January, the extreme cold was held at bay by the continuous run of small flounder up to circa 3/4's lb. This is a good way of getting the feel for light tackle and treasuring that moment when the instincts and a "feel" of fish interest at hook is identified.
Down the years, some of the ideas born of the halcyon days have either been lost or at least watered down as commercialisation of sea angling has taken hold. The resourcing of materials or even the desire to design and build your own specialised rod is in decline, assembling your own traces, collect or dig your own bait are also largely at the mercy of commercialism, searchng and the thrill of locating a successful "secret" mark alas is replaced by the likes of Google and Social media. "It is what it is"!!
Best regards,
Ticker (Derek)