Fishing and Reading

At last, a weekend that was just about fishable. Salar has been back in the water waiting patiently for a sea trial, so I combined the two and headed for a sheltered corner of the Solent for an hour or two. You don't have to go too far offshore for cod at the moment, there has been a string of reports coming into my boat angling in-box from anglers reporting cod catches about a mile from the shore along the eastern side of the Solent. The cod didn't oblige for me this time though, but I had plenty of whiting and they are just as tasty if a bit more fiddly to prepare. A tip from the cod-catchers: don't go all traditional with huge baits - try small ones alongside, you may be surprised which one old bucket-mouth goes for.

It was my birthday recently, and with all that windy weather I had used up my store of reading matter, so I spent my birthday tokens on a few books. If you are wondering what to put on the Christmas pressie list, here are a few I can recommend. If you have been fishing for 40 plus years like me, you may remember Mr. Crabtree Goes Fishing - and if you lost the copy I'm sure you once had, you can buy a reprint. All coarse fishing, but it brings back happy memories. Another find is 1001 Top Angling Tips by John Wilson. About a third is devoted to sea fishing but there are plenty of useful ideas in the coarse section too. Finally, Chris Yates goes back to sea fishing with Out of the Blue: On Fishing at Sea . This is more of a read than a reference book, but it's a nice one to lose yourself in as you nestle in your favourite comfy armchair while the wind howls outside.

PS If you like Peter Gander's drawing above, you can get it on a t-shirt or mug from FishPrint.