some advice if possible

Thu Sep 18, 2014 10:42 pm

hello all,new to the forum.Thanks for having me on here.
My youngest son aged 11 yrs wants to try out sea fishing from the shore/rocks/pier,i purchased a rod and reel for both him and myself (his dad hates fishing,so taking him myself)not expensive stuff just in case he ends up hating it.Have purchased some light fishing rods up to 60g and a small reel for him with a max of 12lb line,currently only has 6lb line on it at the moment.was going to try the north down coast area this wkend,maybe portaferry direction.what would be the best type of bait to use,currently have some different types of traces,and some jelly flutterworms and some shads (not good ones) a few lures spinning and spoons,but they are very light.Any advice to help him catch anything would be grateful,i think if he could catch some thing then he would get a real buzz from it.Its been a LONG time since i was fishing,and that was deep sea fishing,(used to go with my dad regular)i could just about remember how to tie a basic knot,Lol.

Re: some advice if possible

Thu Sep 18, 2014 11:21 pm

welcome aboard fishermom
i'll offer a little advice: keep it simple for starters

my idea would be to take him to a pier firstly as its just easier to stand on, a pier with a sandy seabed around it.
fish the bottom with a weight and a small hook, bait the hook with anything really e.g. little bits of frozen mackeral, worm, squid, whatever. fishing the bottom to start off with will get him familiar with the rod and casting, he can also hope for a good range of species of fish which can be exciting.. it shouldn't matter too much in how far you/he casts

forget about the shads, spinners etc for now i reckon, they are something to try a little later. and i'd change the 6lb line too as it is a little weak for sea fishing - if you get caught up in some weed it'll break very easily, especially if it was cheap. try putting 12lb line onto the reel instead

11 isn't too young an age as such so he shouldn't have too much bother having a go. he will probably progress to bigger baits and hooks soon enough if he enjoys it.. im sure he will!
he could maybe head out with some friends who do a bit of fishing? or he could join a local club

keep it up, its the best fun/interest anyone could have

commendations,

Chuckaroo

Re: some advice if possible

Fri Sep 19, 2014 4:53 pm

thanks for the reply, :D
I did go today and get another reel for him,as looking at it,it looked a tad to light,and upgraded the line to 12lb,was thinking on the lines of just a hook and a small 3/4 oz or 1 oz weight,have some rubber sand eels the ones that give of a scent,and will maybe see what other bait fresh or frozen i can come up with as an alternative (better to have a small variety?).Hes pretty excited to go,actually am myself,been so long,Lol.

Re: some advice if possible

Fri Sep 19, 2014 10:28 pm

a bit of variety of bait isn't a bad thing but if there are fish feeding then, in my humble opinion, most baits work. you won't need a whole pile of it
yeah, try and fish into deepish water i.e. greater than say 10 feet anyway, if possible, but then this isn't completely necessary either
yeah, a 1oz weight should suffice but don't be scared to put small hooks on too - if you are getting plenty of bites but not catching much then don't be scared to downsize the hook to even a size 10, even the smallest hooks can 'hold on' to big fish

it can only be seen as just a wee induction session... it would be onwards and upwards thereafter :mrgreen:
looking forward to the report.. :P
have fun and.. tight lines :)

Re: some advice if possible

Tue Sep 23, 2014 9:30 pm

not much luck on saturday,went to bangor,had a few bites,and one actually fell off the hook as it was being brought up the pier,better luck on sunday night though,managed to actually get two pollack.My son had a great time,and wants to get back out again as soon as possible,so mission accomplished,looks like hes hooked,Lol.Have to say after about 4-5 attempts,he was pretty good at casting,he got the hang of it,really fast.

Re: some advice if possible

Wed Sep 24, 2014 8:45 am

Well done, and hats off to you for getting out there with him! :D Dont know what kind of piers you're fishing off, but if you're on anything open-sided with no walls, or on open rocks, get yourselves inflating lifejackets. Modern ones are not expensive, easy to wear, and essential for safety and peace of mind.

Meanwhile, keep up the progress reports....

Re: some advice if possible

Wed Sep 24, 2014 11:05 am

well done fishermom
yeah, good advice from hugo too. you can never be too safe on the shore or out in boat - safety first.
will look forward to more reports from yourself or your son :)
you might get a dinner out of it yet..

Re: some advice if possible

Thu Sep 25, 2014 1:26 pm

I have looked at some of those slimline life jackets,and think I will purchase two just to be on the safe side.The pier we have been using is pretty well sheltered,the wall is about 9ft high,and there are ladders every few ft along the pier down into the water.We actually went down last night again ,since its pretty well light up at night, I think maybe we both have the bug now,Lol.Caught another three pollack,still trying to catch those mackerel,but no luck with either soft sandeels or feather traces (daylights)or even with fish as bait.Not many people having luck with them,just a few getting caught here and there,though they are deffo around,cause I have saw them up chasing the fry,but we will keep at it.Its great to get out for awhile with him,in the fresh air,and keep him off the xbox,he was totally knackered last night when we got home,and fell straight to sleep.
We are going out again saturday,so fingers crossed.

Re: some advice if possible

Fri Sep 26, 2014 9:31 pm

It's addictive...... :) Since you have the two rods, why not rig one for bottom fishing with bait while the other one is on the lures/traces? Never know what you might get... plenty of inexpensive ready-made bottom rigs in the tackle shops.

Might be getting a wee bit late for mackeral off the shore, tho you never know, they're more unpredictable than before. In bygone times they were resident fairly well full-time round our coasts all summer/autumn, but my impression is they now head further north (because of warming seas?) so we get an early season pass as they head up, and another - when they're fatter - in late season when they're going south for the winter.

Re: some advice if possible

Mon Sep 29, 2014 5:12 pm

well I managed to catch a mackerel on saturday,so well pleased at that,and a crab also,lmao
It really is addictive,we were out again on sunday,mind you I think half the country was there on sunday also,hardly had room to cast a rod sadly,but we are hoping to get out one night again this wk,before the weather turns at the wkend.
I was also surprised to see how many women there actually are out fishing,and some teenage girls also.I think thats cool that there are a good number of women doing it also,at least I feel like im not the odd one out.

Re: some advice if possible

Tue Sep 30, 2014 8:28 am

fishermom wrote:well I managed to catch a mackerel on saturday....
:oops: Should've kept my mouth shut... you're obviously a bit of a fish magnet....
fishermom wrote: I was also surprised to see how many women there actually are out fishing, and some teenage girls also. I think thats cool that there are a good number of women doing it also, at least I feel like im not the odd one out.

Not odd at all, my Better Half just loves being out on our boat and always pulls in the biggest fish and the most species (I get to untangle the tackle meantime). I also see more and more women of all ages heading out on the local charter boats.

Re: some advice if possible

Wed Oct 01, 2014 8:37 pm

Well done fishermom for bringing your son fishing. Anything is better than sitting in on the Xbox. I can't wait to bring my son's fishing. There only 4 and 2 at the moment so it will be a litttle while before they get the bug.

You should just go to your local tackle shop and have a chat with them about what's being caught in the area and what bait was being used. You should also be able to buy a ready made trace for about 2 Euro. Try get one with two hooks or 3, then just buy a pack off frozen sandeel and cut one in to 3 and put out the rig. All fish will eat sandeel, and they are very cheap to buy. Just fish your local piers and harbour untill it's decided fishing is what use both want to do. If it is then use can join a local club and move it on to maybe a local beach.

Re: some advice if possible

Sun Oct 05, 2014 6:06 pm

I watched a few videos on youtube and have been able to make my own traces....),also had a go at making some home made feathers also,which turned out not to bad for a first attempt.I managed to get my teenager out fishing yesterday,and although we didnt catch anything (went to a different place)he said he really enjoyed it,and would deffo like to try it again.
None of them were up to going out today,so since i was up before daybreak,decided to head out myself,and had a totally awesome day,catching 9 pollock on feathers,within 1 and half hrs,granted they were all smallish under 1 lb.The guy fishing beside me was fishing for mini species,and i saw my first sea scorpion,it was so tiny,fitted into the palm of my hand,and also a rock gobie.I really think my youngest son might like trying for the mini species,they seem to be abundant in the place where we fish,i have saw a few guys pulling them out regular,but have never been close enough before to see what they looked like.
I will deffo try the frozen sand eels,only have them in the soft lures but i think they are maybe kinda to big they are 6 or 8 inch ones made by storm i think it is,and have actually been looking at beachcaster rods (i have a beachcaster reel),probably to soon to start thinking about doing that,seems pretty complicated from videos i have watched about casting,and the different rigs.Im hoping my youngest will stick with it,theres a club near us but its not sea angling,its for game fishing,because we have a lake 5-10 mins away from were I live stocked with trout, bream,rudd and also pike,though its catch and release only .Though i would nt buy a rod licence so late into the yr,maybe in jan i would think about it,but much prefare sea fishing anyway.

Re: some advice if possible

Wed Oct 08, 2014 3:36 pm

if I could fishermom give you a piece of advice go on amazon books pick up a copy of the fox guide to modern sea angling by alan yates.you will pick it up for pennies in used section.couple of quid postage.it is the best book by a long way on seaangling for beginners and old hands alike.everything you need to know and more.you wont regret purchasing it.

Re: some advice if possible

Sat Dec 06, 2014 12:41 am

Still alive and fishing.Had totally awesome night on wednesday,best time ever stopped counting when we got into the high 20s..lol
Whiting ,pollock and coal fish..:) Had two rods going at once,and they both hardly stopped all night.
Back out again tomorrow,hoping to catch a codling (fingers crossed)

Re: some advice if possible

Sat Dec 06, 2014 11:51 am

Brilliant, thats quite a score. You'll have to start putting up posts and pics on the Shore Angling Reports section.
What equipment did you end up with?

Re: some advice if possible

Sun Dec 07, 2014 3:09 pm

If I ever catch anything big enough will deffo take a snap of it.
We dont have expensive rods and stuff,have an old shakespeare pro tec rod that I got hold of,and can cast out a fair distance when needed,and bought a Jarvis Walker 3 piece 12 ft rod,again,not expensive.Did buy a semi decent reel,a shakespear agility surf 70 reel,which i would switch between rods.Have a cpl other rods which arent great,and some other older reels which a neighbour gave us when he heard we had been fishing a few times,that he no longer uses.They are proabably better suited to fresh water fishing,but its always a back up if needed.
Though tbh,as long as we can catch something thats all that matters,maybe after xmas will look at something better.My son doesnt seem to like fishing in the cold/rain..lol,he didnt go yesterday,though I did,and did catch a few whiting,nothing to write home about though,but it was better than sitting at home watching TV,personally i totally love going fishing,and would be out all the time if weather/time permitted.Most the fish we have caught in the last wks have all been caught on squid,have had no luck when i used ragworms at all,though the crabs seem to like them.I dont know if im doing something wrong with ragworm or not,ppl tell me they are one of the best things to use,but from my own experience using them,i caught nothing,and as soon as i changed back to squid caught fish.

Re: some advice if possible

Sun Dec 07, 2014 5:08 pm

'as long as you are catching fish' - indeed!
and use whichever bait you are happy with fishermom. rag worm is a great bait (it must have just been coincidental that there were no fish about at the time you produced the rag worm..) but then most other baits are good too
was out last night myself in Red Bay. nothing but pin whiting, tiny cod and a few flounder but as you say: much better than sitting at home watchin tv!
great stuff fishermom. will look forward to few pics next time :)