The whiting's on the wall...29/09/2011

Three weeks without going on the water, three weeks of deliveries interspersed with the boat show and with another show coming up. I was getting twitchy. More so with the beautifully settled weather and random heatwave. I had to fish.

Izzetafox, who I’ve known for years via the net but never met, had asked for some pointers in regards to paddling locally following one anti-AT squabble and I duly sent a few ideas across along with an invite if I could make it. Of course things went awry and his shoulder played up so instead I got an invite for a pint after work instead – this is most unlike my life and my wife was agreeable so I drove straight past for a quick one by the beach a couple of miles south. That’s when I persuaded Terry that the doctor didn’t know just what the doctor ordered and that I did.

That’s why he joined me at Hopton the next day, a day I’d taken off as holiday.

Devoid of some of the right gear I sorted him out with anchor, rods, reels and traces plus a bit of bait. My towline was onboard in case of need but with a short range paddle with the tide it was hopefully going to be unnecessary. Tim was delayed so we went and launched without him. Now, the sea in front of our yaks – Terry’s Prowler 13 and my trusty old Prowler 15 that’s been unused for months – was clear.



This is most unusual and I wondered if I might have been advised to try some feathers or sling some lures over the wreck of the White Swan but it was too late now and we launched through the breaking ripples and headed north to the usual spot, GPS guiding me in and showing me to be within a few yards once I’d settled. Terry was downtide, thrown by an unfamiliar anchor set-up but elected to stay put.

I cast the first rod in, a running leger 2/0 Viking wishbone baited with pieces of bluey. The tide was just coming off the full strength and so I was surprised to get a hit before the second rod went down, this terminating in a 4/0 Viking pennel on a running leger baited with black lug tipped with a squid head. Both rigs had beads above the hooks; luminous small ones on the wishbone and yellow/black on the pennel with attractor blades as well. The rod now in my hand felt quite heavy with the big lump of lead and the strong current and I swung in my first whiting of the day.



Well, it wasn’t long before the pennel went and this felt rather more interesting; a good scrap. Quite how it managed to take the squid head and impale itself on a 4/0 I don’t know but this was the first eel I’ve had on the yak in five years and the first I’ve ever had from the sea – I was well chuffed!



I would have eaten it for old time’s sake (I used to fry them in butter but would have smoked this one) but I was buggered if I could grab hold of it let alone whack it on the head so I flipped it over the side and nursed the multiple bruises on my legs…lucky I did as it would seem that I would have been a very naughty boy if I’d kept it and eels need all the help they can get nowadays.

Anyway, the other rod was going so I chucked this one out and picked it up…



Doggie – great! Three species in three casts and the other rods were both going! Oh yeah, I had three rods on the go. I only needed one to be honest but I was trying for codling on one, dabs on the other and had my KP Scarborough out on the cane rod with a whole squid in the hope of a decent smoothie. I knew whiting would be the main feature though whatever I tried. They were too and they were coming in left, right and centre on all baits and within moments of the bait settling at times. Double headers were regular too and not bothering to rebait the manky remnants while the other rod was brought in brought yet more fish…they were feeding hard. Then I got a better pull…again on the pennel with lug and squid. A smoothie pup ;D I so adore starry smut pups!



It was just lovely out here. Even a seal had popped up six feet off my bow at one point (scaring the crap out of me as usual!).



Eventually Tim arrived and was soon into the swing of things.



The fish carried on…the tide was slowing and the sun was going down.



It got to dusk. The tide was nearing slack and I shouted across to Tim that it was smoothie time and put a whole squid tube over the worms on my hook, topped off with a squid head and recast.



I got a good bite straight away, immovable. Either it was bounced into the rough or a fish had ran into it. I recast. A couple of minutes passed and then I watched as my tightened ram tub showed me what gravity is like and the rod started to drop down towards the water…I grabbed it and watched the tip head towards the bottom. The tide was negligible now, as low as it gets and we were in twenty feet. That’s perhaps why this fish gave such a good account of itself and I was pulled left and right. If I’d slipped my anchor I could have gone for a sleigh ride ;D I fought her up to the surface…



What a night! She took her time to chill out and with a quick unhooking and kissing session I popped her back to swim away. Maybe 5lb but the strongest smut I’ve fought this year so I was well happy, especially as they’re no longer considered my target species so a very pleasant surprise indeed.

Now, I was onto one last scrap of squid. I still had some worm but my squid and bluey supply had been used up. It had been great and I decided enough was enough so had one last cast before heading back in. The wind was picking up now (though nor greatly) and the tide was about to be so slack as to bore me so with a final whiting I headed in with Terry, Tim following on a few minutes later. We’d been out three hours tops. I’d kept a count of my returns (dog, eel and both smuts plus twenty three whiting that were fit to go) and counted up what I’d kept; apart from the biggies, of which there were a dozen or so, I’d kept all the sizeable deep hooked smaller ones and had forty five of them to take home and deal with before driving south the next day. A dozen were given away and more would have gone to the girls at work had I been in the office all day so instead the freezer got loaded after I grilled three with chargrilled artichokes, pistachio, lemon, olive oil and sea salt. Tasty fish, whiting. Lucky really, with this little lot to get through:



Nb last night saw five consumed battered and served with a Thai chilli sauce – delicious – and three more were eaten tonight grill-roasted on a huge bed of parsley and chives with olive oil, sea salt, cracked pepper, capers and gherkins finished with a squeeze of lemon juice. Haven’t decided what to do with tomorrow’s but I’m determined to have whiting every night this week.

Quickie from Hopton 29/09/11

It fished its tits off today - fished from 1530 to 1830 or thereabouts, ebb tide to slack, flat calm, clear water. Bites from the off...1 eel (first in salt water and PB ever) 1 small dog, 2 starrys, one pup and one around 5lb (a female that pulled me round, best smut scrap here yet) and 68 whiting, some pretty big. I had all 3 rods going at once most of the time (had a third fishing a whole squid for cod/smuts) and missed so many bites because of it. Double shots on the wishbone regularly. tim and terry had the same thing going on too. Was keeping good ones and deep hooked ones and came in with 45 of the buggers so will stick to 4/0 and 6/0 next time rather than 2/0 and 4/0. large smut came to whole squid as it was coming up to slack - I said to tim it was smut time and 5 mins later it was on. Missed one too.

Proper report and some nice pics to follow when I have the time.

…..

Hello Whiting, Goodbye Bantam…10/09/2011

‘Well that’s a shit forecast’ I told myself. Southerly, force 5, wind against tide at fish o’clock. Lumpy morning that. Better to wait until later and write the ebb tide in, fit the PA sail and run north. I would have done too if the sea hadn’t looked so damned inviting late on Saturday night when I took the bike out to burn off some of the Indian meal I’d just had ;D

That’s why I was at Hopton at 06:30 to go and have a crack at the early whiting shoals. Stinkyweim joined me too and it looked rather benign from the top of the ramp. Now a lot of people moan about whiting, say they steal baits and are a shit fish and all that but I have a soft spot for them. Whiting are always around and have saved many blanks and they taste nice too. I was quite pleased to hear that they were in so figured it was time to go and get some. As it is my largest freezer tray – the fish tray – is now virtually full with bass, codling, smoothound, mackerel and pike (the fish being variously on the bone, filleted, salted and pickled) so a bit more variety in taste/texture and something that cold-smokes well would be a bonus. Besides, I had to try out the ‘new’ old split cane rod that I’ve just re-sized to look good with my KP.

We launched easily and set off to the usual mark. I actually took my Humminbird plotter/finder out for once and even decided to fish from my Prowler 15 for the first time in ages. It was kind of one of those mornings and the hangover wasn’t that great either!

I dropped anchor and stabilised 100ft offshore from the mark I had aimed to go to – it’s a rough area rather than pinpoint-precise so didn’t try to get too exact. Si dropped down too but his anchor took a while to grab and unfortunately he drifted off the mark.

First came the wooden rod fitted with a 4/0 Viking pennel and a 6oz rolling lead on a running leger. Bait this time was whole unwashed loligo squid. Just in case there was still a smut about.



I baited up the second rod, a spinning rod with a 4 hook size 1 flapper baited with pieces of bluey and finished with a 6oz plain lead. It was screaming through at well over 2 knots and that much lead was required to hold in 30ft. A pity really, that’s a lot of lead. It didn’t take long. A matter of a couple of minutes I guess.



Sorted, they were here then. Bite after bite followed. The spinning rod and amount of line I needed out meant a lot of missed bites and then the reel started to slip. I thought I’d repaired it after Cley last week when it started to fail but I guess not. I had to carry on with it though, I couldn’t be arsed to paddle back in and grab another set-up.

There were a good few bites on the wooden rod too and finally is truck one of them and connected – rod christened! Another whiting and I was chuffed; very satisfying.



Bites kept coming and occasionally I managed to hook the fish. I swapped the spinning rod over to a wishbone that had been in the freezer, baited up. I didn’t realise that the hooks had rusted to blunt ends so missed even more bites ;D I was only out for fun though so didn’t bother swapping again. The pennel kept getting ragged though so during a spate of non-compliance I changed over to my standard cod bait – frozen black lug tipped with a ring of squid. The bite was almost instant and another whiting came aboard. It was starting to get lumpy though.



Not only lumpy but as the tide eased the wind, especially the gusts, made the yak swing around a bit. Pain in the arse it was, made bite detection tricky.



Si up-anchored and wandered over, ready to go in. I pulled up a fish to make him feel really happy; he’d had one bite, drifting off the mark had really hit his fishing sadly. As he went off I decided to get one more on the baitcaster before (probably) retiring it and then one more on the wooden rod even though the sea was getting livelier all the time.

Now, I was suffering a lot here. The spinning rod made it doubly difficult to set the blunt hooks. When I did connect though, I’d strike and the spool would slip. I had to pump the rod and wind like mad on the way down going 3 revolutions one way and losing 1 from slipping. Most fish got bumped…but I persevered, I wanted one last fish on it. And then she came, the largest of the morning.



Au revoir old fella. Twenty years man and boy. First baitcaster I ever saw, my Shimano Bantam Crestfire CR100A, bought as a pair in South Africa as an eighteen year old (the other one went in a burnt out stolen car of mine) . It’s been stripped enough times there are clearly bits missing as well as worn!

The wind was winning now and I was sitting uptide of my anchor as it started to slacken and the bites dropped off. One last missed bite on the wooden rod and I decided to call it a day. The sea was getting lumpier now too and Si looked bored on the beach ;D





I up-anchored and headed in. Some of the waves I came through, beam on, were in the 3-4ft bracket but luckily weren’t breaking properly so I came in fine to a pretty easy landing. Not a bad start to the whiting season, I’d brought 9 to the boat, released a couple and could have had 20-30 to take home easily if I’d not been so incompetent! A good little start and I’ve just bunged a dozen smoked fillets in the freezer, Si can have his tomorrow as I celebrated with a nice Chardonnay with my dinner ;D

The Cley At Night…03-04/09/11

I had decided I was returning to Cley for some mackerel to pickle for sashimi (absent from my catches around here) and a possible summer cod with the strong possibility of a bass thrown in too. That’s why last week I’d informed my wife I was going to Cley. That’s when the weather broke. Ho hum. I went smut hunting instead.

Fast forward to this week and I’m still on about Cley. I was planning to go up the night before when lo and behold! Brotherwarren has clearance for an overnighter from his wife and is looking for suggestions. Cley it is then – mackies don’t feature down his way either. So, the current usual suspects of Tim, Paul, Si and I make plans with Tony, Mark and Steve and everything starts to gather speed rather than moss as none of us are rolling stones.

It comes to me in the wee hours somewhere down south while I’m driving. I have nothing less than 40% proof at home so I send a text out to offer to prepare and serve dinner in return for the others’ drinks…it’s agreed that this is a good deal and aside from Paul (bread and water) everyone’s happy. So Saturday morning sees me gathering the items on my list from the notes I’ve written. Sorted, I text Tony to order two bass and six mackerel if he’d be so kind, no pressure or anything, but if we’re going to eat, well…

Well things don’t go quite according to plan on Friday and so I end up getting back later than planned. This means I have still some work to do and offer to do it on Saturday afternoon on my way to Cley if it’s okay to sling our stuff in the van and use it for the weekend. This works well all-round and so Paul and I pitch up in the yellow peril, unload and head north.

Tony is already on the water when we roll up around 17:30, followed soon after by Si. Everything out and then it’s time to get on the water.


What a sea awaits us! A bit of an offshore breeze is keeping it almost flat and the sky looks fine. Even the water is crystal clear with darkening blues as it stretches out into deeper water. I’m not hanging about! Well, maybe just for a moment as I see a couple of Paul’s home-tied flies. I was impressed.



I paddle out to the wreck with a J13 and a Magnum. I decide the Magnum is going to snag the wreck of the Vera and I may lose it so I remove it, sling it up front and attach a Big S. Never used one of these in the sea before but like a complete twatt I’ve left my lures at home. This makes the nose-diving Magnum’s escape through the scupper hole even more annoying; I watch as it lands on the bottom 20ft down. I’m not getting a good feeling here.

The wreck is devoid of fish.

I paddle about. I get a Mackerel!



Tony is on 3…we have hors d’ouevres.

We paddled around for a couple of hours and slowly we start increasing, one at a time, the size of our dinner. I’m still on one though as the sun starts to sink.



I figure there may be some attraction coming from that pot buoy over there and decide to have a last go near it before heading in. It’s flat calm now, oily, inky. Wonderful. I get close and it’s 6 on a string! I pass again, another 5, then again ;D I’m happy. 1 more on the way in and I’m home and dry with dinner, 19 mackerel to my credit!



It’s dark when I land and so we head up the top of the shingle bank by the car park to get on. First task is to get these mackerel ready for the kitchen – sabattier knife in hand the heads, tails and guts go flying (ending up sleepin’ wiv da fishies) while the mackerel go into a catch bag and get a thorough rinsing in the sea. Then it’s back up to get the fire going.

We had some smashed up pallet wood in the warehouse and I’d loaded it into my van to use on my barbecue a few days before. This would be ideal and with a few more bits from my garden and some more that Tony brought we had a very good fire available. A pit was dug and thick pieces went around the perimeter that would allow grill trays to stand on for cooking and then I set to work..
First up was the starter. Sashimi. I opted for shimi saba – this is mackerel cured in mirin and rice vinegar. I began by filleting 3 plump mackies and marinaded them before thinly slicing bone-free slivers which were set aside.



Next came the nori seaweed strips which were laid out on a plank of wood. The shimi saba strips were laid on these, topped with pickled ginger and finished with a smear of wasabi.



A dip of Japanese soy finished this and we tucked in. First time for Si and Tony…



Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I was smoking some fillets for a smoked mackerel pate. This consists of mashed hot-smoked mackerel, salt, pepper, lemon juice, parsley and mascarpone. Delicious!



The smoker was duly placed atop the fire next to Si’s jacket spuds.



Then it was onto the main course. This was to be a curry inspired by Cambodian and Vietnamese cuisine but was to be of my own ‘design’. So more fillets were prepared then halved for the curry.

Two onions were halved and sliced. A good piece of root ginger was chopped. Half a bulb of Chinese garlic was chopped then crushed by Paul who did the same with the two lemongrass I diced.



3 chillies from Si’s garden were duly sliced and this was set aside while, devoid of my can opener (ok, I couldn’t be arsed to go to the van!) I hacked my way into the tin of coconut milk with my rescue / bait knife…



The first load of ingredients went into Si’s wok, lined with olive oil, to brown.



The kitchen was a hive of activity…



It would be with my idea of campfire food on an overnighter ;D



So, the pan’s contents were browning nicely, time to throw in the coconut milk with a load of palm sugar, nam pla (fish sauce), kaffir lime, shrimp paste, squeezed lime, concentrated tamarind, salt and pepper. Then to let it simmer.



Paul took over stirring while we set about the gravy.



Gotta have gravy.

Then it was time for the mackerel pieces. They don’t need as much cooking as the rest; fish is easy to overcook.



In it went for a few minutes and then, with a handful of chopped coriander and some crushed peanuts it was ready to serve.

It looked like flatfish, so well did it blend in!



It may look like puke but it was anything but. Paul doesn’t eat fish. I persuaded him to try a tiny morsel and eventually he did. I asked him what he thought:

“Fucking fantastic!”

He had a serving as well ;D



It went down a treat and we didn’t even have space left for the smoked mackerel pate – lucky really as I gave it to my youngest daughter when I got home as she expressly demanded some!

Well now, it was time, following that, to load the fire up and we smoked ourselves out of our shelter for a while. Quite a fierce blaze we had going at times.



Around 2am we got our heads down. I elected to sleep outside on the stones with a mat beneath me, next to the kayaks to keep guard from burglars. Si was in his car, Tony in the back of the van and Paul decided to spend most of the night smoking me out by burning the rest of the wood ;D

6ish. Time to wake up.



Wake up, get up, open your eyes…to this:



It looked like it’d be a good day.

I spoke too soon, Uptide pitched up!!!



He got himself rigged as we tucked into breakfast.



That last sentence is a lie. While I tucked into ibuprofen and we all waited for Si’s kettle to boil. Next time I’ll bring some milk. It gave us time to contemplate the development of the morning though.





And so our intrepid gang finds itself at the water’s edge, joined now by Tim as well. It was flat calm and it was clear. Couldn’t ask for more.



Nothing on the wreck and then Tony’s in with a Mackie. I’m blanking and the tide is against us as we paddle five miles east to Weybourne.



Now why would people choose to paddle five miles against the current? Simple really…



Tradition. We stopped there last time and walked into the village for a coffee and we did it again after blanking on the wreck (and I had added 3 sets of feathers and a Dexter plus weights to it). Uptide had managed a nice bass in open water on a lure but apart from that and a handful of lone mackerel we weren’t doing great. Still, the coffee wasn’t bad.

We wandered back an hour or so later and launched again. The tide, as we now headed west, was against us again as was the wind. No matter. I paddled further out than the others and hooked into two good mackerel. One managed to lasso its tail too and while dealing with it the second got off. I got another soon after. Then it was a hard slog back to the start point, at slow, trolling speed. I had occasional, very occasional, excitement and lost fish next to the yak, bumped off on my other line and even one that took fright at the sight of my priest and jumped overboard. Things weren’t going great and I’d only managed to boat 6 of my 11 by the time I finally made it back to the buoy I’d had luck on the previous evening…most of the last hits coming when I shortened my lines to fish further up the water column. As I approached the others who’d already got there I saw them pulling out fish – we’d finally found them.

I was straight in. Then again. And again. Then, as Tim spotted a feeding shoal on his finder and I passed nearby both rods started to buck – five off one and the other one had some bumped off when it snagged Tim – two came in. Multiples were the order of the day now as we dropped into the shoal for a few minutes until they disappeared and we were back to sporadics. Another 19 mackerel came in with me and I’d lost a fair few.

Heading, gutting, placing in the icebox; it was time to load up and go home where I was to prepare more sashimi followed by mackerel fillets rolled in oats and shallow fried in butter served with horseradish. Use it for bait? You won’t catch anything tastier on it!

All in all it was an absolutely cracking weekend. Great fishing following hard fishing, a hard slog and good workout with the paddling, beautiful weather and seas, great company, good grub, alcohol, chilling with mates and crashing out on a beach under the sky for the first time in over a year. I can’t think of anything else I’d rather have done.