A breezy trip aboard the Amarisa. 06-12-17

Fourth time lucky.

Having had 3 trips cancelled because

of bad weather,

we finally managed to get out.

We left a little early

and sailed out to a spot off the

Chesil Beach.

It was a lumpy ride out and pretty 

lumpy out there.

From the first drop

the Whiting were biting.

Good sized ones as well.

Coming in up to 

around 2 1/2lb.

Pouting, Dogs, Conger and a Skate

were also boated.

This juvenile Gull

had a really weird growth  

growing out from under its bill.

Everyone caught and and had 

Whiting to take home for the freezer.

In the end I 15 Whiting and 5 Dogs.

We started the long steam home

at 2.45, getting in at 4pm.

Smashing trip again

well done, Paul, the skipper.
Only downer was,
I cut my finger
early on,
which did't stop bleeding
till I went to bed.

Some thing slightly different, 10-17012

Walking around Duchess Lake

I saw a dead Carp in the reeds.

I don't know what killed it

or what pulled it up the bank.

What I do know what is feeding on it.

A Water Rail can just be seen 

just beyond the Carp,

as were some of the resedent

Moorhen.

Cottage, Portishead. 06-12-17

Haven't fished this spot for a long time.

With only a short time to fish

and a 13.7m tide.

I decided to try it.

 So with a box of Squid 

I started at 6am.

There is about 40mtrs of rough ground

then sand/mud 

then a drop off.

So accurate casting distance

is a must.

To far and bye, bye rigs.

 Well, not a bit.

Then when the tide changed

I started snagging up,

but luckily I managed

to get them back on

subsequent cast.

Jammy or what. 

By 10.15 the tide was at the bottom 

of the rocks and I 

couldn't be bothered to chase the tide so headed home.

Ladye Bay Ledges. 12-11-17

A chilly westerly breeze greeted 

me at 08.30.

I set up 4/0 pulley rigs

loaded with Lug / Squid

and

Mackerel / Squid

sausages.

I had half a dozen

mangled baits

which were hidden by weed blowing

up the line

or the wind its self.

At 11.30

this small conger took and

held on to the bait.

I had to cut the hook snood

because the conger had swallowed the

bait including the two hooks. 

 As the tide was getting higher

it started to get very splashy.

 There were more munched baits

until 14.16 

when this Conger took the bait

and and pulled the wet out,

this then swept over my other line.

I was lucky to get back both rigs 

as the first was one pulled in the 

second one as it was wound in.

I had to pull the second one by hand because

of a tangle.

That was that,

 with the tide dropping 

I packed up a bit earlier than planned.

30-10-17 New Passage

 High water was 4.09pm and 11mtrs.

I started fishing from the 

ground in front of the promenade

using the usual rigs and bait.

half an hour into the session

this 21lb 5oz Conger gave 

a great fight.

 The Conger enjoyed spinning

and was a bit of a handful to release

but in the end it swam off rapidly.

 There were three other anglers

who caught some small Codling 

but noting very big.

In the end I also managed small Codling and Whiting,

as well as missing a few bites.

Chilly session with a south west breeze.

I finished at 6pm as the tide was 

at the bottom of the rocks.

29-10-17 Ledges Ladye Bay

Back to the Ledges for 08.30

same baits and rigs were used.

Well it was a much slower day

with hardly a bite.

Best of the day 

a small Conger.

Also caught was a a small Whitng and 

tiny Codling.

Weed was a really problem

for the whole session.

I packed up at 13.30 

just after high water as the bait had run out.

Ladye Bay ledges. 26-10-17

Started fishing at around 09.00.

The weather was foggy

with drizzle, no wind at all

and warm.

Squid / Mackerel,

Squid / Lugworm cocktails

and straight Lugworm were the baits used

on 4/0 OR 3/0 pulley rigs

and Wishbone rigs.

Again on the first cast

a small Whiting took the Lug on the

Wishbone rig.

 They even came in two at a time.

These two measured 32cm

and took 4/0 hooks.

in the end I had 10

little Whiting, a tiny Codling

2 small Conger

 and this 8lb 2oz Thornback Ray.

Smashing trip again.

There was a boat about 300m

out, I saw 3 Thornies landed and a couple of other

fish but it was to far out

to see properly.

New Passage in the edge of a storm 16-10-17

Some Lug left over from Saturday

so headed down to 

New Passage

with Squid and Sandeel.

The wind was a wee bit strong but

using the sea wall as a wind break,

I started fishing at 15.30,

High water was at 17.38 

and I packed up at 19.30.

Both rods had 4/0 Pulley rigs

baited with either Squid / Lug or Squid Sandeel

baits.

 An hour into the session and

this little Conger took a

Squid / Sandeel bait bait.

My grandchildren were very

pleased to see me catch something,

as was I.

A few more drop back bites followed

but each time they dropped off.

Till 17.20

when this Codling  took a Squid Lug bait.

 Up till then there no sign of weed.

However as the tide topped the wetlands grass bank

it all changed.

The washing was really on the line,

so I had really trouble with the grass blocking

the shock leader knot from passing through the top eye.

When I caught another small Conger, taking Squid / Sandeel bait

I had to pull it up, hand over hand.

However it caught in the rocks below

and I never manged to land it.

Even a small Whiting took a look

at a Squid/Lug bait

as it was hooked through the stomach

 so it went back out as a live bait.

However there was no more action except for 

grass, so as the tide was at the 

bottom of the rocks and darkness

was close, as well as the bait running out.

I packed up and headed home

at 19.00.

 Very nice Codling for my diner.

We had it today,

that was the best tasting fish I,ve had for a while.

Low to high at the ledges.14-10-17

Got to the Ledges at Ladye Bay

at 08.30 just at the bottom of the tide.

 Using Squid, Lugworm, Mackerel

and Bluey.

4/0 Pulley rig loaded with either 

Squid / Mackerel, Squid / Bluey

or Squid / Lug cocktails

on one rod and

Wishbone rig with 3/0 hooks loaded

with Lug.

I caught the first of 13 small Whiting

 on the lug baits.

On that rock surrounded by water

was where my rod were in the photo above.

 An hour and a half later I was back up

on the top of the ledge again.

Having caught four Whiting.

Settling to a more comfortable

fishing platform, I was hoping for

some bigger fish showing up.

 But it was not to be,

this diddly Cat shark was the biggest

of 14 fish caught, even if it was

foul hooked.

High water was at 15.00.

I packed up at 15.30.

An angler to my left caught a Thornback Ray 

soon after he arrived ,

that was his only fish.

Ladye Bay, Ledges. 03-10-17

Beating the traffic problems from a crash

on the M5 by leaving home at 5am, I

was fishing by 6am.

Two rods, one with 3/0 hooks

on a wishbone rig and

one with 4/0 on pulley rig.

The Wishbone rig was loaded with

Rag and Lug.

The Pulley with 

Squid and Mackerel cocktail.

First cast, first fish this 30cm

Whiting 

which fancied the lug worm

baited hook on the Whishbone rig.

First cast on the Pulley rig

was snatched up by a 

Dogfish /Cat Shark.

 

 Great I thought,

it should be a good day.

However apart from the lug worm

being scoffed and the Mackerel being nipped.

No more bites till I had climbed 

down the cliff,

When I finally got down to the

the low tide mark,

the bites started again.

At first they were small rattles.

Eventually there was a pull on the line,

this small Conger had the cocktail bait.

 More bites followed with Whiting 

hitting the lug

and

this tiny Doggie 

showed up.

 Over low tide the bites 

dried up again.

Once the flood tide

started the bites started again.

Trouble was,

I had run out of bait!

High water was at 6am

low at 12.45.

Out again next week

Having done what has to be done

for she who must be obeyed.

It's time for an escape chit.

So off to 

Weymouth next weekend

09-09-17

on board the

Amarisa.

THIS TRIP WAS CANCELLED DUE TO HIGH WINDS

Lacock 10-08-17

6am in the morning is a wonderful

time of the day.

At long last I was back on the river.

I had my Barbel ledger rod,

loaded with marine pellets

and a float rod

with Maggots and Casters.

 The float rod caught small fish from the first cast,

Roach, Chub, Dace, Minnows and Perch,

all were feeding strongly.

 Some of the swims are really

stunning.

others look really fishy.

 But I failed to catch any thing

larger than 6 inches.

 I ended up with

a couple of hundred small fish 

on the float.

 Thankfully I love float fishing

and this really made my day.

I think I'll be back there

next week for more exploring.

There are a few tasty swims

I will try out next time.

Ledges, Ladye Bay,04-07-17

Went back to the Ledges

but I intended to fish

low water to high.

Low water was at 10.15

and high water at 16.30.

So I was disappointed

to find it raining when I got there.

This makes the rock area where I

fish very slippery,

so I took a walk along the

sandy area then climbed back

up on to the Ledges.

So I didn't start fishing till 11.30.

Using my usual

baits and rigs

I was able to cast  to my full distance

as it was only a 10.5mtr tide.

The Squid/Mackerel, Squid/Sandeel

cocktail baits were not touched

till 13.50 when this little

Conger decided on a bit of  Squid/Sandeel

cocktail.

 Had to wait a while for my next

bit of action.

This time a 

Thornback Ray.

A male Ray / Shark

can be identified by the

claspers.

These are the two finger type appendages

sticking out to the left.

Females don't have these.

The photos show the underside of the fish.

 This is the upper side of 

the above fish.

 Just after the top of the tide

16.47

this stunning male

Thorny

fell again to the Squid/Sandeel

cocktail

 As can be seen from

the photos

the sun was out all afternoon.

Shortly before I

packed up

This "Snotty" 

more correctly called

Silver Eel or Fresh Water Eel.

took a Squid/ Mackerel bait.

It was on its way to the
Sargasso Sea
in the middle of the
Atlantic Ocean
to spawn.

So ended a very enjoyable trip.

Ladye Bay 01-07-17

I intended to fish from

09.30 till 15.00

but weed became a real problem.

I had Squid, Mackerel and Sandeel

for bait, straight or cocktail.

From the off

the baits were not touched.

Not even a nibble.

Until this little

Cat Shark, Doggie

took a liking to 

Squid, Sandeel cocktail.

As can be seen

the weed was starting to

be a problem at 10.30.

 High water was at 13.30

and 11.5mtrs.

 

 There was a good deal of weed

which was making it difficult

to see bites.

 At about 13.00 I had 

a good pull down and drop back bite.

The rod pulled over, something was pulling line off the

reel.

There were hard lunging pulls 

 and it stayed deep.

Eventually I had it on the surface,

a large Conger surfaced.

It took another dive

which was a reel problem because 

of the rough ground in front

of me.

Fortunately I turned it round

and had it on the surface again

Eventually I got it to the Ledge,

but couldn't climb down because of 

the waves sweeping over it.

I grabbed the shock leader

and held on to it,

I knew I couldn't  lift it

out of the water

as the hook length might brake.

Well as I was trying to get my phone

out of my pocket the line broke

as a wave dropped back.

My guess was the Conger was around

the 20ld mark.

As the tide turned the weed problem

got worse, blocking the

top eye and pulling the leads round into the

rough ground.

So I packed up at 13.30.