Yesterday evening I was sent this lovely picture of the England Men’s Shore Fishing Team from the 2013 World Championships and I thought I’d try and delve into the story behind the picture…
I touched base with the England Shore fishing manager Martyn Reid to look to get an insight into some of the tactics and terminal tackle the boys used to clinch Bronze at the event held in Torremolinos. Martyn and the team are busy preparing for this years event in Portugal but he was kind enough to share his story and delve into all things fishy!
If like me, you don’t get the chance to fish Mediterranean seas very often then you might be wondering what type of fish were the boys were targeting during the World Championships and here’s what Martyn had to say:
“The fish that were caught during the Championships where Mormyrus (Striped Bream) , Bogue, Scad, Spotty Bass, Weaver, Sole & various other Pretty Mediterranean Bream”
So a large range of species to go at it would appear and this is the bit that really interests us at Bluezone. We specialise in all things riggy so were keen to hear the types of rigs used to target so many species. Martyn explained that:
“Rigs were two hooks above the lead and one below with snood lengths made of a metre of 0.16 diameter Sasame Fluorocarbon”. “Trace diameter was 0.47 with size 20 swivels trapped with stop-knots or glued tubing with 120gm leads used for maximum distance and less lead for shorter range” “Hook sizes for the Mediterranean were 5mm across the gape minimum size and this was checked every night by the officials. Our hook of choice was the Sasame wormer”
It sounds like the Anglers kept things pretty neat and tight in terms of rigs and we were pleased to hear our Sasame hooks and fluorocarbon were doing the business. Martyn explained that long range was imperative and some of the team were using line diameter as low as 0.12 with braided leaders, that’s just 8lb! It seems a world away from UK sea angling but obviously key to gaining the extra distance required to bag the prize and I think we could certainly learn a few tricks from these boys!
What about bait?
“The bait used was Special Catalana Worms, a very long thin Rag Worm which could only be transferred to the hook by a baiting needle. Various pop up beads, luminescent and natural were also added to attract fish to the bait and because all the competitions where fished at night an ultra violet torch was used to charge Luminous coated leads”
