LUUT DE BOER is one of Holland's fly-shooting pioneers. More than ten years ago he and his family embarked on building the flyshooter/twin-rigger Tunis van Luut instead of simply replacing their elderly beam trawler.

Tunis van Luut (UK-224) - built at Maaskant Shipyards on a beamer hull - has been a highly successful vessel and last year she was joined by Wilhelmina (UK-112).

These two specialist vessels are now being operated by the family's company between four brothers and their sons.

"UK-224 was built for flyshooting and twin-rigging. We started with twin-rig trawling but, even though there is plenty of plaice in the sea, we have only a small quota.

"So, after two years, we switched entirely to flyshooting. We've even taken the trawl winches off, " he tells FNI.

"Now we concentrate on gurnards, mullet and squid, with yellow gurnards and mullet in the summer in the North Sea up to 55infinityN and, in the winter, we fish in the Channel on the UK side for squid, bass and red mullet."

Danish skipper Knut Pedersen sailed with Luut de Boer to begin with for a few weeks to learn the new techniques, but he says that he is still learning even after ten years!

"Winter and summer are very different - and there are very different grounds in the Channel, with strong tides and rocky ground that wears the gear out. The ropes wear away much faster in the Channel than in the North Sea.

"We can fish through weather up to a Force 7 or 8, depending on how good the fishing is, and the length of the rope seems to absorb the vessel movement to keep the gear steady on the ground."

Says Luut de Boer: "Seine rope is our biggest cost and we get through roughly two sets every year, replacing the full set every time. We're using 2800 to 3000 metres of Selstad rope.

"It's tough rope, the best quality and, also, the best price." He explains that longer ropes would not be practical on the rough grounds in the Channel.

"If they are longer, there's more chance of a fastener.

Also, with longer ropes and in daylight fishing, over the day you lose a haul with the longer hauling time. But, in the summer with longer days, on cleaner ground in the North Sea, 4000 metres each side works."

The two boats run by the de Boer family operate on similar lines, with a smaller net rigged on rockhoppers for the winter Channel fishery and a larger net for the summer North Sea fishing.

He tells FNI that, since he began fly-shooting, catches of mullet have risen, as have squid and bass at some times of the year - and cuttlefish is also increasing.

"What has also happened since this fishery started to grow is that markets have also built up over time for these species and prices are better.

"There is a lot of fish there and it has happened that the buyers have asked us to stop fishing when they have been having difficulty handling the volume of fish on the market."

While the ideal catch is for three tonnes of mullet in a trip, UK-224 has taken this amount in a single haul, but this is not an experience Luut de Boer is keen to repeat!

"With a big haul like that the quality suffers. It's a lot for the crew to sort and weigh - and the ice machine can't cope.

3000 kg is ideal for a four-day trip, as that gives us a decent price."

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