When it comes to Sea Fishing, we all have dreams of catching those specimen fish, the rare species or even the biggest Predators the UK waters have to offer. Some people don't just dream of doing these things, they actually go out and do it.
Will Irvine is a top rod Sea Angler from West Wales and he does just that.
I approached Will early last year to work with me on testing some of the products that I had planned for release and he went to work putting those products through their paces on the sea fishing marks of the picturesque West Wales.
Will has been kind enough to share the vast information he has gained whilst out chasing Sharks from the shore with us and gives his top tips for anyone looking to test their abilities.
WI " Tope can be found around most of West Wales. Depth doesn't seem to be that important unless the weather is a little rougher, then the deeper marks seem to fish better."
"Tide run is important, or at least being close to a decent tide run, along with those bait fish."
Pictured above are some examples of Will's baits using the Pinnacle Predator range of hooks in sizes 6/0 and 8/0. The 8/0 Predators are set for release in March and are sure to be a big hit with those looking to land the big boy fish.
WI "When fishing the rough terrain of the west Wales coastline the biggest issue you have to consider are the swells and your personal safety. You can fish certain marks in bigger swells and all can seem fine until you have to get down to the water to land a fish and potentially things can go wrong VERY FAST!. Make sure you are fishing with someone who knows what they are doing or employ the likes of an experienced fishing guide, Don't just think you can fish some of these marks because you have seen someone do it on Youtube."
"When it comes to tide size, some venues can only be fished on small tides, for these I like to fish on a building tide. For marks that have less of a tide run I would fish these on the bigger tides."
WI "I prefer to fish for tope in the daylight hours as its safer and there is less chance of those pest fish (Dogs, straps and whiting) getting to your bait first, meaning more time for your bait to fish longer and attract that tope as they pass by."
When it comes to tackle, Will recommends to use a fairly powerful rod for casting out those big fish baits with 7 - 10oz of lead and only uses reels with a strong drag and a large spool with a high capacity for line.
25lb mainline is used with a leader of 80 - 100lb and his pully rigs are 8 - 10ft long and are made up of 150lb mono with a 150lb wire bite trace on the business end. The longer pully rig and heavier mono is used to ensure when playing a fish you have better abrasion resistance against the rocks closer in, you have something strong to grab hold of when landing the fish and also in case the Tope wraps up in the rig. It's rough skin will make light work of lighter mono lines.
WI " You will be surprised how much pressure a good Tope will put on your swivels when it's in the swells, so you will need a good strength Stainless steel swivel with a breaking strain of 200 - 300lb, for these I recommend Pinnacle Stainless Swivels in size 1."
WI "You can catch Tope in the summer and in the winter months but as always the best baits are always fresh.
Fresh Mackerel in the summer is king, but in the winter baits such as fresh Herring / fresh Whiting will also work, and sometimes helps to keep the pest fish off the bait. If you can't find any fresh bait, remember to take some frozen with you, because Tope will take almost anything."
I hope you guys are enjoying our monthly insights into the world of Sea Fishing, and I hope that it is bringing you some new found knowledge for you to go and land that fish of a lifetime.
I would like to thank Will for his testing, expertise and contribution to Pinnacle Angling since we opened our doors and I urge you all to pop along and follow his Facebook page - West Wales Fishing.
Don't forget to subscribe to our news letter so you are notified every time we post new content or sales on our products, its completely free and you may learn something along the way. I know I am.
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