Boat tactics..a question.

[Minstrelblue]

My daughter bought me a 4 Hr reef trip on Emma Kate out of padstow in September and not having fished of a boat since I was a youngun apparently they equip you with a rod reel and a weight with a boom and an artificial lure so was wondering is it just sink and draw with that sort of kit .
Any tips would be handy as time will be limited what with chugging out there and back and being a competitive sort I'm keen not to blank ....again

 

[John Mitchell]

I think the skipper should know what he is doing , or you could take some if your own gear and bait

 

[glandyman]

My daughter bought me a 4 Hr reef trip on Emma Kate out of padstow in September and not having fished of a boat since I was a youngun apparently they equip you with a rod reel and a weight with a boom and an artificial lure so was wondering is it just sink and draw with that sort of kit .
Any tips would be handy as time will be limited what with chugging out there and back and being a competitive sort I'm keen not to blank ....again

If it's lure fishing over reefs the general method is to let the gear down , not too quickly, and be aware when the lead hits the sea bed and wind up a couple of turns fairly quickly to get the gear off the rocks. Then a fairly gentle retrieve for about 20/30 turns and then drop the gear and repeat. If you get a knock just keep retrieving until the fish hooks itself.

 

[glandyman]

If it's lure fishing over reefs the general method is to let the gear down , not too quickly, and be aware when the lead hits the sea bed and wind up a couple of turns fairly quickly to get the gear off the rocks. Then a fairly gentle retrieve for about 20/30 turns and then drop the gear and repeat. If you get a knock just keep retrieving until the fish hooks itself.

As John says ask the skipper for the best method , a good one will talk the guys through the drift " Getting deeper or shallower " etc and also what ground you are covering , pinnacles or flat rock.

 

[Tatunka joe]

Buy some skerries eel lures nice and slow retrieve 30 turns up then back down fast retrieve first 3 turns to get you off the bottem then really slow if nothing speed your retrieve up bey and mss as he sure yer drags set and if you get a hit but doesn’t hook keep winding don’t strike ??

 

[Mr Fish]

Buy some skerries eel lures nice and slow retrieve 30 turns up then back down fast retrieve first 3 turns to get you off the bottem then really slow if nothing speed your retrieve up bey and mss as he sure yer drags set and if you get a hit but doesn’t hook keep winding don’t strike ??

Spot on. Took me a couple of wreck/reef trips to learn to ignore takes and just keep winding.

That skipper was a miserable old sod who had a vast wealth of fishing knowledge and put you on the fish, but wasn’t very good at explaining to newbies how to do it.

 

[Stevie69]

When I'm out on a boat trip I normally use shads but before I drop them to the depths I have a mess about on the surface with them twitching the rod tip and seeing how it reacts to quick or slow jerks to imitate a bait fish then down it goes once the weight hits the bottom I wind up 4 turns and try and imitate what I was doing on the surface every so often dropping back down to the bottom again as the depth varies over hard ground it never fails. I find a slow retrieve does nothing up here as most the fish are bottom feeders. I've had blokes try and tell me to wind up slow 30 turns and at the end of the trip and I've got 20 cod to their 3 I just say to them sorry mate I don't know what I'm doing the look on their faces is priceless.

 

[Mr Fish]

When I'm out on a boat trip I normally use shads but before I drop them to the depths I have a mess about on the surface with them twitching the rod tip and seeing how it reacts to quick or slow jerks to imitate a bait fish then down it goes once the weight hits the bottom I wind up 4 turns and try and imitate what I was doing on the surface every so often dropping back down to the bottom again as the depth varies over hard ground it never fails. I find a slow retrieve does nothing up here as most the fish are bottom feeders. I've had blokes try and tell me to wind up slow 30 turns and at the end of the trip and I've got 20 cod to their 3 I just say to them sorry mate I don't know what I'm doing the look on their faces is priceless.

Tbh on the English Channel wrecks, it was usually cod in the first 10 turns, or less, then higher for pollack.
Always wanted cod so I’d keep the retrieve short and keep dropping back. Unless you felt something following and nipping at it, then would carry on a bit further until it committed.

Varying retrieve, fast or slow, until I found what was working on the day.

In Minstrel’s case I’d imagine reef pollack will be the mainstay in Cornwall, maybe with a chance of (dare I say it?!) bass…

 

[glandyman]

When I'm out on a boat trip I normally use shads but before I drop them to the depths I have a mess about on the surface with them twitching the rod tip and seeing how it reacts to quick or slow jerks to imitate a bait fish then down it goes once the weight hits the bottom I wind up 4 turns and try and imitate what I was doing on the surface every so often dropping back down to the bottom again as the depth varies over hard ground it never fails. I find a slow retrieve does nothing up here as most the fish are bottom feeders. I've had blokes try and tell me to wind up slow 30 turns and at the end of the trip and I've got 20 cod to their 3 I just say to them sorry mate I don't know what I'm doing the look on their faces is priceless.

Spot on , if you want cod use a hopper rig with a 3 foot trace and bounce it just off the bottom.

 

[Trampster]

Sidewinder Skerries Eels seem to do well off the Cornish coast.

 

[Beach]

The original Redgills works well, even better trolling them at 2knots behind the boat with an 8ft trace and 2 or 3oz weight. Must try them from the shore sometime.

 

[Valleyboy]

Tbh on the English Channel wrecks, it was usually cod in the first 10 turns, or less, then higher for pollack.
Always wanted cod so I’d keep the retrieve short and keep dropping back. Unless you felt something following and nipping at it, then would carry on a bit further until it committed.

Varying retrieve, fast or slow, until I found what was working on the day.

In Minstrel’s case I’d imagine reef pollack will be the mainstay in Cornwall, maybe with a chance of (dare I say it?!) bass…

Only a four hour trip so I doubt they will be going far

 

[Topwater]

Mix it up and keep ringing the changes ?

 

[Ollieollie]

Don’t puke in the boat

 

[Mr Fish]

Only a four hour trip so I doubt they will be going far

No, it’ll be inshore reefs with more modest pollack I expect

 

[Wolf]

Tight lines mate , looking forward to your catch report ????

 

[Tatunka joe]

No, it’ll be inshore reefs with more modest pollack I expect

Seen 20 lb pollock caught on inshore reefs and 10 lber will fight better than a bigger one on a deep sea wreak they ho a lot better inshore

 

[Beach]

Don’t puke in the boat

Or windward side. Leeward side will be ground bait

 

[glandyman]

Mix it up and keep ringing the changes ?

I suspect it he will have to use whatever the skipper gives him, as a rod hire.

 

[glandyman]

My daughter bought me a 4 Hr reef trip on Emma Kate out of padstow in September and not having fished of a boat since I was a youngun apparently they equip you with a rod reel and a weight with a boom and an artificial lure so was wondering is it just sink and draw with that sort of kit .
Any tips would be handy as time will be limited what with chugging out there and back and being a competitive sort I'm keen not to blank ....again

Check out if the rod hire is an extra cost and how much you will have to pay for any gear lost in the rocks.