I couldn’t wait and so sent Bootster a text to say I’d meet him at the beach and pointed the van northwards. Soon after I pulled up alongside Pinkfoot who was readying his Mini-X by the side of the road before heading down the track and parking (eventually) behind Eastangler, Bootster turning up shortly afterwards. Bootster and I hadn’t been out since about April and so it was good to catch up again for a session. Eastangler was back after his debut a fortnight ago and, well, Pinkfoot and I seem to be down here a lot together – the Suffolk/Norfolk border kayak angling community is starting to grow in number!
Everything loaded I headed down to the beach. It was still dark and we’d be starting out under navlights and head torches with the sun not coming up until we were already fishing. Pinkfoot headed out first and I watched as Eastangler launched before pulling my Prowler 15 into the sea, clambering aboard and paddling through the shore break on my hundredth launch of 2008, waiting at the end of the groyne for Bootster to get afloat.
We paddled out and anchored up about a third of a mile out I’d guess. We were on an ebb tide and it was reasonably strong but not as bad as it has been lately. It was the shortest day of the year too – so I’d scrounged an extension to ‘elevenish’ – in other words I’d aim to be home at midday ;D
I fished a pennel on one rod, with lug and whole squid, put down a (flatfish spoon rig which kept tangling) on another, a three-hook flapper on a third and my current favourite, a wishbone rig, on the fourth. The sea was pretty kind to us today so four rods was easy to manage and I wanted to see which rigs would produce the desired Dabs…
It turned out no rigs were producing anything for me – after a couple of hours I was blanking badly, with only 3 missed bites and a starfish (I think it’s called a Brittlestar) to show for it. And I don’t know where that came from!
However, I kept at it, fishing lug with squid strips on the smaller rigs, using 2/0’s in the hope for flatties. Funnily enough all my bites had come on the same rod and rig – I’d swapped off the flatfish spoon rig for a wishbone with attractor blades between the beads. Thinking about it afterwards I suspect that the flashes were being actively sought as the larger fish are feeding heavily on sprats at the moment. However, when I finally managed to make a capture I decided enough was enough…
Yes, a Whelk. Fairly and squarely caught – it had wrapped its white bits (well I don’t know what they’re called!) around the bait and was trying to eat it. It didn’t put up much of a fight though – they’ve got nothing on a prawn, I tell you. So it seemed to me that I could either catch odd critters like these, pull my anchor and see how Bootster was doing or watch the skeins of geese fly overhead…
I went over to Bootster. He was doing alright – he had a codling while I was there, his fourth…I hung around chatting for a while and he gave me some blacks to try, so I headed off, dropped anchor again and started to fish. I stuck some blacks onto a fresh pennel rig with a squid, cast in, then rebaited the other hooks with fresh lug. It was only a couple of minutes in the new spot before a rod started to go:
A Pouting maybe – but I wasn’t blanking now! It had come to the attractor blade wishbone which had the lug and the whelk on it. Soon afterwards another fish came to this rig too:
Lovely job! On a 2/0 and a small bait taken when the sprats are here in force? The codling are feeding heavily on them at present – they were regurgitating them on the yak, their stomachs were full of them when gutted yet still they were hitting small worm baits – and funnily enough my pennels didn’t get hit once all day.
Next up was another pouting – this time on a three hook flapper on normal lug tipped with squid strip. Then it went quite for a while, until the tide started to ease slightly…and then the attractor wishbone rig went again with a good knock and another codling came in.
I needed one more…I didn’t have long left either…I started to bring rods in and then…bang bang bang! Fish on, and pulling strongly. Same rig and a 12lb class rod. Here it came…up and in!
It had again taken the lug/whelk snood. Well, I was made up and decided to take a photograph of target two – my five hundredth fish of 2008:
Rods in, anchor up and I paddled in. The wind had really picked up since launch and it was fairly hard going. The tide was still ebbing even an hour after high water and I was making about a knot against both. Eastangler and Bootster were meanwhile having a natter…
Eastangler was staying out but Bootster and I went in, him leading in my Trident. Pinkfoot was further south but joined us on the beach shortly after. He was chuffed to bits – he’d got another species for the year and had a few fish to take home too.
We stood around chatting away for a while and then headed up the slope to the transport – there’s no better way in my book to hit your big targets than with friends, and to hit my hundredth launch and five-hundredth fish on what is almost certainly my last session of the year was brilliant.
So, that’s me done until next year and I’d just like to thank, publicly, all those of you who I’ve fished with this year and who have helped, inspired, amused and taught this old dog new tricks. It’s been a cracking year!
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