My day began with indecision. It carried on like that most of the day in all honesty but the beginning threw everything out. I missed the first tide, the flood and the best I could manage was, as I wanted to check water clarity on the rock breakwater by the wind turbine, taking a lure outfit down for a few desultory casts off the dangerous and scary rocks at England's most easterly point.
Nah, nothing here and the water was way to dirty…a quick nip over to the point and the jetty that pokes out, see how it looks in the eddy line and sheltered spot out of the flow…more reading, should get myself some glasses as I couldn’t quite make any sense from it…
Nice action on the lure. Maybe next week.
Directionally I did really well, hunting out the capitals of Belgium, Greece and Albania, covering most of my mum's grand-parentage. I probably sent a lure over towards Paris too but I didn't check.
I milled around then failed to find fresh herring from the bloke who goes out on his boat and gets fresh herring. So I dawdled a bit more until finally I got myself in the car with bait and stuff and headed for Tramps. Or Dogger. Or Tramps. Maybe Dogger? No, Tramps. At the last minute I turned and parked up at Dogger. It’s just easier…
Unloaded and with the kayak slung over the knee-high wall onto the sand I locked up, hopped over and started to drag it along the sand for the short walk to the shoreline. The water was lapping gently onto the sand, just ripples really and the distinction between cloudy and less cloudy water was easily seen. Some beach anglers were up at the other end of this set of groynes with a few on the previous one casting from amongst the smashed up concrete sea defences and chatting in the sun. It was certainly a fine afternoon and a gentle pull into the water was sufficient to get me launched. I paddled out with a dry lap, nothing breaking over the bow for once.
It was as I got out past the groyne that I caught a glimpse of something familiar and uttered that very Norfolk saying “hang you on bor” and stopped for a look; yep, another flash as a fin broke the surface as a harbour porpoise, well, porpoised! A hundred yards from shore perhaps, moving short distances and in less hurry than when I’ve seen them before…I got out the camera and started to film. The thing is, although I’ve seen porpoises a few times I’d yet to capture one on film and here was my best chance yet – would it hang about?
It did. So did the rest of the pod. They came close, they dove and surfaced, they stayed in the area…I sat amongst them for ten minutes, marvelling at the sight, hearing the snorts as they surfaced, jerked the camera around when I caught sight of one just off screen. I guessed there must be fish here if they were hanging about though I assumed herring high up in the water so it’d mean nothing for my chances. I dropped anchor all the same, at least I could watch…
I was maybe 250 yards offshore here and the tide seemed fairly mild as I dropped down, whole squid on one rod, a strip of gar on the other. A moment of clarity ensued and I slackened my drags off, just in case; I wasn’t going to have an easy time of things if a porpoise took a shine to my bait! Highly unlikely, they’re not stupid. But all the same…The porpoises wandered off pretty soon after anyway and with no bites after half an hour I reeled in a load of weed, on both rods. The lines were loading up with this in minutes so with both considerations I decided to up-anchor and head another couple of hundred yards further out.
I dropped down again; the flow was stronger here and I had to triple the amount of warp out to steady the kayak. There was no weed here though, I expected more because of the speed but no, it was hugging the coast it seemed. Ten minutes passed before the squid bait attracted something, a big thump and I grabbed the rod, waited and…another pull and I struck…
Doggie One!
Yep, after yesterday’s fun I was out dogfishing, No need to spend lots of money on fresh lugworm, a bag of squid (leftovers no less) and a few bits of cheap fish guaranteed enough action to amuse me with the chance of something else pouncing on these cheap and simple baits – face it, Steve Cave (gratuitous name drop!) had his ex-record bass on a manky piece of squid by chance, it’s my bait of choice for smoothound and the rays like them too, cod will take them and it’s what the longliners stick on their hooks. Yep, I’m fishing, not after a particular specimen whose bait must not dare to be touched by another species! And I‘m happy, that was a good pull that doggy gave me, pulling that 12lb class rod right over in the tide and making me tighten my drag again.
I had a few more too, maybe a dozen in all; they didn’t come in like some docile little Chihuahua, nope these were Rotties, pulling and kicking and giving it their all. Then, finally a change as the first of a pair of starry smoothound pups pitch up; dogs and hounds!
I had the camera on the rod again, ahead of the reel this time to catch a bit of tip action. I switched it onto record on a bite I had while on the phone with Spark, unable to fish on Wednesday or for a month thereafter so I’m sure he appreciated the excitement and swearing that he could hear and which requires a bit of judicious editing before posting when I spotted what my next dog turned out to be!
It seems I was premature with my title the other day!!! Yep, finally I had become a Skater Boy, or ‘Sk8er Boi’ as Miss Lavigne would spell it! The first thornback of the year (a male) and only my third locally ever I was over the moon. My wife loves them, it’s an extra point for the species hunt, it’s always a treat to see them and they give a good account of themselves; what’s not to love?
Of course with the tides I get here the rays really only come on towards slack and so the catching window was short and within quarter of an hour I was pulling leads along the bottom as the wind started to overpower the water and it was time to go in after a really pleasant few hours and a fine selection of elasmobranches; not a bony fish amongst them! My indecision and time-wasting really paid off this time and all on secondhand bait.
Epilogue. I was up early to go again this morning but…
Then this afternoon’s meeting was cancelled…but the wind, onshore, had picked up as predicted and though I’d got my kit on and bait out for the second time the sea was a mess. No fishing today.
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