Andy 1965
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2020
- Messages
- 362
- Reaction score
- 3,354
- Points
- 93
- Location
- North Wales
- Favourite Fishing
- Lure
After my last-minute avoidance of the blank on Tuesday, I hoped for better on my second outing of the week, but a complete change in wind strength and direction from the previous evening forced a re-think. With the wind starting off from the South West, the choice of mark was a little awkward but if as forecast it turned Southerly later, then things would get a whole lot easier. After giving it some thought, I decided that braving less than favourable conditions at a certain mark early in the session would be worth it in the end and off I went.
The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the mark was the way the trees were swaying and when I got out of the car I was surprised at the strength of the wind, far more than the 10-15mph forecast. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the wind was more like a North Westerly than a South Westerly and conditions were very choppy to say the least
. I was gutted and I considered fishing it regardless, but I wasn’t confident that the mark would be fishable, even if the wind did swing later as predicted. After a few minutes thought, I decided to cut my losses and to go searching for a more sheltered spot instead.
The next 40 minutes were spent driving along the coast, searching for somewhere more protected, but it didn’t look like it was going to be my night. The first place I stopped at was slightly less windy, but it was also the venue for a very noisy beach party, with a dozen or so people enjoying themselves to some very loud music. Now I’m not averse to some company while fishing, but wading about in the middle of a full blown party was taking things a step too far , so I moved on again. After that, the next 2 venues I checked out just didn’t look right but eventually I found somewhere more promising. This mark was one where I have done well in the past, but there was one major stumbling block. Though I have fished there at most states of the tide, the only time I’ve actually caught anything has been on the early flood, and sadly that was still 3 hours away . I was fresh out of ideas by now and so I checked the weather from several different sources once more, hoping for a miracle. Nothing had changed much but I was desperate by now, and so I decided to head back to my first choice mark and to give it a go regardless .
20 minutes later and just an hour since I was last there, I was back where it all began and though I wasn’t expecting it to be easy, as soon as I got out of the car I could tell that there had been a definite improvement in conditions. The wind had dropped and by the look of things it had also begun to swing Southerly a couple of hours sooner than forecast!
Already an hour behind my usual starting time I got suited and booted as quickly as possible, before I set off along the shore with my fingers crossed for decent water clarity. As it happened, the water was a little cloudy in the margins but beyond the first few meters there was a significant improvement and it looked well worth a go. To start with I tried some of the lures which have been producing for me at the other marks I’ve fished, including the yellow Patch and the Line-Thru sandeels, but either there weren’t any bass in the vicinity or they didn’t like the look of my offerings. Casting my mind back to lures which have previously worked for me there, I clipped on the mighty Mishna next. This did the trick and after only a few casts it was accosted literally as soon as it hit the water. After the briefest of scraps, possibly the smallest bass I’ve caught this year was landed and I was off the mark.
Despite its meagre size I was still a very happy bunny, not only had I beaten the blank, but last year’s most successful lure was belatedly off the mark for 2021.
Full of confidence I fished on expectantly, but with a hint that the fishing might be getting back to “normal” for the time of year, I began to use some of my usual early season lures. As well as the Mishna I also tried the SF 125 and Komomo II, plus a couple of different Ruf Manics, which have so far been completely ineffective this year, but given that they’re proven fish catchers at this particular mark, I kept trying. Eventually, just as dusk was falling and 90 minutes since my first fish, something succumbed to their charm. Once more the lure was smashed the instant it hit the water, and this time by something very slightly bigger. Though it was still only a schoolie, the attacker made full use of its surroundings and at one point it had me snagged in the weeds, but with a little bit of brute strength and ignorance I managed to get it free, bass number 30 of the year was then tamed.
Now that the light was fading properly, I hoped that things would kick off but once more I was disappointed. Things were so quiet in fact that I went for a wander along the shore to see if the bass might be holding somewhere else, but apart from the odd sea trout leaping out in the distance, all was quiet.
It was past midnight by now and I really should have been calling it a night, but after the late start to the session I decided to give it another 20 minutes. For a last throw of the dice I decided on a return to the original spot, in the hope that the bass might be back and sure enough they were. I had only been back for 5 minutes when the smaller Ruf Manic was hit at maximum range. Again the culprit was only a schoolie, so the fight was over in minutes but I was more than happy with bass number 3 of the session.
10 minutes later and the Manic was hit again, but this time I knew immediately that this was no bass. As soon as it felt the hook, the assailant went absolutely mental and the rod jumped around in my hand like a box of frogs. After going completely airborne out in the darkness, the fish then swam straight at me and it was all I could do to keep a tight line. Thankfully I managed, and after splashing about on the surface a couple of rod lengths out in a desperate but unsuccessful last attempt to escape, the out of control torpedo was beaten. I then slid it ashore and turned on my headlamp to confirm my suspicions, that I had finally caught one of the sea trout which had tormented me the previous evening.
I was chuffed to bits with my first trout of the year, but my extra 20 minutes was now up and I really should have been heading for home. I couldn’t leave just as things were getting interesting though, and I decided to give it just 5 more minutes.
This was of course wishful thinking and the last few casts failed to attract anything else, so with the clock ticking round to 00:45, I finally called it quits. Given how my evening had started though, I was more than happy with the way things had turned out and I had successfully managed to beat the bad weather, with a few more bass before the depression ruled out any more fishing for a few days.
The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the mark was the way the trees were swaying and when I got out of the car I was surprised at the strength of the wind, far more than the 10-15mph forecast. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the wind was more like a North Westerly than a South Westerly and conditions were very choppy to say the least
. I was gutted and I considered fishing it regardless, but I wasn’t confident that the mark would be fishable, even if the wind did swing later as predicted. After a few minutes thought, I decided to cut my losses and to go searching for a more sheltered spot instead.The next 40 minutes were spent driving along the coast, searching for somewhere more protected, but it didn’t look like it was going to be my night. The first place I stopped at was slightly less windy, but it was also the venue for a very noisy beach party, with a dozen or so people enjoying themselves to some very loud music
. Now I’m not averse to some company while fishing, but wading about in the middle of a full blown party was taking things a step too far , so I moved on again. After that, the next 2 venues I checked out just didn’t look right but eventually I found somewhere more promising. This mark was one where I have done well in the past, but there was one major stumbling block. Though I have fished there at most states of the tide, the only time I’ve actually caught anything has been on the early flood, and sadly that was still 3 hours away . I was fresh out of ideas by now and so I checked the weather from several different sources once more, hoping for a miracle. Nothing had changed much but I was desperate by now, and so I decided to head back to my first choice mark and to give it a go regardless .20 minutes later and just an hour since I was last there, I was back where it all began and though I wasn’t expecting it to be easy, as soon as I got out of the car I could tell that there had been a definite improvement in conditions. The wind had dropped and by the look of things it had also begun to swing Southerly a couple of hours sooner than forecast!
Already an hour behind my usual starting time I got suited and booted as quickly as possible, before I set off along the shore with my fingers crossed for decent water clarity. As it happened, the water was a little cloudy in the margins but beyond the first few meters there was a significant improvement and it looked well worth a go. To start with I tried some of the lures which have been producing for me at the other marks I’ve fished, including the yellow Patch and the Line-Thru sandeels, but either there weren’t any bass in the vicinity or they didn’t like the look of my offerings. Casting my mind back to lures which have previously worked for me there, I clipped on the mighty Mishna next. This did the trick and after only a few casts it was accosted literally as soon as it hit the water. After the briefest of scraps, possibly the smallest bass I’ve caught this year was landed and I was off the mark
.Despite its meagre size I was still a very happy bunny, not only had I beaten the blank, but last year’s most successful lure was belatedly off the mark for 2021.
Full of confidence I fished on expectantly, but with a hint that the fishing might be getting back to “normal” for the time of year, I began to use some of my usual early season lures. As well as the Mishna I also tried the SF 125 and Komomo II, plus a couple of different Ruf Manics, which have so far been completely ineffective this year, but given that they’re proven fish catchers at this particular mark, I kept trying. Eventually, just as dusk was falling and 90 minutes since my first fish, something succumbed to their charm. Once more the lure was smashed the instant it hit the water, and this time by something very slightly bigger. Though it was still only a schoolie, the attacker made full use of its surroundings and at one point it had me snagged in the weeds, but with a little bit of brute strength and ignorance I managed to get it free, bass number 30 of the year was then tamed
.Now that the light was fading properly, I hoped that things would kick off but once more I was disappointed. Things were so quiet in fact that I went for a wander along the shore to see if the bass might be holding somewhere else, but apart from the odd sea trout leaping out in the distance, all was quiet.
It was past midnight by now and I really should have been calling it a night, but after the late start to the session I decided to give it another 20 minutes. For a last throw of the dice I decided on a return to the original spot, in the hope that the bass might be back and sure enough they were. I had only been back for 5 minutes when the smaller Ruf Manic was hit at maximum range. Again the culprit was only a schoolie, so the fight was over in minutes but I was more than happy with bass number 3 of the session
.10 minutes later and the Manic was hit again, but this time I knew immediately that this was no bass. As soon as it felt the hook, the assailant went absolutely mental and the rod jumped around in my hand like a box of frogs. After going completely airborne out in the darkness, the fish then swam straight at me and it was all I could do to keep a tight line. Thankfully I managed, and after splashing about on the surface a couple of rod lengths out in a desperate but unsuccessful last attempt to escape, the out of control torpedo was beaten. I then slid it ashore and turned on my headlamp to confirm my suspicions, that I had finally caught one of the sea trout which had tormented me the previous evening
.I was chuffed to bits with my first trout of the year, but my extra 20 minutes was now up and I really should have been heading for home. I couldn’t leave just as things were getting interesting though, and I decided to give it just 5 more minutes
.This was of course wishful thinking and the last few casts failed to attract anything else, so with the clock ticking round to 00:45, I finally called it quits. Given how my evening had started though, I was more than happy with the way things had turned out and I had successfully managed to beat the bad weather, with a few more bass before the depression ruled out any more fishing for a few days.
