Mullet Fishing 2011: Diary

The first step, in 2010, was to find some locations where there are mullet. I did this with the aid of the internet and some prior knowledge of the nearest coastal and estuarine fishing locations. The aerial photographs on some of the 'route finder' sites were really useful, particularly the 'birdseye' perspective, which provides better detail of the on-site features than the 'satellite' view. There was also a wealth of valuable information posted by other anglers, describing venues and methods (so a huge 'thanks' at this time to all of them).

I also identified some websites that provide comprehensive localised weather projections and reports, particularly those that are updated regularly, and other sites that provide tide times, tide heights and sea temperatures.

Once I had collected some maps, photos, notes and travel details, the next stage was to visit some of the most promising venues at various stages of the tide, an activity that is still continuing. I made notes of estimated~ and actual travelling times, and also identified suitable parking places. All of this would avoid wasting valuable fishing time and prevent me from missing optimal tidal states. I took a lot of photos to reinforce my memory of the places and to aid with additional planning when back at the house.

I also collected together the specific tackle that I wanted to use - that included a variety of floats, both 'retail' and home-made, plus some modified lures, in case there are thin-lipped grey mullet to be had. For those occasions when I might have problems obtaining fresh baits, I collected a few artificial and freeze-dried alternatives, plus some attractants. In addition, I gave some consideration to the best way to introduce bread or fish groundbaits at the locations visited.

When the mullet began to appear at the coastal locations, I started to find out where they were congregating, what they appeared to be feeding on, what baits might succeed, and at what stages of the tide they appear to be feeding most readily. That gave me an opportunity to introduce and try out some possible baits. I was also able to revisit the issue of which locations then appeared to be the most promising.

Whilst continuing with that last set of activities, I was usually taking the fishing gear, hoping that there would be plenty of early fishing opportunities as well.

17/02/11: Good weather for the last few days so I thought I'd get some practice in at a local pond; fished light, size 16 hook. Landed 39 fish in total, and the best of these were both mirror carp, 4lb 15oz and 2lb. Still a bit cold, though...

18/02/11: Very cold overnight, and felt much colder today - hard getting bites. Scaled down to a size 22 but stayed with 2lb line. Only caught 16 fish in total, finishing with two carp. The first of these was 4lb 14oz 'mirror' on the size 22, then went 'tactical' with a size 16, still with the 2lb trace, and landed the second carp, which was a 6lb 10oz 'common'. Both fish put up an excellent fight.

20/02/11: Cold again, but caught 35 fish in total, including 8 carp - 5 of these were over 5lb, with the largest a 6lb 'common'. All were in prime condition and put up a serious fight on the light gear.

26/02/11: Plenty of rudd, about 100 in total, plus one small carp, a 'mirror' at just over 2lb. Still very cold with some heavy rain.

05/03/11: Cold again. Nothing doing until it started getting dark, then 30 fish including a couple of small mirror carp - one was just under 3lb, the other was about 3.5lb.

09/03/11: Still cold, but plenty of rudd on the feed - caught about 200, plus a crucian carp. Really looking forward to some warmer days, but the closed season is now also very near...

11/03/11: One last trip before the closed season, caught about 30 fish including one small carp. Will be resuming 'recon' visits to the mullet venues now, and the next fishing will probably be for mullet - can't wait to get started with that.

19/03/11: Local fishmonger had some grey mullet, possibly from Bude in Cornwall.

07/04/11: Been checking sea temperatures - Cornwall has been showing 10 degrees for a while now, and some of the south coast weather stations in SE England report 9 degrees, occasionally 10...

17/04/11: South coast sea temperatures regularly 10 degrees now, and the weather has been good - out and about to have a look today.

Activities and Objectives (2011) >>>