Species Spotlight – Plaice

Plaice, a common fished flatfish, has 4 key varieties: European, American, Alaskan and Scale-Eyed. The most commercially important of the 4 key varieties is the European due to it being a common serving in English sea food restaurants.

European plaice are a right-eyed flounder of the Pleuronectidae family. Living in the sand bottoms of the European shelf, these plaice are, as previously stated, commercially important due to their taste and availability to be consumed. European plaice can be found in many places and range from the Barents sea to the Mediterranean sea. A good way to identify European plaice is by their smooth, brown skin and their characteristic red spots and bony ridge positioned behind their eyes. These plaice can be found as deep as 200 feet and feed on polychaete, crustaceans and bivalves. The best time to fish for European plaice is at night because they move to shallow waters to feed whereas in the day they bury themselves in the sand on the ocean floor.

As food, plaice is most commonly eaten in Danish and North-German cuisine. There are several ways which plaice are most commonly prepared, including: filleted, battered, and pan-fried. Each of these ways of serving the fish is popular both hot and cold and is often enjoyed within sandwiches. In Britain, plaice is often an option as the fish side of the dish in the popular fish and chips combination meal.

Plaice are currently listed as “outside safe biological limits” by the ICES, they are also growing less quickly now and are regularly caught at the age of six when they can grow to be 40 years old. This means fishing of plaice for commercial use should be monitored as it is unsafe to let the population dwindle. However, fishing of plaice on a  personal scale is fine, especially if you are using a catch and release method.

World Sea Fishing Forums – 5 To Look Out For

If you are an avid sea fisher, like myself, then you could probably talk about it for hours and hours on end. If this sounds like you then you may want to continue reading forward as I’m about to show you 5 of the best places to put forward your opinion and views. The list consists of forums which centre on sea fishing all around the world. If you aren’t familiar with how forums work then I will quickly run them down for you. Basically, you sign up and make an account. Once you have done this you find a thread on the forum which interests you. Finally, you reply to this thread with related content and talk to other people who share the same interests as you. (Just a bit of a pre-warning, some people may not agree with you and they might feel the need to insult you for this. It’s a common occurrence, just ignore it.)

#1 – World Sea Fishing Forums. http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/

#2 – Sea-Fishing.org Forums. http://www.sea-fishing.org/forums.html

#3 – Angling Addicts Forums. http://www.anglingaddicts.co.uk/forum/

#4 – UK Sea Fishing Forums. http://www.uk-fishing-forum.co.uk

#5 – South West Sea Fishing Forums. http://www.southwestseafishing.co.uk/forum/forum.php

Make sure that you go and check some of these forums out as they can be really good fun as well as being extremely useful. I, myself, have used some of them and let me tell you that it can become quite addicting to post on them. If you’re stuck for what to post, why not start by showing off your prize catch and seeing what some others have to say about it? Whatever you decide to post, whichever forum you decide to choose, ultimately make sure to have fun!

Fishing Tips – 10 Essential Tips

#1 – Do your research. Before you cast that first line, verify you have a general thought regarding what you are getting yourself into. There are a lot of intriguing angling books that can everything except put you right amidst the activity before you even get a shaft.

#2 – Comprehend the essential methods. When you have some perusing added to your repertoire, you can begin by starting some prefishing abilities. Get acquainted with such assignments as adding angling snare to snares, throwing your line and tying bunches before you’re floating with the wind in your pontoon.

#3 – Pick the right supplies for you. Novices will profit the most from a particular pole and reels that are easier for somebody who is simply starting to cast. Open-confronted angling reels are never proposed for to a degree simply beginning.

#4 – The goad is the primary course of angling. Be mindful of what fish you are attempting to get and what sort of goad draws in them. Catfish, for instance, react to either extraordinarily made lure for catfish or even crude chicken liver while bream fish like bugs like crickets. The wrong lure could mean a long angling excursion.

#5 – Area, area, area. Have a thought of where your fish have decided to produce. Discovering these areas lead to a lot of fish.

#6 – Check the climate. A cloudy sky can prompt the absolute most effective angling treks. While you can even now get angle in other climate conditions, a cloudy sky has ended up being the best.

#7 – Dress for achievement. Boots are an unquestionable requirement. As you will normally be obliged to be close water, boots will be gainful for the times that you will need to out of the blue wade into it. Additionally, verify you are wearing layers as the climate can radically change until the evening. In the event that you have longer hair, it is a decent thought that you wear it back in a braid.

#8 – Bring sustenance. Since this will in all likelihood be your first excursion, bring a lunch. Now and then it can take truly a while before you even get the first chomp.

#9 – Bug Spray! In the event that you are close water you are much closer to bugs, particularly mosquitoes. Keep in mind the bug splash and you ought to be tingle free.

#10 – No kids, no stresses. In the event that you need to always give careful consideration to little kids, attempt to not bring them on your angling outing. Keeping in mind the end goal to bring home your prized fish, you must have ideal focus.

When you ace these ten steps you will be getting fish presently. With a little learning, practice and quietness you are en route to turning into a prepared angler.

Deep Sea Fishing – The Best Locations

Deep sea fishing can make for a particularly fun day out, providing that the fish want to bite that is. So here I will tell you some of the best places that you can go deep sea fishing in the world.

#1 – Phuket, Thailand. Often regarded as one of the best locations in the world to go deep sea fishing. Any avid fan of the sport should definitely not miss out on a day on the water in Phuket. The Andaman sea is located in this area and is a host to a mass of beautiful fish ready for you to lure in. However, despite their beauty, you may find that the fish here are willing to put up a fight so be prepared to take part in a battle of tug-of-war.

Some of the fish that you can expect to find in these waters are: marlin, tuna, queenfish, sea bass, carp and catfish. The Andaman sea is fishable all year round, however it is best advised that you fish in the months of October and July.

#2 – Cape Town, South Africa. A beautiful location to go along with a great deep sea fishing experience, Cape Town is often regarded as an oasis as it is an extremely magnificent place. Infested with fighting fish including tuna, the waters in the Cape Town region make for an exuberant deep sea fish. Once again, you can fish here all year round but the best months to do so are between September and June.

#3 – Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Known as the marlin capital of the world, Cabo San Lucas combines the great weather of Mexico with its beautiful scenery to make for a great place to go deep sea fishing. Due to the want to keep the marlin population intact, there is a strict catch and release policy in Cabo San Lucas so be prepared to let those critters go after reeling them in. Along with the vast number of marlin, yellowfin tuna and dorado are up for grabs. Like the common theme occurring, you can fish here all year along but the best months are between May and December.

#4 – Limón, Costa Rica. Costa Rica is a place to die for in terms of fishing. Being open to the Caribbean sea, Limón provides never-ending waters for you to go and deep sea fish in. The waters are alive with dorado, mackerel and tripletail. This coast is especially good for sport fishing as the fish that you will expect on the end of your rod will put up quite the fight. You are advised to avoid the Caribbean coast during June and July but any other time should be alright.

#5 – Sicily, Italy. With pristine waters which offer views of great depths due to their clarity, Italy and more specifically Sicily, is one of the most picturesque places to fish in the world. Containing tuna, amberjack and swordfish, the fighting experience you will receive from Sicily will exhilarate you to maximum adrenaline. Whilst here, it is recommended that you try your hand at spearfishing – you never know, you may love it!

That closes this list. If you have to money and time to visit the places on this list then you really, really should. Any fan of deep sea fishing will have all of these locations on their bucket list after reading this as they do provide quite the experience.

Sea Fish – Top 5 Most Poisonous

Below are the upmost poisonous fish that roam below the depths of the blue abyss. You probably don’t want to catch the fish on this list, they may end in a bad time for you. However, it is better to know about them and be safe than to not know about them and make a mistake. Without further ado, let’s get on with the list.

#1 – The Puffer Fish. Already been given the title of “Most Poisonous Fish”, which is probably not the most desirable title around nowadays, this spiky ball of toxin may prove to be dangerous if not approached with caution. This fish deals in tetrodotoxin, the poison responsible for achieving its title. At relatively low concentrations, this toxin can cause death and is also know to cause weakness and paralysis. The tetrodotoxin is found in the liver, intestines, ovaries and skin of the puffer fish leaving the muscle tissue somewhat safe to eat (However, I wouldn’t chance it myself). Despite the muscle tissue being supposedly safe to eat, only the most highly trained chefs are allowed to prepare it.

#2 – Stonefish. Often resembling encrusted stones, which gave them their name, this fish blends into its habitat extremely well. A row of spines on the back is the dealer of the stonefish’s poison, they can be extended when threatened or stood on making it easier to inject potential dangers with a lethal dose. Fortunately for anyone living outside of these areas, this fish resides in the Indo-Pacific region and Australia. From a sting off of one of these fish, you can expect excruciating pain, rapid swelling, tissue death, muscle weakness and temporary paralysis. It has also been known that on rare occasions this fish can bring death.

#3 – Lionfish. These fish, once thought to top this list, have dorsal, anal and pelvic spines which are potentially venomous. If you contract a sting from a lionfish, you could be in for extreme pain, swelling and in the odd case, cardiovascular collapse. Once again, most lionfish reside in the Indo-Pacific region so you should be safe if living anywhere else.

#4 – Stingrays. Being one of the most common groups of fish accountable for applying venom to humans, it is not a surprise that they have made this list. The reason they are highly at fault is because they bury themselves in the sea bed and unsuspecting human victims stand on them, prompting the stingray to attack. Out of all stingrays in the world, the bluespotted is thought to be the most venomous, displaying a back of bright-blue spots to its predators as a warning of its putrid sting.

#5 – Boxfish. This type of fish is closely related to the pufferfish and shares a similar sort of look with the only difference being that they are square, not round – hence the name. Whilst not being as fatal as the pufferfish, the boxfish can cause a huge amount of discomfort if you happen to be stung by one, so I would advise that you steer clear. Boxfish have an area of effect venom and when they feel threatened they will shoot their toxin into the surrounding area, poisoning all marine life in its vicinity.

So, that wraps up the list of the top 5 most poisonous sea fish. Make sure to take extreme caution if you ever come across one of the species above and handle the situation with extreme care. Otherwise, you could end up with a bad case of dead leg, or worse – death.

World Sea Fishing – Osprey Open 2014

It all kicked off on Sunday October 12th on an absolutely beautiful day, where the good weather had turned up along with 3 more anglers than last year. Despite a larger turn out than last year, the flatfish, once again, failed to make much of an appearance. It was again time for the annual Osprey Open (Or flatfish festival as it’s otherwise known) fishing festival held in Pembroke dock by the Osprey Sea Angling Club. Gifted with an easterly wind and a fairly settled sea, the dogfish seemed to be giving themselves up to the anglers which could have been due to the outgoing tide for the first 3 hours accompanied by the warmth in the air.

Despite the plethora of dogfish being reeled in, the anglers didn’t seem to be striking lucky on the focal point of the festival – flatfish. Apart from the few flounder caught and one codling on record, there was a distinct lack of the prized sea-critter.

A showing of 92 anglers, including 4 ladies and 3 juniors, turned up to the Pembroke dock to try their hands in the Osprey Open. A total of 34 anglers, including 2 ladies and 1 junior, weighed in 19 flounder, 1 codling and 22 dogfish. There were other fish caught, however they will not warrant a mention as they were undersized and therefore have been released back into their habitat.

There was an overall winner denounced, he goes by the name of Roly Adams and is a local angler from Milford Haven. He notched in 4 flounder for 1kg 635g. Coming in, a still very respectable, second place was Peter Evans from Swansea with a dogfish weighing a very hefty 980g – the heaviest fish on record that day. Third place, residing from Pembroke and a chairman of the Osprey Club, was Andrew Skeels who has previously claimed a win at this very competition. Andrew managed to clock in 3 flounder worth 1kg 250g. Top lady was Alison George, also from Milford, bringing in a dogfish weighing 655g. Finally, top junior was yet another local boy from Milford, who goes by David Townsend with a dogfish and a flounder totalling 855g.

That was all she wrote for another annum at the Pembroke dock, overall the festival was, yet again, a huge success and fun for all who were involved. A massive thank you to the Osprey Sea Angling Club for getting this event organised and I’m sure that the angling club would also like to extend their gratitude to all those who took part in this year’s competition.