FOR most anglers, no matter what discipline of fishing is undertaken, the actual location of the venue chosen by one often becomes more favoured than the actual fish they are hoping to catch.
Now, as someone who loves natural open venues more than anything, like many, I’m still to this day travelling far and wide to simply enjoy and embrace them.
As an “old romantic”, I love experiencing everything around me while I’m out fishing and most importantly I enjoy the countryside.
Like many other fellow anglers, it’s what it’s all about and, for me, the sheer openness of a “big” wild water is magic when fishing such a venue.
I love a water that is vast in size – so big that the only conversation heard on some days will be breakers washing and polishing the bankside pebbles nearby and offering a “dreamlike” experience to the whole day.
These thoughts come to mind after speaking this week to anglers who enjoy excursions, both to the local coastlines and out at sea, and here they stated they too very much agree that the place to fish exceeds everything and that is crucial within the whole make-up within our sport.
As we began to debate, I had to concede on this one when finally agreeing with these seafaring adventurers that the description of the noise from the multiple lines of combers that rolled ashore on a beach, together with the chorus of seabirds and the salty smell within the air, and, of course, the immense sense of excitement and danger that is experienced, was a mightier all-around response than I received on this occasion.
Then, as our conversation ascended to further heights, a very important topic on what we actually catch, it saw a carefully laid sketch enthusiastically described.
Portraying the exhilarating feeling of witnessing a prized catch surfacing through the waves of the racing surf, again, I felt it hard to respond to these very dedicated trusty sea- angling enthusiasts who altogether beat me hands down.
With this, notably our famous river has been in fine form recently with our local sea-angling enthusiasts enjoying some fantastic fishing and targeting fish that are providing them with amazing sport. As smoothhounds make certain parts of our local shore line their regular habitat at this time of year, fishing for these shark family members isn’t for the faint-hearted.
Targeting them can see bites more ferocious than any other fish that can be caught on our river and, for many, aiming to catch them especially using lighter tackle, can be easily recognised as the nearest thing to “big game” fishing.
Bootle’s Kev Haworth is a local angler who loves the fishing on the Mersey and recently he took to the beach at New Brighton to experience for the first time capturing his first smoothhound.
Opting to use his newly- acquired Tronixpro Aphex power beach rod, Kev hooked this one seeing the rod perfect for taming it and then landing it in fine style.
I’m sure that every reader will also recognise that the sight of this small shark breaking the surf on a beach may also back up my new friends’ earlier statements.
