A Little Multiplication…10/12/2013

A Little Multiplication…10/12/2013 I saw something on the Fladen facebook page the other week that had me immediately interested. Tackle’s tackle, right? I have what I need and a bit more besides so really it’s not all that necessary for me to be looking for more bits and pieces but something this different and uber-cool just had to be looked at more closely. Warbird 220 Mini Multiplier Reel, a small baitcaster. Looked like a lot of fun. I placed my order and, because I was fishing, had to go and pick them up from the post office depot on Thursday. I opened the box walking back to the car and that was it. I started grinning. Then giggling. Then laughing my head off. I kid you not, I spent ten minutes laughing and laughing and laughing. I knew they were small but I didn’t really appreciate HOW small. Finally safe to drive, tears wiped away, I went home and stuck 125 yards of 30lb Maxximus braid on each while watching Lovejoy on the telly and then wandered down to the beach to have a quick play. I paired them with Eloise’s Ice Pike rods for the time being, not really suitable being short and soft, but at least I could see the reels which made things a bit easier. A small ball weight on the end and I gave the whole shebang a flick. I was pleasantly surprised; they cast further than I thought and wound in faster than I thought. They didn’t struggle with the pressure either. This bodes well for my silly plan of trying to catch the biggest fish I can on them. I reckon that I can certainly handle the current crop of codling locally for starters. Anyhow, I couldn’t launch as I was working that night and was shattered after the previous shifts, it was freezing cold and the sea wasn’t all that fishy. Maybe tomorrow if things weren’t as bad as predicted? They were. It built up rapidly and on checking on my way to work – having apparently been evacuated while I was asleep due to the risk to life of severe flooding – there was double overhead waves crashing against the sea wall and further along the whole beach was underwater and waves were landing on the promenade at the base of the cliff. That’s three hundred yards of beach underwater then. Hmm. I shot back home to see the drains pouring their sludge down the back alley five metres away and the track flooding a couple of hundred yards away on the other side; Luckily our house was okay right now and if we could just make it through the next hour, ie the other side of high water, we’d be fine. Unlike my usual place of work which I could see was now under four feet of water. Still, I might be able to surf in the morning I suppose? I certainly wasn’t going to be heading out for cod: I had a poke about, freshwater maybe? A quick check to see if Lead Us was okay while Colin was at work…the boat was fine but quite how anyone would get to it was another matter… Our friend’s mooring wasn’t accessible either… Loads of water around. Monday then I guess. The relevance of the surge will become clear shortly…meanwhile, back at the ranch, I played with my reels! And ate the whiting in the fridge. Anyway, all set for Monday morning after the weekend, forecast looks perfect, tides reasonable and with the bottom stirred up there could be some fish about. Sunday morning I speak to Jon on High Flyer as I can see him anchored up in the roads and he’s got a codling onboard. Brian’s out too, further south with Cleveland Princess and expecting good things. Great! Monday’s looking good. Except Abigail is off ill so it’s a case of watching Beavis and Butthead and playing with Star Wars. Tuesday. Tides are better and James is free; Brian has bad news though, there is a huge amount of weed in the water, he couldn’t get through it to get to the fish when the water was running hard. Hopefully it’s easing now though… Dawn. I don’t mind dawn in December. It’s a lot later than dawn in July. Bass are best fished for at dawn but that’s 4am and there’s little chance of that happening; right now dawn is at 7 which is alright for cod and alright for me. We park, unload and head down to the shore. I’ve left the reels on those rods. I know they’re the wrong rods but they look kind of cute. They’re dwarfed in the rod holders though. We paddle out, half a mile north and half a mile out and drop down the anchors. Frozen black lugworms with squid rings on a running leger 2/0 spreader wishbone rig. I‘ve removed the top swivel that stops the zip slider because of the restricted length of the 4.5ft rods but apart from that things are as normal. Now, I have a lot less line than normal, 125 yards or so tops and I’m in 35 feet, I’m going to have to let 2/3 out as a minimum even dropping it down and letting it run out as the flow is pretty quick right now and I’ll need some distance for the leads to bed in. Nice bend in these rods, I can see every bit of movement in them, or at least I will when the tide slows a bit and relieves some of the pressure! So we’re sitting there all happy and content and waiting for the bites to come and hoping there’s not too much weed and I’m wanting to christen both reels and I’m staring intently to try and see bites and I’m not sure if the leads are holding bottom and the feel is different because I’m not jamming the lead between two swivels fifteen inches apart and I’m watching the seagulls in the distance and I’m speaking with James on and off and there’s loads going on while nothing much is happening…then the sun comes up. That’s a treat that I love at this time of year. I’d say we’ve been there on the water maybe twenty minutes. Nod nod. Nod nod. Nod nod that’s a cod. I strike; it’s like waving a piece of string in the air. What I mean is there’s line flowing past the lead, not trapped in place as normal so it’s a bit like uptiding in terms of feel – my strike is mearely pulling relatively slack braid through the water. I figure I’ve missed whatever’s there. I’ll reel ina bit and tighten up though, see if I can verify that I’m holding bottom and check to see if there’s a fish on. Nod nod it’s a cod! Yes, no need for the strike in that tide and I start hauling it up against the flow… The reel is running smoothly, the rod is bouncing merrily, the braid is transmitting everything and I’m grinning. As small as it is the reel is holding its own which I’m pleased about. The best part of it is that the spool is so narrow I’m bringing the fish in steadily but with it able to fight me all the way instead of just being cranked up really quickly. Good scrap…the only trouble is the weed and my line is loaded up. I jam the weed against the rod tip, struggle cranking it through, pull some off a couple of times and just force the last of the line up. Then I scoop up my fish, the hook in the gill rakers, and bring it in. A pity about where it’s hooked as I’d have popped it back quite happily but it’s bleeding. Very plump fish and full of shrimp as it turns out but I like a bigger fillet from cod, that size isn’t too far removed from the more plentiful whiting. Oh well. What really surprises me is when I measure it to make sure it’s in size I discover that it’s well in at 41cm. You can see in relation to my hand how it’s not exactly going to feed a family…at least the reel makes it look big!!! Well, that’s one species landed on my new reels and first cast too, and the target fish! I’m happy. Species two comes in on the other rod straight after; a whiting, lip hooked and back in the water. Again the weed has been a nightmare. The bites just aren’t happening though and it’s literally a case of winding in untouched baits every twenty minutes and removing weed or cutting the trace off and retying once it’s slid off. That sea really did put some rubbish in the water. My feet are getting cold, we’ve been here a couple of hours when I get another bite; James hasn’t had a bite yet and this is only my third. I strike and feel a bit more resistance this time as I’ve tightened up a bit. Nod nod another cod…I start pulling it up, shaking and nodding dn fighting all the way and it’s a lot better at 48cm. happy bunny. Interesting kink on the lateral line, both sides. I wonder what caused it? I rebait and cast this time; I put a bit too much power on and forget to stick my thumb down. H-oh. Overrun. I try but with cold wet fingers and limited space it’s not having it – I have to use the end of a rivet when I get home to clear it. James gets a couple of whiting and I get a couple more bites that I miss but that’s it. We’re enjoying ourselves though and that’s the main thing. Both cod bled out I gut them and stick them back over the side to wash out, giving the gulls a good feed. They like me. They’d like me more if I cut their food a bit smaller like I do for the cat though because they can’t get the whole gills and guts package down and so most sinks down for the crabs. Slack water comes and we haul anchor, paddle up to Newcombe and have a chat then continue on our way. They’ve been out here most times I have this winter and they’ve had a really successful time of it. They’ve been out deeper and got a bucket of herring and are about to start on the flood. We wish them luck and head in. An angler on the beach wanders over and tells me I’ve got a couple of lovely cod; I try to tell him one’s lovely but I guess it’s what you get used to. Still, it won’t be wasted and as both my mini reels have had a cod on them I’m a happy bunny. Just as we’re leaving the beach I look back and see Waderbay arrive. I hope they find some fish too.