John Rawle

Angling Charter Captain

Bradwell on Sea, Essex

Simply the best..........

Check out what happened in the Keys this spring

Florida Keys

For several years now John Wilson has wanted to make a programme with me in the Keys, in 2003 he managed it.  With Chris Tarrant as guest angler we filmed one programme on tarpon and one on sharks.  The fishing went really well,  We filmed tarpon to 160 pound and sharks to 180 pound with lots of action.  These programmes are being shown on Discovery H&L on a regular basis.

John Wilson landing a tarpon

(right click and select play to play the video again)

Fishing Reports Florida Keys January & February 2007

After the success of the previous years winter trip we were looking forward to getting back to sample some of the fantastic, varied fishing this time of year has to offer.  Much like our own the Florida winter had been mild and the water temperatures were higher than usual which as far as the sharks go is great because they prefer the water being slightly warmer as do the small tarpon.  It does not seem to bother the rest of the species.

Our first group was a family affair with our regular customers Bob and Mark and their families who combine the fishing with a family holiday.  The first couple of days were spent fishing out in the Gulf where we caught a variety of spanish mackerel, bluefish, snappers, jacks, ladyfish and trout as well as some big spinner sharks up to 130 pounds. 

On another morning we had a go for the small tarpon around the bridges and Bob got one about 40 pounds and we jumped off two others and had the bonus of a Goliath grouper around 70 to 80 pounds which took a live bait intended for tarpon.  Bob done well to land this fish on 20 pound spinning tackle.  Mark also got a smaller grouper and Mark's son Connor got a shark over 100 pounds.

During an afternoon session fishing on the edge of the reef oceanside we had the sharks queuing up at the back of the boat landing nine or ten up to 300 pounds.  We also got visited by a huge hammerhead which fortunately did not take anyone's bait!  During this same session a fish hit Mark's livebait and emptied 300 yards of line from his reel in a few seconds.  When eventually landed the culprit turned out to be a 51 pound kingfish which is a cracking specimen even for the Keys.

During a short evening session Bob, Mark and Connor got 4 tarpon between 20 and 30 pounds and 2 nice snook both about 14 pounds.  Their week finished off with some more sharks with Bob getting a grand slam of a lemon about 300 pounds, a bull about 250 pounds and a blacktip of about eighty!  All in they had a fantastic trip and the families thoroughly enjoyed all the tourist attractions around the area including swimming with the dolphins and enjoyed an afternoons fishing!

The next group again experienced some great mixed fishing although the weather on a couple of occasions tried its best to interfere.  On their first afternoon John & Doug struck gold by hooking three sawfish.   John landed two, one about 150 pounds and the other about 180 pounds while Doug fought for over an hour with an absolute monster of probably 5 or 600 pounds before the fish eventually broke the leader.  Doug made up for this over the next few days with a 35 pound kingfish, a 250 pound lemon shark as well as a load of smaller species.

Regular customers Mark and Liz had a fantastic trip catching forty different species of fish including a backcountry slam, for Mark of a tarpon, redfish and a snook in the same day.

Also fishing this trip was Rob who also had a big variety of smaller species including snook and redfish.  In one short afternoon session Rob caught four sharks including a 320 pound lemon and two spinner sharks at the same time.

Mark, Liz and Rob booked as an extra in their holiday an offshore trip fishing for sailfish, grouper, kingfish, tuna and a whole host of other species.  The weather on this occasion cramped their style a little but they caught plenty of fish and we intend to include a days offshore fishing in our 10 day package next year.

The last group were a group of three and a group of four.  All experienced some excellent fun fishing in the Gulf and off the edge of the reef catching a big variety of the smaller species like spanish mackerel and bluefish and spinner and lemon sharks.  In the group of four Bob got a 20 pound snook on a rapala plug and Alan got a barracuda about the same size.  The biggest of the sharks they got was caught by Dave with a big spinner of about 140 pounds.  Mark also got several sharks.  Andy, Ben and Reg on their first trip to the Keys had a fantastic time catching tons of the smaller species, several sharks up to 200 pounds and Andy capped the trip off on the last day by catching an 85 pound tarpon followed by an near 100 Goliath grouper an hour or so later!

Fishing Reports Florida Keys Spring 2007

After our trip in January and February we returned home for a few weeks to sort out life and more importantly be back home for the birth of our second grandchild which our youngest Daughter Donna produced on 8th March - a little cracker named Sophie Ella - looks like I might have to buy another boat to name after the grandkids!

On returning to the Keys in late March the big tarpon had moved in in force and our first week of clients produced plenty of fish - all had big tarpon to their credit plus numbers of big sharks and plenty of smaller species.

The next couple of weeks saw consistent fishing with big tarpon and sharks even though the wind tried its hardest to mess things up.  That is one huge advantage of Islamorada that even in inclement weather you can still get out to somewhere that will give you the chance of a big fish - we have caught lots of big sharks, tarpon, goliath grouper, barracudas, rays and even sawfish on days when we are really hiding from the wind.  We were really spoilt with the weather in 2006 when we hardly had a day messed up but 2007 was payback time.  The wind did blow more that usual. 

On one of the next weeks trips we experienced something that I have heard of many times , seen pictures of but never personally experienced it.  Ian and Cheryl were enjoying a magic nights tarpon fishing having landed 4 over a 100 lb already, when Ian hooked into another big fish which fought really hard for over 50 minutes taking us under the bridge at Channel 2 and into the ocean.  Still the tarpon fought. 

We had seen it several times and new it was a big one in the region of 170 lb when out of the corner of my eye I saw something that sent a shiver down my spine - a huge hammerhead shark swam right under the boat in a really aggressive manner and headed for Ian's tarpon.  I shouted to Ian to break it off but poor Ian didn't realize what I was saying.  He had been fighting this fish for nearly an hour and I tell him to break it off - I'm not surprised it didn't compute.  A split second later Ian jolted backwards as the rod went slack. 

The shark had hit the tarpon coming towards him then it turned and ran off.  Ian was still attached to the tarpon but the tarpon was attached to the shark by the biting end!  The line broke on the sharks skin.  We were then treated to the sight of a 170 lb plus tarpon being ripped in half.  The shark swam off with the tail half, leaving the head half floating on the surface. 

I phoned my buddy Jeff who came and laid alongside us just in time to see the shark return and nonchalantly grab the head half and swim off with it.  It's dorsal fin was over 3 foot high and that fish ate a 170 tarpon in 2 swallows.  We were all a little sad for the tarpon but in a perverse sort of way pleased that we had witnessed nature in it's rawest state.  It was an awesome sight and one I won't forget in a long time.  Both Jeff and I had a very good look at the shark and estimated it to be between 1500 and 2000 lb.

Another highlight that week was when one of my old friends Martin got two 170 lb plus tarpon in the same evening.  That's a brace of fish to be proud of.

Over the next few weeks the tarpon and shark fishing was consistently good.  Plenty of big tarpon over 140 lb and lots of big sharks.  Trevor  and Lee both had lemons over 400 lb and also lots over 250 lb.  Steve  had travelled all over the world trying to catch a shark without success and on his first trip to the Keys with us he landed thirteen in five sessions to over 300 lb.

On one early morning session father and son team Bob and Joe and pal Charlie got six big tarpon over 100lb, a thirty pound permit caught by Bob and Joe after an hours fight landed 150 lb eagle ray.  These fish are protected and very rarely caught.

All through late April and May the fishing continued to be consistent.  The wind did not stop blowing but the fish kept feeding.  We had quite a lot of new clients this year and although the fishing was not quite as good as last year they all had a good time, most have re-booked and a lot have gone back with lasting memories.

The last week we were in the Keys regulars Marcus, Jamie, Ben and John fished their socks off all week and notched up an impressive tally of over 40 tarpon over a hundred pounds.  That just shows you the calibre of the fishing here, it is world class.

With my job in the U.K. I can give people a great day out with some exceptional fishing for tope, bass, cod, skate and smoothounds but over here in the Keys I can give people the trip and fish of a lifetime and it is that that keeps people coming back. 

We are already over half full for 2009 so if you fancy a crack at a hundred pound plus tarpon and huge sharks with a lot of other fish thrown in for good measure give us a call and ask for a brochure.

Mick with his moray eel

Dave & Pete with Dave's massive grouper

Martin with his sailfish

Big Mick plays with a manatee off our dock

Me and Bob with a nice spinner shark

This time of year in the Keys offers a huge variety of fishing which makes my job even more interesting than usual.  You can do several different types of fishing in the same day.  This years trip started with the return of John, Doug, Rob and newcomer Paul.  Over their trip they had a good variety of fish with plenty of sharks, groupers, mackerel, snappers, trout, jacks and lady fish despite the water being a little on the cool side.

The next group consisting of Phil, John, Keith and Tony got their timing just right.  The water warmed up a little and the fishing really took off!  They had loads of sharks to over 350 lb, groupers to 35 lb and cobia to 20 lb.  Keith also got a sailfish during his offshore trip which is now included in our package.  I also sneaked out a 40 lb kingfish on Keith's bait casting rod with 10 lb line while he was having a cigarette break!  Both Phil and Keith landed tarpon between 50 and 70 lb and John and Tony landed 5 snook one evening between 8 and 12 lb.

The next group fishing with me was my old mates little Mick, Bob and big Mick!  Over the trip they got plenty of fish including 3 tarpon one morning to 50 lb and on another afternoon had 9 sharks with 3 over 300 lb.  They finished off with a catch of 22 shark.

The final group of this trip consisted of Pete, Dave, Andy, Tony, Martin, John and Ian.  They fished as 3 groups with Pete and Dave concentrating on the backcountry landing several snook, redfish, trout, jacks and groupers.  On their last day I took them sharking and we landed 15 sharks to 250 lb plus Dave caught a massive grouper which using the IGFA weight for length equation weighed a colossal 467 lb.

Andy, Tony and Martin also caught plenty of fish during their trip including a 40 lb sailfish for Martin and several bonitos on their offshore trip.  They had loads of mackerel, snappers and sharks and on their final day they landed 10 sharks in the first 2 hours when Tony hooked into something that continually peeled line off the reel until we had to chase it.  Tony fought the fish for an hour until even his body builders frame had enough.  After that all 3 of them took it in 5 minute shifts and eventually after an hour and 40 minutes we managed to get the fish alongside.  It was a saw fish of 18 feet long which probably weighed between a 1000 and 1200 lb.  It was absolutely enormous with it's bill over 5 foot long.

Ian and John fishing the Keys for the first time had some great mixed fishing during their week catching mackerel, trout, snappers, bluefish, redfish and sharks.  John also caught several big bonitos on a 12 lb spining rod. They also had good catches on their last trip with 10 sharks and a saw fish which I estimated at around 700 to 800 lb.  It was about 15 foot long.  They also lost another monster which we never saw.

Check this page to see what is happening off Bradwell

Fishing Reports Bradwell on Sea

 January, February & March 2006

The weather forecasters predicted we would have a much harder winter this year and up until Christmas I thought they were going to be wrong but since Christmas the weather has been generally lousy with lots of north east or east winds making the fishing either unpleasant or not possible.

During the few better spells the codling fishing has been excellent with catches of up to 80 fish per day, mostly in the 2 to 3 pound range, but the weather has seriously curtailed us getting there with any regularity.  It has also been a lot colder which has pushed the fish out of the rivers and inshore waters. 

The spring run of codling started early March which is a good 2 weeks later than usual due to cold water temperatures.  On the plus side these spring codling will probably stay later than usual because of the lower than usual water temperatures. 

The thornbacks which normally start to put in an appearance late February have yet to appear but I predict as soon as the water starts to warm they will be in inshore in big numbers.

April, May & June 2006

Because of the unusually cold weather the water temperature stayed low which kept the spring codling inshore in very good numbers - 40 to 60 a day was common and they stayed till nearly the end of the month. 

Because of the colder weather the thornbacks were a little slower in arriving but still turned up in decent numbers.  There was a really good showing of mini codling which again bodes very well for this coming season. 

The weather in May unusually was awful this year - wind, rain and cold - right through to the last week of the month.  In fact we cancelled more days in May than January.  Because of this bad weather the fishing suffered.  On the few settled days the fishing was okay with plenty of thornbacks inshore and dogs, smoothounds and thornbacks offshore. 

The tope which normally come in with the mackerel at the end of May were late because of the bad weather and did not arrive in decent numbers until well into June.  The smoothound and thornback fishing in June was very good especially towards the end of the month when some mackerel eventually did arrive. 

With the mackerel came good numbers of big bass also with a lot of double figure fish being caught.  One day whilst tope fishing we had 2 tens and an eleven as bonuses followed by 3 more over the next 2 days over 11 lbs.  There have been a few tope over 50 and quite a lot between 25 and 40 lbs but they were inconsistent.

At the end of June the fishing was getting as good as it usually is for this time of year with all the main species being caught in decent numbers.

July & August & September

July and early August saw some spectacular smoothound fishing with numbers of fish over 20 pound.  The best we had on board the Kingfisher was 25 pound taken by Trevor Rayner.  There was a lot of fish in the 16 to 18 pound range. 

The thornback fishing in July was not as good as usual but picked up to be better than usual in August and September.  A lot of days we got 30 plus fish a day and of a good average size.

The bass fishing was spasmodic but with quite a lot of fish between 5 and 8 pound on some days. The reason it was spasmodic was because of the lack of mackerel.

From mid September on the Autumn whiting started to make an appearance with a lot of dogfish and the first of the codling.

October, November & December

During October the weather stayed very mild and the summer fish still hung around through most of the month.  Thornbacks, bass and dogs were around in good numbers on both inshore and offshore marks. 

The traditional autumn run of whiting and codling moved inshore and the whiting fishing was some of the best we have seen for many years with lots of fish and plenty of good sized ones.  The codling were mostly on the small side but there was a sprinkling of better fish in amongst them. 

November and December saw the whiting and codling numbers increase.  In fact through November the whiting fishing was the best for probably ten years.  The codling numbers increased as so did the size.  Offshore there were still plenty of thornbacks and dogfish and a few larger cod. 

December saw the good numbers of whiting continuing and the codling increasing in size.  There were not so many larger cod as usual probably down to the high water temperatures.  Towards Christmas the cod fishing really got going with upwards of 60 a day being taken on a regular basis and still with plenty of thornbacks mixed in with them.  Providing the weather stays mild I think the fishing after Christmas this year will be excellent.

January, February & March 07

The mild weather continued and so did the fishing.  Unusually the whiting stayed around in good numbers with the codling and they stayed inshore.  All through January good bags of fish were taken from the river Blackwater as well as Jaywick and Clacton.  Good numbers of thornbacks stayed inshore also. 

The codling numbers as usual this time of year increased and some excellent catches were had all through January and February.  Early February saw a big flush of thornbacks move in to join the ones that were already there and several boats reported catches in excess of twenty fish as well as good numbers of codling.  For this time of year this really is excellent fishing. 

The fishing in March is when the traditional spring codling run starts.  If more fish come in to join what is already there it could get exceptional.  At the time of writing the codling and thornback fishing is as good as I have seen it for many years.

April, May & June 07

The excellent codling and thornback fishing of late March continued on through early April, in fact, coupled with exceptionally good weather the fishing was excellent for the time of year.  A lot of days produced 30 to 50 codling and 10 to 20 thornbacks. 

The codling thinned out towards the end of the month but the excellent thornback fishing continued.  Several days produced more than 30 good sized fish.  This continued through into early May where the fish got bigger as they always do this time of year when the female fish move inshore. 

There were plenty of dogfish, a few smoothounds and bass from mid April onwards.  This spring the thornback fishing has probably been the best we have seen for 20 years. 

With mid May came greater numbers of smoothounds, dogs, bass and the first of the mackerel moved into the offshore channels and with the mackerel came the tope and some larger bass. 

There were a few good tope caught towards the end of May and also some cracking bass.  The best on my boat was 13 lb 2 oz.  June always is the peak of the summer fishing when all the main species arrive at once in good numbers.  Tope , bass, smoothounds, thornbacks, dogs and mackerel.  The tope fishing was hampered somewhat by the lousy weather.  Very few days could we get to the best marks.  On the few days we did manage to get there several tope up to 62 lb were landed along with numbers of double figure smoothounds and a few skate and bass. 

Inshore there were plenty of thornbacks, good numbers of dogfish and school bass.

July, August & September 07

July and August are the best months of the year for the big, female smoothounds.  Most of the fish will be between 8 and 18 lb and a good number will be over the magical 20 lb mark.  They are best fished for on the smaller tides when the water is clearer.  The fish this year showed up on schedule and gave all our anglers some fantastic sport.  There was a lot of fish between 10 and 14 lb and a good number between 15 and 25,  Several days we had 3 fish over 20 lb - the biggest was a cracking 26 pounder caught by Steve Williams

The bigger tides will produced plenty of thornbacks and bass especially after mid August.  The bassing on the offshore banks was excellent, with several catches of 30 to 40 fish in a tide including several good ones up to 13 lb.

Through September the thornbacks increased and so did the bass but the smoothounds thinned out after the first 2 weeks.  The first whiting and codling will started to appear towards the end of the month.

October, November December 07

The exceptional thornback fishing continued right through October with catches of 40 to 60 fish per day not uncommon.  It was the best thornback fishing I have see for years.  Mixed in with them were several big bass, many in double figures.

Into November the thornbacks continued but thinned out on the offshore grounds. 

Inshore the codling and whiting increased in numbers all through the month.  By mid month the codling numbers were quite respectable with 30 or 40 sizable fish being taken regularly.  There were a few bigger ones in the 6 to 9 lb bracket mixed in with them.

In December some bigger cod arrived on the offshore grounds and the numbers of codling increased on the inshore marks.  There were plenty of decent whiting, a few thornbacks and the odd bass mixed in with them.

January, February & March 08

The codling and thornback fishing in January and February was exceptional with up to 80 fish a day common.  It is a shame the weather screwed up most of the month. 

During February the weather improved and the fishing was as good as I have seen it for a long time with lots of codling in the 3 to 4 lb range ad plenty of thornbacks, many of them in double figures.  There were also some good cod , the best of which we saw was a 17 pounder caught by Colin Cooper. 

During March the codling fishing remained brilliant with up to 20 fish per angler common and plenty of thornbacks and several good whiting.

Forecast for April, May & June

The cod and thornbacks will continue together through most of April.  As the water warms up the cod will thin out and the thornbacks will increase all through April, May and June.

Early May will see the the start of the bass and smoothounds towards the end of the month the first mackerel and tope will arrive.  Once into June all of the Summer species will be in in numbers.

Don't forget to get the best tides, giving you the best chance of a good day book well in advance. We are now booking for the  summer and winter 2008 so don't miss the boat ring me now with your dates!

John Rawle

Telephone 01621 776445

Book your trip now!

Fishing Gift Vouchers                                 

Got a Birthday or Special Occasion  - ask for a £50 boat fishing voucher to fish on Daphne Carole for the day. Ring or email John for details.

Better than all the rest.....

John Rawle

Bellropes, Maldon Road, Bradwell on Sea, Essex.

CM0 7HY  England

Tel. 01621 776445 or Mobile 07860 920 964

Email    bellropes@btinternet.com