Jason has asked me to deliver an article on mullet fishing for his blog. The following article is based purely on my own findings and although I have no-where near the skill or expertise of the many fabulous mullet anglers around the south coast of our wonderful country, I would hope that my article is both interesting & inspires at least some of you to have a go at mullet fishing if you indeed are lucky enough to live in or visit an area that is frequented by these most intriguing of fish.
The many books about mullet all indicate that they are the most frustrating of fish to catch. Frustrating, but not impossible. All you need is patience and the belief that you will have an opportunity to catch a mullet if you take your time and gear up your tackle appropriately.
Mullet inhabit my local river around the same time each year. They come in to feed on the tide, spawn and then leave the river system in the autumn to presumably find warmer water because I have never seen any mullet in the river system from late September until May the following year. I’m lucky enough to work close to the river and I have spent many lunch hours just watching these fish in their habitat. They are bottom feeders but inquisitive fish none the less & they can be coaxed onto baits that the canny angler can present. You do need to have an open mind to the approach & use what nature is providing to your advantage.
Rod should be Avon type rods or a good Barbel rod, would be even better.
I use a Ron Thompson B-52 Barbel rod and it packs enough punch to deal with the long powerful runs these fish make, but also has enough finesse about it to drop delicate bread baits right on their noses without too much fuss. There is no place for beefy carp rods or spinning rods as these just make bait presentation far more awkward than it needs be. A light ledger/feeder rod also makes an ideal rod if you have one kicking about.
Reels need to have a good drag system on them. I prefer Shimano reels as they have proved their worth to me time and time again. A small 300 or 400 size is just right and will balance the rod. I prefer a fighting drag on my reel but that’s just because I find the adjustment quicker in the fight. The reel is loaded up with 10lb line, either fluorocarbon or braid. In my opinion braid is a better option but only because it has very little stretch. I find that is an advantage when it comes to striking. Fluorocarbon is a good alternative because of its refractive qualities in water. Don’t forget these are extremely wary and; easily spooked fish. Don’t go any heavier than 10lb breaking strain, but if you go lighter, don’t go any further down than 8lb.
Hooks are the key here and need to be sharp and strong. The carp market is awash with wonderful & very adaptive hooks & it is here that you will find the best hooks.
I prefer sizes 12 down to size 8 and; occasionally a size 6. Don’t be put off by the fact you are using a size 6 hook, mullet have surprisingly big mouths & a size 6 hook will not seem out of proportion in a mullets mouth. I have a bit of a liking of the semi circle hooks that Veals mail order sell. These provide exceptional hook hold & help in the initial strike. Tie these hooks to a 3-4 feet hook link and this will set you up nicely for some exciting sport.Last but by no means least, you will benefit from a good pair of Polaroid sunglasses to help spot the fish, and a peaked cap to keep the sun out of your eyes.
Don’t forget those scales, a weigh net and some forceps to help remove the hook. A catapult is a very handy accessory as it gives you the ability to throw out free bread offerings to get the mullet interested. A landing net, preferably one with an extending handle to help give you extra reaches to land the fish. Finally a camera to capture that special fish when you land it and you are all set for your mullet trip.
To get the most exciting sport from these fish, I prefer to present surface bait for the mullet. Clear bubble floats and surface controller floats are absolutely ideal for presenting baits at both distance & close range. Choice of float is personal but the small-medium bubble floats cover both close range & long range casting but the downside to using these is the splash that they make when they land. Care needs to be taken to cast away from the fish so as not to spook them. I’ve recently started to use controller floats-Fox do a very nice range here. 10-15gm controller floats cast easily and surprisingly long distances, they don’t make much of a splash when they hit the water either.
Bait for mullet is simple straight off the shelf bread. Sliced or unsliced it doesn’t really make much difference, but I do feel the fresher the better. If you want to fish surface floating baits, then fresh bread seems to have an edge & I think the fish can smell fresh bread more. Make sure the hook point isn’t masked as mullet tend to mouth the bait rather than take it hard. They are a very cautious feeder and I find its best not to let your eagerness get the better of you and wait for the fish to take the offering a second time before striking. Be prepared to miss quite a few takes though. And it is this part of the whole experience that becomes the most frustrating. If you are lucky enough to have mullet in your local river, then I would recommend you spend a bit of time just observing these fish. Watch their movements, routines and look for any places they hold up-any cover, obstacles such as over hanging trees, shade etc. Shade is always a good place to look for mullet particularly on sunny days as they are easily spooked by shadows-birds flying overhead or people walking past. It pays to wear clothing that blends in-greens, browns, camouflage clothing is absolutely ideal for stalking mullet on those warm sunny summer days.
You would be unlucky to locate a lone mullet-they are very much a shoaling species. But their feeding habits are the most difficult to predict. That is why they are so frustrating to catch. Almost every species I have fished for have displayed a certain predictability on feeding indeed, most species will not turn up the opportunity of a free meal, whatever that may be. But mullet they are much different. They appear to ‘switch on’ at very specific times or stages of the tide. Whether this is anything to do with water pressure or any other factor, I really don’t know. But what I do know is that I have spent many hours casting over fish that simply ignore the offerings and then, for no apparent reason, one fish will suddenly switch on and show an interest in the bait.
That is where the bait catapult proves invaluable because you can target groups of fish until you find the point at which they begin to feed. Once you have got them taking the free bread confidently, then you can try a cast near the fish. Try not to cast right on top of the fish, but instead allow it to be taken to the fish by the water flow, by casting either above or below the fish.
Once they’ve begun feeding on the free offerings, they will find the bait you’ve cast out. They seem to recognise what they want, so be patient and always keep a close eye on your bait when it is in the water. More importantly watch the fish. You will know if they are going to have a go at your bait and this is when it pays not to get to keen & strike on the first take. It’s best to let the fish feel confident in taking the bait as will mullet rarely hit a bait so hard that they nail it in one go. When you do get a fish on, make sure you have set the clutch right because mullet fight right from the start and don’t give up until they are in the net. Be gentle handling them and get them unhooked & back into the water as quickly as possible-making sure you take that prized photo before putting the fish back. You may be lucky enough to catch further mullet in the same session, but I have found that where I fish, the mullet disappear as soon as one has been caught-it’s as if they collectively know that there is something wrong.
Hopefully I’ve proved that mullet are not impossible to catch – they just need a bit more applied thinking in the approach to them than most
species.
Craig Derry (NMC)
The National Mullet Club