Yes it is. That’s why 6am sees Mike and I at the top of the ramp at Tramp’s Alley unloading in the dark. Again. This time though we have an even better chance – I have some numbers and have heard of some fish…
We get down to the water’s edge. It’s a nice bit of water from the sound of it and I launch first while Mike finishes getting ready. Oh yeas, it’s perfect. Gentle, small rolling swell, not much wind and the tide is on our side. We head northwest, less than a mile to the mark.
GPS is on for once and I track us right in, stopping once to check the direction of drift with wind and tide; I drop anchor 150ft uptide and float down towards the position. I stop short, swing around and the water rushes past; anchor reel snarled up. Shit! I haven’t enough line out to stay on the mark and I try in vain to clear it, pulling line this way and that and end up drifting away at a reasonable rate. I can’t get the damned thing untangled so cleat it off, cut it and retie. The pressure is gone now, the weak link has tripped but it’s worse than that – my suspicion is correct. The rough ground has sliced through the warp and the second anchor in a fortnight has gone. I now paddle back against the full flow of the current.
Mike is holding position, he offers me to join him, I clip on.
Things are fine for a few minutes and it’s quite pleasant to have a chat but then the tell-tale bucking starts. We’re on the drift. I unclip and wait for him to up-anchor. Do we go with the tide and sit on the beach at Hopton or go back against it to the launch? We sort of opt for the latter.
We’re not making much headway so we head in at Corton, low tide having exposed a narrow strip of sand in front of the sea defences. We land with both my baits dropped beforehand a couple of hundred yards out.
Hmm. This is new territory for us and it just seems wrong. I check my rods and yep, both are snagged. I free the first after dealing with an overrun on slackening it off and pulling. I sort it and retrieve all but the bottom half of the rig.
I try the other rod but no dice. I paddle out and reel myself up the rig and after a minute or two lift it up and swing it ion.
I land again and we set off together.
A couple of charter boats are now out and anchoring up. It’s a beautiful day for it, perfect in fact.
It just seems so wrong that we’re not able to enjoy it after the effort we’ve made. But what the hell, 2012 will bring a new beginning and holds promise of untold tales…
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