Three off the Claremont…23.04.2011

Well I got my arse in gear and arrived on the beach just before 6am with a coffee inside me and, being first there, set about kitting up at a leisurely pace. It was a superb morning and there was a rare visitor in the shape of a cat anchored in just off the beach; a sunrise subject.



I saw Tim drive past the end of the road looking for parking and decided that I’d go down from the promenade and rig the Scupper for launch fully. This done the call of the sea was too strong and so I left his bait – unwashed squid, bluey and fresh herring – on the shore with rocks on it while I paddled out to flick a shrimp rig about for five minutes. It was a waste of time but the launch and landing ere fun anyway. The sea was flat calm but the very small waves rolling in were pretty fast.



Tim got down to the shore and I went back in to have a natter and launch together. It wasn’t a big trip today, the plan was to head half a mile out and anchor up just inshore of a bank with fish baits down in the hope of thornies. We’d be heading into the tide but that’d shake the cobwebs loose so it was quite a pleasant paddle.

Tim was getting bites constantly from the off and once I replaced the bait on my bare ray rig so did I. The triple flapper scored first though with a brace of monstrous whiting which went straight back.



By now I’d noticed someone on the beach and really couldn’t make out who it was but finally Codcatcher made it out in his Frenzy for a nice warm morning on the water; I’d last fished with him at the back end of August.



Lots more rattles followed as there are millions of these around and then a clonking bite was struck and I had a good pull on the line – I thought I had a 3lb’er on, such was the pull (part fish, part tide). Up came this welcome pup, I love them! Species 5 for the year too.


Soon after Codcatcher had his first fish off the yak – nice one buddy! Tim also scored with a tiny whiting and then I was in again, matching Tim with my Personal Smallest:



Next up was the fish we have become known for around here, though this last 18 months has rather removed the expectation of seeing them, species 6 for the year, a codling of around a bit of a pound that swam off to fetch mother ;D Tim, meanwhile, was catching my anchor warp.



The tide was just starting to pick up again and things got a bit dramatic for a time so we headed in; I had a date with barbecued herring before taking my family down to the river to meet some friends for a paddle anyway…but that’s another story.