It’s 06:30 when I pull up at the top of the track, Mike joining me soon after. No sign of Si but that’s my fault, I was late letting people know as I’d been so busy doing other stuff. Still, it was kind of appropriate as it was Mike and I the last time. Could we do better today? I had new line on my anchor reel, had new traces on my rods and had the finder all ready to go apart from a battery virtually drained! Speaking of batteries, I had to scrounge some off Mike for my headtorch too.
Special plan. I wanted success so my luckiest hat came with, worn beneath my polar hood. This olive green watch cap, full of holes, has been on my head on and off for over twenty years, both on exercise and fishing; it was on my head for my largest pike at 23lb and many more fish besides. It had pedigree. It has form. It has a lot of large holes.
We trolleyed down the ramp and onto the beach, sand and shingle giving way to the most gentle of rolling swell coming into the beach. Just enough movement in the water to be pleasant.
I launched at a leisurely rate and once Mike joined me we paddled out effortlessly and picked up the current. It was just starting to lighten and I could make out a light around where we were headed for – I knew Marty was going to be out there and figured it was him, already in place. It was too, once he spied dark shapes moving closer he gave me a call on my mobile – he’d tried on the radio but I hadn’t switched on yet. He’s had one codling already, been fishing about half an hour. Sounds good.
We came up and with him fishing on his starboard side I dropped anchor uptide and a good way out, hoping to be parallel so we could chat. The drift at anchor was different to the drift on the surface and I went straight into one of his lines. Felt a right twatt I did! Hauled up and tried again on the port side, uptide again, so that the drift would take me away. Nope, he has a poly magnet on the transom and I went straight back over there! It was like the Keystone Kayakers; I let more warp out and dropped into to starboard a hundred yards downtide and well out of his way. Mike, meanwhile, drifted right past, came back and then proceeded to drift the same line as me. I could hear Marty’s eyes rolling into the back of his head. At least he was polite enough not to laugh out loud at our comic capers. We’ve had a couple of cuppas over the last few days and had a good old natter so I’m pretty sure we’ll not be struck off the Christmas card list just yet! .Our accurate anchoring has been honed, of course, on empty seas with the same style of anchoring gear and vessels, it usually goes to plan but clearly more care will be needed next time we join up with a boat for a session.
I drop down a couple of 4/0 pennels, the usual frozen blacks and squid. It’s a fantastic morning, really one of those classic ones where it’s great to be out of bed even though I’d not slept well or for long – a combination of caffeine, scum neighbours and a song in my head. I hear Marty “Cod on Snapper!” Hmm, better start fishing then; I do and a few minutes later I have my first fish in the boat, a whiting over a pound; I’m made up, that’s a nice tea! “Wrong type” I hear from behind ;D Okay, try again…big sister comes on, 1lb 4 and with cod-sized roe…tea for two or two for tea?
Bing! Gentle nudging bite, leave it, leave it, leave it…strike! Cod on! First cod of the year and in this tide it gives a decent account of itself. Up it comes, 3lb or so; into the boat and I administer the last rites.
Marty is in again soon after, minutes later I catch up. Then I get another, followed by him. Then he gets a whelk and keeps it for me to cook on film; ten minutes out of a whelk? Why not! I catch a whiting and fall behind to his next codling, the whiting is sizeable but not a patch on the other two so goes back. Between us is Mike. He’s not had a nibble yet. The tide eases and things go very quiet. We sit there for a while; Mike has had a bite at least. I miss one, that’s my second miss, both good ones. I phone my wife, tell her I’m planning to come in as soon as the tide stops running; I cut her off, I have another codling! A better one this and I swing it up into the yak.
It’s getting lighter now too, the sun has got over the cloud bank. Perhaps that has helped?
We give it a while longer and then it’s time to up-anchor. I’ve not quite equalised Marty’s score since we arrived (he already has one in hand as well of course so is on 6 to my four) but I’ve not done badly at all. I’m interested in this more than normal because we’re using different rigs and I have frozen worm to his fresh. I pull up close and have a quick chat before we head in and he slings a whiting and one of his rigs into my yak – one for me to copy as it’s very different to what I normally use. He knows I like to experiment. I’ll return the favour with a double hook and a circle sometime ;D As I head in he turns me with a shout – number 7! What the hell, I’m happy and it’s a beautiful morning. Away with a wave…a la prochaine…
There are now 7 boats out here and I pop over towards Lead Us to give Colin a wave and then Mike and I head for shore and home.
A nice easy landing and a good haul to show the beach anglers that descend on us from two sides; they’re pleased to see that there ARE codling around and the boats don’t look that far out, really. I hope they do well too, it’s a nice day for it.
They don’t look that big in this picture but if I point out that one of those whiting (the slightly larger one) measured 42cm it helps with scaling them.
A drag up the ramp and along to the vehicles and home for coffee and filleting with a promise to Mike of couple of smoked fillets for him and his good lady.
Yeah, I’m liking 2012.
NB About this morning's haul. My wife was outraged that I had the cod and she had the whiting. She threw her plate at me. Fortunately I ducked but I fear the whiting's on the wall.
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