TOPE

I love my tope fishing, to the point that I look forward to it all through the winter and spring months. You see, I’ve been spoilt by travelling to exotic destinations, fishing for species that really put the hurts on you. It’s such a buzz when a decent fish strips yards of line from your reel – and that’s part of the buzz of sea fishing for me these days, which is why I tend to fish as light as possible for all species; to get some fight out of them. The tope is one species that can put up a really good scrap, even on heavy gear, so by using a well-balanced outfit you’re guaranteed some heart-stopping sport.

WIDESPREAD ADVERSARY

Tope are far more widely spread than you might think and have been captured well above the Scottish borders on both the east and west coasts. The Thames Estuary is probably one of the best-known venues for tope angling and was once the Mecca for the species, and rightly so, with regular catches topping the 60lb mark. Although recent years have seen a slight decline in the number of fish caught, it still remains one of the top venues to bag a biggie.