Hi Colin,
      I’ve enjoyed your articles in the magazine (usually the first one I read). I have a beach chalet at Calshot and have tried fly fishing from the shore on several occassions using clousers but apart from one fish which took the fly, but came off immediately, I have had little success. I wonder if the hook size is a bit large (size 2)? I’ve used yellow/white and brown/white colour combinations and I’ve tried various retrieves rates. I often see large fish cruising at the surface at low water but am not close enough to tell if they are bass or mullet. I guess if they are mullet I should try a different fly, a nymph or something similar? Any advice would be gratefully received.

Rob Prett - 12 July 2011 08:03 PM

Hi Colin,
      I’ve enjoyed your articles in the magazine (usually the first one I read). I have a beach chalet at Calshot and have tried fly fishing from the shore on several occassions using clousers but apart from one fish which took the fly, but came off immediately, I have had little success. I wonder if the hook size is a bit large (size 2)? I’ve used yellow/white and brown/white colour combinations and I’ve tried various retrieves rates. I often see large fish cruising at the surface at low water but am not close enough to tell if they are bass or mullet. I guess if they are mullet I should try a different fly, a nymph or something similar? Any advice would be gratefully received.

Hi Rob,

I’m glad that you enjoy the magazine articles.
The hook size and colour combinations you mention are fine.Flies tied on size 4 hooks would also fit the bill. Clousers tied in chartreuse/yellow, olive/white and chartreuse/white work well in water of reasonable clarity and good light. For conditions of strong sunlight or darkness, a black/orange clouser is a good bet.
Calshot is a recognised mark, so making contact with fish should come in time. Spend as much time as you can on the water and you will bump into a shoal sooner or later. Keep an eye out for terns diving into the water, always a good sign that somethings afoot.
Otherwise concentrate on likely looking features (deeper channels, gravel/sand banks, rough ground, areas where rips form, channels exiting from small bays, points where fresh water runs into the sea, etc) and fish them from low tide up, making sure that you have a safe route back to shore.
Try retreiving the fly with three short, fast strips followed by a brief pause.
If you come upon a shoal of Mackerel then try a very slow or even static retreive in addition to fast strips.
I’m sure that your first fish will arrive very soon.
Keep us posted.

Colin

Thanks for your reply. I’m spending time at Calshot in August so I’ll keep you posted on how I get on.

                                                            Rob

i will be in the calshot area this coming wkend camping at ashurst.i intend on doing a bit of swffing around calshot,any info gratefully recieved.
mick

Hi Colin,
      I’ve caught my first bass at last (about 1lb)! I,ve learnt a bit about the best state of the tide to fish which at Calshot seems to be on spring tides and between low water and the first 2 hours of the incoming tide. On one occasion I was surrounded by mullet in water less than a foot deep but I couldn’t get them interested in taking the flies (I was using diawl bachs and shrimp immitations - size 14) Any advice on how to catch one would be gratefully received.

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Going fishing tomorrow at Calshot with my gran. Not a regular so would like to know what fish are around and what baits to use?

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