Plaicehunter

This was a tub, the ones with a bright blue edge to the pectoral fins. Although they are apparently good eating, they are far too pretty to kill.
Although they live on the bottom, they are highly predatory and often take a small jig or dropper lure worked close to the sea bed. They are also frequently found on the same marks as plaice. I am always pleased to catch one. PH

Here in sunny South Devon, mackerel can turn up in any month of the year. However, my shore spinning session today at Beesands yielded just five garfish and a pretty tub gurnard. The two biggest garfish came home for whiting bait; everything else went back.
Not a thrilling report I know, but good to get out in the fresh air and paddle in the waves! PH 

Beesands is a lovely spot, though a slow drive from Plymouth. Apparently gar make good eating, though their green bones put some people off. I don't eat fish at all and usually put gar back, but kept two today for whiting bait as the dog has eaten all my mackerel! PH

This was a tub, the ones with a bright blue edge to the pectoral fins. Although they are apparently good eating, they are far too pretty to kill.
Although they live on the bottom, they are highly predatory and often take a small jig or dropper lure worked close to the sea bed. They are also frequently found on the same marks as plaice. I am always pleased to catch one. PH

Here in sunny South Devon, mackerel can turn up in any month of the year. However, my shore spinning session today at Beesands yielded just five garfish and a pretty tub gurnard. The two biggest garfish came home for whiting bait; everything else went back.
Not a thrilling report I know, but good to get out in the fresh air and paddle in the waves! PH 

Here in sunny South Devon, mackerel can turn up in any month of the year. However, my shore spinning session today at Beesands yielded just five garfish and a pretty tub gurnard. The two biggest garfish came home for whiting bait; everything else went back.
Not a thrilling report I know, but good to get out in the fresh air and paddle in the waves! PH 

With high winds forecast way ahead I ventured out on the Tamar yesterday in search of cod. Some have been caught, and all the local shore hotspots are rammed. No crowds for me though as I tied 'Piranha' to a handy mooring buoy just off the main channel to fish the last of the ebb and most of the flood. Three rods went out: an uptider with a two-hook flapper for whiting, another uptider with a large calamari on a pulley pennell and a downtider with a whiting livebait. Later on I switched the heavy uptider to a livebait slider rig baited with a 10" whiting and put a dead pout on the downtider. 
I can't report anything dramatic: lots of whiting to a pound on squid/mackerel cocktails, some hefty pout and several conger to 7-8lb. Conger are a nuisance in the Tamar when using squid or fish bait; ideally I would use peeler for the cod but at 80p a crab (when you can get it) it's too expensive for me. I work on the theory that a hungry cod will take almost any bait, and I have had codling, bass and rays on squid, so I stick to that.
That looks like my last boat trip for a few days till the wind calms down. Anyone else on here fish the Tamar? PH

With high winds forecast way ahead I ventured out on the Tamar yesterday in search of cod. Some have been caught, and all the local shore hotspots are rammed. No crowds for me though as I tied 'Piranha' to a handy mooring buoy just off the main channel to fish the last of the ebb and most of the flood. Three rods went out: an uptider with a two-hook flapper for whiting, another uptider with a large calamari on a pulley pennell and a downtider with a whiting livebait. Later on I switched the heavy uptider to a livebait slider rig baited with a 10" whiting and put a dead pout on the downtider. 
I can't report anything dramatic: lots of whiting to a pound on squid/mackerel cocktails, some hefty pout and several conger to 7-8lb. Conger are a nuisance in the Tamar when using squid or fish bait; ideally I would use peeler for the cod but at 80p a crab (when you can get it) it's too expensive for me. I work on the theory that a hungry cod will take almost any bait, and I have had codling, bass and rays on squid, so I stick to that.
That looks like my last boat trip for a few days till the wind calms down. Anyone else on here fish the Tamar? PH

With high winds forecast way ahead I ventured out on the Tamar yesterday in search of cod. Some have been caught, and all the local shore hotspots are rammed. No crowds for me though as I tied 'Piranha' to a handy mooring buoy just off the main channel to fish the last of the ebb and most of the flood. Three rods went out: an uptider with a two-hook flapper for whiting, another uptider with a large calamari on a pulley pennell and a downtider with a whiting livebait. Later on I switched the heavy uptider to a livebait slider rig baited with a 10" whiting and put a dead pout on the downtider. 
I can't report anything dramatic: lots of whiting to a pound on squid/mackerel cocktails, some hefty pout and several conger to 7-8lb. Conger are a nuisance in the Tamar when using squid or fish bait; ideally I would use peeler for the cod but at 80p a crab (when you can get it) it's too expensive for me. I work on the theory that a hungry cod will take almost any bait, and I have had codling, bass and rays on squid, so I stick to that.
That looks like my last boat trip for a few days till the wind calms down. Anyone else on here fish the Tamar? PH

Hi, everybody! I'm Graham Broach, aka Plaicehunter. I've been fishing for 60 years, which is strange as I feel only about 35...
I do all sorts of angling, but this year I have spent most of my time fishing the Tamar from my boat 'Piranha', a Yamarin 5400 with a 60EFi on the back. I managed to hit my season's target of 50 gilthead bream  with a bit to spare, and do a lot of bass luring from the boat - best this year 8lb 6oz on a Patchinko 125.
I also do a fair bit of plaice fishing from my pal AW's boat, based near Salcombe, plus the occasional reef trip with him.
In the winter I fish for cod and thornbacks in the Tamar from my boat, though I catch a lot more conger than cod! Last winter I had a nice 5lb bass on a 10" live whiting intended for cod, and am aiming to fish one rod with a livebait slider rig this winter. Cod are in the river already....
Most of my fishing is catch-and-release, with ALL bass being returned regardless of size.
Tight lines to you all! Graham 
 
 

Hi, everybody! I'm Graham Broach, aka Plaicehunter. I've been fishing for 60 years, which is strange as I feel only about 35...
I do all sorts of angling, but this year I have spent most of my time fishing the Tamar from my boat 'Piranha', a Yamarin 5400 with a 60EFi on the back. I managed to hit my season's target of 50 gilthead bream  with a bit to spare, and do a lot of bass luring from the boat - best this year 8lb 6oz on a Patchinko 125.
I also do a fair bit of plaice fishing from my pal AW's boat, based near Salcombe, plus the occasional reef trip with him.
In the winter I fish for cod and thornbacks in the Tamar from my boat, though I catch a lot more conger than cod! Last winter I had a nice 5lb bass on a 10" live whiting intended for cod, and am aiming to fish one rod with a livebait slider rig this winter. Cod are in the river already....
Most of my fishing is catch-and-release, with ALL bass being returned regardless of size.
Tight lines to you all! Graham 
 
 

Hi, everybody! I'm Graham Broach, aka Plaicehunter. I've been fishing for 60 years, which is strange as I feel only about 35...
I do all sorts of angling, but this year I have spent most of my time fishing the Tamar from my boat 'Piranha', a Yamarin 5400 with a 60EFi on the back. I managed to hit my season's target of 50 gilthead bream  with a bit to spare, and do a lot of bass luring from the boat - best this year 8lb 6oz on a Patchinko 125.
I also do a fair bit of plaice fishing from my pal AW's boat, based near Salcombe, plus the occasional reef trip with him.
In the winter I fish for cod and thornbacks in the Tamar from my boat, though I catch a lot more conger than cod! Last winter I had a nice 5lb bass on a 10" live whiting intended for cod, and am aiming to fish one rod with a livebait slider rig this winter. Cod are in the river already....
Most of my fishing is catch-and-release, with ALL bass being returned regardless of size.
Tight lines to you all! Graham 
 
 

Hi, everybody! I'm Graham Broach, aka Plaicehunter. I've been fishing for 60 years, which is strange as I feel only about 35...
I do all sorts of angling, but this year I have spent most of my time fishing the Tamar from my boat 'Piranha', a Yamarin 5400 with a 60EFi on the back. I managed to hit my season's target of 50 gilthead bream  with a bit to spare, and do a lot of bass luring from the boat - best this year 8lb 6oz on a Patchinko 125.
I also do a fair bit of plaice fishing from my pal AW's boat, based near Salcombe, plus the occasional reef trip with him.
In the winter I fish for cod and thornbacks in the Tamar from my boat, though I catch a lot more conger than cod! Last winter I had a nice 5lb bass on a 10" live whiting intended for cod, and am aiming to fish one rod with a livebait slider rig this winter. Cod are in the river already....
Most of my fishing is catch-and-release, with ALL bass being returned regardless of size.
Tight lines to you all! Graham 
 
 

You don't need to spend a fortune on spinning reels. I use a Quantum Drive 30, £29.99 from BobCo in Leeds. Smooth as silk, very light, loads of bearings, decent drag, perfect line lay, no wind knots (with 1.0 Sunline Siglon 8-strand). If you used it without knowing what it was, you'd swear it was a high-end Shimano or Daiwa. It's even better (and cheaper) than the Quantum Throttle it replaces. At that price, you could use it for a season and throw it away, or buy another one and keep it for spares, but I just don't seem to be able to wear mine out...

You don't need to spend a fortune on spinning reels. I use a Quantum Drive 30, £29.99 from BobCo in Leeds. Smooth as silk, very light, loads of bearings, decent drag, perfect line lay, no wind knots (with 1.0 Sunline Siglon 8-strand). If you used it without knowing what it was, you'd swear it was a high-end Shimano or Daiwa. It's even better (and cheaper) than the Quantum Throttle it replaces. At that price, you could use it for a season and throw it away, or buy another one and keep it for spares, but I just don't seem to be able to wear mine out...