Fabulous videos Ben! Being a Bass fishing with lures fisherman for the last 7 years, wintertime has left a large gap in my fishing! Your videos have inspired me to take up Mullet fishing! Thank you very much indeed!
Great video Ben 👍 One thing I've been doing Is using an inline olivette between two grippa stops, adjustable shotting and also decreases damage to the line. Keep up the good work tight lines 🎣
Hi Bradley! I used that all the time last winter and here and there this one. I get a little annoyed with the stops moving sometimes when I’m striking (and missing!) bites a lot though so sometimes I just go back to the shot. It’s definitely better for your line though, like you say! Thanks for the tip mate, Ben
Hi, I really like these videos about fishing for multe, very informative and quit different from how we used to fish for thick lipped multe in southern Sweden when we had a massive population, in general quite large fish, most likely because of the brackish sea where the lived. The population was during few years more or less whipped out by netting and black market sales to restaurants and fish mongers. There is still some big fish but the sightings of them that are rare. In general we used to fish for multe in the summers. I found that the way we targeted them with bait or fly rods, the multe showed up around 10 degrees Celsius in the spring (May) and disappeared around 10-9 degrees in the autumn (round about some October storm which generally would go by). After October we very seldom heard of any sightings and if it would, then it was often close to a river mouth or in a bit deeper water and in those scenarios the fish was typically inactive. When you fish for the multe in the winter, what is typically the water temperature?
Hi Robin, glad you enjoyed the video! I’ve heard that there are big mullet in Sweden before, how did you used to fish for them? The best of the fishing for the bigger fish is February/March time for us. The water temperature is typically around 9 degrees C then.
@@HookpointFishingMagazine I believe that the most common (and successful) choice of fly was fluorescent chartreuse marabou arranged in different ways on hook sizes 8-12. This type of flies where used both in shallow water and along structures in harbour’s and similar. The mullet was in general feeding on vegetation even if there is often large amounts of small and big shrimps in these environments (the brackish water is less diverse than more marine environments, but it still has about the same biomass). But I have seen big mullet chase/pick off big sized shrimps 25-50 mm (Palaemon adspersus and Palaemon elegans) when other fish in the group scares them away. But I have never really figured out how to get a take on one off the shrimpy looking flies that perch and sea trout typically accept along the coast under the right light condition’s. I assume that they just see to much off whats going on in day light and clear water. And I would typically not expect a take from sea trout or perch during the same light conditions and then target them at night instead but that hasn’t this far worked with mullet. In general Swedish and Danish fly fishers first tried to target mullet with “more natural” looking flies but I have never heard of steady success with that approach. Fishing with bait is generally done with bread. Around where I live the fishing generally done in shallow areas or on structure surrounded by deeper water. In the 90’s when a few Swedish specimen/match anglers realised there was loads mullet along som parts of the coastline towards Denmark, they quite quickly figured out that bread was the most universal bait. Way faster the local seagulls became aware that guys with sticks in their hand along the coast could mean loads of free food to be had. Much off the fishing was done with floating bread, a lot like the carp fishing with mixers. Get the mullet to discover the bread - could take some time … And often, if the seagulls hadn’t discovered the white bread on the surface before, they often did one’s the mullets started to feed on it. One guy start to colour the bread with green liquid food colouring and that made it more difficult for the seagulls to figure out what was going on, I think it was called “Magic”. the green bread. But it was an ever game of cheating the birds, Magic lost its colour quite quickly after som time in the water and then it often was discovered by the birds. I started almost directly bake my on bread and used discrete green, brown and black food colouring, sold at the time by Nash Baits and DD Baits. With these could I really match the surrounding algae and vegetation in the water. And to best part that solved the problem with the birds. And as I also made bait for carp, it was always a search for some extra edge with flavouring the colour bread doughs. Sometimes the mullets would be straight on the bread sometimes it could take hours without the touching a piece even if it was, 6, 25 or 200 fish under the bread. I have used all sorts of baits and flavours and my experience is that they will eat probably everything bream, carp and alike. The first summer with a match rod caught I a number off nice fish on home made “rock hard” trimmed flat pop ups flavoured with Rod Hutchinson spicy flavour Mega Spice, they really seemed to like them, but at the same time, there was a lot of fish in the shallows during a few years. The reason for using pop ups instead of bread every know and then was that a few match/specimen guys discovered that a moving bait often gained more interest. So the tactic was to lose feed bait on the surface with the wind or current going in a good direction. Once the mullet started to take the bread with some confidence, they would use appropriate and floating casting weight to reach the fish, get the bread out there and with a 150-200 cm long leader slowly reel in the floating bread so it made a small bow wake. The mullet would often be really triggered by this moving bait and would either “kill it” (much like a pike attacking something) in one go or start mouthing it which often lead to that they got the bread but didn’t get the hook. My shaved down pop ups would last cast after cast and I knew there was something on the hook. And confident mullet could quite often be way to efficient for there on good. One the figured out that for example green bread in the surface was something they liked, the would switch to hunt down “the green stuff” with eyesight. Anything resembling green bait would a target. I tried to tie pieces of bread to the hook with fluorescent green Antron yarn (from fly tying) so it would stay on better on the hook when I reeled it in and making a wake on purpose. If the mullet stole the bread, they often keep nibbling the yarn trailing behind the hook. If I would run out of green bread and start to trickle in brown or blackish bread, then it often would a pause in the feeding because the couldn’t find the green stuff by eyesight. Then after 5-15 minutes the would figure out what the new colour was and get back to business. Ledgering, that fishing was often much like fish a pop up some distance from the bottom when a group of mullets would pass. Not very effective for my part and something I believe is best when on is fishing against a bit larger groups that is located when they are on the move and one makes a quick trap. I have spent lots of time trying to stealthy ledger for relaxed mullet just at my feet in calm conditions, clear water with lots of light. Lots of time … They will feed and again and again hover up all ground bait, sunken pieces bread, particles and leave my hook bait behind without a quiver in the tip or any obvious signs i the line even if I know that the picks up and moves the bait. I have to hook them when I see that the pick up the bait from the stone or bottom. And this fishing was done with about 0,20 mm fluorocarbon hook length. I absolutely sure that they notice the line the second they takes the bait and as they don’t move with any serious speed they easily gets rid of the hookbait. And on the same time, the fluorocarbon seems to be the way to go in sun and fairly clear water close to the surface. Flavours and hook baits. Flavour wise, bread is really good and I think that yeast has something to do with that. I’m pretty confident that ground bait with a sweet vanilla signature and some fat is to my favour, some type that formulated to roach and alike. Hookbaits, after many attempts with different stuff ended I up with mainly making coloured and often flavoured bagels for hook baits and some lose feed. I used typical squid flavours and cooked the bagels 90 seconds on each side before the oven. The skinning by cocking kept the flavours inside the bread and gave a strong and often somewhat rubbery “crust” that was practical for both mullet and carp fishing on the surface with a static bait. I also vacuum packed some warm bagels so they where compressed to a hard and slowly dissolving “bread pellet” that was rigged like a mixer or pop up for surface fishing. A really interesting bait in some situations.
Thanks so much for this brilliantly detailed reply Robin! Do you mind if I share this information on Facebook as I think it will inspire some British mullet anglers? It’s clear to me that some sort of background or experience with freshwater fishing is a huge plus when pursuing thick lipped mullet. There’s a lot of crossover in technique and ways of thinking that can be applied 👌
Great stuff wish I had this information 20+ years ago as use to holiday in Crantock caravan park every year All I caught out of there was weavers and being young ish at the time use to avoid the cliff and stay on the sand knot knowing the area and can remember reports of anglers being washed off and being lost in Newquay are a good couple of times
I bet the mullet fishing back then was amazing too mate! When I was a kid we used to swim in the tide pools in the gannel and there would be big mullet cruising around in them. Not there any more 😕 sensible to be wary around Newquay though, the sea can be treacherous on this coast 😬
Excellent videos, thank you. Here in West Wales the estuaries suffer when the river is in spate. I believe it's not the reduced salinity but the acidity from the uplands which upset the fish. I'm hoping we have thin lips in our rivers, I've seen them in the waves when bass fishing the beaches.
Thanks Barlow! I’m sure run off from farmland and all the chemicals negatively affect the mullet and the fishing in rivers like you say. Thin lips are funny creatures, they seem to like some rivers and not others for reasons that aren’t obvious to me, while the thicks seem to go in virtually all estuaries everywhere. I’m sure if you’ve got a few rivers in your area then you’ll find them in one at least though 👍
Dang i Missed that competition from the last one 🙈. Sitting down enjoying another mullet upload your last one was superb. An observation from the last video I didn't comment but thought about it. With the shot (I.w Swan shot on the line) you could go for a sliding olivette instead. Easy to change over if needed and doesn't potentially damage the line at all. I use them when after chub and barbel in fast water. Just a thought. Right I'll shut up now and enjoy cheers Jon
Spot on Jon, I did mention in one of the videos that the sliding olivettes or waggler weight type things are an option. I do usually use those but when I did the vids I had gotten into the habit of using shot again. Like you say though, the sliding weights don’t damage the line so are a better option overall. Glad you enjoyed the videos mate 👍
Excellent informative video as always. Yes as Ralph mentioned earlier an info led video on golden greys would be greyt 🤦🏻♂️. .. hugely enjoyed your golden grey “instrumental” video and worked out most of what was done. But hearing your experience would be great. GGs are appearing far more frequently in more areas. Thanks again
@@HookpointFishingMagazine you sure did ,great to see mullet fishing is taking off in uk,it’s a great sporting fish that’s been over looked for many years.
The people that like it seem to REALLY like it though I find 😁 meet a fair few people here and there that are more or less mullet only anglers. It’s great to see that more all-round sea anglers are enjoying the species too!
@@HookpointFishingMagazine that makes sense,I think most freshwater anglers will love mullet fishing when they try it,as it’s course fishing in sea,or river spinning in salty rivers,or even fly fishing ,yes I’ve seen more sea all rounders going to mullet now also,I do think they find it much harder going but.I also think if your a good freshwater angler and move onto sea fishing all types you can really have a edge at times.more so over here.finesse catches big fish in clear blue seas lol. Great chatting you,Look forward to your next upload,tightlines 😎🐟
Thanks Darren, I can definitely see how the freshwater skills would cross over really well into sea angling where you are! My mate Laurence fished rivers for years before he started sea angling and he’s a brilliant mullet angler and took to it really quick from what he said.
Nice one Ben, definitely feel I know a bit more about float fishing for mullet. Would be good if you could cover golden greys at some point. Anyway my attention is now moving back onto the open coast gilts, hopefully get a pb this year
That’s brilliant mate, I’m glad you’ve found the info useful! 👍 I’ll put an informative video about golden greys on the ‘to-do’ list for you 😁 I’m getting excited about the gilts too, always hoping for a PB too! Hope you get a beaut mate 🤞🤞
Nice video again, one thing is it best to search out the mullet shoals or let them come to you on the tide, seems to be for me if I can see fish I'm more confident I might get a bite than ground baiting trying to attract them
Thanks Mark! For me, it would depend where I was fishing. If it’s somewhere where I can follow the fish, you can bet I’m gonna follow them! 😁 but a lot of the places I fish aren’t like that, it’s just too tricky to get around in good time. I’m those situations, I go for the mostly static approach. I’m equally happy fishing blind than seeing fish as well though, especially in coloured water. Sometimes I think it intensifies the anticipation not being able to see them. Makes me watch my float even more intently! 😁
Mullet fishing is without doubt very exciting. I caught a huge thin lipped grey mullet in Spain ten years ago that would have been a world record. I wasn’t able to claim it because I had no witnesses. I’ve got the photos though and it was featured in the Anglers Mail. I was catching twenty mullet in two hours every day using very fresh small pieces of bread flake.
That’s fantastic Alan, are you 100% it was a thin lip though? The flathead mullet over there get huge and look pretty similar? Just thinking as you say you caught it on bread and that’s generally an unusual bait to catch thins on.
@@HookpointFishingMagazine yeah it was definitely a thin lipped grey mullet, it was identified by the Anglers Mail. It had that black stripe on its pectoral fin. The river in Spain was full up with thick and thin grey mullet. They were pretty hungry fish. I just had so much fun catching them. The big fish didn’t even take the float under. It was like a Bleak had grabbed hold of the bread. When I struck all hell broke loose. What a fight!
The black spot at the base of the pec? That’s cool mate, it’s easy to get confused with thins and flatheads is all 👍 I’m going to have to go mulleting in Spain at sone point, it sounds like paradise for em! 😄
@@HookpointFishingMagazine I caught the fish in the river Fuengirola, at Fuengirola. This river is just a very short distance from the sea. Sometimes it’s nearly fresh water. Would you believe I caught three barbel here once. I’ve also caught a small bass. I’ve seen sturgeon in there as well. It’s a really weird river. The Spanish don’t bother to fish it. When I fished it - it’s was a wild river but now it’s a park. You can only fish it up until 10am.
Brilliant videos, wish I'd seen them sooner to enter. I've dabbled a couple of times over the years for mullet, but never had success.I'm going to fire 3 questions at you. Would you change anything else in your set up when fishing calmer water, other than the size of the float? Such as shotting patterns, line and hook size, or how you feed? I've seen Laurence compare the feeding habits of mullet to chub. Have you ever tried any traditional chub methods for them? Such as feeding heavily with maggots on the float or smelly paste baits when the water is coloured. Finally, the venue where the trout picture was taken, have you found that since the work on the promenade has being done, has the fishing there changed? As it seems like there is now a wider channel of similar depth either side of the boulders now, rather than the old deeper channel that used to run between the promenade and the boulders.
Hi Tom! I’m glad you enjoyed the videos! Right, so my approach for fishing in calmer water would depend on a few things. So yes, I would adjust float size but as for hooks and line, there’s a couple of things I would want to know. Firstly, how big are the mullet I’m fishing for and are there obstacles nearby that I need to bully them away from? I don’t see the value of lightening the tackle so much that any fish I hook I’m not going to land. Secondly, water clarity - if the water is clear and there’s a need for subtlety, then I may switch from the waggler to using a bubble float or self weighted float so that the bait behaves more naturally. Sometimes that’s not needed but it’s a good trick to have up the sleeve! So short answer, yes, in clear calm water fishing for average sized mullet - I would scale down a bit. Maybe 6lb line, size 10 hook and a smaller float, something like that. Some people would go for 3-4lb line and even smaller on the hooks. It’s up to you. I tend to favour going for the heavier side of balanced tackle. Mullet can fight hard! I’ve never caught a chub or even been chub fishing so I can’t comment on that but I would only tend to mess around with an unusual bait somewhere where I could see and gauge the mullets reactions, or at least be pretty sure that I had fish in front of me most of the time so that I could make a reasonable call on whether it works. The spot you’re talking about I’ve found varies as the sand shifts a fair bit round there but yes, it would be much better with a more consistent deeper channel like it used to be. I tend to feel like the bulk of the fish are probably on the other side of the boulders and I’m basically trying to tempt them to my side with groundbait now. I’ve had some nice fish there though and it’s exciting when you get a goodun on! It’s been pretty poor in that area for a few years now really, very hit and miss. Thanks for the questions mate! Ben
Excellent video again have you ever tried fishing for them at night as I’ve found on certain moon phases ie full moon building clear nights can be very rewarding and can pick out bigger fish 😎👍
Thanks mate! I have done a bit at night but nothing like enough! 😅 I have done a bit on the float at night too, using a headtorch to see the float. Ive heard sone people use a starlight on their floats too to help them see it. I’ve found it easier to catch at night in harbours than in the day sometimes, especially on the surface. Laurence got me started on that one, brilliant fun! I remember a story you told me about surface fishing a place at night with a massive swell? So exciting!
@@HookpointFishingMagazine forsure night, fullmoons, areas with street road lights etc on that shine on the water are great as you can see clear bubble floats with them ,in over fished water I never use any lights on float or shine light towards the water ,also your in with chance of catching giltheads on bread as they come in close at night in the summer months.every waters different but alot of it is fishing hard and learning what works for where your fishing.
Hi Ben I asked you off the back of the first video about Mullet in hayle I’ve had some success since using both float on bread spinning with isome worm but I’ve not actually had a thin lip could you suggest a mark near to me in hayle I could try ? Thanks Ben
Hi Ben, I just came across your channel and am very interested in having a go for mullet on the float. With regards to your depth of setting the float just off the bottom to target the bigger fish, how do you determine the depth you are in and how critical is it to be , say 6-8 inches off bottom. Many thanks Larry Corrigan.
Hi Larry! I’m glad you’re keen on getting into the mullet! As far as depth goes, there’s several ways you can look at this. In shallow water of only a couple of foot, I want my bait to be at least within a few inches of the bottom and I’ll often fish a tad overdepth with the ballast brushing the bottom so that my bait is right on the sand or mud where the mullet are feeding. In deeper water of say over 4 foot or so, I’m a bit more relaxed about this and I’ll be happy if my bait is within a foot or so of the deck. Currents and bottom structure come into this as well. If there is a lot of current, fishing well overdepth with the gear dragging can slow the drift and get you more time in the ‘kill zone’. If there is no current and little drift, you can even plumb the depth where you are placing your bait to ensure it is accurately wafting on the deck. Chances are if your float is drifting, you’re exploring a variety of depths of water too so you need to be aware of where your bait is in relation to the bottom based on that too. I think you still catch fish if you fish way off the deck and chances are that you will catch more mullet even. It’s just that the bigger fish tend to sit deeper so that if you want to target them then you can tailor your approach to do so. Quite a lot of guys fish midwater and catch really well but it can be a case of quantity over quality. I think that’s one of the chief reasons why most big thick lipped mullet are caught legering.
@@HookpointFishingMagazine Thanks Ben that’s very helpful which actually throws up another question . (my apologies) If ledgering wood I use , say like a running ledger as if I wood in my carp fishing and I would assume that you would need to be checking your bread flake every 5 minutes, wouldn’t that disturb the swim or would switching to a different bait fished over bread ground bait be a better option? Many thanks again and by the way, great channel and your way of presenting your methods come across as very informative and inspiring.
Thanks for the compliment mate, well pleased with that! I try my best! 😄 Excellent points there and you have hit on some of the biggest conundrums in mullet fishing, at least in the bread-based aspect. As you’ve pointed out, the bread flake bait is the weakest link in the whole chain. The mullet can remove the fluffy part with impunity - what you are banking on and waiting for is for them to get greedy enough that they make a mistake. In blind legering you have to read the situation and trust your instincts somewhat. Much of the time your groundbait will attract lots of small mullet that attack your bait like piranhas. You have very little chance of hooking these and you have to watch your rod tip going crazy until they stop when the fluffy part of the bait is gone. They will almost always leave the doughy part that you squeeze around the hook shank. In this situation, I have no qualms about reeling in to recast every 5 minutes as the fish I want clearly aren’t there. The important thing to do is keep patient until the bigger fish arrive. Typically, this seems to be signalled by the rattles stopping and fewer more purposeful bites giving away the presence of bigger fish. What you do here is more critical. In an ideal world, a sizeable mullet will smash your bait on sight and hook itself. If the fish are biting more cautiously then you have several options. Sone mullet anglers I know use very large offerings of bread. To the point where the hook looks ridiculous in it 😅 the idea behind this is that the mullet whittle away, building confidence with every bite without mishap until they get to the hook, hopefully resulting in a confident, clean take. If you want to keep using a regular sized bait, you can always pinch on several similar sized baits onto your hooklength as freebies to build confidence. This is called the ‘washing line’ method. Along a similar line, you can use multiple baits. You can try a multi hook rig like a paternoster or plenty of anglers like a wishbone style with the baits not far apart. With all these methods, it’s important not to strike until you are sure a fish has the hook in its mouth as, like you say, often the shoal will spook. They may not stop feeding as such but they will become progressively more difficult to fool the more they become aware of your attempts at deception 😅 One thing I suspect is that when a bait is rejected by a spooked mullet, the other fish mark it as being unsafe and it will not get any more attention, at least for a while. This bait needs changing. It’s hard to say whether repeated casting with leger gear really spoils mullet (it certainly will if it hits one though 🤣) but the reality of fishing with breadflake is that it is so often necessary to be fishing with an effective bait. That brings us to the question of other baits. This is a really interesting area as what it is widely accepted that the mullet really like about the bread is that it is packed full of fats and nutrients in one easy meal. So that leaves us with the idea that lots of other similar but more durable offerings may be suitable. Indeed, we know that mullet take artificial flies so could bread flies or artificial bread be effective too? Lots of room to explore and experiment on this front!
@@HookpointFishingMagazine once again Ben , many thanks for the great advice. I am even more eager to get out there at my first opportunity. I don’t have a 13 foot rod so will have to improvise with my 9.5 foot 5-35 gram spinning rod but luckily I do have a long handled landing net so that should help. I will let you know how I done on my first session in the very near future. Thanks again and who knows, if this goes well , I time I may even progress on to some guilt heads ( another great presentation by the way) all the best and keep up the good work!! Regards Larry
You’re welcome Larry! I hope what I’ve shared helps you get right on the fish! Giltheads are a simpler proposition but no less fascinating as a species 😁 enjoy your fishing mate!
Hi Tom, yes I’ve used feeders quite a bit. Cage feeders, method feeders etc. It’s not my favourite way to fish but it has been very effective for me in quite a few places. In fact, my pb thick lip was caught feeder fishing!
@@HookpointFishingMagazine Thanks Ben. Been putting some of your tactics to the test for the last few days in west bay , Dorset but still no luck. Been fishing the river in front of the sluice gates going in to the harbor. Do you think I'd be better off in the harbor itself ??
I couldn’t say with any certainty to be honest Tom, I have fished there but I was spinning for thin lips in the river itself in the summer. Can you see mullet in the river there? If not then I would give the harbour itself a try for sure 👌 it might not be the best time to target the mullet in your area just yet. We have them all through the winter in Cornwall but further up where you are they might not be around in any numbers yet
@@HookpointFishingMagazine I heard from a couple of sources that mullet had been seen in the river and even saw a cormorant with one in its gob but then they do put us all to shame when it comes to fishing... I havent seen any yet but the waters got loads of colour, but like you say, its probably a bit early yet. ill keep plugging away and let you know if ny success..What spinners would you recommend by the way..cheers !!
Good for you Tom! If there’s a few there already then it shouldn’t be long before things warm up a bit and turn them on for you with any luck. Spinner-wise, there’s a whole range of stuff you can use but the critical thing is that you cut the treble off and attach another hook on a longer piece of stiffish line. I usually like about 5 or 6 inches between the back of the spinner and the hook but you can vary this how you want. I use a size 4 Kamasan Aberdeen for thin lips. You bait this hook with a small section of ragworm or a bunch of harbour rag. I like to make sure the bait doesn’t trail past the hook by too much but I’ve seen people leave the tails dangling well past and still catch so it’s worth experimenting with! You’ll need a lightish spinner for that stream as it’s quite shallow and you want to fish it pretty slowly unless the water is really shallow and the mullet are very chasey, then you can sometimes speed up a little. I used a weighted float to help me cast a good distance in that bit immediately behind the harbour and I caught thins in there at low tide and also in the stream itself over high. There were some tidy fish to be had the day I went! Hope this helps 😁
It’s a Guru net head with a Drennan twist lock extending handle. The net itself is really good - no issues at all. The handle is nice and light but the twist lock mechanism has gotten progressively less reliable since I’ve owned it! 😅 Not really designed for the sea though I guess so I’ll forgive it
If your planning to fish for big mullet a Gardner telescopic xl 4m with the xl large pan net is about the best for the job , or if you want one abit smaller westin tackle make a very good 3m telescope net for sea trout that’s high quality.👍
Fabulous videos Ben! Being a Bass fishing with lures fisherman for the last 7 years, wintertime has left a large gap in my fishing! Your videos have inspired me to take up Mullet fishing! Thank you very much indeed!
Fantastic mate, that’s exactly what I was hoping for! Mullet fishing is brilliant fun and a great challenge, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😁
Another great video! 👏👏👏
Thank you! 🙏
Great video Ben 👍 One thing I've been doing Is using an inline olivette between two grippa stops, adjustable shotting and also decreases damage to the line.
Keep up the good work tight lines 🎣
Hi Bradley! I used that all the time last winter and here and there this one. I get a little annoyed with the stops moving sometimes when I’m striking (and missing!) bites a lot though so sometimes I just go back to the shot. It’s definitely better for your line though, like you say! Thanks for the tip mate, Ben
Hi, I really like these videos about fishing for multe, very informative and quit different from how we used to fish for thick lipped multe in southern Sweden when we had a massive population, in general quite large fish, most likely because of the brackish sea where the lived. The population was during few years more or less whipped out by netting and black market sales to restaurants and fish mongers. There is still some big fish but the sightings of them that are rare. In general we used to fish for multe in the summers. I found that the way we targeted them with bait or fly rods, the multe showed up around 10 degrees Celsius in the spring (May) and disappeared around 10-9 degrees in the autumn (round about some October storm which generally would go by). After October we very seldom heard of any sightings and if it would, then it was often close to a river mouth or in a bit deeper water and in those scenarios the fish was typically inactive. When you fish for the multe in the winter, what is typically the water temperature?
Hi Robin, glad you enjoyed the video! I’ve heard that there are big mullet in Sweden before, how did you used to fish for them? The best of the fishing for the bigger fish is February/March time for us. The water temperature is typically around 9 degrees C then.
@@HookpointFishingMagazine I believe that the most common (and successful) choice of fly was fluorescent chartreuse marabou arranged in different ways on hook sizes 8-12. This type of flies where used both in shallow water and along structures in harbour’s and similar. The mullet was in general feeding on vegetation even if there is often large amounts of small and big shrimps in these environments (the brackish water is less diverse than more marine environments, but it still has about the same biomass). But I have seen big mullet chase/pick off big sized shrimps 25-50 mm (Palaemon adspersus and Palaemon elegans) when other fish in the group scares them away. But I have never really figured out how to get a take on one off the shrimpy looking flies that perch and sea trout typically accept along the coast under the right light condition’s. I assume that they just see to much off whats going on in day light and clear water. And I would typically not expect a take from sea trout or perch during the same light conditions and then target them at night instead but that hasn’t this far worked with mullet. In general Swedish and Danish fly fishers first tried to target mullet with “more natural” looking flies but I have never heard of steady success with that approach.
Fishing with bait is generally done with bread. Around where I live the fishing generally done in shallow areas or on structure surrounded by deeper water. In the 90’s when a few Swedish specimen/match anglers realised there was loads mullet along som parts of the coastline towards Denmark, they quite quickly figured out that bread was the most universal bait. Way faster the local seagulls became aware that guys with sticks in their hand along the coast could mean loads of free food to be had. Much off the fishing was done with floating bread, a lot like the carp fishing with mixers. Get the mullet to discover the bread - could take some time … And often, if the seagulls hadn’t discovered the white bread on the surface before, they often did one’s the mullets started to feed on it. One guy start to colour the bread with green liquid food colouring and that made it more difficult for the seagulls to figure out what was going on, I think it was called “Magic”. the green bread. But it was an ever game of cheating the birds, Magic lost its colour quite quickly after som time in the water and then it often was discovered by the birds. I started almost directly bake my on bread and used discrete green, brown and black food colouring, sold at the time by Nash Baits and DD Baits. With these could I really match the surrounding algae and vegetation in the water. And to best part that solved the problem with the birds. And as I also made bait for carp, it was always a search for some extra edge with flavouring the colour bread doughs. Sometimes the mullets would be straight on the bread sometimes it could take hours without the touching a piece even if it was, 6, 25 or 200 fish under the bread. I have used all sorts of baits and flavours and my experience is that they will eat probably everything bream, carp and alike. The first summer with a match rod caught I a number off nice fish on home made “rock hard” trimmed flat pop ups flavoured with Rod Hutchinson spicy flavour Mega Spice, they really seemed to like them, but at the same time, there was a lot of fish in the shallows during a few years. The reason for using pop ups instead of bread every know and then was that a few match/specimen guys discovered that a moving bait often gained more interest. So the tactic was to lose feed bait on the surface with the wind or current going in a good direction. Once the mullet started to take the bread with some confidence, they would use appropriate and floating casting weight to reach the fish, get the bread out there and with a 150-200 cm long leader slowly reel in the floating bread so it made a small bow wake. The mullet would often be really triggered by this moving bait and would either “kill it” (much like a pike attacking something) in one go or start mouthing it which often lead to that they got the bread but didn’t get the hook. My shaved down pop ups would last cast after cast and I knew there was something on the hook. And confident mullet could quite often be way to efficient for there on good. One the figured out that for example green bread in the surface was something they liked, the would switch to hunt down “the green stuff” with eyesight. Anything resembling green bait would a target. I tried to tie pieces of bread to the hook with fluorescent green Antron yarn (from fly tying) so it would stay on better on the hook when I reeled it in and making a wake on purpose. If the mullet stole the bread, they often keep nibbling the yarn trailing behind the hook. If I would run out of green bread and start to trickle in brown or blackish bread, then it often would a pause in the feeding because the couldn’t find the green stuff by eyesight. Then after 5-15 minutes the would figure out what the new colour was and get back to business.
Ledgering, that fishing was often much like fish a pop up some distance from the bottom when a group of mullets would pass. Not very effective for my part and something I believe is best when on is fishing against a bit larger groups that is located when they are on the move and one makes a quick trap. I have spent lots of time trying to stealthy ledger for relaxed mullet just at my feet in calm conditions, clear water with lots of light. Lots of time … They will feed and again and again hover up all ground bait, sunken pieces bread, particles and leave my hook bait behind without a quiver in the tip or any obvious signs i the line even if I know that the picks up and moves the bait. I have to hook them when I see that the pick up the bait from the stone or bottom. And this fishing was done with about 0,20 mm fluorocarbon hook length. I absolutely sure that they notice the line the second they takes the bait and as they don’t move with any serious speed they easily gets rid of the hookbait. And on the same time, the fluorocarbon seems to be the way to go in sun and fairly clear water close to the surface.
Flavours and hook baits. Flavour wise, bread is really good and I think that yeast has something to do with that. I’m pretty confident that ground bait with a sweet vanilla signature and some fat is to my favour, some type that formulated to roach and alike. Hookbaits, after many attempts with different stuff ended I up with mainly making coloured and often flavoured bagels for hook baits and some lose feed. I used typical squid flavours and cooked the bagels 90 seconds on each side before the oven. The skinning by cocking kept the flavours inside the bread and gave a strong and often somewhat rubbery “crust” that was practical for both mullet and carp fishing on the surface with a static bait. I also vacuum packed some warm bagels so they where compressed to a hard and slowly dissolving “bread pellet” that was rigged like a mixer or pop up for surface fishing. A really interesting bait in some situations.
Thanks so much for this brilliantly detailed reply Robin! Do you mind if I share this information on Facebook as I think it will inspire some British mullet anglers? It’s clear to me that some sort of background or experience with freshwater fishing is a huge plus when pursuing thick lipped mullet. There’s a lot of crossover in technique and ways of thinking that can be applied 👌
Great stuff wish I had this information 20+ years ago as use to holiday in Crantock caravan park every year
All I caught out of there was weavers and being young ish at the time use to avoid the cliff and stay on the sand knot knowing the area and can remember reports of anglers being washed off and being lost in Newquay are a good couple of times
I bet the mullet fishing back then was amazing too mate! When I was a kid we used to swim in the tide pools in the gannel and there would be big mullet cruising around in them. Not there any more 😕 sensible to be wary around Newquay though, the sea can be treacherous on this coast 😬
Excellent videos, thank you. Here in West Wales the estuaries suffer when the river is in spate. I believe it's not the reduced salinity but the acidity from the uplands which upset the fish. I'm hoping we have thin lips in our rivers, I've seen them in the waves when bass fishing the beaches.
Thanks Barlow! I’m sure run off from farmland and all the chemicals negatively affect the mullet and the fishing in rivers like you say. Thin lips are funny creatures, they seem to like some rivers and not others for reasons that aren’t obvious to me, while the thicks seem to go in virtually all estuaries everywhere. I’m sure if you’ve got a few rivers in your area then you’ll find them in one at least though 👍
Dang i Missed that competition from the last one 🙈. Sitting down enjoying another mullet upload your last one was superb. An observation from the last video I didn't comment but thought about it. With the shot (I.w Swan shot on the line) you could go for a sliding olivette instead. Easy to change over if needed and doesn't potentially damage the line at all. I use them when after chub and barbel in fast water. Just a thought. Right I'll shut up now and enjoy cheers Jon
Spot on Jon, I did mention in one of the videos that the sliding olivettes or waggler weight type things are an option. I do usually use those but when I did the vids I had gotten into the habit of using shot again. Like you say though, the sliding weights don’t damage the line so are a better option overall. Glad you enjoyed the videos mate 👍
Another brilliant video! Really enjoyed the QA dynamic, awesome once more guys!
Thanks Will! Sorry for the late reply, I must have missed your comment! 🙏
Epic video Ben. This mini series has got me really excited to go for some mullet this year in the Falmouth area
That’s brilliant Lyle! I’m glad the vids have inspired you! 😄
Thanks for the video and advice Ben. Congrats Justin.
Thanks Tim! I hope there’s something useful in there for you! 😆
Well done on hitting the golden milestone folks.
Thank you! 🙏
Another great video Ben - very informative as always👏👍🎣
Thanks Simon! Congrats again on your fish! 😁👏
Keep going bro this will be a big channel if you just keep on!!!!
Thanks Paul! We’re certainly hoping that the channel will be popular! 😁
Excellent informative video as always.
Yes as Ralph mentioned earlier an info led video on golden greys would be greyt 🤦🏻♂️. .. hugely enjoyed your golden grey “instrumental” video and worked out most of what was done. But hearing your experience would be great. GGs are appearing far more frequently in more areas.
Thanks again
Thanks Martin! We will try to get a gg vid done over the summer 😁
Very good upload , your really covered it well , tightlines 😎🇪🇸🐟
Thanks Darren, I had some great questions to work with! 😁
@@HookpointFishingMagazine you sure did ,great to see mullet fishing is taking off in uk,it’s a great sporting fish that’s been over looked for many years.
The people that like it seem to REALLY like it though I find 😁 meet a fair few people here and there that are more or less mullet only anglers. It’s great to see that more all-round sea anglers are enjoying the species too!
@@HookpointFishingMagazine that makes sense,I think most freshwater anglers will love mullet fishing when they try it,as it’s course fishing in sea,or river spinning in salty rivers,or even fly fishing ,yes I’ve seen more sea all rounders going to mullet now also,I do think they find it much harder going but.I also think if your a good freshwater angler and move onto sea fishing all types you can really have a edge at times.more so over here.finesse catches big fish in clear blue seas lol.
Great chatting you,Look forward to your next upload,tightlines 😎🐟
Thanks Darren, I can definitely see how the freshwater skills would cross over really well into sea angling where you are! My mate Laurence fished rivers for years before he started sea angling and he’s a brilliant mullet angler and took to it really quick from what he said.
Nice one Ben, definitely feel I know a bit more about float fishing for mullet. Would be good if you could cover golden greys at some point.
Anyway my attention is now moving back onto the open coast gilts, hopefully get a pb this year
That’s brilliant mate, I’m glad you’ve found the info useful! 👍 I’ll put an informative video about golden greys on the ‘to-do’ list for you 😁 I’m getting excited about the gilts too, always hoping for a PB too! Hope you get a beaut mate 🤞🤞
Nice video again, one thing is it best to search out the mullet shoals or let them come to you on the tide, seems to be for me if I can see fish I'm more confident I might get a bite than ground baiting trying to attract them
Thanks Mark! For me, it would depend where I was fishing. If it’s somewhere where I can follow the fish, you can bet I’m gonna follow them! 😁 but a lot of the places I fish aren’t like that, it’s just too tricky to get around in good time. I’m those situations, I go for the mostly static approach. I’m equally happy fishing blind than seeing fish as well though, especially in coloured water. Sometimes I think it intensifies the anticipation not being able to see them. Makes me watch my float even more intently! 😁
Mullet fishing is without doubt very exciting. I caught a huge thin lipped grey mullet in Spain ten years ago that would have been a world record. I wasn’t able to claim it because I had no witnesses. I’ve got the photos though and it was featured in the Anglers Mail. I was catching twenty mullet in two hours every day using very fresh small pieces of bread flake.
That’s fantastic Alan, are you 100% it was a thin lip though? The flathead mullet over there get huge and look pretty similar? Just thinking as you say you caught it on bread and that’s generally an unusual bait to catch thins on.
@@HookpointFishingMagazine yeah it was definitely a thin lipped grey mullet, it was identified by the Anglers Mail. It had that black stripe on its pectoral fin. The river in Spain was full up with thick and thin grey mullet. They were pretty hungry fish. I just had so much fun catching them. The big fish didn’t even take the float under. It was like a Bleak had grabbed hold of the bread. When I struck all hell broke loose. What a fight!
The black spot at the base of the pec? That’s cool mate, it’s easy to get confused with thins and flatheads is all 👍 I’m going to have to go mulleting in Spain at sone point, it sounds like paradise for em! 😄
@@HookpointFishingMagazine I caught the fish in the river Fuengirola, at Fuengirola. This river is just a very short distance from the sea. Sometimes it’s nearly fresh water. Would you believe I caught three barbel here once. I’ve also caught a small bass. I’ve seen sturgeon in there as well. It’s a really weird river. The Spanish don’t bother to fish it. When I fished it - it’s was a wild river but now it’s a park. You can only fish it up until 10am.
Sounds really exciting! Thanks for sharing Alan! 🙏
Brilliant videos, wish I'd seen them sooner to enter. I've dabbled a couple of times over the years for mullet, but never had success.I'm going to fire 3 questions at you.
Would you change anything else in your set up when fishing calmer water, other than the size of the float? Such as shotting patterns, line and hook size, or how you feed?
I've seen Laurence compare the feeding habits of mullet to chub. Have you ever tried any traditional chub methods for them? Such as feeding heavily with maggots on the float or smelly paste baits when the water is coloured.
Finally, the venue where the trout picture was taken, have you found that since the work on the promenade has being done, has the fishing there changed? As it seems like there is now a wider channel of similar depth either side of the boulders now, rather than the old deeper channel that used to run between the promenade and the boulders.
Hi Tom! I’m glad you enjoyed the videos! Right, so my approach for fishing in calmer water would depend on a few things. So yes, I would adjust float size but as for hooks and line, there’s a couple of things I would want to know. Firstly, how big are the mullet I’m fishing for and are there obstacles nearby that I need to bully them away from? I don’t see the value of lightening the tackle so much that any fish I hook I’m not going to land. Secondly, water clarity - if the water is clear and there’s a need for subtlety, then I may switch from the waggler to using a bubble float or self weighted float so that the bait behaves more naturally. Sometimes that’s not needed but it’s a good trick to have up the sleeve! So short answer, yes, in clear calm water fishing for average sized mullet - I would scale down a bit. Maybe 6lb line, size 10 hook and a smaller float, something like that. Some people would go for 3-4lb line and even smaller on the hooks. It’s up to you. I tend to favour going for the heavier side of balanced tackle. Mullet can fight hard!
I’ve never caught a chub or even been chub fishing so I can’t comment on that but I would only tend to mess around with an unusual bait somewhere where I could see and gauge the mullets reactions, or at least be pretty sure that I had fish in front of me most of the time so that I could make a reasonable call on whether it works.
The spot you’re talking about I’ve found varies as the sand shifts a fair bit round there but yes, it would be much better with a more consistent deeper channel like it used to be. I tend to feel like the bulk of the fish are probably on the other side of the boulders and I’m basically trying to tempt them to my side with groundbait now. I’ve had some nice fish there though and it’s exciting when you get a goodun on! It’s been pretty poor in that area for a few years now really, very hit and miss. Thanks for the questions mate! Ben
@@HookpointFishingMagazine thanks for taking the time to reply, especially with it being such a detailed reply.
Once had 33 off these beauty's in a session smallest 2 and a half! Nice to eat too!
That’s amazing fishing Shaun! They must have been in there thick that day! 😍
Excellent video again have you ever tried fishing for them at night as I’ve found on certain moon phases ie full moon building clear nights can be very rewarding and can pick out bigger fish 😎👍
Thanks mate! I have done a bit at night but nothing like enough! 😅 I have done a bit on the float at night too, using a headtorch to see the float. Ive heard sone people use a starlight on their floats too to help them see it. I’ve found it easier to catch at night in harbours than in the day sometimes, especially on the surface. Laurence got me started on that one, brilliant fun! I remember a story you told me about surface fishing a place at night with a massive swell? So exciting!
@@HookpointFishingMagazine forsure night, fullmoons, areas with street road lights etc on that shine on the water are great as you can see clear bubble floats with them ,in over fished water I never use any lights on float or shine light towards the water ,also your in with chance of catching giltheads on bread as they come in close at night in the summer months.every waters different but alot of it is fishing hard and learning what works for where your fishing.
Fantastic tips again Darren, I’ll bear all that in mind! Many thanks!
Hi Ben I asked you off the back of the first video about Mullet in hayle I’ve had some success since using both float on bread spinning with isome worm but I’ve not actually had a thin lip could you suggest a mark near to me in hayle I could try ? Thanks Ben
Do you catch mullet on the polly joke side of the estuary?
Hi Ben, I just came across your channel and am very interested in having a go for mullet on the float. With regards to your depth of setting the float just off the bottom to target the bigger fish, how do you determine the depth you are in and how critical is it to be , say 6-8 inches off bottom.
Many thanks Larry Corrigan.
Hi Larry! I’m glad you’re keen on getting into the mullet! As far as depth goes, there’s several ways you can look at this. In shallow water of only a couple of foot, I want my bait to be at least within a few inches of the bottom and I’ll often fish a tad overdepth with the ballast brushing the bottom so that my bait is right on the sand or mud where the mullet are feeding. In deeper water of say over 4 foot or so, I’m a bit more relaxed about this and I’ll be happy if my bait is within a foot or so of the deck. Currents and bottom structure come into this as well. If there is a lot of current, fishing well overdepth with the gear dragging can slow the drift and get you more time in the ‘kill zone’. If there is no current and little drift, you can even plumb the depth where you are placing your bait to ensure it is accurately wafting on the deck. Chances are if your float is drifting, you’re exploring a variety of depths of water too so you need to be aware of where your bait is in relation to the bottom based on that too. I think you still catch fish if you fish way off the deck and chances are that you will catch more mullet even. It’s just that the bigger fish tend to sit deeper so that if you want to target them then you can tailor your approach to do so. Quite a lot of guys fish midwater and catch really well but it can be a case of quantity over quality. I think that’s one of the chief reasons why most big thick lipped mullet are caught legering.
@@HookpointFishingMagazine Thanks Ben that’s very helpful which actually throws up another question . (my apologies) If ledgering wood I use , say like a running ledger as if I wood in my carp fishing and I would assume that you would need to be checking your bread flake every 5 minutes, wouldn’t that disturb the swim or would switching to a different bait fished over bread ground bait be a better option?
Many thanks again and by the way, great channel and your way of presenting your methods come across as very informative and inspiring.
Thanks for the compliment mate, well pleased with that! I try my best! 😄
Excellent points there and you have hit on some of the biggest conundrums in mullet fishing, at least in the bread-based aspect. As you’ve pointed out, the bread flake bait is the weakest link in the whole chain. The mullet can remove the fluffy part with impunity - what you are banking on and waiting for is for them to get greedy enough that they make a mistake.
In blind legering you have to read the situation and trust your instincts somewhat. Much of the time your groundbait will attract lots of small mullet that attack your bait like piranhas. You have very little chance of hooking these and you have to watch your rod tip going crazy until they stop when the fluffy part of the bait is gone. They will almost always leave the doughy part that you squeeze around the hook shank.
In this situation, I have no qualms about reeling in to recast every 5 minutes as the fish I want clearly aren’t there. The important thing to do is keep patient until the bigger fish arrive. Typically, this seems to be signalled by the rattles stopping and fewer more purposeful bites giving away the presence of bigger fish. What you do here is more critical.
In an ideal world, a sizeable mullet will smash your bait on sight and hook itself. If the fish are biting more cautiously then you have several options. Sone mullet anglers I know use very large offerings of bread. To the point where the hook looks ridiculous in it 😅 the idea behind this is that the mullet whittle away, building confidence with every bite without mishap until they get to the hook, hopefully resulting in a confident, clean take.
If you want to keep using a regular sized bait, you can always pinch on several similar sized baits onto your hooklength as freebies to build confidence. This is called the ‘washing line’ method. Along a similar line, you can use multiple baits. You can try a multi hook rig like a paternoster or plenty of anglers like a wishbone style with the baits not far apart.
With all these methods, it’s important not to strike until you are sure a fish has the hook in its mouth as, like you say, often the shoal will spook. They may not stop feeding as such but they will become progressively more difficult to fool the more they become aware of your attempts at deception 😅
One thing I suspect is that when a bait is rejected by a spooked mullet, the other fish mark it as being unsafe and it will not get any more attention, at least for a while. This bait needs changing. It’s hard to say whether repeated casting with leger gear really spoils mullet (it certainly will if it hits one though 🤣) but the reality of fishing with breadflake is that it is so often necessary to be fishing with an effective bait.
That brings us to the question of other baits. This is a really interesting area as what it is widely accepted that the mullet really like about the bread is that it is packed full of fats and nutrients in one easy meal. So that leaves us with the idea that lots of other similar but more durable offerings may be suitable. Indeed, we know that mullet take artificial flies so could bread flies or artificial bread be effective too? Lots of room to explore and experiment on this front!
@@HookpointFishingMagazine once again Ben , many thanks for the great advice. I am even more eager to get out there at my first opportunity. I don’t have a 13 foot rod so will have to improvise with my 9.5 foot 5-35 gram spinning rod but luckily I do have a long handled landing net so that should help. I will let you know how I done on my first session in the very near future.
Thanks again and who knows, if this goes well , I time I may even progress on to some guilt heads ( another great presentation by the way) all the best and keep up the good work!!
Regards Larry
You’re welcome Larry! I hope what I’ve shared helps you get right on the fish! Giltheads are a simpler proposition but no less fascinating as a species 😁 enjoy your fishing mate!
have you ever thought about using or used a feeder for mullet fishing ??
Hi Tom, yes I’ve used feeders quite a bit. Cage feeders, method feeders etc. It’s not my favourite way to fish but it has been very effective for me in quite a few places. In fact, my pb thick lip was caught feeder fishing!
@@HookpointFishingMagazine
Thanks Ben. Been putting some of your tactics to the test for the last few days in west bay , Dorset but still no luck. Been fishing the river in front of the sluice gates going in to the harbor. Do you think I'd be better off in the harbor itself ??
I couldn’t say with any certainty to be honest Tom, I have fished there but I was spinning for thin lips in the river itself in the summer. Can you see mullet in the river there? If not then I would give the harbour itself a try for sure 👌 it might not be the best time to target the mullet in your area just yet. We have them all through the winter in Cornwall but further up where you are they might not be around in any numbers yet
@@HookpointFishingMagazine I heard from a couple of sources that mullet had been seen in the river and even saw a cormorant with one in its gob but then they do put us all to shame when it comes to fishing... I havent seen any yet but the waters got loads of colour, but like you say, its probably a bit early yet. ill keep plugging away and let you know if ny success..What spinners would you recommend by the way..cheers !!
Good for you Tom! If there’s a few there already then it shouldn’t be long before things warm up a bit and turn them on for you with any luck. Spinner-wise, there’s a whole range of stuff you can use but the critical thing is that you cut the treble off and attach another hook on a longer piece of stiffish line. I usually like about 5 or 6 inches between the back of the spinner and the hook but you can vary this how you want. I use a size 4 Kamasan Aberdeen for thin lips. You bait this hook with a small section of ragworm or a bunch of harbour rag. I like to make sure the bait doesn’t trail past the hook by too much but I’ve seen people leave the tails dangling well past and still catch so it’s worth experimenting with! You’ll need a lightish spinner for that stream as it’s quite shallow and you want to fish it pretty slowly unless the water is really shallow and the mullet are very chasey, then you can sometimes speed up a little. I used a weighted float to help me cast a good distance in that bit immediately behind the harbour and I caught thins in there at low tide and also in the stream itself over high. There were some tidy fish to be had the day I went! Hope this helps 😁
What landing net are you using Ben ?
It’s a Guru net head with a Drennan twist lock extending handle. The net itself is really good - no issues at all. The handle is nice and light but the twist lock mechanism has gotten progressively less reliable since I’ve owned it! 😅 Not really designed for the sea though I guess so I’ll forgive it
If your planning to fish for big mullet a Gardner telescopic xl 4m with the xl large pan net is about the best for the job , or if you want one abit smaller westin tackle make a very good 3m telescope net for sea trout that’s high quality.👍
Awesome tips Darren, thanks! I’ll look into those 👌
@@HookpointFishingMagazine nps Ben I’ve went threw many nets myself trying to find what’s best for mullet fishing, tightlines 👍