With over one million sea anglers, it’s not surprising that it’s one of this country’s favourite pastimes. Here’s Ted Tuckerman and Irving Stewart’s complete guide to getting started. Happy fishing!

WHERE TO START

The chances are you know someone who fishes, so talk to them and, if possible, fish with them and get advice on the different species of fish in your area. The best advice will come from a visit to your local tackle shop as the owner and staff are sure to be anglers who’ll be willing to chat and provide you not only with up-to-date information on where to fish, but they might even give you a few GPS numbers of marks to start you off. They’ll guide you through the tackle you need, and I’m sure most of them won’t try and push you into the wrong selection. Another good source of information is an angling club. Whether to join a club is a matter of choice, but is often worth it for the benefits that might be available including worldwide insurance cover through the newly formed Angling Trust, formally NFSA. Choose one that has boat owners as members because they’ll know what rigs work best, the baits to use and will know the best marks.

DO I NEED A LICENCE TO FISH AT SEA?

Do you get the urge to fish but are unsure how to start or whether you require a licence or permit or need to belong to a club? First and foremost, fishing in the sea is free. That dates back to the Magna Carter, and in the past few years DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) have agreed with the NFSA (National Federation of Sea Anglers) that recreational sea anglers are equal stake holders of the fish stock; however there are a few rules that need to be observed that do not impinge on your rights to fish.

The principle one being the minimum landing size (MLS) of certain species that can be retained, not caught; you have not committed an offence unless you do not immediately return the fish to the water. These are the same legal sizes commercial fishermen have to adhere to and are known as the DEFRA Minimum Retention List or MLS, obtainable from fisheries and harbour offices. The NFSA minimum size guide covers all species and, where applicable, are equal to or greater than the DEFRA list; this is to prevent small fish being un-necessarily killed; keeping fish not on DEFRA’s list, but below the NFSA minimum is not an offence, but it prohibits anglers registering fish in competitions.

Bass is one species where you need to be aware of rules governing where they are caught and the minimum size to retain them. This currently stands at 36cm but is expected to be raised in the coming months; you cannot fish for bass from a boat in a nursery area, and those cover almost all rivers with a few exceptions in winter. Again details are available from fisheries offices or the B.A.S.S Web site www.ukbass.com.

Be aware that Fisheries Officers can and will board your boat to check for undersized bass.

Other restrictions include limitations on anchoring and restricted military areas; these are clearly marked on charts plus local fisheries bylaws where applicable.

WHERE SHOULD I FISH?

Reefs and wrecks hold the most fish, the latter though needs instruction or experience with others to get the best results. Sand banks, areas like the Skerries in Start Bay or the Shambles off Weymouth, are hotspots for flat fish.

WHICH FISH ARE EASIEST TO BEGIN WITH?

The easiest fish to catch is the mackerel, especially for children who like everything instantly; all that is required is a string of feathers at the end of the line. Mackerel are around from March to November. Fish the tide line off headlands is a good rule of thumb; if you have a colour sounder you will be able to locate the shoals, shut the engine and drift over them. Move back and start again when bites stop.

WHAT DO I NEED TO GET STARTED?

There is no need to buy the top branded tackle, that can come later as your skills develop and you get a feel for the species you will target most.

Fishing tackle shops are like Aladdin’s cave, full of goodies, so tell the shopkeeper you are just starting and need advice. You will find most staff are anglers, so you can expect to get reliable advice on the tackle suitable for your area. It is also helpful to talk to other boat anglers.

So what do you need to get started? A rod, reel, line, hooks, swivels, booms and weights, and you should also include a good sized and strong landing net; you do not want to lose the first big fish you hook.

The rod: A good length for a boat rod is around 7ft 6” and for a spinning rod, 10ft. I suggest you select a boat rod of 20/30lb test; you will find this printed on the butt just above the grip. With the modern materials it will have a thin tip that will give you the feel of the small fish while coping with big fish including medium weight conger. As a price guide, at the bottom end of the range, rods are available for around £25.

The most suitable reel is a multiplier as they provide better control of fish than a fixed spool. There is a big choice in size and price, but you will have to open the purse a little wider than for a rod. However, ignore the cheapest as their gearing is often suspect. My suggestion is a medium size reel, about the size of the Abu 6500, and depending on your budget choose one in the mid price range, £40 to £60.

Line, or rather the make, is a matter of choice and so is whether to have braid or monofilament (nylon). As a beginner, nylon is the best choice, braid although better under some circumstances is not as easy to use and unravelling braid tangles is not easy and tangles you will get, we all do.

What do you need for the end of the line? A few swivels size three or four. With hooks it is difficult to be precise because size varies from area to area, but generally size 1, 1/0 and 2/0 will cover all your expectations; be guided by your local tackle shop or other anglers. Carbon sharp wire are best for flat fish, stronger bronze hooks for ray and other bigger fish, weight booms, weights, beads and mackerel feathers; you will need feathers to catch bait and this completes your starter kit. Add on a small tackle box to keep all the bits and bobs in and you are ready to go.

ANGLING BOATS

Ever since the very earliest Homo sapiens left their caves, started to shed body hair and perfected walking upright it soon became evident that this species possessed peculiar traits when compared to the others sharing a mutual environment. Not content with simply grazing vegetation, or collecting nuts, man developed a taste for meat. He soon realised that there were simpler, and far less painful, options to satisfy his hunger than chasing large animals with simple weapons; so began fishing for added protein - an activity that has continued to this day. 

Man also discovered, very early on, that (despite his origins in the murky slime beneath the waves) he was not ideally suited to existing in, or on, water. It didn’t take our ancestors long to realise that things that floated provided not only a means of crossing open areas of water but also carried them into the environment of larger (and tastier) fish and sea creatures.

These early realisations gave rise to the development of boats which progressed from the simplest of logs and rafts, through wood framed coracles and curragh type craft covered in animal skins to complex wooden structures, sailing craft and finally powered craft of every ilk.

Today man’s desire to fish largely depends on where he happens to live. In the more remote, or developing, areas of the globe, the need to go fishing has become even more important as wildlife to hunt becomes ever scarcer. In other parts of the globe commercial fishing provides most modern city dwellers with fish and other ‘fresh’ marine foodstuffs which they inevitably buy (sometimes weeks or months old) pre-packed and dramatically lacking in taste from multi-national supermarkets.

Fortunately there are still many people who actually appreciate the taste of fresh fish, enjoy the challenge of pitting their wits against waterborne creatures or simply relish escaping the pressures of today’s lifestyle by going fishing - inevitably many do it in boats. Today there are probably as many types of boats used for fishing as the species of fish caught. 
Such craft range from the simplest of sea kayaks and easily carried coracles to very large and dramatically over powered ‘sports fishers’ designed to provide the ultimate on-board luxury for those lucky few seeking to lure and land big game fish - which they probably don’t eat.

In between these boating extremes are dug out canoes, small traditional dinghies, inflatables, easily trailerable craft and boats designed specifically for different types of fishing. The modes of actually catching fish are equally varied ranging from simple hand lines, rods and reels and small nets to spear guns. We could even include pots in which to entrap the many forms of crustacean found wandering the seabed.

With these many variables in mind it’s not difficult to see that specific boats designed for one form of fishing may not be suitable for others. Whilst easy to row and absolutely ideal for stalking trout on a secluded river, or loch, the classic narrow beamed gillie’s boat with its low freeboard might not fare so well when exposed to the mean and exposed waters off the Devon coast. In similar vein, the small yet fast fishers favoured by the match fishing sea anglers might well raise a few eyebrows if brought inland and up our more conservative rivers. As in many spheres of life there are horses for courses, and fishing boats are no exception.

With developments in boat design, and changes in the very technologies of fishing, even long established and proven concepts in fishing craft are being superseded; both in the recreational and commercial fields. You have only to compare the styles of boats pulled up on beaches or moored in harbours all over the country with those of half a century ago to appreciate just how dramatic these changes have been.

Most small inshore fishing craft used to be displacement hulled clinker built boats; hand-made in traditional yards from locally grown timber. These would be fitted with sails or little slow running single or twin cylinder engines with shaftdrive capable of propelling the boats at probably no more than walking speed on a tiny amount of fuel a day. The original design of these boats could be traced back hundreds of years and inevitably they had characteristics specific to their particular location. Larger commercial boats followed a similar philosophy but tended to have far higher freeboard and deeper displacement hulls. With their larger engines these boats would travel scores of miles to and from their fishing grounds, often spending days at sea, and then return at a leisurely 7kn or so to unload their catch at their home harbour.

Today’s smaller fishing boats may well be of similar length to their predecessors but are now built in moulded GRP. They will probably have fast planing hulls, be fitted with outboard engines more than ten times as powerful as their ancestors and able to cruise at speeds the grandfathers of their owners would simply not believe possible. The commercial boats moored alongside may now also be planing craft, similarly with far greater power and capable of high speed. Indeed many will be catamarans offering far more deck space than their far older siblings, sometimes with the ability to run up a beach to offload and affording their crews a welcome respite from the nauseous pitching and rolling of some traditional displacement craft. In today’s highly competitive market the ability of these craft to get their catches ashore quickly, and to optional ports along the coast, is critical. The fact that catamarans also require far less power to perform than monohulls is not ignored by astute fishermen.

The future of fishing craft is pretty assured despite commercial quotas being dictated by Europe, and there’s no doubt recreational fishermen will still want to enjoy their sport (and savour fresh fish). 

We believe new technologies in design, manner of manufacture and materials will be applied to fishing craft as fossil fuels become ever more expensive. We shall probably see easier running and lighter boats requiring smaller engines to achieve high performance becoming the norm. Alternative recyclable materials such as aluminium, polyethylene, lightweight steel and even laminated wood may well replace the easily moulded but highly eco-unfriendly styrene based GRP of today’s craft.

Whatever the future brings it’s a fair wager that man will continue to fish from boats as he has done since the dawn of his existence.


FURTHER INFORMATION
DEFRA - www.defra.gov.uk
NFSA - www.nfsa.org.uk