Fishing at Docklands

Fishing at Docklands

Have you noticed the increasing number of men and women at the waters edge of the Docklands, trying their hand at catching the monster bream that live under our pylons and piers?

It is an exciting pastime to enjoy with children.  It teaches patience and is calming and therapeutic (although it can be damn frustrating when you lose a big one).  We all need to relax in this mad world of ours.

For those wanting to try their luck, it’s easy but not just a case of dangling a worm on a bit of string. How much you spend on equipment i.e. rod and reel etc. is up to you, but you can enjoy yourself and have some fun for very little outlay. 

All you really need is a small lightweight rod, a small reel filled with light line, small hooks, small sinkersm and a large bucket to keep your fish in (unless you are like me and prefer to return them carefully to the water, so they can come back when they are a foot long and weigh 6 kgs).  The bucket is good to have, for sitting on, keeping your beer cold, washing your hands, or other things.

Baits used are, once again, anything.   Any bit of fish, mussels, prawns, worms.

Or if you want to keep your hands clean, use rubber worms. One of the best bream baits is bread, rolled into a ball to completely cover the hook and use it without any sinker. 

Another good tip is to wrap very fine elastic around the fish and soft baits. This will help keep the fish from pinching your offering.

What fish are you likely to catch?  Well, when in season, there are: Pinkies, Bream, Mullet, Jewfish, Skate, a size 10 Wellington fish (which are rare and not very good eating) and a few more species.

You never can tell what might jump on your hook. That’s the secret of why, once a fisherman, you are always a fisherman.

You can brag about the one that got away.  And if you manage to catch a really big one, you will have a story to tell all your life. The size of the fish keeps growing the longer you live!

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