Fishing Calendar
Prospects for current month: September
The seasons begin to change, but the summer species will still be around as good as before. Conger fishing at night becomes a much more practical option as the nights begin to draw in. A month for big callig and wrasse to turn up.
We are fortunate on the Isle of Man to have such a wide variety of species to target. Fishing can be productive throughout most of the year, so long as you target the species that are around at the time.
Recent years have seen some strange things happening to our seas as they continue to get consistently warmer. More importantly, the sea is not cooling down as much as it used to in the winter. This creates new opportunites to fish for species such as mackerel in January, and how long will it be before someone catches a trigger fish from the shore late on in summer?
Bearing in mind that things are changing, it pays to try something new now and again. Listed below is a brief guide to the species I normally target during each month of the year. chances are that if our oceans continue to get warmer, then each species will arrive earlier and leave later than they currently do.
Of course, one of the great things about fishing is that fish quite often turn up at times and places where you wouldn't expect them to.
| Month | Species |
|---|---|
| January | Dogfish, whiting, pouting and the odd codling are around the Douglas area. Ramsey area fishes well for coalies, whiting and the odd flounder, especially after a strong easterly wind which also brings the chance of bass. The west of the Island also has coalies, flounder and the odd bass to offer following westerly winds. Congers sometimes turn up in strange places this month as the follow shoals of small fish. Mackerel can also be found by those keen enough. |
| February | Probably the hardest month in the calendar, even the dogfish are thin on the ground. Scratching is the order of the day at this time of year. Reduce hook and bait sizes to keep amongst the fish. Targets are similar to January, but expected catches are considerably down. Port St Mary breakwater fishes well all winter for coalies down the side, and this can be great fun on suitably light tackle. |
| March | The lighter nights will make the going hard this month but they do at least signal the approach of better times to come. One of the few highlights is the big mackerel (2lb+) that can be found around the Peel area. |
| April | A month of change. Starts out quite poor, but given decent weather then things can improve markedly at the end of the month. Bass and flounder will begin to show on the NW beaches. Some wrasse and callig will also start to turn up on the rock marks, and grey gurnard will begin to appear. Just enough fish turning up to provide encouragement, and the list of species caught for the year should look much better by the end of April. |
| May | Things really begin to take off this month. The rock species will be plentiful by the end of the month. Bass and flounders will be more plentiful along the NW coast, but the weed can be a nightmare. Match anglers will welcome the invading packs of dogfish, and if the weather is settled toward the end of the month then the first tope will begin to show. |
| June | Tope fishing takes priority for many anglers this month. In between tope tides there are lots of other species to try for. Holiday anglers will have fun catching lots of mackerel. Wrasse fishing from rocks during the hot summer days can also be enjoyed. By now there should be good numbers of bass waiting to be caught, and mullet will be appearing regularly in the harbours. |
| July | Prospects this month are very similar to June. Tope will still be there to be caught if the weather is right. There are so many different species available to catch that the hardest thing is probably deciding what to fish for and where. A good time to knock off some more species on the species list for the year. |
| August | Spoilt for choice again this month. Tope may be around early on in the month, but it is likely that the season will be over, leaving more time for bass fishing on the evening high water tides. Time to start targetting bigger specimens of ballan and callig. The water is at it's warmest toward the end of the month, which given recent trends could result in one or two strange species turning up. |
| September | The seasons begin to change, but the summer species will still be around as good as before. Conger fishing at night becomes a much more practical option as the nights begin to draw in. A month for big callig and wrasse to turn up. |
| October | Enjoy the summer species before they go. October has to be one of the best months of the year for fishing. the summer species are still there to be caught and the winter species, such as codling, also show up. A great month for bigger bass from the beaches. The shortening days result in more opportunities for conger fishing. If the weather isn't too bad then the hardest job is deciding where and when to go. |
| November | A lot depends on the weather, but callig and wrasse are still there to be caught by day, and congers are certainly there by night, but this month will see a marked decline in the summer species. Codling fishing becomes much more realistic, but it can be hard work wading through the large packs of dogfish. |
| December | The varitey of species will have dwindled considerably by now. Still worth a shot at them very early in the month, but in reality it's time to switch into winter mode. Doggies, coalies and whiting will keep the rod bending while you wait for more exotic species to turn up. Be ready to fish straight after spells of strong onshore winds for the best fishing. |
