If someone would have told me 10 years ago we would be fishing for Tope off the shore locally with a realistic possibility of catching one I doubt I would have believed them.
It was a dream to be able to target Tope locally and while we seem to have lost the bigger Conger the Tope is a nice substitute big fish to target.
To be clear, Tope from the shore are still a rare catch and our Tope fishing is nothing like the Mecca of West Wales or even our northern neighbour Alderney but there are some.
My first encounter with a Tope was in 2019. A 27lb fish had been caught from St Catherine’s Breakwater so dad and I went down to have a go with no real idea and very little confidence. We fished straight off the end and first cast dad got picked up. He had his rod tied to the railings and by the time he had got it untied his hook was straightened and the fish was gone but it did give us more hope.
We returned a couple of days later and this time I fished off the back wall and dad fished off the lower wall. I had a strange bite and when I picked the rod up it moved off and I hit it. It was a really strange fight, short mad runs followed by nothing but on a big bait in the daylight I thought it could only be a Tope or a Bass. When I first saw it was a Tope I couldn’t quite believe it and was shaking until it was in the net. It was a fairly small fish at 19-8 but it was a shore Tope and I was buzzing.
We returned a couple of days later and this time I had a proper run and when I hooked this one there was no mistaking what it was as it tore off line as it ran along the breakwater. The scrap was epic, like nothing else I had hooked from Jersey and I was pleased with this fish of 27-8
And just like that they were gone. This is one of the challenges of our Tope fishing, it’s all about getting the timing right and being there at the same time as the fish but there seems to be no pattern to when they are inshore. I have had them in all different months, different conditions day and night so it’s about putting in the hours and keeping your ears open for reports of fish caught or lost.
2020 rolled around with Covid and all that, I decided to have an early season session for a Tope more in hope than expectation. Just as the tide was easing around the high the rod pulled over slowly. I picked the rod up and the fish moved off. When I hit it the first run was mental as it tore off down the breakwater. Eventually it slowed down and as I was gaining line it felt really heavy. It stayed deep all the way in and when it eventually surfaced it looked pretty big. After a bit of a dance it was in the net and that’s where you notice the weight. Pulling a big net up the wall with a big fish is a fair amount of combined weight and doesn’t get any easier as you get older. When the net came over the wall it was clearly a lot bigger that the ones I had caught previously and on the scales it went 39lb exactly.
I went back a few days later to have another go and had a mad session. It started with a lost fish where the knot on the wire had slipped. Schoolboy error. I then had a series of frustrating missed runs and dropped fish before losing one on the surface that looked really small maybe explaining the strange takes. I didn’t think it was going to happen but just as I was running out of bait I finally had a proper run and landed this mid twenty.
Dad was desperate to get in on the action and had missed a couple of opportunities. I had booked a day off work to take my mother in law to an appointment which got cancelled so I gave dad a call and we went to have a go. He cast out and before he put the rod down it went in his hand. He hit it straight away and it tore off, nearly spooling him as it ran along the breakwater. I told him he needed to tighten up before he runs out of line, he gradually made some line on it and it seemed a heavy fish. When it came to netting we had a common disaster as the fish went around the strop ropes meaning the fish wasn’t in the net and dad couldn’t move it. I had a really bad feeling, if the fish took off again it would be game over. We waiting patiently for the fish to swing round and as luck would have it that’s exactly what happened and dad had his prize. It was a cracking fish, if I remember correctly about 34lb and it’s about the happiest I’ve seen dad with a fish
I didn’t catch another one until 2023 when I had 3 in a week to 28-8 and lost another at the net highlighting the importance of being there at the right time.
2024 was another early season session that was memorable. I hooked a fish that felt different from the start, slower and heavier. Again the usual dance to get it in the net but this felt really heavy and dad and I struggled to get it up the wall. It was a really solid fish, big for a male and the first over the 40lb mark at 40-4
After weighing, photographing and returning I cast back out and the rod went again straight away with a much smaller fish of just under 20lb but again highlighting the importance of being there at the right time.
After a few more from the breakwater i really wanted one from the rocks. I had tried quite a few marks with no luck but the problem is being there at the right time so it’s difficult to find rock marks that will produce. Earlier this year I was fishing for eels and Huss and got bitten off a couple of times clearly from a Tope. A couple of targeted sessions later I had my first off the rocks at a little over 35lb and I’m looking forward to trying the rocks for some more.
Time will tell if the numbers will increase, we have had them for several years now and they are still few or far between and you are only seeing a handful each year.
So if you fancy having a go how do I target them? Well firstly if you are going to fish St Catherine’s for them I wouldn’t bother unless you have an adequate sized dropnet. At this point I would say St Catherine’s is still the best place to try, I don’t think it matters if you are on the back wall, the bottom wall or the end when the boulders are covered. As long as you are roughly from the 3 arches to the end then you are in the right area.
While I’m not saying how I fish is the best way to target them it has worked for me. Our Tope are relatively small certainly compared to west wales. Most of our fish are 20-30lb with the bigger fish upto maybe 40lb. I have no doubt eventually Pete Doubles long held record will go but if you look at the boat captures around the island there are huge numbers but the vast majority are under 40lb and a 50lb fish is pretty rare. Because of this I tend to scale my gear down accordingly. Rod of choice for me these days is the Century T700 which is paired with a Penn Casting Special which is loaded with 25 lb mono and a leader. If I can I prefer to use an up and over rig made from 80lb fluorocarbon, the trace is a 90lb wire biting link to more 80lb fluorocarbon. Hook of choice is a single 8/0 Manta Extra. If the bottom is too rough for an up and over I will use a pulley with a rotten bottom clip.
First choice bait for me is fresh Black Bream but I think they will take just about anything when they are there. I like to keep my baits pretty small, I will get 4 baits out of a bream about 1lb without using the head. Make sure your baits are tied on well with the hook really proud. If you get a run try not to be too eager, it takes time to lose that instant panic but I think your bite to fish ratio improves if you let them run a little before hitting them.
If you going to try on the rocks, make sure you have a plan how you will land one. I have a really big landing net I used which worked pretty well. I have a gaff with me but it more incase I hook a big eel really, I would be very reluctant to gaff a Tope.
Good luck if you have a go, the more people trying for them the more we will figure them out and hopefully find a pattern as to what brings them in shore at certain times.
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