The Princess and the Pin…11/01/2014

The Princess and the Pin…11/01/2014 As I sat off Tramps Alley waiting for something to make my rod tips move I’d been chatting to Brian who’d spent a few trips searching everywhere for the elusive cod, as have all the boats of late. The news isn’t even good from the commercials. With so many sprats in the water and high sea temperatures for the time of year none of the usual spots were producing and there’s even the odd bass coming out…all of his usual spots had been exhausted and so he’d decided to go on a recce to try and locate them to offer the best chance for his customers later in the week – basically, was I doing anything on Saturday as he was taking the boat out with Andy. Well, weekends are not a good time for m really with my wife needing to prepare lessons and study and needing a break from the children as I’m a ghost when working. I said I’d ask, would love to but couldn’t answer as yet. However, haing been ashore for the entire holidays, I thought I might be in with a chance… “Umm, I’ve been asked if I can go out on Saturday on a boat to help look for some fish, I’ll learn a lot as I’ll be fishing with some very good anglers…” “And when did you get asked?” “This afternoon while I was fishing, why?” “Oh, I thought that might have been why you’ve been so nice and helpful the last few days.” So suspicious! It wasn’t unreasonable giving my deviousness but this time I was innocent. And I did get permission… The alarm went off at 6:30. This was horrendous having just come off shift the day before and having stayed up late but I managed to drag myself downstairs and sink a very strong coffee. I had an hour before I needed to go and used this to cook some sausages up for the day. I have to think about these things but normally can’t be bothered. I had a thumping headache too so a fistful of tablets went with the coffee. Then it was out of the door with my boat kit. Boat kit? Well, a bit different to my kayak kit. I was indecisive as I wasn’t sure which positions I’d be fishing and what I’d need to try. Usually I’ll go forward and that requires the uptide gear – Fladen Powerstick uptider and Warbird 3700R loaded with 30lb mono (beds the lead in better than braid). Then there’s the Paxton Trolling uptider, shorter, with a 3700R and 40lb braid. This usually goes across the tide. Then there’s the standard kayak set up, a shorter 12lb class Maxximus IM7 boat rod with another 3700R and 40lb braid. That can go downtide. Now for the anomaly – my Christmas present! 7” KP Deluxe free-spinning Scarborough centrepin. Brilliant for drift fishing, perhaps not so ideal for anchored fishing but certainly capable. This had 30lb mono on it and was on another Maxixmus IM7; this would go straight down on a heavy bell lead and fish the area below us, often a good spot. The 1:1 retrieve and somewhat skilled casting technique required meant that, on a boat with others, it wasn’t suitable for fishing any other position really, other than rolling a bait downtide which will be employed when the hounds and roker start to show. Still, four rods is excessive so, on arrival at the mooring, the Paxton and IM7 went under the seat in the cabin. Change of plan though; tomorrow was looking bad, weather-wise, so there were a couple of lads aboard instead of Andy, their trip brought forwards. Andy still popped down for a chat though and ended up following us out on his own boat. So, off we went, straight out to the Newcome Sands. I rigged up on the way out, as always, and got baited up while the anchor was going down and the boats settling. It was touch and go whether we’d fish here or run into the roads as it was somewhat lumpy but with good marks showing on the sounder, though off the bottom chasing sprats, brian decided to give it a go. Weights on and up when the uptider, down went the KP, running leger 2/0 pennels with frozen blacks and squid tips on my rods, fresh and squid on the others’ gear. We didn’t have to wait long, my uptider had a little tap and a fat dab came aboard. Best dab I’ve had for ages, as thick as my thumb. Then a whiting, christening my KP. Brian was next with a nice plump dab and we played snap as I brought in my KP… I think Danny was next, swinging a nice whiting and the three of us continued to catch with just one blanker; fine, I got another bite and let him bring it in; his duck broken with another dab. We gave it a couple of hours and with the cod refusing to come down we moved into the Stanford Channel; someone had taken one there the day before and it’s full up with dabs at the moment. It may seem strange to target dabs offshore when they jump onto the beach but you have to fish for what’s there and a passing cod will still take the bait. Besides, one 3lber is a meal for two and a couple of good plump dabs is a meal for two (though a couple each is better in my book!). So, we anchor up in the channel, Andy has already shot in there and is picking up fish regularly and yes, the cod are still showing up in the water – the commercials are shooting mid-water nets for them now so that speaks for itself. So, there’s two of us there…looking around there’s three more boats between the Claremont and CEFAS, there’s boats in the Roads, one off Yarmouth and a netter out. Some boats are blanking but most are getting similar to us. Good dabs and the odd decent whiting with a lot of pins. Two of these pins are now out on Portland rigs, running a couple of feet off the bottom on a flowing trace with a 4/0 in the top lip, just in case. I’ve heard of one cod keeper, one dropped one and a skinny one, returned. Then Brian showed us how to catch bait… I’m now onto 2/0 spreader wishbones, the others on 1/0 spreader booms. And the dabs and pins are coming in regularly until slack water when it’s coffee o’ clock. The wind has picked up and is holding the flow back but it’s a lot more comfortable here and such a beautiful bright day! It carried on with the ebb, dabs and whiting biting again and come half three we wound in and headed back to port with a good few meals of sweet, plump dabs, full of roe and full of flesh. With such a pleasant day on the water it didn’t really matter that the cod didn’t show this time and although it would have been good to put a bend in the rods that’s fishing for you and we’d done alright on what was there. That said, most boats were, by now, reporting catches of cod during the day. Six inch Tommy cod, the fish of the future…