Latest News on Sophie Lea Charters

March

 

2010

 

 

I have started the March report early as the last week in February and up to the last day of Feb showed a significant improvement in fishing with the spring run of codling under way. Yesterday the last day of February we were out with beginners and ended up with fifteen cod plus a few whiting, had i had some experienced anglers aboard we would easily have doubled that figure and now this run of fish have started i see no reason why it should not improve every day and with the sprats now gone its all good news, we are out every day next week and i am sure we will have some good catches of cod and maybe some skate we will keep updating through out the week .As you can see both top left Chris Knotly top right James Hale and bottom right Brian Jeffery all on the same trip today 1st March with some lovely spring codling and it will get even better around twenty fish were caught today including some big whiting and we had some sunshine. Top left is Andy Page from Suffolk with one of our first March skate a 12 pound fish caught 12th March along with seven cod to eight pounds& the following day Brian Brown from Colchester had two thornback skate the biggest 11 pounds and a cod of 9 pounds one of seven fish..

 

February News 2010

 

 

Well i have had my annual holidays getting away whilst the fishing is normally at its worst and so is the weather but i have come back to some disappointing fishing with at the best ten fish a day and at the worst nothing. Yes i have to admit we had a day with no fish at all we tell it as it is on this web site but a no fish day is rare thank god and although numbers of fish have been low we have managed to scrape a day up on most occasions. Sprats are still a problem but these fish will move off soon and hopefully i will be able to report some increase in the amount of fish catches but you have got to be in it to win it and if you don't keep trying you wont no when it gets better and it will get better i can assure you of that. I can report a bit of an improvement as we near the end of February with cod to ten pounds and up to ten fish per boat we had eight cod on the Friday but the next day very frustrating for myself Saturday 20th Feb despite traveling out some twenty miles for our anglers & with three moves and very poor fishing the last one was much closer in and with a boat sitting right next to us had caught ten cod the biggest ten & nine pounds i can tell you i was spitting feathers.

 

 

 

 

 

January 2010 News

With the weather doing its upmost to stop all fishing with snow and strong east winds the first couple of weeks in January have been difficult to say the least however when we have been able to get out [in fact i have had a run of seven trips before the bad weather hit us] the fishing was quite good and the last day out was the 7th January catching a total of sixteen cod. However i must admit that a few sprats have turned up making some days very difficult. Matt Hodgson and his brother booked the boat to try an offshore mark with me catching only six cod good anglers good bait but difficult fishing and only two weeks before the lads had twenty five good cod between them but that's fishing. Normally the fishing improves and the sprats will move away as we move towards the end of the month and then the fishing will improve dramatically with the appearance of the spring run of fish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December News

So far December has carried on as November ended with great cod fishing and also with some fantastic skate catches Mal Green photo below 2nd from the top left from Little Hampton decided to take a trip to Brightlingsea Essex to see if all the cod he had read about that we were catching was true and he was not disappointed. Mal and mates ended the day with twenty plus fish the biggest ten pounds & many seven pounds etc plus a few skate.We could fill these pages with photos of cod we have been catching but this is just a sample of the fantastic fishing we are getting every day on the Sophie Lea.

Even when its blowing hard we can still get into the estuary and catch some fantastic fish in calm conditions not many ports in the u.k. can boast that luxury so if you have been cancelled down south and i bet many of you have give us a ring and let us prove to you that we have some of the best cod fishing in the uk . Below left is Dell Smith from Clacton-on-sea with his biggest cod of the day of just over twenty pounds the largest cod taken on the Essex coast so far this year and this was one of over twenty fish and considering that he booked the boat for just himself and his mate it gives you some idea of the great cod fishing available at the moment. Foster Barnet bottom right with his best cod so far an 11 pound fish Foster was fishing with some friends when he hooked the fish several skate and plenty of cod were also caught all the photos were taken on the week of 7th December. And the last trip before Christmas December 23rd did not disappoint with Matt Hodgson and his brother Joe right booked the boat exclusively for themselves and had a great day on cod with fish to ten pounds and over twenty fish and as a sporting angler releasing many cod to fight another day the brothers said its the best days cod fishing they had ever had.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

November News

The photos right & below tells its own story really lots of happy anglers and plenty of cod as Tritan angling club are proudly showing and this is a common event now with many of our anglers returning to port with some great catches of cod you have got to be pretty unlucky not to catch & with many fish into double figures who needs to go to Norway also skate yes as last year we are still catching thornback skate, but our main quarry is still cod and i am pleased to say we are catching plenty. Although we have had lots of strong winds we have been able to fish the mouth of the Blackwater and it has been fantastic with cod to thirteen pounds out today 30th November with Barry Bond and mates catching twenty cod to ten pounds and the day before with lads from Bury convinced they would not be out with strong s.e winds blowing but we fished the Blackwater catching sixteen cod to nine pounds in calm waters were else in the u.k. could you do that.

Lots of good sized whiting too many more than last year and some anglers love them, but its the cod that are impressing now and the size and condition are fantastic .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October News

 

As you can see by our photos the cod are our main quary at the moment with some great double figured fish being caught far right is Terry Hamlin with a thirteen pound fish the biggest caught in the area so far, but we have also had many fish up to around eight pounds and this will certainly improve as the month moves on. We are also still catching skate on most trips this seems to be an all season fish now i am pleased to say. Plenty of whiting also being caught in fact more this year than last year also plenty of doggys well some anglers like them, so if you would like to get into a few cod get your self booked into one of our Wednesday individual days we still have several spaces. Above left is Mike Frost and mates pictured 23rd October with a catch of nearly thirty cod up to eight pounds as well as a few skate these fish were caught by only three anglers.

 

September news

 

Fishing is slowly picking up again as we said it would with a few cod starting to show up and also several whiting the skate fishing has also picked up with our best day of over twenty fish so far. So with the last of the summer fish still here and the Autumn fish slowly arriving some nice mixed bags of fish can be expected we will report more as the month progresses. It is only the 12th September and already we are catching some good numbers of cod with the biggest so far of nine pounds together with plenty of whiting and several skate the one thing that is stopping us getting out at the moment is strong NE winds which are forecast to abate in a couple of days .Plenty of good fishing to be had now 20th September with codling to seven pounds and skate to 13 pounds and the last two days of nice weather proved to us that fishing is defiantly on the up now. Bottom left Mel Hopkins from Brightlingsea fishing with us Saturday 26th with a few of his September cod lovely plump fish to six pounds in sunny calm seas now is the time to break out your dusty boat rods and get afloat for your share.

 

 

August news

A bit of a down turn this month as it always does but still catching some lovely hounds up to twenty pounds not as many as we were catching but that's fishing we always want more, still catching bass on most trips some of you reading this are probably saying well we didn't but don't forget i am out seven days a week and get to see what all my anglers are catching. .Mackerel have done a disappearing act i think that they are still here but because of the water colour we are not catching many at all. Still some nice skate to be caught and these fish will increase in quantity as we move through the month, as we get towards the end of the month we will hope to see some of the Autumn species start to turn up like whiting and the odd cod, its also the time of year we catch the odd lone big bass if were lucky. Out the other day on one of our long distance bass trips and the first fish aboard was yes a bass but after that it was skate and more skate you can not win em all. Lots of bass on the flats at the moment all sizes many very small but several two and three pound fish also being caught great fun on light tackle. The Daggers angling club had a great day out with us 20th August with seventeen skate many doubles and some nice hounds and talking of hounds some fantastic fish still being caught but they wont last much longer and will soon be on there way till next year.

 

 

 

JULY NEWS

Catching some good Bass at the moment with fish to 13 pounds also plenty of good hounds to 20 pounds Phil Binghams party caught three hundred pounds of hounds on Thursday 9th July with fish from ten pounds up to twenty pounds all released unharmed we, are also catching skate to 16 pounds with Phill Losbys party catching over thirty fish on Saturday 11th July 09,plenty of mackerel also being caught great to take home for the barby and a great bait for skate & Bass. 17th July & high winds have caused a bit of a problem this week with a few cancelled trips and disappointed anglers but it looks like its getting better in the next day or so and we can get out again putting our anglers onto the fish. Out today 20th July with Terry Hamlin and mates catching some nice hounds to fifteen pounds and ending the day with a brace of nice bass ,the weather continues in its current vain with strong winds which is making life difficult for us but we are managing to get the odd trip in between the windy days. Out for the last five days catching some fantastic smoothhounds up to twenty pounds and today 27th July was our first lost rod of the season the angler who will remain anonymous turned his back to the rod for a few seconds and paid the ultimate price his prized rod never to be seen again. There has been some fantastic bass fishing days for us in the last few weeks and when we have managed to get out to our marks we have had in excess of twenty fish its more expensive than our normal fishing trips but happy days you will not forget.

 

May and June News

From the 9th May out every day weather permitting with varying results Phil Loadsby and mates had a great day with well over twenty skate plus several cod the following day only half that number but all on board caught and hugely enjoyed themselves. Bass are showing up now and a bass mark that is always good for us boor fruits for us last week with six bass a few hounds and a handful of skate. Out every day from 25th May with many species of fish now being caught including bass some nice hounds still plenty of skate and lots of mackerel last day out today 4th June with some lads from Clacton and caught 23 skate plenty of hounds up to 7 pounds and several tope to twenty pounds. Our first tope trip booked today with John Godard 6th June but due to weather we stayed inshore catching 14 skate before mid day the biggest 13 pounds hopefully we can get of for our first tope trips this week. Ian Kettle and mates from Suffolk had a successful day out today 8th June catching twelve skate some nice hounds all released and a seven pound bass which was also released to fight another day.

Our first tope trip of the year June 12th produced six fish the biggest at just under fifty pounds for Joe Chatterton and his mates had fish ranging from forty seven pounds to thirty six pounds with several fish lost due to smash ups the lads all the way from Evesham had been recommended our boat and they certainly were not disappointed.

It has been a fantastic season for tope so far on our boat with many fish in the thirty to forty pounds range but Dave Walshaw from Norfolk fishing with his friends including Chris Taylor who had his best ever tope last year with us has topped the weight with a great fish of fifty four pounds the best fish in the area so far, it is unusual to get a photo of two big fish as they are weighed and returned as soon as possible but both fish came within minuets of each other enabling us to get this photo. General fishing is very good at this time with some nice hounds coming aboard a few nice bass and still plenty of skate so if your not interested in tope come along and enjoy some great general fishing.

April News

Paul Mageram from Chelmsford fishing with some pals 28th April hooked into his first fish of the day a nice bass of seven pounds this was number seven bass of the week so it shows these fish are now moving in and its a good time to get afloat for your share of this sort after fish. Still plenty of skate being landed but cod are few and far between now.