I know, I know. Stupid time of day. I have family to contend with though, and tides, and cooking…I also had a bunch of stinking, dead worm that had been donated a few days prior and a need to get wet.
The days are drawing out, I’ve cut my tip lights off – launching when I can see what I’m doing is novel I must say. Si was complaining about being up early but little does he know what I get up to when it’s bass time…I trolleyed down and launched, an hour and a bit after high water.
Right, I don’t want to lose my anchor but I want to fish the other side of the wreck to the flow…loads of line on this reel, if I drop around here, 260ft away in 26ft of water I should be in the vicinity…I dropped anchor, paddled myself and drifted down. The wreck passed under the sonar; bang on!
I baited up a wishbone 2/0 and a single 4/0, both on zip sliders and with running leads, the tide was really soft so I used small weights with no grip wires. Lucky really, the tide was still slack and I drifted 240ft from the wreck, unlike Si who tied off to the ginger beer bottle we left floating there last week on his snagged anchor. Anyway, I cast my baits in all the same.
So I drifted around and then got my first fish while watching the resident seal watching us. Well, I brought the whiting out of the water and I was getting stared at; I kept it aloft and it came closer…I was hoping it’d come right up like it had in the summer but no, she dived and was only small on the resultant video. Oh well, back went the whiting.
Still moving, I had another three.
There were fishing moving around and what I took to be sprat shoals mid-water, with fish feeding on them perhaps too.
Maybe that’s why, once I got back over the wreck, nothing gave a toss about lug and squid cocktails…
Well, I finally managed my first fish off the Norman, a nice little whiting of around 4 inches!! That was it for the day, a grand total of five and by 09:00 I had decided I was bored and so Si and I hauled in to head in. So, was it worthwhile? In terms of specimens or food clearly not BUT I had answered my other questions: 1. My new cag was up to the job. 2. Cag and bib/brace was sufficient for the time of year (though not for risking rough weather or immersion). 3. I could position myself bang on the Norman with my anchor out of the snag zone. 4. My neck/shoulder is bearable for paddling. 5. I am better looking than Si.
We paddled in and noticed Mike launch and come to see us. Late he was but instead of not bothering he popped down without rods to paddle out and catch up. Nice touch! A pity we inadvertently cut his trip short but heading back against the current was a worthwhile effort for all of us.
Apologies for low quality photographs, they’re still captures off the video camera.
4/4/2012
ReplyDeleteAre you using some kind of time machine? Or is that the Norfolk dating system