So, I launched off the beach near my house. No photographs as my youngest had stolen the camera and put it elsewhere. The current was running fast, the wind was up and it was choppy. I didn’t go far due to limited time and slung out a frozen black on each rod. And waited. I had my one and only bite 5 minutes before my planned return and this stripped 90% of the worm off the hook. A birthday blank (but only fishing for less than an hour in a place unlikely to produce).
Now, today, Wednesday, was another matter. I used up another day’s holiday as I had to fetch my parents from the airport at 1pm. They’ve just been out to South Africa and had been travelling for a long time. They were therefore not too happy to be told that there luggage was misplaced at Amsterdam – they had to change their flight, arriving instead at 5pm. As I said, they were not happy – but I was! My plan had been to launch about 3pm after I got back home and fish for a couple of hours. Now I was suddenly able to fish twice as long and straddle high water ;D Any sympathy was tempered by the photo they’d sent a couple of days before…
I’d got my kit ready beforehand and within ten minutes of the plan changing I was into my fleeces and drysuit and on the way. I’ve changed rigs now, the wishbones have been resulting in loads of missed bites lately so I am now using a modified plaice rig. Modified in that it has a 5/0 at the bottom, a 1/0 further up (thus holding the worms off the point of the hook) before the beads/blades. There then follows a swivel and a couple more feet of line. Next comes a swivel, bead, zip slider, bead and swivel on a couple ore feet of line, this attached to the mainline. Yak on the trolley, wandered down to the beach. It looked lovely:
I headed south to the CEFAS building. This is a popular shore mark and Steve111 and I had headed here last Friday evening and done alright. I was heading a bit further out, having picked up a slightly deeper hole on the Navionics charts in my Humminbird, anchoring at the north end of this as the current was running to the south and I’d be able to fish over this mark.
…and what a current. I’d chatted to a guy in a SINK for a few minutes on the way down – we were drifting at around 2 knots. When I started to paddle down I was doing over six. I reckon I’d have touched seven with my usual paddle – being used to it – but I’d taken the demo cranked Lendal Kinetic Wing for a bit of variety and it’s slightly different to use so I wasn’t getting the most out of it. Good workout of a different muscle set though!
I baited up one rod with a whole frozen black lugworm – Norfolk Boy, they’re brilliant, next time you order from your source I want some more – now, when I say a whole black I mean a whole ten inch snake of a lugworm! Top bait for sure. The other rod was loaded with salted and frozen blow lugworm, as a tester.
Not long…thump, thump, thump…
…it had hooked itself. Not big, maybe a pound and it soon went back…after a gratuitously piss-taking photograph…
I texted Steve and told him to look out of his office window ;D I’m an evil swine really. By the time he texted back I was in again – as the phone bleeped the rod nodded and I brought in a two-pounder. I texted back and had to stop to reel in a third! All off the same rod on the frozen black.
Off came the salted/frozen lug. I’ll keep it to try on the Sole but for cod, forget it. A black in its place and out it went. Next up was the first of three Pouting. The second was badly hooked and came home with me but the others went back.
Then, surprise surprise, the first of the year – a Bass. Species Ten of 2009. Not big, and badly hooked but went back and hopefully made it as it seemed feisty enough.
It went quiet for a little while and I rebaited and cast one of my rods out to the side…five minutes maximum when…Bang, bang, bang! This was a better fish and I could feel it nodding on the end. It fought all the way up to the boat and was the best cod I’ve had this year – maybe 3.5-4lb.
That was the last of the Codling and as the current started to ease a bit I began missing some bites…the Whiting were here now and often both rods would tap in succession. Three of them came aboard, to be promptly released, but a fair few outsmarted me.
I tell you what, it was a superb session; my best of the year so far. A dozen fish, 4 of them worth keeping, 4 species including a first for the year and a gorgeous sunny day. I have a slight sunburn and feel nicely refreshed. The mile back to the launch point, still against 1.5mph of current took a little longer than the trip down but at an average of 3.5mph shed a few grammes of accumulated winter lard too ;D It looks like spring has arrived!
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