Outaninfortea…15/01/2012

I woke up early, my alarm set for early o’clock. I hit snooze 3 times before I switched it off. I still got up early but didn’t go padlding. I had a coffee and looked at the conditions and failed to reach a decision. I walked to the beach. Hmm. Could have fished, couldn’t have surfed, could have paddled, could have sailed, could have gone on the river. Could have. Didn’t. Went home, did some stuff.

Once the rest of the house was awake I cleaned some herring and fried the roe and milts for my breakfast. It kept me going until I made lunch – a selection of pike, bass, mackerel and herring cooked in foil with lemon juice, parsley and nutmeg. It was no good though, it still didn’t make up for not getting wet and I was snappy.

It was tasty and then I decided to go.

I headed for Dogger, didn’t have a lot of time. Knew there was fairly deep water and rough ground close in. Knew the tide ran fast but knew it wouldn’t be an issue in the time I had available. I squeezed through the pikey-free blocks and parked up, unloaded, suited up and went down to the shoreline. I lay there chatting to the camera as I studied the sea, making a launching tutorial. Well louche…might have to get some Ray-Bans.



I hauled the yak to the water, biding my time and then paddled out through a flatter bit. The force 4 south easterly was putting some chop and swell into the water and this was dumping on the beach a tad. Nothing too bad really and I liked the paddle out.



I knew where I wanted to go but then the plotter went on the blink so I paddled out until I decided it all looked the same and dropped anchor.

Two rods, one with a 3/0 twin boom rig, mackerel strip and sprat on the two hooks and a wishbone rig with frozen blacks and squid on the other. Five minutes and a decent whiting came to lug and squid. Soonm after a nother, then I missed one, then a rattle on rod one and a dab came to mackerel. Green and with an injury. Then a pin whiting that went back on the squid, another whiting, another dab then it went quiet as the tide dropped off.





Nothing had touched the sprats, fresh yesterday.

The tide was slack when a big white cat came past, a lovely boat it looked too. One of the charters but I couldn’t make out the name as I was having to look over my shoulder. Soon after as the ebb started to push through Lead Us came past, inshore of me, with a huge flock of birds indicating that Colin had once again done the honours for yet another party. Might have to sell the yak at this rate, be a good investment!





The tide started to push through once more and another whiting jumped on the hook but with wind over tide now and the swell going the same way the lumps got lumpier. The skipper of Lead Us found me difficult to keep sight of as it was but now it had grown in intensity slightly as the current increased. I had enough for a good meal and the light was fading so I decided to up-anchor and head in through the dump and go pick up the van ready to run to the other side of the country for breakfast…and I feel a hundred times better after that.