stivesfishing

15th May 2014. The later tide yesterday wasn't much better, the best that I heard of was 14 kilos by one boat. Better than nothing though as the prices were sky high yesterday. £1.50 for smalls, £4.00 for mediums, £5.70 for large mediums and a massive £6.40 per kilo for large! They dropped a little bit today due to some of the Newlyn boats catching around the 50 kilo mark. Still good money though at £1.00 s, £2.00 - £3.00 m and around £4.00 for the large mediums. Doesn't matter what the price is when you have 2 drifts for one mackerel like I did yesterday. The sun was shinning again today so I got my shorts on and went down the harbour for Lunch. As soon as I stepped foot onto the beach,the fog rolled in :-

It soon burnt off though. The crane on the end of the quay is suspending Ian Kemp over the side so he can repair the pointing that didn't survive the winter storms :-

A relative of Karl's is experimenting making punts out of recycled plastic. I can see a lot of potential in this material. Apparently making a larger fishing boat out of it wouldn't be a problem :-

The plastic is made from recycled materials that would otherwise be sent to Landfill, and has a number of benefits over traditional building materials.

100% recycled and good for our environment and co2 emmissions

Completely weatherproof and unaffected by frost.

Requires no maintenance

Does not rot or rust

Will not crack and splinter

Non Toxic, so safe to use around animals

Non stick material (that's why it's used to make glue pots)

Extremely easy to clean and dries quickly

Very robust, does not go brittle /crack like other plastics

Non porous so does not harbour insects and bacteria

Highly resistant to chemicals and animal waste

I think it is great stuff, strong and light. The punt pictured is the second made, the 1st had a flat bow and seats were screwed in. This one is all welded into one. Huge potential I think, will keep you posted on the future developments.

Simon Freeman launched his new build two days ago :-

A heightened and widened 'Seaking' :-

Build for stability with fins on the stern corners :- 

And a seven box insulated fish room! :-

She is an absolute beauty, built by Simon for his dad Peter to use, I think she is going to be called 'Family'. 

14th May 2014. No mackerel again this morning, top boat was 'Kira' with just 9 fish. Yesterday p.m. a couple of boats had 1/2 a box per man. Prisky was out baiting this morning and I got some decent eels from him :- 

I had high hopes of seeing a bass or two and steamed up east to Godrevy  Lighthouse, nice blue skies for a change :- 

I fished there for 1 1/2 hours without a bite. Then I tried a drift through the 'Stones' for nothing. Anchored and fished 'Heva' rock for a while with the same result. Disapointed.com! 

With not having a single bite while fishing the best part of the tide, I didn't fancy the next (normally not so good) 3 hours. So I beached the boat behind the quay and am home for lunch. I'm going to try the mackerel on the flood. Will let you know the news later.

12th May 2014. One boat tried the mackerel this morning and only had 5 small fish. Apparently the water is quite murky. Hopefully it wont take too long to clear. The weather is looking settled for at least a week from after tomorrow. My new reels have come, looking forward to testing them out!

11th May 2014. No one has tried today, still too rough. It is starting to ease down tomorrow so might take a look. Light northerlies by Wednesday. 

9th May 2014. It's time to start thinking about bassing! So I dug out last years reels and as expected they are ready for the bin for various reasons:-

Problems consisted of the ratchet click not working, very annoying when you need to rely on hearing a bite a lot of the time. Anti reverse not working, seized folding handles that aren't quite straight and the freespool system not engaging or not adjustable. BIN......

I thought about buying bulk cheep ones, High NRG 140 FS at £8.49 for 5. I tried one last year and it lasted most of the season before I wore it out:-

In the end I decided to try a different make and went for a couple of Browning Backfire II BF's. Hopefully they won't let me down all season:- 

I buy all my stuff at WSB Tackle. I don't think you can find things any cheaper than at trade price at wsbtackle.com  

If you have any views or tips on what the best freespool (baitrunner) reel is for regular saltwater work, then it would be good to hear them. Post your views on the Something Fishy page.

Apparently the Newlyn men are still catching mackerel and the price is pretty good again. Mediums are rumored to be about £2.50 per kilo.

6th May 2014. A few boats tried the mackerel this morning but came in with nothing. Quite windswept out Porthmeor, but the water is nice and clear :- 

Apparently the Newlyn boats are catching a few boxes on their side. There is a bit of surf building and should peak on Sunday evening with west southwest winds around the 30mph region. Come on spring, settle down now!

5th May 2014. I had one "drift" last night from 'Scuddymain' (middle of Porthmeor) to the corner of the Island without a single fish. Hodgey went down the western carricks (Seal Island) this morning and fished all the way back for just 2 mackerel. We are putting it down to the neap tides which don't get any better all week. It is going to be quite windy from the southwest for the foreseeable future as well.

4th May 2014. I went mackereling yesterday at low water until half tide, very slow going, ended up with just one box. The prices were still low on Friday, mediums just 50p per kilo. I'm going to have another try tonight when the boat floats at about 6pm. 

2nd May 2014. Matt Spencer-smith took a couple of pics when the sun came out yesterday evening :-

Not got many of me! :- 

With the bank holiday Monday, my next trip will most probably be tomorrow evening.

1st May 2014. There wasn't any fish with the early birds this morning. I didn't go until 4.30 this afternoon, it was slow going and I ended up with 35 kilos. Day off tomorrow, or two! 

30th April 2014. Update:- Had a bit of fish tonight, 9k large mediums, 58k mediums and about 20k small. My boy was out sailing :- 

Boy Stuart was catching well, everyone made a good landing :- 

I shall have another try in the morning.  

30th April 2014. I found a bit of fish yesterday afternoon, ended up with just under 50 kilos. The prices went down again this morning. Mine fetched £1.20 for the large mediums and 90p for mediums. Apparently there was quite a bit of fish last night and this morning, I missed out again! I'll try tonight.

29th April 2014. There wasn't much happening this morning. I went at 7am for a good hour and a half for just 10 kilos. The first lighters did no better either. To rub salt into the wound, Iv'e just found out the prices aren't that good. Yesterdays fish went for £2.30 for large mediums, £1.20 for mediums and 30p for smalls. Apparently there was 2,000 kilos of hand lined mackerel on Plymouth's market this morning. Oh well, going to keep going and hope things improve. I'm out again on the first of the flood, will let you know the news later.

28th April 2014. I fished a couple of hours on the ebb this morning and had 30 kilos, not much small amongst it either, that went into the slush ice and I left the boat out for the first of the flood:-

I did 3 hours of the flood for another 30 kilos and then took it all to Newlyn. There wasn't much in the fridge for tomorrows auction when I was there. Hopefully the prices won't be too bad. I went again at high water this evening but it was useless, just ten fish. I shall have to get up early again tomorrow.

Took a couple of picture on Friday but didn't have time to put them on here. Here is Markus on the 'Alley Kat' on his second trip for the year, showing of a large medium. Ideal for smoking! :-

And a good one of Boco and Karl on the 'Gemma' looking nicely painted up, off to do their pots :-  

27th April 2014. It was too rough today, don't think anyone went. It is going to be a bit fresh in the morning but calming right down throughout the day. Hopefully the water won't be too murky. At the moment it's not looking bad for a few days, decent sized tides as well. Might make a wage this week!

26th April 2014. Wet and windy today as promised. I don't think anyone has ventured out to sea. I tried again yesterday and didn't even cover the bottom of a box. Tomorrow is looking possible, bit fresh (20mp) from the northwest. So if I do go, it wont be far past the Island. I'll keep you posted! 

24th April 2014. Well I had another good try at the mackerel again today, but they weren't there. I managed about 7 kilos which I gave to Hodgey to make his worth landing. The tides are starting to jump now (get bigger) so hopefully things will get better. There is quite a lot of wind and ground swell predicted for Saturday, apart from that it is looking ok from Sunday onwards.

23rd April 2014. I didn't go yesterday, I didn't think it was going to be any good, wrong! Hodgey went and had 3 boxes, most of them good sized fish. So I had to give it a try today, on the way out Darren was coming in with just 3 fish, but he hadn't been out long, He has been having engine problems and it is still playing up :-

The fish were off Whore point yesterday, so that's where I headed. There is a lot of sand built up in 'foxholes' (in between Manshead and Clodgey point), new beach in there, plenty of sand at half tide :-

I tried my best for 2 1/2 hours, but all I managed was a couple of dozen fish :- 

Good sized fish but just not enough of them. Others that I asked had about 1/2 a box each, so I wasn't fishing very well but there wasn't much to catch anyway. I better try again tomorrow because if I don't they will be there again!

21st April 2014. I had a try on the macs this evening, 1/2 a box of just smalls for the first couple of drifts so I gave up. There wasn't much about this morning either, Charles only had 10 fish.  

20th April 2014. Yesterday afternoons trip didn't start to well. First it took ages to drive through the emmits only to be nearly down the quay and realise that I left my phone at home. Second time down I got stuck behind a bin lorry. There was quite a fresh Easterly blowing that made paddling out to 'Jen' strenuous, so much so that my paddle broke! So I dragged the punt to rampers where Rob who skiffs for the 'Seahorse' kindly took me and the punt to 'Jen' :-

In the background is Stuart on the 'Little Christina' being towed in by Traz on the 'Dignity'. Stuart was 8 miles out on the way to shut 4,000 yards of crab gear when a belt wheel sheered off the engine.

I fished for a good 3 hours and managed 2 boxes, half good half small. I went again this morning and had another 2 boxes, bit better run, maybe 35k of good stuff. 

19th April 2014. My boy Dan and I went mad with the paint brushes yesterday, here's the before picture :- 

And the during :- 

And the after! :- 

It's just the undercoat, I'm thinking about going green for the tops, not sure yet though. 

Charles fished early this morning and had two boxes, looked like half good and half small. I went at 9.30 for half an hour and it wasn't happening. I had 12 fish, caught one at a time :-

I have left 'Jen' out on anchor so I can go at low water and fish the first of the flood. I will update how I got on tonight if I have time. 

17th April 2014. Went on the flood yesterday afternoon and fished until high tide. It was ok to start with but slowly got worse. I ended up with these two boxes :-

Half were small, 2k l/m, 26k m and 24k small. The prices weren't too bad this morning, £3.00, £2.00 and 70p. So it grossed £75. The next market isn't until Tuesday, so I'm looking around to see if anyone else wants some before then.

Karl and Boco on the 'Gemma' were out putting some more pots down Seal Island way. They stopped on the way back in and tried the mackerel for a while :-

I'm not sure if that is a fisheries vessel anchored up in the background or not. Sunday is looking a bit iffy with a freshening northerly wind, apart from that it is all systems go!

15th April 2014. Well the forecast was right, quite a fresh southeasterly today. It's meant to be a bit lighter tomorrow, might take a look. I videoed the dolphins yesterday and the clip has been liked and obtained by the Cornishman's editor, so it might be on their website soon. I think they will edit out the bit of "french" Hodgey used at one point :-) 

Here it is :- 

Click on the settings wheel bottom right ( will appear as soon as you start the video) and set it to HD. It's quite good quality for a mobile phone.

14th April 2014. Went mackereling today with Hodgey on the 'Mary Mo'. Lot's of dolphins and not much fish. We had about 35 kilos for a good 2 hours. Fresh southeasterly winds forecasted for tomorrow.

12th April 2014. The pleasure boats are getting back in the harbour, including this new one Bluefin :- 

Nice looking boat, the website for it is stivesfishingtrips.com 

My back has improved but still isn't good enough to go to sea. Starting to miss out now as Charles had 2 boxes of mackerel yesterday morning. Annoying! 

11th April 2014. On the mend, hope to get out there on Sunday. Charles tried yesterday and had about 6 to 10 kilos, mostly small.

8th April 2014. I am off with a bad back, hopefully not for too long. Apparently I am not missing anything. Very little mackerel about on this neap tide.  

4th April 2014. Yesterday morning I had 57 kilos, 26 kilos were small though. I went again in the evening and had another 59 kilo with 36 of it small :- 

Bit less fish about this morning, I had just the one box. I am landing to Saul at Wild Harbour Fish, my fish were the first mackerel he has had for the year :- 

Check out his website.... www.wildharbour.co.uk  His fish quality is unbeatable and sourced from sustainable, mostly hook caught fisheries. 

I'm busy this weekend, so next trip might be Monday.

2nd April 2014. Some fish, at last! :- 

I had a box and a half on the morning ebb and another box on the evening flood. The tally was 11k Lm, 35k m and 17k small. Here's hoping that they are there again tomorrow. Very little fish in the markets fridge tonight (30 boxes in total), so the price should be ok.

1st April 2014. I was late getting out there yesterday and only had 5 small mackerel :-

Charles found a small bunch of fish before I got out there and he had about 20 kilos, he had a couple of crew with him though :-

I heard he had one or two boxes this morning as well. So I will give it a try tomorrow morning. Gary on the "Bethshan" came around from Newlyn yesterday, he had about a box and a half around Lands End apparently. Traz on the potter "Dignity" is back from Newlyn as well.

29th March 2014. Put the engine back on this morning :- 

Just found out that Charles hauled nets yesterday for just 2 mackerel. I am going to give it a try on Monday evening after the car (hopefully) goes through the m.o.t. There might be a few over the Eastern shore and Hayle Barr on these big spring tides. The water is still cloudy but is slowly getting better. 

28th March 2014. There has been some good landings by a few boats over Newlyn side. Karl on the 'Athena Fay' had 200k of grey mullet on this mornings market. Last week the Pascoe boys apparently had 1,200k of grey mullet, caught a couple hundred yards from the harbour! As for line caught mackerel, there are a few boats trying in the Falmouth area and they are occasionally finding up to 3 boxes each. One boat had 200k of netted mackerel on this mornings market. Large pollack prices collapsed last week, down to 50p per kilo, but are back up to around the 2.00 mark now. Cod is around 3.00 per kilo and plaice is anything from 80p to 3.00. Still a bit murky this afternoon in the bay, calm enough though :-

The forecast keeps changing, but at the moment Monday evening looks ok for a try on the mackerel. I still have quite a lot of prep to do before I slap some paint on her :-

25th March 2014. NORMAL SERVICE HAS BEEN RESUMED! I'm back, had a fantastic holiday but now it's time to work. From what I can gather, I haven't missed any fishing at all. My car needs some work doing for the m.o.t. on Friday, so I will be hoping that the water is clear enough to try hook fishing on the weekend.

6th March 2014. Charles had a shut yesterday and hauled this morning. He had a few herring and just 5 mackerel. Looks like the weather is settling down next week, I'll be in Portugal and Brazil though, what a shame :)  

3rd March 2014. Here is a picture I took a few days ago looking over the quay, I think it sums this winter up nicely :- 

Great for the windsurfers but I haven't earned a penny since before Christmas! Off on holiday for a fortnight very soon, hopefully it will be spring like when I get back. 

1st March 2014. As far as I know, nobody has been out for a while now. Not much wind today but the water is murky.  

25th February 2014. Cancel yesterdays post, this is the new forecast for the start of March :- 

Not impressed!

24th February 2014. It looks like March is going to start promisingly :-

Lighter winds and the ground swell decreasing. Big tide and clearer water will mean giving the hooks a try. Lets hope that it isn't just for a few days. 

22nd February 2014. More strong winds on the way tomorrow, the 'Sarnia Cherie' is sheltering in the bay :- 

The water is still too murky for hook fishing and a couple of boats have tried the nets again with no success. Decided to start preparing Jen for a paint up, Dan, my boy, gave me a hand today :-

Plenty of scraping and bleaching needed :- 

It looks like we have another week of these winds and ground swells. There is a sign of things changing next Saturday, at the moment they are giving lighter winds from a north 'ish' direction. That would start clearing the water. 

19th February 2014. Another boat shut mackerel nets in the bay yesterday and had just a couple of dogfish. I've been told that there were a few mackerel netted in the Falmouth area, hopefully some will make their way around here soon.

18th February 2014. There was still quite a bit of ground swell today, so with the weed about I decided against shutting the flatfish gear. With there being no mackerel in the nets and the water too murky to try the hooks, I have nothing worth going to sea for at the moment. It's lucky I'm rich, hahahahaha! 

17th February 2014. Charles haul this morning and had no fish at all. He had lots of weed and wasn't very impressed with the job. Not sure it is going to be worth shutting tomorrow now. 

16th February 2014. "Mary Mo" is back in the harbour, ready to go and shut nets on Tuesday. It's been a while since Hodgey and I have been out, looking forward to it. Charles has shut mackerel/herring nets tonight. It will be interesting to find out what he has on this big tide, personally I don't fancy hauling in the 30mph+ winds in the morning. 

14th February 2014. Same old story I'm afraid, no weather (except for bad) and no fish. Charles had a try yesterday and just had weed. He shut bass nets and herring nets. But on a much happier note, I became a granddad for the second time. Daniel and Elise had baby Logan Wednesday afternoon. He weighed in at 5lb 13oz and was exactly one month early:-

9th February 2014. There has not been much to report about apart from the severe weather, we have all seen plenty of pictures of that. The 'in runs' and 'out runs' down the harbour have been quite epic, yesterday I stepped aboard with the tide out as far as the end of the quay (4 1/2 hrs after high tide} :-

Two minutes later the harbour was full to the slipway and I was afloat :-

It was this kind of power that all but sank Tony Richard's 18ft Plymouth Pilot this morning. She was filling up on the in runs and he was frantically bailing out on the out runs making no head way. Then Mike who now has 'Lady Joan' joined him with a bucket, they just managed to stop her going to the bottom :-

Hopefully the engine is ok. As far as I can see, there is no let up in the weather for the next 10 days.  

4th February 2014. I put the engine back on and shut 400 yards of bass net in the bay yesterday afternoon. Hauled this morning and had nothing. I took the engine and the nets off and won't bother trying again now until next week. Windguru's wave hight prediction for tomorrow is 30ft. That drops down to around 10ft for Thursday and Friday, then come Saturday 37ft is predicted! 

1st February 2014. Powerful wind and sea out there. More of the same on Wednesday and next Saturday. Bloody rough start to this year. Iv'e took my engine off, easy now I have a new car :-

Daihatsu Terios+, 1,300cc, about 40mpg, 4 wheel drive with a flick of a switch. It's perfect for my needs. 

Might put the engine back on for a shut on Thursday, that's as far as I have got with plan 'A'.

31st January 2014. Charles did have a few bass yesterday. He shut back and had loads of seaweed and no fish this morning. The ground sea is going huge tomorrow, so I am going to take my engine and some nets off incase it is really bad. Bass prices were 11.00 per kilo yesterday and about 8.00 today. 

29th January 2014. The forecast changed and it stayed windy today. Charles put herring nets out last night and hauled this morning for nothing. I got all my gear ready incase it calmed off last light to shut for bass where I fancy a try. The inshore lifeboat was in and out of the harbour, you can see there was quite a rough sea at the end of the quay :-

Looks like they have a new tractor and trailer :- 

They did a few launch and retrieve practices :- 

These men do a great job, nice to know they are there if you need them. Charles was keener than me and went again :- 

He has shut 3 tiers of bass nets in the bay, I was put off by the 18.7ft tide in the morning and very early tide. Looking like it will be Monday or Tuesday until I go, unless Charles has fish and not too much grief (seaweed etc).

27th January 2014. Went down the quay with a plan to maybe shut the bass nets. I was put off by the large waves in the harbour, punting would of been challenging. Plan 'A' is to take another look tomorrow, winds are easing down and going northwest, then quite light northerly on Wednesday.

24th January 2014. Murky old day today, looking like it's going to be sunny tomorrow. I don't think anyone has been out, I'll go down tomorrow and get the nets ready to go again incase it looks 'bassy' from Sunday onwards. A few boats had some mackerel from the Falmouth area on Wednesday, we should see some here soon hopefully.  

22nd January 2014. I had a shut in the bay on Monday after hearing that Charles had some bass in his nets. Hauled yesterday and had the same old problem, seals. They didn't get to one end of one tier and that had a few bass and guilthead bream. They really are becoming a problem. Rough west/northwest winds for at least a week now. Yesterdays mackerel prices were 2.50 for mediums, 5.00 for large mediums and 5.50 for large, shame I can't catch any! 

19th January 2014. Took a look down the quay yesterday to see if there was any mackerel showing in the herring nets. It was mostly herring and a few whiting. Charles had a fish that neither of us had seen before :- 

Thanks to a few facebook friends I found out it was a Boar fish, also called a Zulu. I heard that some of the herring sold for just 4p per kilo, I don't fancy that much! I have a great view from my other half's house :-

Even from that far away I can see that the water is still too murky for hook fishing. It dried up enough this afternoon to make a start on some more nets :- 

I'm setting some more 2 1/2 inch mesh for mackerel. Checking my 2013 news-archive, Karl+Boco and Charles were still catching them in the nets on the 27th of March :-

Hopefully we will see this and more again soon :-

17th January 2014. Still looking quite lifeless in the bay. I'm sure there is a few herring to be had but one Newlyn boat had 120k around land and they only fetched 20p per kilo. Pollack were well down yesterday at just 1.00 per kilo, bass were up from 6.20 to about 8.00 and cod were around the 3.00 mark.  

Update :- The water is still very murky so I didn't bother trying the hooks. Might try the nets tomorrow, the target being bass and/or mackerel.  

 14th January 2014. Tying mackerel hooks in the small hours here. I found a picture today that I have to share with you, I think it's great, won't see this very often! :- 

Hahaha, That is the ultimate waiting for the tide to come in! 

Hope the water is clear enough for hooks today, I'll let you know later.

13th January 2014. It was nice to have my son Dan come with me on Saturday, shame there wasn't enough fish to make it worth while. 

Plan 'A' at the moment is to make some more mackerel nets in between showers and take a look at the water tomorrow afternoon to see if it is clear enough for hook fishing. I will float about 1pm, mackerel should be worth a lot if I can find any. If that fails then it might be another try with the bass nets on wednesday. 

12th January 2014. Had a visit from the dolphins as soon as we left the harbour :- 

It is becoming a regular occurrence, love seeing them jumping out of the water :-

But that is where the fun stopped, very little fish in the nets. A couple of ray and a few dabs was all we had. Not a single plaice or dover sole, very disappointing. Not sure what to try next. 

11th January 2014. Hauled the bass gear yesterday for a box of dogfish and just one bass :- 

Even that had half its tail missing. Ten pounds worth of petrol to catch five pounds worth of fish. Oh to be a fisherman, take the rough with the smooth and all those other short one liners that get bounded about :-) 

So the bass gear has been put on hold for a while, not given up on for the season just yet, but plan "B" was put into action. 750 yards of flatfish gear shut over the eastern shore to haul later today. While I was sorting out the failed bass gear I noticed that some of the St Ives seagulls have been mutating lately :-

It is rare to have a visit from swans, nice to see. Two of them posing for everyones cameras today. Off to haul at 10am, I'll let you know how it goes. I don't have a plan "C" as the water is very muddy looking, no chance to catch on hooks, so lets hope the ray, plaice, dover sole and crab save the day!

9th January 2014. Plenty of birds in the bay so try to keep any netting to the darker hours like Charles is :-

He has been having a few herring, but no mackerel with them. I have shut a couple of bass nets to the west, as did a couple of others, no guillemots down that way. Maybe no fish either! Will find out in the morning. 

7th January 2014. It was a nice sunny afternoon so I finished getting the nets ready for another shut. 

Yesterdays market prices were sky high, Medium mackerel around 5.00 per kilo, herring 1.70 to 2.70, bass 8.00 to 10.00, grey mullet 4.00 and small whiting 3.60 per kilo! Shame I didn't have any fish. Still plenty of ground swell, Hodgey's punt had it's bow ripped off :-

Looks like we have had the biggest of the ground swells now and hopefully the last of the damage. Not sure whether to shut in the bay tomorrow or wait until it's ok to go west.

4th January 2014. I went at first light and hauled the bass nets, there were three seals going up and down the gear. The only signs of bass were a couple of gills left in the nets. Add to that a lot of weed and straw, it wasn't a pretty sight :- 

Obviously there wasn't more bass than the seals could eat. There was certainly enough ground swell for them, damaging waves in the harbour. "Traz's" 'Dignity' pulled one of her bow sampson posts out, luckily she has two, plus his punt did the quay ladder some serious reshaping! :-

Another casualty was boy Stuart's punt, it had half of it's stern ripped out :- 

I'm going to give it a couple of days until I try it again.