tope on shell island

[blumath]

hi all just thought i`d share some good sport with you all , for the last 4 years now ive been going to shell island fishing , off my boat , i got into sea angler magazine 2 years ago for almost smashing the welsh record for tope , this year ive been already but the mackeral were in short supply , that was last month and all the reports are good at the mo for big bream and the macerel are there in better numbers last month i only managed to catch just 1 mackeral but i thought there was no point trying for the tope with just 1 bit of bait , any way only had 3 hours left before i had to head back to the slip so i anckered up in my usual spot and cut a fillet off the bait , within 10 mins the reel was screeming off , nice fish about 25 lbs this happend again bit smaller this time , then another fishand another this one was about 50lb , nice big female loaded with young , so all i had left was a head and the backbone and tail so i baited up and slung it in hoping to make it five on one fish, the rod tip jerked aroung a couple of times after a while then it screemed off like the others had , i waited for the run to stop and start again before i struck and i felt the fish -on then it turned and was coming back to me , i just couldnt keep the line tight and it went slack , but when i caught up with the line the tope wasent on it , dam, any way 4 tope on one mackerel , nearly five, the next day i bought the bait and hade a few more and the same the day after , now i`m heading back for 4 days and hopeing the fishing will be as good if not better , going by past fishing sessions there i reckon were in for some hot action , there are a couple of pics posted on shell islands website under gallery and fishing of the first trip we went there really are monsters off our coast but there such great fun . tight line to you all , i just cant wait .
matt / hereford.

[scottish_and_mental]

Now thats how to use a mackerel lol, cracking fishing there Matt !
My best runs in at 45lb - also a female caught in Alderney and was caught on a 12/20 uptider and sl30sh .
Look forward to some more reports and best of luck with your next trip mate
Steve

[pingu]

sounds awsome
dave

[WesJones1984]

Hi Matt,

That sounds absolutely awesome. I'm actually going Shell Island a few times over the next few months with the family. I'm lookin to get some fishing in while i'm there, i'm new to sea/shore fishing so have just bought a new shore fishing rod to try. I've been on one boat fishing trip off Liverpool and thought it was fantastic, caught loads of Cod, Whiting, Dabs etc. I've been trying to find out if there are any fishing trips on offer off Shell Island, do you know if anyone does that sort of thing that I could contact?

Many thanks an tight lines,

Wes.

[blumath]

hi wes, i dont think there are any boats operating out of shell but you may be able to sort something out from barmouth which is approx 12 miles away , i hope you succeed in catching one of these powerfull fish , i think its a breeding ground for them , check out the tope pics on the shell island web site thse tope were taken off my boat , biggest weighing in at 75lb it was a real monster to get in , just make sure youve got good strong takle , wire traces were frequently bitten through , tight lines ,, matt

[WesJones1984]

Cheers Matt,

After posting on your thread I had another look an found a good charter boat company in Barmouth like you've said. I asked him when the best time is to catch Tope and he said end of May - early weeks of June, which is great cos were going the first week of June. I'm going to hire rod/reel and tackle from him as they catch loads of Tope. I'll take a look on the Shell Island website now for the Tope you've caught.

Thanks again, Wes

[WesJones1984]

wow mate i've just looked on the Shell Island website, that Tope is friggin huge! Is that the same Tope that's in you avatar?

I spoke to the charter boat company regards prices for the trip, he said it will be £25 for a 4 hour trip and £40 for a 8 hour trip. That includes rod/reel/tackle hire, all bait and hot drinks. That is an awesome deal in my book, can't wait!