South Coast Hengistbury mixed bag of small fish

[Bothrops]

Decided to have a beach session last night to escape the monotony of TV induced lassitude. Fished 2 rods, one with worm on the usual 3 hook flapper and the other with fish baits (anchovy, sandeel, mackerel) hoping for a ray or decent bass. No action at all until dusk set in when there was a huge amount of surface activity very close in not much more than 20 yards from the shore. It was difficult to see what was causing the commotion as it did not look like mackerel so I decided to reel in my flapper rig right through the boil and the problem was solved, a foul-hooked scad. The shoals were very active and stayed very close in until the light faded

As darkness fell I picked up a few very small black bream on the worm and started to get rattles on the fish bait which resulted in a few missed bites and some very tangled traces which is unusual. Again mystery solved when at last in came a very small strap conger followed by another and another and another….Apart from a tiny smoothound it was obvious that the conger were on the fish bait almost as soon as it hit the water so my target of a ray or bass looked a lost cause and with some reluctance I packed in after a couple of hours of the ebb tide. Conger, and certainly in these numbers, never seemed to feature in catches along local shores so some sort of dramatic change for whatever reason is certainly afoot. Any suggestions as to the reason? Anyway a pleasant night spent under the stars with plenty of activity albeit from small fish and now it’s back to fly fishing.

 

[Trampster]

Nice report Bothrops! Sounds like a good busy session even if you didn't get your target Fish.

 

[dodders]

Conger, and certainly in these numbers, never seemed to feature in catches along local shores so some sort of dramatic change for whatever reason is certainly afoot. Any suggestions as to the reason?

Very complex and probably impossible to give a definitive answer. I guess it's a mixture of lots of reasons, good breeding season ( female conger can have 3 to 8 million eggs), gap left in the ecosystem by removal ( overfishing commercially) of another species, abundance of food, conger just displaced other species .... who knows
Locally the small straps seem to come and go but it drives me potty when they are in abundance. Nothing more frustrating

 

[zigzag Freddie]

Much better than me at Southbourne not a bite all night except for the sand flies I was coved in bites this morning

 

[Bothrops]

Much better than me at Southbourne not a bite all night except for the sand flies I was coved in bites this morning

Fortunately I had smothered my exposed bits with anti mozzie spray because I realised that it was going to be still and humid, perfect conditions to bring out the biters. They were everywhere but I seem to have come away unscathed. Regarding the fishing, It’s amazing how venues so close together with similar ground can produce entirely different results.

 

[Tatunka joe]

Busy sesh mate my theory on why there are so many straps is that there the only thing that can get tru the nets they orso make cracking bait bloody as hell if you like catching bigger fingers that is

 

[Goateeblank]

Thanks for the report. Food for thought as its on my radar! When fishing just along at Boscombe Pier, the straps are a nuisance, but for me, they tend to come in waves, giving a break in between and the hope of catching something else. They are definitely on the rise all along our coast, for whatever reason, and often mean that a session is cut short, which for me, as someone who does not know when enough is enough, can be a good thing!

 

[Goateeblank]

Busy sesh mate my theory on why there are so many straps is that there the only thing that can get tru the nets they orso make cracking bait bloody as hell if you like catching bigger fingers that is

Never thought of them as bait! They could be what we have been looking for, for other species.

 

[wingnut55]

Good report mate, shame you were catching the same strap over and over again They are a problem some times though, though not where i dangle, thank god.

Ian.

 

[Tatunka joe]

Never thought of them as bait! They could be what we have been looking for, for other species.

If you ever get one that’s not gonna make it cut it up in sections it’s bloody as hell will catch

 

[Kevin3110]

Sounds like a busy session, nice one

 

[Mr Fish]

Good effort, busy session!