Friday was a funny old day, I woke up late, with the intention of heading up to the north of the island around midnight to chase after some huss and conger. It's been an eternity since I have got the big rods out, the truth is that I have been really enjoying the LRF, HRF and lure fishing from the harbours. It's easy, comfortable and you don't have a bad back, afterwards. In contrast, the bait work represents effort, we have to walk or cycle everywhere, something which is unique about this wonderful island. Very much about Sark is rooted in the past and just like in decades gone by, the pub here is the centre of peoples social lives. It's very easy to just enjoy yourself with a bottle of red or a few beers and forget all about the wonderful fishing there is to be had around the island. I've been very lucky to be here since October 2020, and it is dawning on me, that before I go, I must make the most of the bait fishing the island has to offer, so I will be writing articles and fishing a lot through September, October & November. There have been some lads over from Devon, Rob & Paul, and I have found the competition they have had between them quite infectious or even motivational for me. They have come to this place to fish and were making the most of it, I have rather taken it for granted.
About 6pm I popped down the harbour to see how they were getting on, I needed to fetch my big drop net for the trip north late but, I couldn't resist taking my Graphex 10-40G spinning rod, rigged with 3 Sabiki feathers and a 25G metal jig. It was pretty windy, NE, which has been blowing for almost week, the fishing wasn't great but, we were pulling some nice mackerel out, which would be fresh bait for me. Whilst we were feathering, something quite extraordinary happened, 3 of us saw the presence of a bluefin tuna, just 20-25 yards off the end of the harbour wall. We gasped, the boil on the surface it left was absolutely enormous. At that moment, my enthusiasm levels soared, the other two thought the fish was around 500lb in weight, it was a beast, and it was in chasing mackerel at last light. I quickly decided I'd cancel my plan to fish the north end that night and decided to head down to Maseline harbour.
I got home at 8:30pm and grabbed my camera kit, as I wanted to a little Milky Way photography just after dark, but, after 20 mins walking I saw the horizon thick with cloud or haze. I abandoned the idea and returned home for a bite to eat and to pack my kit. Just like the old days, it was an obscene amount to be carrying, I wanted to have everything I might need, not just for night fishing but, also for a bit of fishing at first light.
A trudged down the hill just before midnight and as usual, was greeted by the desolate scene of Maseline Harbour at night, you never see anyone down there. The breakwater itself seems about 50-60 yards long, with an inconveniently high wall for fighting fish, however, it has tons of features, including holes in the structure where lots of species hide, including big congers. I got the nets ready first and cast out a squid jig. Next, I set the beach casters up on a diagonal off the corner and cast one 7oz grip lead out as fair as I could. The next task was trying for a scad, I wanted to live-bait to see if I can attract something big and toothy, as from time to time tope pass by. I did think squid or cuttle would find my live bait but, to my surprise, it tapped away the whole session, without a touch. I also used a slider in the backwater for an hour or two, nothing happening there either. I could catch all the scad in the world for a period, I could see mackerel and mullet under my torch beam, as well as gars darting about. I had enough scad to supplement my bait supply, I switched back to my squid jig and was quickly rewarded with a nice sized one.
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Probably around 3am, I had a big bait cast off the corner and another in the backwater after I retired the live bait. I was quickly into an eel of around 5lb, followed by another strappy that settled on 11lb on the scales. Both fish provides some nice sport on the Ultra-LIte ST, not something they are designed for. Throwing leftover bait right next to my line and rig below seemed to be working well. I missed the odd bite on the corner rod, something sizable came off half-way in on the T1000, which I told myself was a huss, spinning off the hooks.
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About an hour past, I reached the time when your circadian rhythm drops your body temperature down to its lowest, I'd been fishing in a t-shirt all night but, now I needed a hoody. I was feeling very sleepy too, when the T1000 cast off the corner with a big juicy bait, started to peel some line off the Saltiga 8000. I grasped the rod and hit it just as I felt the next bump on the 58lb braid. I was into a half-decent fish, which kicked and thumped nicely as I pumped and wound, carefully. Before long I saw the familiar sight of a very stout looking bull huss, which seemed to slim down after throwing up twice in my net. The swells weren't bad at all, it was relatively easy to get it in the 5ft across, net. As per usual, the net did its best to get caught on the wall, I didn't take long to safely land it and take a few pics, before releasing the menacing-looking fish back into the deep. My already sore hands from scad spines took a beating again, one stripe of the huss tail and it looked like I'd sandpapered my hand. I couldn't complain, it was a nice fish, pretty dark and mottled but, only 10lb 8oz on the scales.
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I continued both bait and live-baiting but, things were pretty quiet. I continued jigging, bizarrely I'd seen a few squid around the surface, however, I only got one hookup. At first light I hooked something that didn't feel like a squid at all, it was heavy and when I saw it, it all made sense. There was a beautiful cuttle just under the surface and I quickly chucked the smaller of the two nets in. To my disgust, the cuttle got 3" from the net and made one last attempt at escape, it pulled free from the jig and sank back to its eerie green abyss. I tried again for one but, no reward. I ended up back on the metal jigs and started catching small pollock and mackerel at dawn. I quickly swapped the live scad for a live mackerel and had that out for 30 mins before it stopped tapping.
It was daylight now, I was delaying the inevitable packing up and the miserable walk up the hill to the centre of the island. I tried baiting some Sabikis but, the hooks were size 1 or 2, too big for whatever was rattling my tip straight down the side of the breakwater. My back was killing (sciatica), I could have fallen asleep sat on the wall with a rod in hand. It was a slow grind to the summit, stopping to chat to one or two locals on the way down. I was glad to be home, I can't say the session set my world on fire, losing the cuttle was a real low point, but, it was good to be back out and into the groove. I have a bit of content that I've been holding back too.
Thanks for reading.
Chris
www.sark.co.uk
