Andy 1965
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2020
- Messages
- 375
- Reaction score
- 3,427
- Points
- 93
- Location
- North Wales
- Favourite Fishing
- Lure
After last week’s successful ray hunt, I couldn’t wait to get out there again, the only problem was the forecast of heavy snow for Thursday and Friday 
. I wasn’t going to let that stop me though, and I simply headed out on Wednesday night instead. Conditions still weren’t ideal, and though the snow flurries of earlier in the day had stopped by the time I arrived at my chosen mark, there was still a cold, fresh breeze blowing, on the plus side it was offshore and so the sea was still pretty calm. Once more I was surprised to find the car park empty, but I wasn’t complaining, and I made my straight to my first-choice mark.
Just like last week, I started off with a pulley dropper on one rod and a 2-hook flapper on the other, and I was into whiting from the start. A few were kept for bait, but sadly they didn’t all make it back to shore in one piece!
I hoped the culprit might be a huss, so I wasted no further time chasing tiddlers and I immediately swapped the flapper for a second pulley dropper, to maximise my chances with the big stuff
.
The next hour was quiet, as I fished whiting baits on one rod, while I swapped between squid, sandeel and mackerel on the other, but apart from a couple of dogs, there was nothing doing
. I was just wondering what bait to try next, when I heard an unmistakable snort in the darkness 
. Turning my headlamp up to full brightness, I peered down into the water, and I immediately spotted the offender, a bloody great big seal staring straight back at me 
.
Though it wasn’t ideal, I reasoned that while the seal was directly in front of me, then at least he wouldn’t be bothering my baits. I couldn’t help but wonder though, if he might have already been snacking on my whiting
. There wasn’t much I could do about it, so I decided not to encourage him by throwing old scraps of bait into the water until I finished fishing, but if I actually hooked something decent, then I would have to take my chances and to try and reel it in too fast for him to grab it 
.
The next couple of hours brought more of the same, as I tried a variety of baits on both rods. As well as the baits I had tried earlier, I also tried bluey, herring and several combinations of the afore mentioned but apart from a steady stream of dogs, there was nothing else doing. Speaking of dogs, I tried to distract Mr Seal with a free offering or two when I returned them to the water right in front of him, but he obviously had better taste and he simply ignored them
.
As midnight approached the dogs went off the feed, to be replaced by just the occasional whiting, which somehow managed to impale themselves on the bigger hooks. The seal must also have realised by now that he wasn’t going to get an easy feed, as he finally buggered off
. Taking my lead from him, I gave it another 15 minutes before I joined him in calling it a night.
So, the rays and huss had been there one week, and gone the next, I only hope now that this cold snap doesn’t push the fishing back to far. There’s only one way to find out though, and I’ll be back out there again as usual next week 
.
. I wasn’t going to let that stop me though, and I simply headed out on Wednesday night instead. Conditions still weren’t ideal, and though the snow flurries of earlier in the day had stopped by the time I arrived at my chosen mark, there was still a cold, fresh breeze blowing, on the plus side it was offshore and so the sea was still pretty calm. Once more I was surprised to find the car park empty, but I wasn’t complaining, and I made my straight to my first-choice mark.Just like last week, I started off with a pulley dropper on one rod and a 2-hook flapper on the other, and I was into whiting from the start. A few were kept for bait, but sadly they didn’t all make it back to shore in one piece!
I hoped the culprit might be a huss, so I wasted no further time chasing tiddlers and I immediately swapped the flapper for a second pulley dropper, to maximise my chances with the big stuff
.The next hour was quiet, as I fished whiting baits on one rod, while I swapped between squid, sandeel and mackerel on the other, but apart from a couple of dogs, there was nothing doing
. I was just wondering what bait to try next, when I heard an unmistakable snort in the darkness . Turning my headlamp up to full brightness, I peered down into the water, and I immediately spotted the offender, a bloody great big seal staring straight back at me .Though it wasn’t ideal, I reasoned that while the seal was directly in front of me, then at least he wouldn’t be bothering my baits. I couldn’t help but wonder though, if he might have already been snacking on my whiting
. There wasn’t much I could do about it, so I decided not to encourage him by throwing old scraps of bait into the water until I finished fishing, but if I actually hooked something decent, then I would have to take my chances and to try and reel it in too fast for him to grab it .The next couple of hours brought more of the same, as I tried a variety of baits on both rods. As well as the baits I had tried earlier, I also tried bluey, herring and several combinations of the afore mentioned but apart from a steady stream of dogs, there was nothing else doing. Speaking of dogs, I tried to distract Mr Seal with a free offering or two when I returned them to the water right in front of him, but he obviously had better taste and he simply ignored them
.As midnight approached the dogs went off the feed, to be replaced by just the occasional whiting, which somehow managed to impale themselves on the bigger hooks. The seal must also have realised by now that he wasn’t going to get an easy feed, as he finally buggered off
. Taking my lead from him, I gave it another 15 minutes before I joined him in calling it a night.So, the rays and huss had been there one week, and gone the next, I only hope now that this cold snap doesn’t push the fishing back to far
. There’s only one way to find out though, and I’ll be back out there again as usual next week .
