Cabin fever. Review, Reflect, try not to go mad. Oh and plan to get some bloody fishing in!

So my fishing targets for 2018 went out the window pretty early (miserably) and with 2019 well underway, I can look back on last year’s miserable species count and reflect on how not fishing hardly at all this year is possibly driving me bonkers.

On a positive note, 2018 wasnt all bad from an anglers perspective. Wels Catfish, Puffer fish, and Scad are completely new species to me and I was able to capture them all on artifificial lures. Herring on a lure and squid from the shore are also firsts. So whilst I haven’t got to tick off my targets, I have still had some achievements to look back on

Here is how the season went in species count format:

1. Perch – I have caught hundreds of them from new years day onwards from local canal and a small river. They have been my go to species when time has allowed quick sessions near to home.
2. Herring – February and late November in Plymouth saw me catching numbers of these in darkness by casting and retrieving small soft plastics on jigheads.
3. Pollock – Almost every session ‘on the salt’ throughout the year I managed at least one and on several occasions managed double figures.
4. Sand Smelt – Several throughout the year, all in Plymouth starting in February.
5. Shanny\common Benny – Mountwise and Devils Point (both in Plymouth), first coming in February from rockpools.
6. Corkwing Wrasse – Devils Point (all during summer)
7. Ballan Wrasse – Devils Point in late summer.
8. Scad – From Mountwise during mid summer night time sesion on drop shot.
9. Rock Goby – Devils point and Mountwise, spring and summer.
10. Wels Catfish – under a bridge in Basingstoke canal (Ash Vale) at the start of the fresh water season. A real bonus species for me.
11. Japanese Puffer Fish – In May whilst beach fishing in Miyajima – Japan during early hours of the morning.
12. Mackerel – Late November from Devils point on a HTO fugitive lure whilst targeting the elusive (for me) garfish.
13. Squid – Early November from Millbay docks in Plymouth. Night time on LRF tackle casting squid jigs.

In January 2019, due to a change in jobs and a weekend away I only managed an hour of fishing in which I managed what will more than likely be my biggest perch of the year already to open the account.

February and March were pretty much a write off with a few stray casts whilst out walking with the futre wife and a rediculously windy salty session where we couldnt find any squid.

The plan for this year (2019) is to experiment with rigs and smaller hooks to try for some more difficult fresh water species on lure and when fishing in the salt not to get too carried away with the same species.

Last year’s targets should have been achievable but I was nowhere near completing them so This year I just want to improve on 2018s count and maybe add a few new species to the lifetime list. But being in April and catching just one fish isn’t helping, and neither is the lack of fishing.

Full concentration between now and May 18th is going to be on making sure my wedding goes as smoothly as possible but I hope to squeeze a couple sessions in between now and then at least. So after the wedding I really want to make any sessions in the summer months count. last year I was very easily carried away catching multiple of the same species just because they were present and rarely tried to change up venues to seek out new species.

So 13 is supposed to be an unlucky number and that was last years count so 14 and over must be the target.

1. Perch
2. …….. who knows 🙂