Chinook III Charter Fishing Report – April

This entry was posted on 26th April, 2017

Here come the summer fish! The weather has been lovely over the last fortnight and this has allowed the charter boats to get out regularly where we have enjoyed some excellent sport on the thornbacks.

Inshore The fishing inshore has been superb with big numbers of thornbacks showing, best reported at around 16 lb, these bigger female rays are full of eggs and should be returned alive to protect stocks. There are also lots of the smaller male thornbacks around and numbers seem to be increasing every year. Best baits are herring, mackerel, squid and any other fish baits available. Don't forget to use a big strong hook and strong trace of at least 40 lb breaking strain.

There are a few bass starting to show with quite a few caught over this weekend, best reported at around 8 lb, again best baits are the same as for the thornbacks but the bass also love crab and worm baits.

There are a few small smoothounds starting to show, these early male fish will take squid baits but their favourite is hermit and peeler crab, the bigger female hounds will start to show around mid May.

There are a few dogfish and good whiting still around although the whiting will soon move off.

There have been some big stingrays caught from the beach marks, these hard fighting rays should be handled with care, their stinger under the tail can be deadly, best baits are ragworm, squid and crab, these fish taste horrible and should be returned alive.

Offshore The offshore marks have been producing good numbers of thornbacks and dogfish, however as the water starts to warm there are increasing numbers of small smoothies and bass showing, all these species can be caught on squid baits this time of year but when the bigger smoothies turn up they will prefer crab baits.

There have been some cracking spurdogs showing with reports of fish up to 20 lb, these hard fighting mini sharks tend to stay well offshore outside of the sandbanks but can be caught in big numbers if found, best baits are squid and mackerel, tackle needs to be strong as if you are tope fishing, watch out for the spikes behind their fins.

Prospects are excellent, it's that time of year when you never know what you might catch, very exciting.

About the Chinook… The place you need to come for a great day out fishing the Thames Estuary from Bradwell on Sea in Essex with one of the most experianced and friendly skippers on the East Coast. Whether you are a novice or experienced angler, they cater for both.

Due to an upturn in demand we have purchased a newer boat, she is a purpose built angling vessel, twin 330hp turbo diesels with a cruise of 20 knots, enclosed crew cab with seating for everyone, on deck toilet and a walk around island wheelhouse, she is a superb angling vessel, coded for 10 anglers.

To book a session on the Chinook III charter boat, which is based in Bradwell-On-Sea, Essex, contact Phil White on…

Visit – www.philwhitecharters.co.uk Call – 07786080771 Email – philwhite31@aol.com