Welcome to Anchorman Charters, providing fishing boat trips from Barry and Penarth, where you can go fishing for Cod, Bass, Rays, Conger Eels, Bullhuss, Smoothhounds, Spurdogs, Tope and Blue Sharks off the coast of South Wales, Somerset and North Devon, and the various Islands in the Bristol Channel such as Flatholm, Steepholm and Lundy.
Anchorman is one of the fastest Charter Boats fishing the Bristol Channel, with twin 285hp engines cruising at 20 knots and capable of maximum speeds of up to 30 knots, making the excellent fishing areas of Stout Point and Nash accessible within 1/2 hour: Less travelling time - More fishing time. Together with an accomplished skipper with over 20 years experience you will find your time fishing on Anchorman both enjoyable and rewarding. The Bristol Channel has a reputation for superb fishing in its fast flowing silty waters.
Anchorman with its 33ft length, 16ft beam and catarmaran hull is one of the biggest and most comfortable charter boats in South Wales with massive deck space, more than capable of accommodating 12 Anglers and has been fitted out with safety as a top priority. The boat is equipped with the very best in hi-tech navigation and radar equipment. Facilities include a toilet which is adjacent to the wheel house. Anchorman carries a full MCA 60 mile MCA CoP license and insured to carry 12 passengers.
In the summer we specialise in light line Bass, Smoothhound, Spurdog, Ray and Shark fishing, in the Winter the main target is Cod. Anchorman operates out of Barry most of the year venturing West down the Channel, during the Winter months we operate out of Penarth Marina for the Cod Season.
Anchorman with its 33ft length, 16ft beam and catarmaran hull is one of the biggest and most comfortable charter boats in South Wales with massive deck space, more than capable of accommodating 12 Anglers and has been fitted out with safety as a top priority. The boat is equipped with the very best in hi-tech navigation and radar equipment. Facilities include a toilet which is adjacent to the wheel house.
Anchorman is one of the fastest Charter Boats fishing the Bristol Channel, with twin 285hp engines cruising at 20 knots and capable of maximum speeds of up to 30 knots. Anchorman operates out of Barry most of the year and Penarth Marina for the cod season from November to February. Anchorman carries a full MCA 60 mile MCA CoP license and insured to carry 12 passengers.
Bass is one of the most exciting of all sport fish to catch, the bass is a predator, and with its large mouth hunts and feeds on crabs, fish and shell fish, and in summer feeds on one of its favourite foods the sand eel.
Bass are slow growing fish and take up to six years to reach sexual maturity and between 10 and 20 years to reach full maturity. It is therefore very important not to kill undersized bass (the legal size limit is 37 cm) or to take more than a modest catch when the fishing is easy; the future of bass fishing depends upon fishermen acting responsibly towards stock conservation.
Bass grow up to about 17lb in Welsh coastal water, but a specimen is about 7lb and a double figured bass is a fish of a life time and if you can, always let them go to fight another day your sport depends on it.
A Welsh record specimen of almost 17lb was caught from the shore at Aberthaw in 1980. a boat record of almost 15lb was caught in the Bury Estuary in 1984.
The UK boat record is 19lb 9oz caught off Herne Bay, Kent in 1987.
June to November
Bass spawn between May and June, with the female laying her eggs in batches rather than all at once. They are laid in the shallower waters, then in about six days depending on water temperatures, the eggs hatch and the fry then feeding on plankton and other small organisms, head for shelter in estuaries and harbours, while young the bass shoal up in schools and thus small bass have been given the nickname schoolies (school bass). Wales is at the northern limit of the bass's geographical range, and in autumn they migrate to warmer waters where they spend the winter months.
During the Winter months the Bristol Channel is renowned for its Cod Fishing and particularly the Barry, Sully, Penarth and Newport areas are noted hotspots for cod in Welsh waters. The Cod season in the Bristol Channel usually starts in October and runs right through to May, with the best time being November to January, then again for a short period in March and April which is generally known as the spring run of fish that feed up before they move off into the Irish sea for the summer.
The key to successful boat fishing is to keep the bait right on the bottom. A cod of over 10lb is considered a good catch from British waters. Cod under 36cm should be released.
The cod with its large head, mottled reddish brown sides and whitish under side, is easy for the angler to recognise. Cod have three dorsal fins and two ventral fins, with a conspicuous single barbel under the lower jaw. The colour varies from brown to grey depending on habitat, but the upper body is invariably mottled. This fish has a mouth like a vacuum cleaner and searches the sea bed for it food.
The Welsh shore record Cod weighed over 44lb caught by Brandon Jones off Barry Island in 1976, and is still a well known local angler, the boat record Cod weighed just under 45lbs caught by G Pell off Amlwch in 1981.
The UK boat record is caught off , in .58 06 00 N Cook off Whitby, N. Yorkshire 1992
October through to February
The Coalfish, or more commonly known as Coalies is a common fish around British coasts and is a member of the Cod family. Coalies are very similar to the Pollack, with it's three rounded dorsal fins and two anal fins. The lower jaw is approximately equal to the upper jaw, although it may extend marginally further in larger specimens. Compared to the Cod the chin barbel is very small and not even noticeable on larger Coalies. The eyes are small in comparison to the overall head dimensions. The back is a darkish olive green, to brownish green or blue, that contrasts with the silvery grey / white of the sides and belly.
Coalfish are a mid-water feeder with diet mainly consisting of crustaceans and small fish when young, with a fish dominated diet, consisting of Sandeel and Herring. Big Coalfish tend to be found in small shoals in deep water over rocks and wrecks.
Welsh Boat record is 17lb 8oz March 1982 Amllwch by S Watson
37 05 00 D Brown Wreck S of Eddystone 1986
May to September
A member of the cod family, but the ling has a considerably longer and slimmer shape to the body. The characteristic single feeler barbel is there on the chin like the cod. Ling have two dorsal fins, the first rounded and short based, but the secondary main dorsal is long and flat topped. The anal fin is similar in shape to the secondary dorsal but is less long ending short of the vent. The tail fin is also rounded. Ling have a medium sized eye and slim profiled head. The top and bottom jaws are equal, but the mouth is armed with needle shaped teeth designed to grab and hold passing prey.
Wreck ling from deep water are a mix of mid brown, grey and even dark green with a mottled mixing of the colours, especially on the back. The belly is stark white, but grey on larger fish. The edges of fins have a white lining along them.
Ling up to around 15lb prefer very rough rocky ground over medium to deep water reefs, especially abundant where tide races are created such as in the vicinity of islands and in narrow sounds between islands and the mainland. Larger Ling are found on offshore wrecks laying in very deep water.
Ling will take whiting, pouting, codling, coalfish, gurnads and smaller ling and pollack. Reef dwelling Ling will also eat big crabs and other crustaceans when abundant.
Boat 31-07-00 Jan 1980 Amlwch J Peate from Telford
59 08 00 J Webster Bridlington, Yorks 1989
March to June
The Pollack is a member of the cod family and is very similar in looks to the coalfish, with their dark brown backs, golden silvery sides and white bellies, it is the extending lower jaw and lack of the small chin barbell on the Pollock that distinguishes it from Coalie.
The Pollack is an ambush predator and prefers the cover of reefs, rock pinnacles and wrecks to ambush its prey. Small Pollack are found in inshore waters, but big Pollack move out and live in the offshore reefs and wrecks. Pollack mainly feed on small fish but will also feed on worms, so prefered baits include lugworm, ragworm and fish strips.
Pollock start spawning in early spring in deep water, after fertilisation they float near the surface until they hatch and are carried inshore by the current, were here they live in the cover of reefs and rocks before returning to the deeper waters.
Pollack of over 10lb are frequently caught from wreck marks around the Welsh coast.
The Welsh rod caught record weighed 22lb and was caught by J Doyle from a boat in Cardigan Bay in August 1991.
29 04 00 W. S. Mayes off Dungeness, Kent 1987
May to September
Conger Eels are very common off the coast of South and West Wales. The Conger is a veracious eater, they feed on just about anything that moves on the sea bed, and they are renowned for their fighting power when hooked on rod and line. Beware the fearsome teeth and ferocious bite of the conger eel!
During the day congers hide in crevices, rocks, reefs and especially submerged wrecks.
The conger has a smooth, apparently scales skin and no pelvic fins. It differs in having a slightly protruding lower jaw, a dorsal fin that starts near the head, and larger gill slits. The dorsal fin of a conger begins quite near to the head, and its lower jaw protrudes; these two features help distinguish small conger eels from common eels.
Congers are slow in maturing, usually taking about 15 years before they are ready to breed, then congers migrate great distances before spawning in very deep waters, typically over 9,000 feet, they then die after spawning. The eggs then hatch and drift near the the surface carried by the currents to inshore waters, here they grow and take on the shape of the parents until their turn to spawn.
Boat 60-14-00 NOV 1995 Milford Haven J Booth
133 04 00 V Evans off Brixham, Devon 1995
February to November but can be caught all year round
Blonde Rays, more commonly known just as Blondes are the largest of the ray species found in the Bristol Channel and can grow in excess of 42in(1.1m) in length and 40lb in weight.
Blondes will typically frequent sand banks, especially banks with a minimum depth of 30ft that have steep slopes into deeper water, but can be found wherever there is sand or slight rough ground. Nash Sands in particular is a very productive mark. Blondes are different to other rays in that they will produce a good fight.
A short snouted ray, the outer angles of the wings are almost right-angles. The adults backs are covered with prickles, the young are smooth except for the front edges of body. large eyes, a row of spines runs down the back and onto the tail on small specimens but are restricted to the tail on adults, with lateral spines only showing on adult females. Colour: on the back a light fawn to brown with many small black spots which extend to extreme edge of disc, also has a few indistinct larger creamy spots. Underside is white.
31lbs by P Gunning, Amlwch 1981
The UK Boat Record is 38lb 9oz held by I Dobson, caught at the Overfalls by the Nab Tower off the Isle of Wight, during 2000.
...April to September but can be caught all year round
The Thornback Ray is the most common of the rays found around the coast of Wales. The Thornback prefers the shallower costal waters, preferring a sandy, muddy or shingle bottom but will also be found over mixed ground. They are mainly a bottom feeder with crabs, flatfish, shrimps, sand eels and shellfish making up there staple diet, but they are by no means a fussy eater
The Thornback Ray's colour is a mottled brown to grey colouring on top, with dark spots, yellowish patches and white/grey underside, these colours all help to camouflage it against the sea bed where it spends most of its time. Females are bigger than the males and have spines only in the front part, whereas the males are spiny all over the upper surface. The spines along its back is what gives the ray its name, make it fairly easy to recognise when caught by the angler.
The Thornback Ray breeds in spring with the female producing about one hundred and fifty eggs. The eggs known as mermaids purses, are then released in the shallows. After approximately fifteen weeks they hatch out fully formed to begin their life on the sea bed. They lay their eggs between March and August, and it takes about five months for the eggs to hatch. Thornbacks reach maturity in about eight years.
The Welsh rod caught record is 31lb 7oz caught off the North Wales coast in 1981 by J Wright.
Its also a Uk record at 31lb 7ox by J Wright 1981
March to December
Spotted Rays live in deep water preferring depths over 50ft and mainly found in water over 100ft over sandy and rough grounds and are only seen in shallow waters during spawning.
The upper body is is usually dark yellow to brown with numerous small dark brown spots that don't extend to the edge of the wings.
The Spotted Ray is similar in size and shape to the Thornback Ray but the Thornback has the characteristic large spines with button-like bases scattered over its back.
Spotted Rays take nine years to reach maturity and grow to 30in(75cm) in length. An adult female lays about sixty eggs a year, each mermaids purse egg may take 3 to 15 months to hatch.
The Welsh record 6lb 11oz, caught at Nash Point in 1987 by P Brackin.
The UK Record is 8lb 03oz G Brownlie Burrow Head, I of Whithorn 1989
March to December
As the name suggests it has conspicuously small eyes, it has a short snout and the spines on the middle line of the back and tail have narrow points bent at right angles, thus lying almost flat along the body. The spines are closely packed and small, as are the single series each side of the tail. Colour is light brown with large light blotches and lines which run almost parallel to the margins of the disc, underside is white with dorsal fins close-set.
Found mainly on sandy bottoms, from inshore waters to about 100 m in tidal areas.
The small eyed ray mainly feeds on small fish.
The usual size of a Small Eyed Ray is between 5 to 10lb.
The Welsh record is 15lb 2oz caught off Nash Sands by K Bowring in 1984, with another 15lb caught at Nash by N J Wood in 1991
The UK record is 17.7lb caught off Watchet by S Storey in 1991
March to August
The Spurdog's upper body is dark grey, usually with white spots, the underside is white, there are spines in front of both dorsal fins.
Spurdog are live bearing with between 1-20 pups which are 20-30cm at birth. Females mature at 70-100cm. Males mature at 55-60cm.
Spurdogs are a fish eater (Sprats, Garfish, Sand Eels, Flatfish and Cod species) although known to take crustaceans and cephalopods (Squid).
Welsh Record is 17lb 15oz caught of Conwy in July 1980 by C Clayton
UK Record is 21lb 3oz P Barrett off Porthleven, Cornwall 1977
February to May
The Bull Huss or simply as Huss can be encountered all around the coast of Wales.
A member of the shark family provides exciting fishing and prefers deep water over 60ft over rocky seabeds and broken ground where the mottled appearance of the fish blends into the background. The upper and underside of the body is pale or dark brown and appears to be mottled, as is covered with a series of small and large black (sometimes white) spots and the under side tends to be paler in colour.
The Bull Huss diet consists mainly of molluscs, crustaceans and small flatfish.
Bull huss mate in the autumn and the females lay their eggs in shallow water close to shore. When the Bull Huss hatches almost 8 months later they are miniatures of the adults and begin feeding almost immediately. They form large schools in shallow water in the summer months.
The Welsh rod-caught record bull huss weighed 20 lb 8 oz and was caught off Aberystwyth.
UK boat record is 22lb 4oz M L Hall Minehead, Somerset 1986
Season is March to October
Smoothhounds are strong fighters and are usually caught in shallow water inshore. The Starry Smoothhound is light brown with numerous pale star like spots along its flanks just above the lateral line, this distinguishes it from the common smoothhound, which does not have the star like spots.
The quick way to separate Smoothhound from small Tope is by the teeth, the Tope's teeth are triangular and ultra sharp capable of chopping prey clean through, whereas the Smoothound's teeth are flattened and blunt similar to a rays and designed for crushing crabs etc, and not designed for cutting. The smoothhounds dorsal fin, when viewed from the side, is also set nearer to the pectoral fins than that on the tope which is positioned more rearwards. The tail indentation on the smoothound is less deep than that on the tope, and the smoothies lower tail lobe is small but on the tope both upper and lower lobes are roughly equal in length.
The best bait for Smoothounds is just simply crabs.
The Welsh rod-caught record Smoothhound came from just off Nash sands in 1996 and weighed 17lb by M Maloney and the record Starry Smoothhound came also from just off Nash sands in the same year weighed 26lb by P Jenkins.
28lb A Chivers, Heacham, Norfolk 1969, Starry is also 28lb R Grady Maplin Sands 1980
May to August
Smoothhounds are strong fighters and are usually caught in shallow water inshore. The Starry Smoothhound is light brown with numerous pale star like spots along its flanks just above the lateral line, this distinguishes it from the common smoothhound, which does not have the star like spots.
The quick way to separate Smoothhound from small Tope is by the teeth, the Tope's teeth are triangular and ultra sharp capable of chopping prey clean through, whereas the Smoothound's teeth are flattened and blunt similar to a rays and designed for crushing crabs etc, and not designed for cutting. The smoothhounds dorsal fin, when viewed from the side, is also set nearer to the pectoral fins than that on the tope which is positioned more rearwards. The tail indentation on the smoothound is less deep than that on the tope, and the smoothies lower tail lobe is small but on the tope both upper and lower lobes are roughly equal in length.
The best bait for Smoothounds is just simply crabs.
The Welsh rod-caught record Smoothhound came from just off Nash sands in 1996 and weighed 17lb by M Maloney and the record Starry Smoothhound came also from just off Nash sands in the same year weighed 26lb by P Jenkins.
28lb A Chivers, Heacham, Norfolk 1969, Starry is also 28lb R Grady Maplin Sands 1980
May to August
The Tope is a member of the shark family and can grow to over 50 lb in weight. They are a popular sporting quarry around the coast of Wales, and they often come very close in during the summer months. Upper body Grey to brown, under side white.
Tope eat mainly fish, and pout and whiting feature high up on their menu. Squid and crab are also effective fishing baits to use.
Tope are live bearing with usuall around 30 pups at 35cm at birth. Females mature between 130-185cm when approximately 11 years old.
Found between depths of 5-450m, both a coastal and offshore species, although known to come within the surf-line. Mostly a bottom and mid-water schooling shark. During the summer months they tend to come closer inshore.
The Welsh rod-caught tope record stands at 79 lb caught off Holyhead by A Meli 2005.
the UK record is 82lb 8oz R Chatford Bradwell on Sea, Essex 1991.
June to Sept
For blue sharks we steam west down the Bristol Channel into deeper waters, where there are blues up to 160lb+ in weight.
Blue sharks have a distinct colouration dark blue from above, bright blue on its sides, changing to white underneath on its belly.
Blue sharks are voracious predators, mainly feeding on schools of pelagic fish such as mackerel, pollack and cod.
The Blue Shark is more commonly found in deeper waters where it is cooler.
Shark fishing is strictly catch and release.
214lb Ronnie Webb off Milford Haven on White Water Charters
218lb N Sutcliffe Looe, Cornwall 1959
July to October
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