Stormtrooper
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2020
- Messages
- 289
- Reaction score
- 2,668
- Points
- 93
- Location
- Herne Bay
- Favourite Fishing
- Shore
Hi all,
So after a lot of umm-ing and ahh-ing about whether to head out again on Wednesday night after a late one Monday, I finally made my mind up, got my chores done and headed out.
I’d done alright on Monday at this mark, eeking a 3lbs ray out among the whiting and dogs but I was convinced I’d missed the (usually better) bigger tides. I’d spoken to a friend though and he did exceptionally well on Tuesday there and convinced me the smaller lows didn’t seem to matter at the moment.
I was then asked by some other mates to join them a few miles away from where I was headed but after yet more deliberation, I decided to lone-wolf it and stick to plan A.
I finally got to my mark and quickly got set up. I was expecting it to be busy but seemingly, I was the only one there. Result!
Rod no.1 was baited with a massive bluey lump and hurled as far as my little arms allow. I’d just finished setting up rod no.2, it was all baited and ready to go, when I glanced up at the other tip. It’d fallen slack. I thought the tide had tripped it, probably assisted by a whiting, but then I noticed the line was literally hanging vertically downwards from the rod tip and laying on the beach!!
I grabbed the rod and wound up a tonne of slack before the rod slowly bent over and met with resistance.
Ray no.1 was safely landed and it wasn’t too bad of a start at 4lbs 6oz, especially coming before I’d even gotten a second bait in the water!!
I got myself sorted and both baits back in the water. I wasn’t waiting too long for another bite but it didn’t look especially ray like. I eventually decided to reel it in and I could feel a little weight. After a while it increased and I began to wonder if it could be a ray after all. I wasn’t quite so lucky though as I wound up through the surf I realised that not only had I caught a doggie, it had wrapped around my other line and I’d dragged that in too which also had a rather large dog on it!!
In all my years of fishing, this was up there with one of the worst tangled messes I’d ever gotten in to, there was line everywhere with tackle, fish, hooks and weights all tied up amongst it. I couldn’t even just unclip the rigs as the leader from one of them was all tied in knots around both. Amazingly, after a considerable amount of patience, I got it all untied and didn’t have to cut anything… there were several points at which I was sorely tempted but I’m glad I saved it all.
I maybe lost 20-30mins before I got fishing again and had to move forward as the tide was ebbing more rapidly now.
The night went quite well from here on in, I soon landed another baby ray of about 2lbs and only 2 whiting had graced me with their presence. In fact, I think I only had 3 all night! I was using fairly large baits but I guess if there were rays about, the whiting probably don’t really want to hang out with a load of predators.
By the time I packed up, wayyyy later than intended, I’d chalked up 6 thornies with the biggest at 6lbs 1oz. Well worth the journey and I was especially glad to have gone with my gut, my mates were plagued by relentless whiting all night and never saw a ray!!
So after a lot of umm-ing and ahh-ing about whether to head out again on Wednesday night after a late one Monday, I finally made my mind up, got my chores done and headed out.
I’d done alright on Monday at this mark, eeking a 3lbs ray out among the whiting and dogs but I was convinced I’d missed the (usually better) bigger tides. I’d spoken to a friend though and he did exceptionally well on Tuesday there and convinced me the smaller lows didn’t seem to matter at the moment.
I was then asked by some other mates to join them a few miles away from where I was headed but after yet more deliberation, I decided to lone-wolf it and stick to plan A.
I finally got to my mark and quickly got set up. I was expecting it to be busy but seemingly, I was the only one there. Result!
Rod no.1 was baited with a massive bluey lump and hurled as far as my little arms allow. I’d just finished setting up rod no.2, it was all baited and ready to go, when I glanced up at the other tip. It’d fallen slack. I thought the tide had tripped it, probably assisted by a whiting, but then I noticed the line was literally hanging vertically downwards from the rod tip and laying on the beach!!
I grabbed the rod and wound up a tonne of slack before the rod slowly bent over and met with resistance.
Ray no.1 was safely landed and it wasn’t too bad of a start at 4lbs 6oz, especially coming before I’d even gotten a second bait in the water!!
I got myself sorted and both baits back in the water. I wasn’t waiting too long for another bite but it didn’t look especially ray like. I eventually decided to reel it in and I could feel a little weight. After a while it increased and I began to wonder if it could be a ray after all. I wasn’t quite so lucky though as I wound up through the surf I realised that not only had I caught a doggie, it had wrapped around my other line and I’d dragged that in too which also had a rather large dog on it!!
In all my years of fishing, this was up there with one of the worst tangled messes I’d ever gotten in to, there was line everywhere with tackle, fish, hooks and weights all tied up amongst it. I couldn’t even just unclip the rigs as the leader from one of them was all tied in knots around both. Amazingly, after a considerable amount of patience, I got it all untied and didn’t have to cut anything… there were several points at which I was sorely tempted but I’m glad I saved it all.
I maybe lost 20-30mins before I got fishing again and had to move forward as the tide was ebbing more rapidly now.
The night went quite well from here on in, I soon landed another baby ray of about 2lbs and only 2 whiting had graced me with their presence. In fact, I think I only had 3 all night! I was using fairly large baits but I guess if there were rays about, the whiting probably don’t really want to hang out with a load of predators.
By the time I packed up, wayyyy later than intended, I’d chalked up 6 thornies with the biggest at 6lbs 1oz. Well worth the journey and I was especially glad to have gone with my gut, my mates were plagued by relentless whiting all night and never saw a ray!!
