As we head into spurdog season I thought I would give you all a gentle reminder of what our winter offshore trips can produce. This time I will look back at what we had earlier this year in anticipation of what may be on its way.
Trying to arrange offshore trips at this time of year is always a bit of a lottery. Getting those ducks to line up can be a real pain at times. Not only do we need enough people willing to head offshore on a long trip but we need them to be booked on the right tides and we need suitable weather. i ended up cancelling more trips than I have done in the past last winter and spring. Unfortunately after several years of commercial pressure the thorn-back rays weren’t as numerous as they had been so we had lost our ‘get out of jail card’ if the weather was marginal. Luckily a catamaran like the Galloper is more comfortable than most boats in a bit of weather so we can still get away with a lot.
Even so our eyes remain fixed on the weather each time the tides come around. Hoping that out of the unpredictable barrage of weather systems pushing through there may be a window for us to nip out in search of something different. Luckily the many sand banks within the greater Thames estuary afford us a lot of shelter from the right wind direction and they also break the seas up pretty well so swells can die away very quickly here.
Although we have got among some packs and seen some big numbers of spurs at times in the past. I am still happy when I see the first one on board each trip. Although the spurs have become our main focus on these trips I try not to make it entirely about one species. After all I accidentally bumped into these fish while chasing cod the first time. We continue to see some great variety on these trips and although the cod are pretty rare around here currently I still hold out hope of seeing one of these too.
Our first trip of last season was a nice little warm up to ease us in. as usual heaps of hungry dogfish wanted our baits and if we fished through these then we could catch the occasional whiting! Thankfully it wasn’t long before the first spurdog found its way up the scent trial to the boat. We sat it out and picked a few more up as the day went on. Over slack tide I decided to try another mark for the last hour and picked up a few more spurs, a couple of rays and a smooth-hound before home time. A lot of the spurdogs around here are double figure females and very fine looking fish too. Definitely worth catching.
We managed a couple more trips as the weeks passed by and we got closer to springtime and the hope of some slightly more settle weather. a few weeks into the season and we had a nice steady days fishing despite the wind and tide doing funny things. The spurs came thoughout the day. a small pack would pass through and result in a few more decent fish to the boat between the dogfish. of course there were smooth-hounds mixed in too. These may not be as big as some we catch kin the summer but are a welcome sight on a winters day. what the hounds lack in size the spurs make up for and with several doubles throughout the day the biggest fell to Wayne at 18.8lbs. this was one of over 30 spurs we had that day and the lads even snuck a couple of thorn-back out too.
I don’t know where I got the idea of springtime coming and with it more settled weather but it didn’t work out that way. When the weather was good the tides didn’t suit offshore. Every time the tides came around another weather system would push through. over a month had passed since our last trip offshore when those ducks did eventually line up. By then things had changed somewhat, the water was warming up and the fish were on the move. We had a few days on the bounce offshore and although we did find a few spurs they were mostly small males. Thankfully there were plenty of other species to be had. As well as the usual whiting, dogfish, thorn-backs and hounds wee saw several nice bass, a lot of herring and even quite a few mackerel for our efforts.
It would be easy to write off the spurs now but I have spent a lot of years chasing these fish now and have a fair understanding of their habits. The next opportunity came around and we found ourselves back out there looking for something different. As ever those lesser spotted dogfish were ravenous but the lads worked hard to get through them. Thankfully they were rewarded with some nice spurs to 17.8lbs plenty of hounds, thorn-back rays, pouting, whiting, bass and a fine blonde ray for Barry.
We lost the next set of tides to weather and with the water now getting quite warm and the fish spreading out I had all but written off the spurs. Towards the end of the season they are very hit and miss. Anybody can luck on one or two but just well they could miss them. As luck would have it we managed a couple more on general trips but they had one last hurrah for us. we were on an offshore trip with very little to show for our efforts. I thought we might luck out a spur but things weren’t looking great as the morning turned afternoon and afternoon turned to home time. Just as the tide came right Wayne (yes the same Wayne) leaned into a decent fish. it fought well and made our day as it was another high double figure spurdog for him. While we were unhooking this another rod leaned over. Before too long the lads were playing 4-5 double figure spurs at once. It was madness for the last hour or so with multiple hook up after multiple hook up. I simply couldn’t keep up with the net and disgorger. The lads were having to deal with the fish them selves as I tried to grab a couple of pictures and weigh the bigger fish. it was so busy that often their baits were barely touching the bottom before the rods were arching over! Barry (yes him again) managed the biggest at over 20lbs and many more were around the same size. It was a very busy hour or so to end the day with over 30 spurdogs and a great way to end the season.
As I mentioned earlier not every day is a red letter day like this and our winter offshore trips aren’t all about spurdogs but they tend to be our main focus currently. We will be running trips like this from now until the end of April and I have spaces this week (weather permitting) on Friday 16th and Saturday 17th. Next spaces after that are over the Christmas period. Please note I wont report on this years spurdog trips until I have finished fishing for them as too many people want to let me do the leg work for them. If you would like a trip out there either as a group or individual then please get in touch and book with me.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
10/12/22 Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
16/12/22- offshore trip 4 spaces @ £100pp
17/12/22-offshore trip targeting spurdogs, smooth-hounds ect 3 spaces @ £100pp
23/12/22- Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
24/12/22-
27/12/22 Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
28/12/22 7 spaces @ £60pp
29/12/22-offshore trip 6 spaces @ £100pp
31/12/22-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
01/01/23-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
02/01/23-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528
