The water is still bloody freezing and the air temperature is no better either really. But we did brave the elements and get out a couple of times, we even caught some fish!

This will be a very short if not very sweet report, February is traditionally just about the worst month of the year for sea fishing around the Isle of Man and this year has been no different.

I lied. We weren’t supposed to be going anywhere in the boat until the weather warmed up a bit but then seeing as how the wind dropped a little during January we took a chance.

The much belated December 2012 fishing report is here, thought I’d better do it now before January comes to an end! Not a whole lot to report from a personal point of view really. We didn’t get out in the boat at all in December, partly due to the weather but more because the fish did a vanishing act the last time that we did venture out in November. One day there, next day gone. I’m all for getting out in the fresh air (more of that in the January update) but December is a busy enough month anyway so we decided to give it a miss. The plus side of having no intention of going out was that it also gave me the chance to lay the boat up properly. Engine fogged, which is a complete doddle on these Evinrude E-Tec engines, battery removed, fuel treated and a number of other bits and pieces sorted out.

November turned out to be a bit of a bonus month, whilst we only got out 3 times it was worth it with good Pollack hanging around a little longer than in previous years. Winter has been a slow burner this year but now it looks like it is fully upon us so decisions were made and the fuel has been treated, the engine fogged and the extra shore lines attached, we’re not going anywhere until the weather warms up a bit!

Traditionally the last month of good sea fishing around these parts and I’m glad to say that the weather has done us some small favours. Whilst we haven’t had any flat calm days there were plenty more days when we could get to sea in October than there were in September, and once out the fishing has been good.

If I could only get 10% of the money back that I’ve spent on fuel chasing Cod in the last 2 years I’d be a very happy boy. The wife would probably be very happy as well with the extra holiday it would pay for! There is no reason why Cod shouldn’t be found off the west coast of the Isle of Man but for years they have done a vanishing act…until last year.

Broken record time, weather has been complete and utter crap. Yes south of the Bristol channel you enjoyed a bit of an Indian Summer but for the rest of the UK the weather has been appalling. It’s a real shame because this is when we expect to catch the better fish but what can you do? If you’ve not got the weather to get out then you’re stuck.

What can I say about August this year, well I suppose two words spring to mind, Bass and Tope! Rather that should be lots of Tope and not many Bass. With the sea temperature now at its peak for the year August saw our usual run of Tope finally start to pick up.