A friend had booked the whole boat from Teddie boy charters out of Minehead and I got invited along and thought a good chance to get back doing some boat reports to add to the website as the only report that has been done so far with regards to boats is that of Lorna Doone out of Watchet harbour.
We all turned up and boarded with the banter starting on the harbour side between us all as there were several regular faces there with Chris and Josh giving me some stick about how they were going to kick my butt today.
Once aboard Mikey fired up the engines and we started to set out into the gloomyness outside of Minehead harbour and headed out towards the Whitemark area after some rays. The tide was ebbing and it was heavily overcast with some light showers and looking rather miserable, but the wind was reasonable and far from uncomfortable like the weather forecast suggested.
After steaming for a few minutes we arrived at the mark, Mikey dropped the anchor and then gave the all clear to start fishing.
I loaded both rods with the uptide weights and loaded the Leeda Icon with squid and then the AFAW uptide pro with long chunky strips of bluey fresh from Speedbait.
With the shout of "heads" the weights went over the side and the fishing was on!
It started slowly with the first hour only providing us with the Bristol channels poor mans scampi or as my son would call it a brown spotted pain in the bum!
With the first dogfish out the way it wasn't going to be a blank at least, fishing was proving to be tough on everyone though with the ebbing tide coming past at a good rate of knots.
Nevertheless we carried on plugging away changing baits and keeping the stink out there knowing that when the tide drops off a bit more the rays would then come on the feed.
With the sky constantly threatening to make us wet, Chris had a bite and one that wasn't a dogfish! After a short battle in the tide with the kiting ray, it came up to the surface and it was a lovely small blonde ray signalling that the rays were coming onto the baits and it was time to get some fresh stink out there. I chose to go with solely with bluey baits to keep the dogs off as they seemed to be only hitting the squid. After the unhooking Chris was smiling away at the first blonde ray of the day! and a cheeky grin thrown over as I was rayless at present!
It rejuvenated us all and got us all re-baiting our rods.
Now to go and get its bigger relatives!
Less than five minutes later of my new bait out there I got a lovely bend going over on the uptide pro which stayed over and started to take line, lifting up into the rod the line was peeling off at a good rate, I tightened up the clutch and made sure the hook was home and then started to the reel it in, there was still a bit of tide and the ray was refusing to come off the bottom using the tide and its body suction on the bottom in its favour making it feel like I was trying to pull the plug out of the Bristol channel. Keeping the pressure on, the rod done its job and tired the fish enough to come off the bottom, I was gaining line back onto the reel now at a better rate and the fish was coming up through the water column although it was giving it back as good as it could and I didn't have super heavy gear on nor a heavy hook trace as I wanted more movement in the bait. It had started to pull back and all eyes are now watching as it bent the uptide pro very nicely with a little more to and fro with the fish it was tired and I gained the upper hand winding down on the 535 reel gaining more line by the second to which it then suddenly broke the surface and was a decent male blonde ray of at least 14-15lbs. The skipper Mikey was Johnny on the spot as per normal and netted the fish and brought it aboard. Unhooking it and holding it up for a photo it looked like the rays were here and it was going to be a good day! Photo taken and it was time to quickly release it back, watching the ray swim off on the surface a few meters before diving down into the murkiness of the brown Bristol Channel waters. Excellent! job done and pressure off I was happy with myself for getting the target early on it was time to get another bait out there quickly. We only had to wait a few more minutes and then my Icon rod was off with a heavy thump, so tightening up the clutch I lifted into the rod and it was another ray on, all of a sudden whippersnapper Josh and old man Chris may have been regretting some of the banter comments made haha.
Again this rod also had a lighter set up so I had to take it easy on the ray, when it wanted line... It took it! But with only short dashes, it wasn't an issue and I was gaining the line back again as quick as it took it off, it felt nice but was playing in the tide, after getting it out of the current it clearly wasn't as good as the last ray but still it was still a nice size, It came up easy enough whilst cranking away on the ALC mag and it was ray number two for myself, with the captain again on the net and camera.
It was a nice female blonde ray of around the 9-10lb mark not worried about weighing it, I put it back overboard to swim off and get bigger.
Unfortunately others were not picking up the rays with again just odd dogs coming over the rails, it died off for a little bit and Mikey got a brew on the go for us all.
Making sure to change my baits often to keep fresh oily stink out there for the rays to follow, I had just put out two new bluey baits again long and thin so the rays can easily eat their way up it but as thick as my middle finger its a good way of keeping a small enough bait so the rays can take it but at the same time make it a large bait and keeps plenty of smell out there.
With baits out and a fresh brew in the hand the day was picking up!
I had literally just taken a sip of my tea and the uptide pro was off again, putting the brew down quickly I stepped over to the rail and again tightened up the clutch to stop the line peeling off and lifted into the rod and taking the clicker off, the 4/0 hook hitting home and staying in place it was game on again and this blonde wasn't a happy chappy at all and was giving it plenty of sass and attitude in the tide taking small runs making it interesting for me and enjoying the sporting aspect of fishing which is all too often lost as people do overkill on gear and takes the element of sport out of the fishing and for me some of the accomplishments.
After a shortish battle I was all of a sudden bringing it in again cranking away on teh handle of the reel bringing the ray up through the tide and to the boats side to be netted by Mikey.
As it broke the surface it was another lovely male blonde ray and bigger than the previous ones excellent!! Raymondo three!
Mikey netted the ray and again it was on board we had a quick weigh of the ray as we couldn't decide how heavy it was and was quite chunky too, but it came in at a very healthy 18.3lbs.
Another quick shot and it was time to put the ray back.
With nothing else really happening we were talking about moving as the tide would soon be pushing hard and other than the rays for myself nothing else much had happened except the odd dogfish.
So with that it was decided we were going to head over to a reefy mark and see if we could find a cod or two that were still knocking about and change everyones luck.
Just as Mikey was giving the order to bring in the lines I was into another blonde ray and again another healthy bend in the rod!
This time life was made easy as it was swimming towards me making wind like a mad man possessed to get the line in on the reel quick enough.
Coming up nice and easy with little fight from the blonde, it broke the surface and it was another male blonde ray to the tally and again clearly double figures, once aboard it was similar to the first one and came in at 15lbs.
Releasing the ray quickly I think some others were starting to wish they had brought bluey along with them. I sat down had a drink and a quick bite to eat with the rods secured for our move. After a short five to ten minute cruise the swells were picking up along with the wind making the cat work a bit more but at least with Teddie boy being a cat its a lot more stable on board and things were still quite comfortable.
We arrived at the next mark and the wind was picking up a lot and the flooding tide had good size swells pushing up through the channel but with the wind coming off the land it flattened them down a little and made them more manageble.
With the sound of the clanking chain of the anchor going down we got the order to start fishing again.
Right off the bat it was Chris again into the fish on the back corner with a whiting coming over the rails, a quick unhook and chucked back he cast straight back out a couple of minutes later we were reeling in fish in tandem chris with a strap eel and myself with a dogfish.
As quick as they came on the feed they also went off the feed with long quiet spells and only dogfish breaking the monotony.
The wind was picking up and we had swung around making the ocean not so freindly but a few dogs came in and then I got a nice double nod on my rod making me think it was a codling.
I lifted up into the rod and tightened the line then with a quick strike to make sure I then started to reel down onto the fish, It was nodding away making a few think it was a codling but to my surpise it was a very unhappy thornback ray that had again fallen to a bluey bait.
It wouldnt play ball for a photo so I rested it along my arm and a photo was taken.
It was along the lines of 5-6lbs but again was a break from the dogfish.
The weather had really turned now making it a bit naff onboard with larger swells slapping the side of the boat and being dusk it was time to pretty much pack up anyway we all agreed and brought the rods in.
It was a great day and I was looking forward to part two of my trip as I always do two outings to get a good general feel to the fishing onboard.... and well was obviously great not being whopped by old man and young blood.
TRIP 2: Booking back up with Mikey I grabbed a spot on the bank holiday to go fishing last minute. It was a 6am start and with no faces I recognised with the exception of one man I had spoken to whilst shore fishing and given a little advice on a mark as he wasnt local, It was a nice bunch and today we had a couple of kids on board, which is always nice to see youth coming up in the ranks of fishing... tackle boxes not Xboxes! We all boarded and I started talking with those around myself getting to know one another. We started out and we were heading off out off Minehead to the reefy mark off the golf lynx looking for some hound action! Excellent I hadn't realised that was on the cards today and coming up dusk I was hoping there would be a cheaky bass or two lurking around feeding. With the boat full and two totally new people to fishing I opted on using just one rod to save any tangles etc or being a problem. I opted of the uptide pro and added a bolt rig onto it, I went with a 60lb hooklength to a 4/0 mustad uptide hook and loaded it with some bluey to see if I could tempt a silver bar. I was uptiding and was positioned half way up the catamaran launching it out about 30 yards to keep well away from the close in lines my bait was out around five minutes maximum and it took a good heavy hit which excited me! The tide was ebbing quite hard and when I lifted into the rod I felt a bit gutted as it went deadweight and lazy with no fight and assumed it was a dog curled up in the tide and had just nabbed the bait on the run with the tide. Mikey was talking to myself and helping the new people aboard next to me and I was joking that at least I get the first dogfish out of the way whilst reeling in and then it broke the surface!
It wasn't a dogfish curled up in the tide at all it was a lovely pristine water glistening over the silver scales bass with the mouth open and around the 3lb mark what a blinding start and just what i was after! After a quick unhook and photo although it was a good eating size it was a female and as they are slow growing I decided I would release it to fight another day and keep good breeding stocks out there, if it was a male then I would have taken it for the table. With plenty of attention as it was the first fish on the boat the question came.. "what bait are you using?" Again no one else had brought any bluey with them. Re-baiting and casting back out I was hoping this was going to be a good day! A few dogfish were starting to come aboard with Andy just down from me on the back corner who was totally slaying it when it comes to dogfish! He was on his 5th when we were all on one or two, I think he had a secret dogfish caller on him and we had banter about being king of the dogs all day with Andy ending up with what would be over 30 of them! a true dogfish meister!
The day was good fishing we had bites constantly, although mainly dogfish to start with, but that being said many places are like this and you have to fish through the dogs to get the other fish. Then we had some runs of hounds on the other side of the boat, when they came in over the rails they were of the 7-8lb mark but it is always a nice sight to see and nice to see other anglers enjoying the catch and playing the hounds with the fights they give. Take a smiling photo with your partner then take a photo holding the hound you caught... guess which smile beams more! haha. More dogfish came aboard and then I had a bite that was certainly not a dogfish and ran with a little line, lifting into the rod and winding down I could feel it was a ray and a ray with a bit of fight about it! The suspect was likely a blonde! Happy days! First of my targets I'd like to see was the bass and now a 2nd target for me was a blonde and it was game on. After a short but lively fight the blonde broke the surface and was netted by Mikey and broght aboard for a photo it was of the 9lb mark and was released back with plenty of attitude still being given by the fish! With that done I figured I would see if another was about before going for a hound as we had plenty of time yet to fish. A couple more hounds came aboard and the new fishermen onboard pulled up an eel of around 9lb which they were well chuffed with and shortly after lost a good hound at the side of the boat. The boat was buzzing with lots of different fish except for Andy... poor fella still hauling the dogfish like they were going out of fashion. With that I got a bend in the rod and it stayed over looking like another ray, I lifted up and sure enough it was. Ray number two was on excellent! Almost at the same time a young girl with her father at the back of the boat also had a ray take the bait and was clearly a good size! As it was giving her the run around! I got my blonde ray aboard and was around a nice 7-8lb mark with a quick photo and release it was off to watch the young girl playing the ray at the back of the boat, she played it very well for a youngster and was getting plenty of praise and little snippets of advice...Not that it was needed the ray broke the surface was a very respectful 16lb + on the scales! Excellent job and smiles all around and a bit of banter to the dad about catching up. With that a huss was landed shortly afterwards by someone on the other side. It was turning out to be a brilliant day plenty of sun and nice to see so many fish and different species coming aboard. I saw Andy getting a bit disheartened at the back of the boat and having had days like that it gets a bit tedious and gave him the last half of my last bluey to try and get a ray on instead of the constant dogs. I switched it up to squid for my thrid target of the day which was a hound. A squid cut long ways and whipped up then presented like a worm on a 4/0 hook got cast away from the boat and all of a sudden I was turned into Andy.. Dogfish central, I kept at it hoping the hounds would move in and push the dogs off eventually. A brew, some food and plenty of chat with people on the boat was great we were all a friendly bunch which makes a great all that much better for all, then I had what I'd been waiting for... line peeling off my reel, quick stepping over to the the rod, I tighten up the drag and wound down and it was hound on! Darting one way then the other it was a lively one! I mananged to get it up to the boat and mikey was waiting with the net, it was just about to break the surface, saw us all and decided to dive under the boat! With that i tightened it all up giving him a bit of stick I managed to bully it back out and up... andddd it was in the net! Excellent! All three targets achieved today so anything now is just a bonus and a great time! We unhooked the hound and I was trying to get to grips with it, but it was camera shy and being with being a pain we got a few snaps and it was time to go overboard, letting it go, the hound swam acorss the surface quite a way then dived on down to the murky depths, but its always great to see a fish doing its thing swimming away. I thought Andy was into another dogfish but then the rod was bent way too much, he finally had a ray on and apparently on the bluey bait! I couldn't have been more pleased for him as he's a super nice guy and deserved a break! With that it was a nice blonde ray of the around the 10-11lb mark and with a photo and quick release I think it was what he needed and there we all were on the boat everyone was smiling.
After having a joke and giving a well done my rod was off again with another hound, grabbing the rod and cranking away as this time the hound was swimming in towards me, it was coming in nice and easy and coming up through the water and swimming right at the boat as it came up, at the last moment it did the typcial hound move and darted to the right where Mikey was ready with the net lifting the rod up the hounds nose came out the water and it was straight into the net to come aboard. This hound was a better one coming in just over the 10lb mark . The fishing went on and was pretty relentless with more hounds, eels, huss, rays etc all coming over the side I alone, had 5 species, landed all 3 of my targets for the day. My tally ended up as being 1xBass, 1x strap eel, 24 dogfish, 2x blonde rays, 4 hounds and all on one rod so was a super busy and very enjoyable day. I really can't recommend Teddie boy charters enough, Mikey is a great captain and a great guy and gets you on the fish. He may be young but is very knowledgable, as well as being great with new starters and is good at getting plenty of brews in you too, the boat is spaceous, clean and stable being a cat. If you book a day with him... I really can't see you being disapointed!