Burton Bradstock

Posted: Thu May 31, 2007 8:09 am

Hi, being fairly new to fishing it would be nice to catch something at some point. I enjoy Burton and was wanting any some advice (not shockleaders).
What size hooks? (shop in westbay said 5/0 which seem huge)
A pennel rig?
Bait (have been using squid but how do you present it and how much do you put on teh hook?)
Any other info a beginner may need?

Thanks

Posted: Thu May 31, 2007 10:15 am

If you are targetting bass then 5/0 is about the right size to hold a big bait , (one squid or a big slab of mackerel) lobbed out behind the breaker into the disturbed water. Pennel for bigger baits.
To the left at Burton is some rough ground = fish = risk of lost tackle.
If you are just fishing for what comes along then a size 1 or 1/0 about right.
This beach has a short write-up on my blog.
http://haddock-fishyfishy.blogspot.com/2007/02/burton-bradstock.html

Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 11:21 am

cheers mr _me42, that solved my prob of where to fish,
so i went down to burton bradstsock last night(31st.)

i fished at hive beach , under the cliff to the east of the carpark.

bait;- sandeel , and squid.

rigs;- pennel pulley / 2 hooks flapping / bomber rig./feathers.

hook sizes 4/0, 3/0, and 2's.

high water 1900ish, spring tide.

weather , wind southerly light, overcast, 1 heavy shower at about 2200,

i arrived about 1700 to find a moderate swell ,light wind and the water well coloured , which didn't bode well for mackerel but i had a quick chuck about with a set of feathers every so often just in case while it was light.

it looked a bit too rough for rays , which is what i was hopeing for , i had no bites till dusk , there were one or two others fishing but i didn't see anyone else catch while it was light enough, first fish came as darkness decended.

a good? sized dogfish of about 2lb to squid/sandeel cocktail on the pennel pulley.
then it went dead till just b4 low water at about midnight when the kennels opened and i was regularly catching dogfish of various sizes at various distances , mostly on sandeel.

dawn broke about 0330, and i continued to have a wee chuck about with the feathers every so often but no joy or sign of mackerel.

still catching the odd doggie in daylight as the tide rose but now only at extreme range, the water was somewhat calmer than last night but still very coloured.

gave up in my search for something better at 0820 with the sun shineing brightly.

total;- dunno, i stopped counting after about 8 or 10, though a couple looked like they may have been small huss.

p,s, if you plan on useing froze sandeel , bait elastic is a big help if distance casting.

Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 9:18 pm

Thanks for the information it starts to make some sense. Glad other people are also not catching (well not glad but it does make me feel slightly better).
I shall try some of the tips given tommorow (Saturday 2nd June), i should get there about 1900h and try and fish in front of the very expensive beach house (not too far to walk then). Will stay till about 2300h (not allowed out after that).
If anyone wants a laugh then come and shout abuse, or let me watch you for a while and try and learn something.
Will let you know if i catch something, anything will do. After trying for a few months feel the need for a bite just to prove to the wife that i am not out with some fancy women.

Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 7:33 pm

Am i allowed tro reply to myself?

NO LONGER A FISHING VIRGIN.

Arrived about 1900h, quite a few people mackeral fishing but no one seemed to be catching anything.

High tide was about 1930h and caught my first ever fish, a dog fish about 60cm long (no idea how heavy that would be) just after high tide. Was using squid and 1/0 hooks (thanks for the help).

Caught a second dog fish about 2100h, again on squid, and larger than the first.
Talking to others it seems as if i was the only person who caught anything by the time i left about 2200h (makes a change).

So at last have caught things and feel a renewed energy to go again.

Thanks for the couple of replies, but i now need to learn how to unhook a fish properly, both seemed to take ages. Any tips?

Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 7:45 pm

Well done; you may have found out that unhooking a dogfish can give you a red raw bracelet of sandpapered flesh around your wrist !
Hold the head and tail together in one hand, apply T-bar disgorger or a good old-fashioned pair of longnose pliers. Dogfish have tough mouths.

Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 1:22 pm

congrats on that bit of success m8,
hope i was of some help happy