Hooks for general sea fishing.

Hooks for general sea fishing.

Hooks are sized in a traditional and confusing manner. The larger the number the smaller the hook up to size 1, then /0 is added to the number and the bigger the number the bigger the hook, confused yet ?
The smallest hook you will need is a size 4, sizes then go up to size 3 size 2 and size1, then 1/0, 2/0, 3/0 4/0 and so on. The numbers go on up for hooks to hang on to congers and sharks but a selection from size 4 to 2/0 should suit most types of beach fishing.
There are also many patterns of hook, the most common is the Aberdeen hook which is a good all-rounder although the Nordic Bend hook is perhaps finer wire and sharper. Most of my species hunting fishing is done with size 4 or 2 Nordic Bend hooks.
Use fine wire hooks for targeting small stuff, they tend to be sharper and are plenty strong enough to hold most big fish you come across. Do not use stainless steel hooks, if you cannot remove the hook quickly and easily from a fish that is to be returned, just snip off the hook. The normal fine wire hook will quickly rust away in salt water and little permanent harm is done to the fish. Stainless steel hooks will not rust away. Use small long-nosed pliers or forceps to grip the shank of the hook to remove it.
Keep hooks dry and replace if the hook has been blunted by being caught on stones or rocks. Practice tying hooks and testing how strong the knot is before trusting your early tying practise to a big fish that will get away if you have got it wrong. There is a link to a page that teaches knot tying on the right under 'good sites' and here.
Getting a hook in yourself is painful, take care, if the hook is in deep it will mean a trip to the local casualty department. Do not leave hooks or line lying about, they can cause all sorts of problems with small children and other wild creatures.

Tor Bay, Berry Head.

Berry Head, old quarry and stone loading jetty.

Berry Head lies to the west of Brixham, access is by foot only unless you are registered disabled in which case you may drive down. It surprises me how many disabled people can walk briskly down to the plarform from the lower car park after parking and spend all day at the strenuous activity of feathering for mackerel; perhaps the sea air does them some good. This is not a venue for small children, the water is deep and help a long way off. There is a car park at the top of the headland from which you can walk although it is an easier walk from the car park by Shoalstone outdoor swimming pool; go past the hotel and take a pleasant walk along the footpath up through the trees until you neet the tarmac road which leads down to the base of the old quarry and the fishing platform. Travel light, it is a bit of a slog back up this hill. Most people will be feathering for mackerel which they keep, ungutted, in a plastic bag, in the sun, for hours. Most of them will be thrown away later, what a waste. Float fish with light tackle or flick a single lure around and you will have great sport with mackerel, gar. pollock and scad. The bottom here is patchy sand rocks and weed, cod, whiting, dabs, dogfish etc are caught here in winter. Fishing a worm bait or a small sliver of mackerel on the bottom close in can get all sorts of fish but there are quite a few snags and you will loose tackle.
Please take your litter home, and if you can manage it, some that others have not taken home. This venue becomes a stinking hell hole because people discard cans, bottles, wrappers, disposable barbecues, old bait and fish.
Tip for hot days, take plenty of frozen squash or juice drinks in a cool box. This keeps you and the fish you retain cool..

Disabled allowed to drive down ( a facility much abused ), from car park a fairly steep rough track to the concrete platform.

Bait; sandeel, squid & ragworm.

Frozen sandeel.

Sandeel is a good standby bait, they come in various sizes. The AMMO packs are colour coded, blue being the larger size and green the tiddlers. The sandeel can be fished whole for fish such as rays or bass or can be filleted with a sharp knife to give a smaller bait for other species. A ragworm bait tipped off with a small piece of sandeel is a favourite for black bream and will take most small species. "Spinning" from rocky marks with a whole sandeel on a metre long trace following a small ball weight can be very effective for pollack, bass and large wrasse.

Mini squid, or party size as some call them.

Frozen squid is a good, cheap, all-round bait, find it in the freezer section in your tackle shop and in some supermarkets. It can be stored for months in a freezer and is a good standby bait. Squid come in various sizes, the mini squid as illustrated, the calamari which is twice the size,and, more rarely, the native squid which can be up to a metre long including tentacles. The squid can be used whole, depending on size of squid and size of species targetted, or sliced into strips. Whole squid, or multiple squid baits are good for cod and conger eels.

Ragworm, usual size and kingrag

A single kingrag, they come bigger than this !

Ragworm is probably the best all around bait, it is fairly readily obtained from tackle shops.(from £10 to £14 per pound in weight, some shops sell by number rather than weight.) It is farmed for the angling market. Other worms are dug by hardworking baitdiggers who are out at all times to suit the tide and in all weathers. Some worms are dredged by netters working in places like Poole Harbour. Ragworm take many beginners by surprise; the head of the ragworm contains a pair of sharp pincers, like an earwig's pincers, and they can give you a nip if you are not careful. Hook the worm in the head first and thread the worm onto the hook. If the worms are tiny, head hook a bunch of them, the wrigly tails attract inquisitive fish. Large worms are best cut into small sections if small fish are being targetted with small hooks. Ragworm are supplied wrapped in newspaper, keep them dry. If you have any left over from a trip they can be kept for days in a fridge as long as dead worms are removed and they are wrapped in new dry paper.
All bait should be kept cool, use a cool box and some cool blocks, the little boxes that hold six cans are ideal. Squid and fishbaits can be refrozen and reused if they have been kept cool. A large cool box in the summer ensures that your bait is cool, anything you catch and keep will stay cool and your drinks will stay cool. A good tip is to freeze plastic drinks bottles full of squash or juice and use these instead of the 'dead weight' of cool blocks, less weight to carry back too.
Do not leave the old newspaper on the beach. Take it home along with sandeel packets, tackle packets and food wrappings. Lots of people leave litter on the beach but bait wrappers and bags with the name of the local tackle shop on them are a dead giveaway that anglers are to blame, we will then be blamed for all the stuff others leave behind.