The week I’ve just had was grim. Very. There was nothing I needed more on finishing my last shift than to get off this Island and escape from things, de-stress and let nature take its course. Fortunately the weather played ball and with the added incentive of the Lowestoft Boat Match (very informal) there was every excuse to run away on a Sunday! Getting home almost on time and telling my wife I was off to screw my head back on I had carte blanche to be gone as long as I needed. Carte blanche…that’s a rarity.
I’d prepped most things the day before and the car was partially loaded. Slinging rigged rods and a coolbox of bait and leads in the back I set off for the beach at Links Road, Gunton, the last of the launch sites to check after the recent erosion from weeks of easterlies. Well, other than Hopton which is closed off for new sea defences to be put in place. Pulling into the car park I was met by Si and Shaun, also ready to go and with passes for the day.
Unloaded and about to launch there was an emergency. 6ft of beach has been cut away from the dunes and a young kid had just got straight off it on a quad bike. Si and I leapt off the promenade and ran down to help. Luckily kids bounce and he was in a better state than Steve McQueen after he’d escaped from Sagan though shook up and in need of ice cream. The bike was damaged but the kid was not. We launched. It was good to be back on the water with Si, it’s been months.
The tide was pushing through and we were off Tramp’s Alley at Corton in minutes, a mile or so and there appeared to be a few on the beach after some fish with dabs and cod being landed by all accounts. Lead Us was down the way a bit on Colin’s usual mark but I dropped anchor on one that had furnished 4 codling last time I’d hit it. One rod carried the usual 2/0 spreader wishbone while the other had a 4/0 pennel with my secret weapon…down south cod love cuttle and I’d got hold of some uncleaned ones. A cocktail of one of these cut in half with a couple of blacks, a couple of razor and a piece of squid all wrapped up together promised scent and nutrition to anything in the area and I was really hopeful. Down it went…
I mean come on, you’d have eaten it wouldn’t you? That’s like a bloody great joint of beef for Sunday lunch, cooked so it’s pink inside…but no, it was like pulling teeth. We had a bit of swell from behind, being on the ebb pointed north and with a south easterly on our backs but the water was quite clear for here. I just sat there. It was half an hour or more before the first bite and a couple of whiting came in and promptly got sent away again.
One hit on the cuttle to no avail and one missed bite on the wishbone that had had the two whiting and I decided to up-anchor and go to another, deeper mark hoping for dirtier water. It turned out that it was close enough to shout to Colin but not, sadly, close enough to match him for fish! I passed Shaun and Si on the way down. Shaun had landed two codling so far and had another as I passed him, his fresh worm doing the business. I had to pass them to know what was going on as I’d lost my phone, presumably when running down to check on that kid. Anyway I dropped anchor and settled on the mark, the water a bit dirtier and I got some encouragement at seeing Colin hold up an 8lb 6oz thornback ray he’d had on the second cast! Encouraged for now and encouraged for the coming weeks. Then I watched him get the net out for a codling.
So I sat there and waited.
Finally my waiting paid off with a good bite and it felt a lot heavier than the whiting. Cod, I thought and sure enough a small one popped its head up, it’s huge mouth slowing the retrieve in the strong flow. In size but one which would have gone back it had taken the hook down into the flesh behind the gills and I had no choice so down the hatch it went.
Well, two species at least. Next thing I know Shaun pitches up. He’s suddenly become devoid of an anchor system as a he’s been fighting a fish and his buoy, unconnected to anything, has drifted past. A very unfortunate occurrence for him but he gave me his remaining lug, nice and fresh, so I did alright out of it! He’d had 5 codling to over 3lb so at least his day wasn’t a total disaster.
I stuck some fresh on, tipped with squid and quarter of an hour later I had a nice rattle, resulting in my first dab of the year! Another point for the species comp and a keeper for my dad too – he loves them. The funny thing is though it had taken the frozen black although I am certain the fresh brought it in, oh and a lift of the lead seconds before had triggered the bite.
There’s still fish coming aboard Lead Us so I’m starting to feel like I’m doing something wrong!!! I’m being totally outfished left right and centre here but then, a walloping bite and a nice bit of weight, I decide to shout about it and Colin looks over – it looks like I’ve got a biggie here at last and, well, yes I have – a big dog of a couple of pounds. Species four and I’m happy. Not only do I like dogfish but I also like the significance that the summer species are showing now. Now, dog fish are good eating but smoothies are bigger so a quick kiss on the nose for luck (always to be done with species of sharks) and off it went to swim around and annoy Colin by robbing his baits.
I was shivering now, strangely. That wind was cutting through to my tired old man’s bones and when Si called up to say that someone had found not only my phone in the aquapack and the tenner inside it and given it to them (they’d hung around for someone who might look like they’d been on the water) I decided to head for shore. It’s unbelievable, maybe I’ve earned a big bucket of karma this week or some people are simply wonderful. Perhaps it’s a bit of both. Anyway, the tide still hadn’t turned so I gave it ten more minutes in the hope of a sudden drop and to finish off my bait. Well there you go…two big, hard, fast bites followed, missed one on the other rod while I was setting the hook on the first. Distracted I wasn’t sure I’d set the hook right and gave it another pump; disaster! I reeled up and there was nothing attached to the swivel below the running link. As though my knot had failed. A knot that has been landing a lot of fish in good tides lately as that trace has stayed attached to the line, so what had happened? I can only guess that the knot had worn or got damaged. Either way it’s my own stupid fault that I lost that fish. I didn’t half swear before I penneled a whole squid and tied that on suspecting smoothounds to be the culprit and, sure enough, the rod bucked down a few minutes later but this, whatever it was, spat the hook. Cod? Smoothie? I reeled in and set off home, hauling the anchor and sticking my nose into a freshening wind and a sea that was chopping up more and more. It was quite a work out, that half an hour paddle back (remember how little time it took to go down?), the tide being held back from turning by the following wind long after it should have ran me back smoothly.
Shaun awaited, gave me my phone and insisted that I keep his fish that would be weighed in though it wasn’t in the end as others had bigger. He didn’t want it though, insisted I have it as he had plenty and besides, I’d swapped my dad’s dab for it already. Good deal in my favour I reckon.
I had time to grab a coffee and change before Colin called me to say he was heading in, sounded like a bumpy ride, and I biked down to the harbour for the weigh in…not that I had anything to weigh in with two small codlets, 3 whiting, a dog and a pair of dabs being my only catches (with nothing on the cuttlefish). Brian from Cleveland Princess, who’d organised the match, gave us some chatter, took and paid out the winnings and then…
First prize of £60 went to a fella named John who fished on Wader Bay with a 12lb Thornback Ray
Second at £35 was Colin on Lead Us with his 8lb Ray. His 5.5lb smut was disallowed as it’s one prize per person though a 3.5lb cod to his charter took third and a payout of I think twenty quid. Things had to be cut short though so no pics from me as the bridge went up and Colin had to go!
Me? I hung around chatting for a while and ended up having a look inside Cleveland Princess which I’ve only seen from the waterline before – a couple of snaps of Brian for the album and a good long chat with plenty of fishy tales and mutual salty language ensued before I headed back home feeling really good about life.
So cheers Brian for arranging it, Cheers Colin for rubbing it in, Cheers Si and Shaun for joining me and Shaun for Monday’s lunch and cheers to all the others who were out and made the competition a competition.
Oh yeah, and you know how I said that Cuttle/squid cocktail looked good enough to eat? Well here’s my dinner:
The tide was pushing through and we were off Tramp’s Alley at Corton in minutes, a mile or so and there appeared to be a few on the beach after some fish with dabs and cod being landed by all accounts. Lead Us was down the way a bit on Colin’s usual mark but I dropped anchor on one that had furnished 4 codling last time I’d hit it. One rod carried the usual 2/0 spreader wishbone while the other had a 4/0 pennel with my secret weapon…down south cod love cuttle and I’d got hold of some uncleaned ones. A cocktail of one of these cut in half with a couple of blacks, a couple of razor and a piece of squid all wrapped up together promised scent and nutrition to anything in the area and I was really hopeful. Down it went…
I mean come on, you’d have eaten it wouldn’t you? That’s like a bloody great joint of beef for Sunday lunch, cooked so it’s pink inside…but no, it was like pulling teeth. We had a bit of swell from behind, being on the ebb pointed north and with a south easterly on our backs but the water was quite clear for here. I just sat there. It was half an hour or more before the first bite and a couple of whiting came in and promptly got sent away again.
One hit on the cuttle to no avail and one missed bite on the wishbone that had had the two whiting and I decided to up-anchor and go to another, deeper mark hoping for dirtier water. It turned out that it was close enough to shout to Colin but not, sadly, close enough to match him for fish! I passed Shaun and Si on the way down. Shaun had landed two codling so far and had another as I passed him, his fresh worm doing the business. I had to pass them to know what was going on as I’d lost my phone, presumably when running down to check on that kid. Anyway I dropped anchor and settled on the mark, the water a bit dirtier and I got some encouragement at seeing Colin hold up an 8lb 6oz thornback ray he’d had on the second cast! Encouraged for now and encouraged for the coming weeks. Then I watched him get the net out for a codling.
So I sat there and waited.
Finally my waiting paid off with a good bite and it felt a lot heavier than the whiting. Cod, I thought and sure enough a small one popped its head up, it’s huge mouth slowing the retrieve in the strong flow. In size but one which would have gone back it had taken the hook down into the flesh behind the gills and I had no choice so down the hatch it went.
Well, two species at least. Next thing I know Shaun pitches up. He’s suddenly become devoid of an anchor system as a he’s been fighting a fish and his buoy, unconnected to anything, has drifted past. A very unfortunate occurrence for him but he gave me his remaining lug, nice and fresh, so I did alright out of it! He’d had 5 codling to over 3lb so at least his day wasn’t a total disaster.
I stuck some fresh on, tipped with squid and quarter of an hour later I had a nice rattle, resulting in my first dab of the year! Another point for the species comp and a keeper for my dad too – he loves them. The funny thing is though it had taken the frozen black although I am certain the fresh brought it in, oh and a lift of the lead seconds before had triggered the bite.
There’s still fish coming aboard Lead Us so I’m starting to feel like I’m doing something wrong!!! I’m being totally outfished left right and centre here but then, a walloping bite and a nice bit of weight, I decide to shout about it and Colin looks over – it looks like I’ve got a biggie here at last and, well, yes I have – a big dog of a couple of pounds. Species four and I’m happy. Not only do I like dogfish but I also like the significance that the summer species are showing now. Now, dog fish are good eating but smoothies are bigger so a quick kiss on the nose for luck (always to be done with species of sharks) and off it went to swim around and annoy Colin by robbing his baits.
I was shivering now, strangely. That wind was cutting through to my tired old man’s bones and when Si called up to say that someone had found not only my phone in the aquapack and the tenner inside it and given it to them (they’d hung around for someone who might look like they’d been on the water) I decided to head for shore. It’s unbelievable, maybe I’ve earned a big bucket of karma this week or some people are simply wonderful. Perhaps it’s a bit of both. Anyway, the tide still hadn’t turned so I gave it ten more minutes in the hope of a sudden drop and to finish off my bait. Well there you go…two big, hard, fast bites followed, missed one on the other rod while I was setting the hook on the first. Distracted I wasn’t sure I’d set the hook right and gave it another pump; disaster! I reeled up and there was nothing attached to the swivel below the running link. As though my knot had failed. A knot that has been landing a lot of fish in good tides lately as that trace has stayed attached to the line, so what had happened? I can only guess that the knot had worn or got damaged. Either way it’s my own stupid fault that I lost that fish. I didn’t half swear before I penneled a whole squid and tied that on suspecting smoothounds to be the culprit and, sure enough, the rod bucked down a few minutes later but this, whatever it was, spat the hook. Cod? Smoothie? I reeled in and set off home, hauling the anchor and sticking my nose into a freshening wind and a sea that was chopping up more and more. It was quite a work out, that half an hour paddle back (remember how little time it took to go down?), the tide being held back from turning by the following wind long after it should have ran me back smoothly.
Shaun awaited, gave me my phone and insisted that I keep his fish that would be weighed in though it wasn’t in the end as others had bigger. He didn’t want it though, insisted I have it as he had plenty and besides, I’d swapped my dad’s dab for it already. Good deal in my favour I reckon.
I had time to grab a coffee and change before Colin called me to say he was heading in, sounded like a bumpy ride, and I biked down to the harbour for the weigh in…not that I had anything to weigh in with two small codlets, 3 whiting, a dog and a pair of dabs being my only catches (with nothing on the cuttlefish). Brian from Cleveland Princess, who’d organised the match, gave us some chatter, took and paid out the winnings and then…
First prize of £60 went to a fella named John who fished on Wader Bay with a 12lb Thornback Ray
Second at £35 was Colin on Lead Us with his 8lb Ray. His 5.5lb smut was disallowed as it’s one prize per person though a 3.5lb cod to his charter took third and a payout of I think twenty quid. Things had to be cut short though so no pics from me as the bridge went up and Colin had to go!
Me? I hung around chatting for a while and ended up having a look inside Cleveland Princess which I’ve only seen from the waterline before – a couple of snaps of Brian for the album and a good long chat with plenty of fishy tales and mutual salty language ensued before I headed back home feeling really good about life.
So cheers Brian for arranging it, Cheers Colin for rubbing it in, Cheers Si and Shaun for joining me and Shaun for Monday’s lunch and cheers to all the others who were out and made the competition a competition.
Oh yeah, and you know how I said that Cuttle/squid cocktail looked good enough to eat? Well here’s my dinner:
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