Si-fly
Well-known member
Right for Tat etc 
........it was bloody cold,wet and windy!!! .....Happy new year all 
. 
I was so tempted to leave it at that....
Nah start as I mean to go on in 2023....be "Nice" the Mrs would say
....so a quick round up as promised, after a rather poor effort for reports in 2022 !!
I only went out once in the freezing 2 week spell for a solitary strap (was getting desperate by then ,and knew I shouldn't have bothered as the rock pools froze around me
)
Then December is also busy for me with family birthdays, and then Christmas stuff!
So I didn't really do much fishing. I'll just pick out 3 short sessions that went well, I had a few others that produced rays, eels, codling, dogs etc but these 3 I enjoyed the most for various reasons.
The first was a local reef, and the target was Thornbacks, eels and if really lucky maybe a cod or a bass. I was pretty confident of a ray or 2, but I'd not fished the mark for a while and others had been having very patchy results. So it could go either way!
The baits went out, big squid and bluey baits and it turned out to be a fun and busy affair, the poor old Fireblades were taking a hammering as in came a constant stream of rays, and think a couple of straps.... unfortunately no cod showed but I had 8 nice thornbacks to 9lb.
The 2nd trip, was to another local Mk I don't really like, but I've been telling mates it's well worth a shout , so when the frost went and it was blowing upto 50mph out I headed to this sheltered spot...my normal spots just wouldn't be fun in that amount of wind!
I arrived late, and found a lad just packing in the spot I planned to fish. I went over and had a chat ...dead he said...not had a bite in 4 hours!!
Great, I thought!....big baits on again, and I basically hit them as high as I could and watched them fly out miles in the offshore wind ...kind of satisfying that.
Both baits out I sat and poured a coffee....looked up and the right rod had a slack line....bugger!
Turned out to be a nice weight , and in came a small ray ...happy days.
I walked down and recast then walking back to the tripod saw the left rod was slack!....nooo. I grabbed the rod and wound in loads of slack and felt a nod, then nothing. Winding in, the bait looked untouched....cod or bass I'm guessing.
Out went the same bait again.
Bang in again, another nice weight, this time another ray, around 9 this time.
Fresh bait out, and another coffee....tap tap...slack....wow another bite and nice weight.
Another ray I thought then it started to zigzag about and kicked off.....next this large mouth appeared
I was hoping for this, but never expected such a large fish!....and on the scales the lovely cod went 12lb12oz....best I'd had for a few years and a beauty.
After that it went quiet, then near the end of the session I cad a codling and 2 dogs and called it a day....totally buzzing
The 3rd and final trip, I hoped would not be another fruitless attempt at catching a spotted ray....I've just not caught any this year, since an early fish back in March....and a species I desperately needed for a comp I'm in.
The forecast was damp.....it pissed down the entire time I was there, and blew a gale ... typical.
Anyway....I made the trek out to the mark, and put some smaller fish baits out, this time I was well down channel from my normal marks.
I was soon catching a steady steam of straps, with the odd dog mixed in, when off went the ratchet!....this fish took line before giving in and kiting in to the shore...it was the right shape ,small and I could see spots....then a touch of sadness as I realised it was a small blonde and not a spotted!
I soon forgot about it being a blonde ....and was happy to have caught it.
More straps, and then a much better fish....this one put a proper bend in the rod!
A decent scrap at last, and I was soon looking at a low double ray ..a 2nd blonde....I was very happy with this one
More straps, and I decided to go for huss on one rod, so put out half a bluey.
5 mins past, and off went the bluey.
A little scrap later I couldn't believe my eyes...I had my spotted!....at last...relief!
After that I was made up, and stuck out more bluey baits, which once it got dark accounted for 3 nice huss between 8 and just over 9lb and more straps and dog to end the session.
What a session in the rain!
I really enjoyed those trips which ended a good year on the big rods.
Cheers all Si.
........it was bloody cold,wet and windy!!! .....Happy new year all . I was so tempted to leave it at that....
Nah start as I mean to go on in 2023....be "Nice" the Mrs would say
....so a quick round up as promised, after a rather poor effort for reports in 2022 !!I only went out once in the freezing 2 week spell for a solitary strap (was getting desperate by then ,and knew I shouldn't have bothered as the rock pools froze around me
)Then December is also busy for me with family birthdays, and then Christmas stuff!
So I didn't really do much fishing. I'll just pick out 3 short sessions that went well, I had a few others that produced rays, eels, codling, dogs etc but these 3 I enjoyed the most for various reasons.
The first was a local reef, and the target was Thornbacks, eels and if really lucky maybe a cod or a bass. I was pretty confident of a ray or 2, but I'd not fished the mark for a while and others had been having very patchy results. So it could go either way!
The baits went out, big squid and bluey baits and it turned out to be a fun and busy affair, the poor old Fireblades were taking a hammering as in came a constant stream of rays, and think a couple of straps.... unfortunately no cod showed but I had 8 nice thornbacks to 9lb.
The 2nd trip, was to another local Mk I don't really like, but I've been telling mates it's well worth a shout , so when the frost went and it was blowing upto 50mph out I headed to this sheltered spot...my normal spots just wouldn't be fun in that amount of wind!
I arrived late, and found a lad just packing in the spot I planned to fish. I went over and had a chat ...dead he said...not had a bite in 4 hours!!
Great, I thought!....big baits on again, and I basically hit them as high as I could and watched them fly out miles in the offshore wind ...kind of satisfying that.
Both baits out I sat and poured a coffee....looked up and the right rod had a slack line....bugger!
Turned out to be a nice weight , and in came a small ray ...happy days.
I walked down and recast then walking back to the tripod saw the left rod was slack!....nooo. I grabbed the rod and wound in loads of slack and felt a nod, then nothing. Winding in, the bait looked untouched....cod or bass I'm guessing.
Out went the same bait again.
Bang in again, another nice weight, this time another ray, around 9 this time.
Fresh bait out, and another coffee....tap tap...slack....wow another bite and nice weight.
Another ray I thought then it started to zigzag about and kicked off.....next this large mouth appeared
I was hoping for this, but never expected such a large fish!....and on the scales the lovely cod went 12lb12oz....best I'd had for a few years and a beauty.
After that it went quiet, then near the end of the session I cad a codling and 2 dogs and called it a day....totally buzzing
The 3rd and final trip, I hoped would not be another fruitless attempt at catching a spotted ray....I've just not caught any this year, since an early fish back in March....and a species I desperately needed for a comp I'm in.
The forecast was damp.....it pissed down the entire time I was there, and blew a gale ... typical.
Anyway....I made the trek out to the mark, and put some smaller fish baits out, this time I was well down channel from my normal marks.
I was soon catching a steady steam of straps, with the odd dog mixed in, when off went the ratchet!....this fish took line before giving in and kiting in to the shore...it was the right shape ,small and I could see spots
....then a touch of sadness as I realised it was a small blonde and not a spotted!I soon forgot about it being a blonde ....and was happy to have caught it.
More straps, and then a much better fish....this one put a proper bend in the rod!
A decent scrap at last, and I was soon looking at a low double ray ..a 2nd blonde....I was very happy with this one
More straps, and I decided to go for huss on one rod, so put out half a bluey.
5 mins past, and off went the bluey.
A little scrap later I couldn't believe my eyes...I had my spotted!....at last...relief!
After that I was made up, and stuck out more bluey baits, which once it got dark accounted for 3 nice huss between 8 and just over 9lb and more straps and dog to end the session.
What a session in the rain!
I really enjoyed those trips which ended a good year on the big rods.
Cheers all Si.
