Second choice venue today 20-12-16

As first point was taken when I arrived

at Ladye Bay.

So I continued along the coastal path to the ledges

and  set up at one of my usual spots.

Two rods were set up with 3/0 and 4/0 pennell pully 

rigs.

 Baits taken were Squid, frozen Blacks, Hermit crabs 

and Mackerel.

I started fishing at 09.30 and packed up at 14.00.

Due to an injury I decided not

to climb down the cliff and fish till low water.

A small Codling and two small Whiting

took Squid / Blacks cocktail just before the top of the tide

at 11.27.

There was some weed and gunk

causing a few problems

but with light wind and flat calm

another good session but no diner.

Chesil Beach 18-12-16

Trundled down Weymouth way

Yesterday, arriving at 

Chesil  Bait and Tackle

at 12.00.

Jason and Hannah arrived 5 minutes later.

With a shed load of bait

we tootled down to the shingle

and were fishing by 13.00.

My first fish was this Coalie???

Yes a Coalie from the shore

a FIRST and a P.B. as well.

 It was a real learning curve for me.

Thanks to Jason's 

patience and advice I soon learnt

 the tricks to fishing this spot.

 Jason was surprised at the drop

from the top of the second shelf

to sea level.

It had changed drastically

since the week before.

The actual fishing slow,

however it was frantic compared

to the Severn Estuary / Bristol Channel. 

 

It was warm and overcast

wit out any wind.

The only sign of the sun

was at sunset.

 Other fish caught were

Pouting and Doggies.

 Baits used were

Squid, Mackerel, Hermit Crab

Frozen Black Lug and Rag

Pulley rigs were the order of the day.

We fished 4 hours down

and 3 up.

Wow what a cracking trip.

Luckily the fog was not 

as bad as forecasted.

So the journey down

and back were clear.

Roll on 31-12-16

for a family session down there.

Two sessions at the Pipes 12 &13-12-16

I managed a couple of trips

to the Pipes near Severn Beach.

Squid and Lug on

Pulley rigs

were used.

First tide was at 17.46

and 13.1mtr.

I fished 1600 till 19.00.

Expecting the usual weed and grass

that covers the line

at this time of the year.

I was not let down,

with every cast a real hassle

when I wound in.

Most of the time I had to cut 

the shock leader off

to be able to clear the

muck off.

Well the result a big

BLANK.

Next day 

i fished 

17.00 till 19.30

high was at 18.37

and 13.7mtrs.

The gunk was worse

The result the same.

Blankity Blank,

No fish but still a P.B. 23-11-16

Last minute change of venue did not pay off.

I intended to fish the muddy pipes but

I thought the recent rain would have carried

down more rubbish than was the case.

So low tide at New Passage was my second choice.

I have, in the past, had good results here,

so was ever hopeful.

Well the gullies were the same,

but there were a few new obstruction

placed in various places.

Well with Rag and small Squid 

for bait I started fishing at 09.30.

The rag baits were coming back partly stripped

but the ones tipped with Squid were not touched.

It was flat calm at first but the

wind steadily picked up all day.

                                                      Packed up at high tide, 14.30 as originally planed.                               Well not a bite.

I did manage to foul hook

the largest Prawn I have ever seen.

So a P.B. there.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

A walk to pick up my lost rig 14-11-16.

Warning there is deep mud in this area

and on big tides the water rises very rapidly.

Do not fish this area unless your with someone who knows the

AREA

I popped down 

to get back my lost rig

from last evening.

This post is covered in netting 

and was what I was trying to miss.

However I fell short of the gully by this post

and ended in thick mud.

I found my rig had dug in 6 inches deep in the mud 

the shock leader wrapped round the post.

 Having my rig in a bucket

I photo graphed the area for a future fishing trip.

Its firm ground out to a gully in the distance

and firmish ground in between.

 The ground all across here is firm but not 

to the right of this photo.

 As can be seen there is a lot of mud back towards the shore

some of it is quite deep.

 I will only fish this the gully on small

tides.

Big tides I will fish from just the other side of the

grass backing up to where I took this photo.

Please take great care here,

retreat early giving your self plenty of time

to get to high 

ground.

Back out to use up the the bait. Not unlucky 13th-11-16

With a little Rag and Squid

left over from last night,

I fished the pipes.

I walked out to meet the tide.

However it didn't go to plan.

First cast ended in the rig diving into mud

and not the water.

I had to break off and retreat

back and tackle back up.

 Fishing again I used

2 pulley rigs

One with whole Squid one with Rag.

With an evening like this

it was sheer pleasure to out.

Again flat calm.

High was at 6pm and 13.6mtrs.

 Half an hour before

high water

a tiny rattle on the whole Squid

produced this

48cm

Codling.

Well by 7pm

I was out of bait and walking back to the car.

Another brilliant trip.

Loads of mud and a Flounder. 12-11-16

Decided to try out a gully

down Severn Beach way

on Saturday.

With a 12.8 mtr tide at 5.15pm

I headed down there for 3pm.

The tide was just filling the gully I 

was aiming for.

A walk out to meet the tide

with two rods and a bait bucket.

I was using Rag on a Wishbone rig with Whole Squid

on a Pennell Pulley rig.

 From the start

the expected gunk on the line was a pain

but thankfully none of the grass and weed

was around.

So a lot of pining was needed when 

I wound in.

 As can be seen it was like a mill pond

and warm with it.

The baits were not being touched

so it was a surprise 

when a slight rattle 

produced this plump 12 inch

Flounder at high tide.

With the tide rapidly receding

I decided to head home at 6pm. 

Back to the Ledges. 09.11.16

As my first choice of venue was blown off

I decided to fish a deep water mark.

So back to the ledges. 

Started at 8am 

and fished till my bait ran out, around 2.30.

Fished the usual rigs at first

but at around 10.00 I tried out a

Wishbone rig

Lug, Rag, Squid and Mackerel were the usual baits,

with a good mix of all of them or on there own.

From the first cast, the big baits were coming

back wrecked, without seeing any bites.

The Lug and Rag baits were stripped within 

10 minutes.

 The Lug and Rag baits were stripped within 

10 minutes.

Even with 1/0 Wishbone rigs

Eventually I found the culprits,

CRABS.

Two came in, on two separate casts (yes 4 in total).

There was a good gusty, westerly wind.

As can be seen it got a bit splashy at times

but otherwise no hassles.  

In the end I caught a Conger

about 3ft long and managed to loose another, line so 

both reels will be respooled and serviced.

I think I lost due to dodgy 

At least I managed an escape, and enjoyed it as usual.

Ladye Bay. 02-11-16

Another few hours out the house,

so down to the Ledges again.

High water was at 08.24 

and 12.6mtrs.

I fished 06.00 till 11.00.

Usual baits and rigs were

used.

Weather was cool 

with a light breeze from the north.

The sun did come out later 

though it didn't get high

enough to shine on the ledges. 

Well, it was very slow,

just 4 tiny Whiting

and 2 tiny Codling.

Not such a good trip.

Lady Bay Ledges 26-10-16

With Squid, Mackerel, Lug and Rag 

I got to my chosen spot on the ledges

at 1pm.

High water was 5.05pm ans 11.2m.

As can be seen there was a light chop on the sea

with a slight southerly wind.

This is one of 4 fishing boats from

Portishead anchored off 1st point.

 For the first couple of hours

the baits were not touched.

It was not until the tide began to slacken

that the first bite was seen.

This produced this Doggie (Cat shark)

on the Squid Mackerel cocktail wrap pennell pulley rig.

 Next bite, which I didn't see was a tiny

Whiting on Lug over Rag pennell pulley rig.

 Not long after, another drop back bite produced

another Doggie.

Then I had two more good rattles on the Squid / Mackerel

rod.

On both, the bait  came back totally wrecked.

Third time lucky on the rattles produced

this strap Conger.

 Another three tiny Whiting were caught

on the worm rig. Even with 4/0 hooks

they were lip hooked so went back alive

and kicking.

So with the bait having run out

ant the sun going to bed

I packed up at 6pm.

Once again another

great trip but this time with more success.

All aboard the AMARISA. 22-10-16

07.00 this morning

a mixed bunch of family and now friends

boarded the AMARISA 

at Weymouth.

 With a four hour trip 

we settled down for the voyage out.

 Under the raised bridge

the skipper pointed the bow towards the 

chosen spot.

Straight away the wind was stronger

than forecast, and a bumpy

ride was had by all.

 The one thing that had not

read the script were the

FISH

I was first in with a surprise

Mackerel, then several more

were caught.

Squid, Mackerel, were the main baits

plus some Lug.

The skipper caught a small Smoothound

a couple of Doggies were also boated.

The skipper gave gave us an extra hour as the fishing was so hard.

I made the best of the time

by catching this

tiny

Tope.

On the order

"Wind in"

from the skipper

I hauled in a small Doggie.

So all in all a very pleasant trip

with a very jovial bunch of fishermen

and crew.

We steamed back to Weymouth.

Really looking forward to the next trip. 

Portishead Yacht Club Slipway. 12-10-16.

Once again I found myself

setting up at 07.00 

for a 10.50 low water.

Used 4/0 Pennel Pulley rigs

Loaded with Rag or whole Squid

As can be seen the mud at

low water totally covers the concrete slipway.

Take care the mud can be deep

in places so don't go off the edge of the slipway. 

Well once again only a small Whiting

was caught.

One whole Squid was taken 

with a drop back bite.

Unfortunately I failed to connect

and the rig came back empty.  

New Passage again 05-10-16

Again I tried here as this spot can be productive,

BUT!

With high water at 10.18 

and 12.1m.

I set up at 07.00

Bait as usual was Lug, Rag and Squid.

Wishbone and Pulley rigs as usual.

Weather as can be seen was great

except for that chilly and gusty north east breeze.

Well, the story is short.

Just one tiny Whiting.

HHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMM1

New Passage blank. 20-09-16

Decided to try this spot as its been 

a productive spot for me in the past.

So getting down there at 8am,

I walked out to meet the tide.

Once again lost line caused problems again but this time

I managed to drag another

three lots of line and rigs in.

The fish up here must have still been in bed, as I didn't

get a bite.

High water was at 10.26 and 13.7m.

I only had rag this trip and used my usual

rigs.

14 meter tide in the drizzle. 19-09-16

With Ragworm, Squid and Mackerel

in the bait bucket, I walked from Severn Beach

to my chosen spot by the pipes.

High water was 09.46.

Having been caught in traffic due to 

traffic light failure

I still managed to set up by 08.00 and wade 

out through the mud for the first cast.

Well with the usual rigs and bait combinations

and mixes I failed to get a bite before high water.

Every thing got soaked with the continuous

drizzle,

I was amazed that the wishbone rig

rod rattled.

Oh no, not a Snottie (Silver Eel),

but yes a Snottie.

Luckily it didn't tangle it up. 

 The next cast produced

a good pull on the rod tip.

A nice plump Flounder 

took a liking to Rag.

 That was the end of the fish action.

I now it was a waiting game  for the 

tide to clear three of my rigs.

Something had snagged my rigs

and so I waded out through

the mud.

Eventually I found them snagged on

a large length of 50lb + line.

I never found what it was connected to.

At least I had my rigs back.

Ladye Bay 27-08-16

With Lug, Rag, Squid and Crab

in the bait bucket,

I risked the M5 traffic

to head for Clevedon.

I arrived at my chosen swim

at 08.45.

As can be seen about 20 mtrs of

rocks and weed and then sand.

Usual rigs were used.

From the first cast till the last cast

the little fish were a pain.

Nibbling the hooks clean.

The high water was at 15.30

and 10.4 mtrs.

It was overcast with a northerly breeze and 

a single light shower.

Thankfully I didn't get hit by one of those thunder storms,

that passed east of Bristol

With actual fish staying on the hook

few and far between,

I was none to pleased

when these two fishing boats

passed less than 200 mtrs out.

You'd think they would have steared

clear of fisherman on the coast.

In the end I had 

1 x Whiting, 2 x Codling

and this

Conger.

All taking ragworm.

There were five other fishermen

who all had the same result,

except one lucky fisherman who managed

to reel in a 7 inch Smothound.

I packed up at high water, looking forward to my next

fishing trip.

Rockingham at last. 24-08-16

At last a fishing trip.

What free time I've had

I have been chasing trains or aircraft

but the fishing bug has dragged me back.

Fished from 9.30 till 1pm,

high water was at 12.07

an d 12.4 mtrs.

Bait was Rag and Squid.

Usual Wishbone rig and Pennel pullies.

As usual my first cast into shallow water

as the tide is still covering the mud flats.

A small snotty Silver Eel had taken a liking to 

Ragworm on the Wishbone.

Luckily it didn't tie any knots.

This car transporter was arriving at Portbury Dock.

 In front of my chosen was spot was this 

sunken wood vessel.

Well that was the end of any action until

high water.

A slight rattle on the Wishbone rod 

produced a lovely Dover Sole

to say I was pleased?

Yes indeed what a cracking fish.

Well that was the last of any signs

of life,

except for sea birds.

The weather was warm and sunny

with a north / northeasterly breeze. 

Might escape again on Sunday

maybe Ladye Bay me thinks.

Beaten by my son. Ladye Bay ledges.11-06-16

Headed down to the ledges for a few hours with Jason.

Tide was at 12.15 and 11.2m.

I started at 08.45 with Squid and frozen crab.

Well it was very slow until

about an hour before high water.

When Jason had a classic Thorny bite

on Macheral bait.

This beautifully marked Thornback Ray

of around 5ld 

was Jay's first ever Thorny 

and he was well stoked.

He hasn't stopped smiling and talking about it

all day.

My turn a short while later

with the rain coming down,

was this 15 inch Codling on

a cocktail of Lug, Rag and fresh peeler crab.

Jay's turn again after the rain

was this Cat Shark "AKA Dogfish"

For the last hour of fishing after

high water,

I had two Strap Conger

in quick succession.

It was a warm muggy day

with drizzle at times.

Tea shirt fishing

is so good.

Now time to service my

reels

and remake some rigs.

Another nice fishing trip.