North Wales Mission Conger 2023/24 – Part 3, a game of 2 halves.

[Andy 1965]

After 2 sessions catching almost nothing but whiting, I was determined this week to get back to the congering, and after looking at the weather and tides I decided to do something I’ve wanted to do for almost 50 years. I first heard about this particular mark when I read a report in Sea Angler magazine as a kid, but for one reason and another I’ve never quite got around to fishing it. Thursday’s tide looked good in terms of size but with low tide at around 00:30, I wouldn’t be able onto get on to mark until 22:00 at the earliest, and as I’m not one for sitting at home waiting, I would need to pass a couple of hours at a different mark first.

This first mark was recommended to me by someone who has had more than his fair share of decent eels, so it was definitely worth a go. I arrived around 90 minutes after high and immediately set up a running ledger with a 200lb mono snood and armed with an 8/0 Varivas Big Mouth Extra, which was then baited with a large whole squid, and lobbed out into the main flow. Unsure of how difficult the flow would be to fish, I gave it 10 minutes first, to see if I could comfortably hold bottom, before I set up a second rod with a 3 hook flapper armed with size 4 hooks, to see what other species might be lurking in the rough stuff.

Unfortunately, sport was very quiet at this spot, with a distinct lack of interest in my baits, and despite me using 73lb Mono mainline, I also lost 2 rigs to snags. It wasn’t all bad though and at least I beat the blank with a small huss .


Eventually, 3 hours after high water I decided to cut my losses and move for the main event of the evening.

A short drive and a decent hike later I arrived at the second mark, and by 3 hours before low water I was ready to start fishing. Just like at the earlier mark, the first rig out was a heavy duty running ledger, baited this time with the head end of a mackerel, followed by the flapper to try and catch some fresh bait.

This time I didn’t have to wait long for some interest, as the scratching rod was soon bouncing away, and within 15 minutes of arriving I had some fresh bait.


Quickly re-baited, the scratcher was soon cast out again, but I was just placing the rod in the tripod when the tip of the conger rod was pulled hard over! I quickly made my way round to the other side of the tripod, but by the time I got there the fish had dropped the bait, leaving nothing but slack line . Hopeful that the culprit would come back for another go, I tightened up the line and thankfully after a couple of minutes the rod tip started moving again. This time I was ready, so I picked up the rod and at the next pull down I struck firmly to set the hook. For the first few seconds I could feel the weight of a fish on the line but it wasn’t meant to be, and it let go after only a few seconds .

Despite losing what was most likely a conger, I was still encouraged to know that there were at least fish out there, so I quickly re-baited, with a whole squid this time, and cast out again.

After another bite on the scratcher, which sadly failed to connect, I decided to go all out for conger and the flapper was replaced with an 8/0 pulley rig. This was baited with the head end of the recently caught whiting and I sat back to wait for more action.

The whiting had only been out for a few minutes when I first saw signs of some interest, firstly the rod tip twitched delicately a few times but the bite soon developed into something a lot more bouncy. Mindful of the last missed run, I decided to give this one a little longer before I reeled in but I needn’t have worried, as the bite just kept going. After a couple more minutes I picked up the rod and raised it sharply to set the hook, and this time there was no doubt that I had a fish on . For the next few minutes I pumped the fish gently to shore, pausing only occasionally as it dived for the bottom, but its attempts to escape were in vain. Eventually the fish was beaten but it turned out not to be the conger I was after, it was in fact a half decent huss.


Now the ledge I was fishing from was about 6 feet above the water, but I had already spotted a lower ledge to land any decent fish on, and from where I could safely retrieve it. This ensured that landing and retrieving my catch was fairly straightforward, but getting a selfie of myself holding it proved to be impossible . After several minutes of trying I was forced to give up and take a photo of my 10lb 14oz prize on the ground .


The disappointment of the earlier lost run was almost forgotten now, as I baited up again with the other half of the whiting.

The next hour was quiet, but I kept fresh baits going out until eventually I had another bite on the mackerel baited running ledger. This time it wasn’t as bouncy as the huss bite, and I was convinced that it was another chance to get my first conger of the winter. I gave it a few minutes to make sure it had the bait down, and when I finally struck into it the rod took on a very satisfying curve . I played the fish carefully and it stayed deep right in to the base of the rocks, but when it eventually surfaced I could see it was a nice conger, not the 20lber I’m after, but still a definite double figure eel.

This time I was a few meters left of where I landed my huss, but again there was a suitable ledge beneath me, so I guided my catch slowly towards it and dragged it ashore. Unfortunately the eel had other ideas and before I could clamber down to grab the hook length, it slithered backwards into the water again . With my heart pounding, I managed to get the conger back to the surface and I guided it to the ledge once more, but this time when I attempted to drag it ashore, the 73lb mono parted!

I was absolutely gutted to lose a decent eel, and with time getting on I wasn’t sure I could even be bothered setting up another rig, but now that I was finally on the mark after waiting for so long to give it a go, it seemed a shame not to make the most of the evening.

I wish I could tell you that I made up for the lost fish but sadly that was the last of the action for the night, and with the current picking up by the minute, making the fishing almost impossible, I was forced to call it a night at 00:15.

So I didn’t get my conger, but I took some consolation from catching a decent huss, I was also happy to have finally been able to fish one of my dream marks. More than that, the mark had given me a tempting glimpse of its potential, and having seen a double figure eel on my first visit, I’ll definitely be back there at the next opportunity to see if Congerzilla wants to come out and play .

 

[Leepip]

Great Report Andy .You know they are there now you're Due a Big eel

 

[Had1]

Nice one on the double huss and you'll have to go back to get the conger.