TomBettle Posted May 24, 2010 Report Share Posted May 24, 2010 (edited) We all know how famous Alderney is for it's Turbot, but to be honest, for the crew of Quest II, one tide on these rather sluggish (albeit very tasty) fish is all we can take before boredom sets in. So if Turbot wasn't to be on our menu, what was? Tope. Parts of Alderney's rocky outcrops and tide races are a perfect habitat for sharks of various types and the voracious Tope is one of the most prolific. Typically the method involves anchoring in the tide and using medium to heavyish tackle and 2lb of lead to haul these fiesty fire crackers to the surface. Now, in the tide they still prove quite a challenge, but a lot the fight from these small sharks is lost. Quest II went on the hunt for Tope on day 2 of our Alderney trip and arrived at one of the popular spots as the tide was tearing through. Too fast to anchor we sat in a back eedy to wait for the easing rush of water. The eddy was lovely, with no wind we simply sat in one spot and didn't move at all so to kill some time we each dropped a bait in the hope of a Huss or two. At 07.45 our baits went down and at 07.46 the rod was all but wrenched from my hand as an unseen exocet shot off. The next three quarters of an hour was an extreme mix of ecstatic pleasure and extreme pain as between the three of us we hooked and T-barred off 17 Tope. Most fish averaged about 30lb with quite a few in the 40's. One fish was clearly bigger than the others and she was brought aboard to be weighed whilst cradled in our landing net. Our digital scales bottomed out at 50lb and then the hook and chain that held it together snapped. We'll never know how big she was, but we'll claim 50lb. Whilst wrestling with her to get her safely in the net and for a photo I did very briefly have her verticle and the tip of her nose was just short of the top of my head and her tail was just scraping the deck. I'm 5'10" so I guess she was a little more than 5'7". She was slender and would have weighed more in pup, but what a gorgeous fish and just as lovely was to see her and every single one of her friends swim off strongly. We only brought a couple into the boat. Action was too frantic, but here is a brief video of that three quarter of an hour session. My first go with the camcorder so a little shakey, but hope you like it... knitting and all. Light 6/12lb class rods were the mainstay and really showed (but for the cynics, easily handled) these torpedos turn of speed. Photo's to come soon. Edited May 24, 2010 by TomBettle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djredrupp Posted May 24, 2010 Report Share Posted May 24, 2010 Dunking the camera under.... could have at least jumped in with them tom! that would have been proper dedication!!! Tope is definitely something i want to add to the species list - they look immense fighters!!! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam F Posted May 24, 2010 Report Share Posted May 24, 2010 Nice one Tom - it was an excellent few days wasnt it! Your fish equals the club record of 5olb from 2000 - shame you didnt have any bigger scales. We did the same too - Rob's first fish pretty much bottomed mine out so I bought a 100lb set from Mark the next day.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niggle Posted May 24, 2010 Report Share Posted May 24, 2010 Tom 5ft 10 is that with your high heels on? Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted May 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2010 Tom 5ft 10 is that with your high heels on? Nige ...ok, maybe 5'9 1/2" now I've shrunk a bit in my old age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIMBOB Posted May 24, 2010 Report Share Posted May 24, 2010 Tom Certainly does look topetastic!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted May 24, 2010 Report Share Posted May 24, 2010 Very well done Tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overrun Posted May 24, 2010 Report Share Posted May 24, 2010 Great banter and fishing guys, enjoyed that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
great white Posted May 24, 2010 Report Share Posted May 24, 2010 Nice one Mate, what a great part of an excellent trip When do the big ones arrive, and are we going?? get some bigger scales I know Adam did Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alun j. Posted May 25, 2010 Report Share Posted May 25, 2010 Always good to see a 'Happy Tom !!' Well done that man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted June 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2010 (edited) Struggling to load some stills we had of some of the fun, but here is the bigger of the Tope. Apologies for not cradling her properly. I was trying to return her and she was misbehaving so the photo was a little adhoc. Note the camera was a standard, basic digi and not my "special" lens so she really does have a large head and is long and thin. Edited June 7, 2010 by TomBettle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gas Posted June 7, 2010 Report Share Posted June 7, 2010 Tom great picks loved the video any chance of the pisks of the drive by PM please. Ta Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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