New gear

Today Giles picked me and we head east, a steady cruise in high spirits, chatting all the way…  Until we were almost at our destination when I realised I’d left my fucking bait at home!!!  Giles didn’t have enough bait for two so there was no option but to go back for it.  I was fuming, frustrated and annoyed.  It was like being in one of my own mad dreams…  Happily Giles enjoys driving and was far more chilled about things than I was.  So it was 1630 when we finally chucked some rods out at Radar beach, an hour later than planned.  I used the same methods i.e. the ever present Pulley rig baited with squid and the up/down rig on which all sorts of disgusting fishy things were impaled.

Once I had two baits out in the soup I had a new piece of tackle to grapple with, one of those fancy beach shelters which the proper sea anglers use.  I don’t like buying tackle unless I have to and already this spring I’ve had to purchase a new rucksack.  This thing is from Sonik has a solid base and seems pretty tough, crucially it’s comfortable when walking which was the main consideration when replacing the forty year old Karrimor that was finally giving at a couple of seams.  So far this piece of kit hasn’t been cursed and I hoped the new shelter wouldn’t be a jinx, or maybe that was the journey?  The shelter is from Imax and went up easily although I should practice in the garden sometime as I’m sure it wasn’t quite right.  The oval brolly had done the job but these things are perfect for the beach, there’s shelter from three sides so you can be comfortable in any weather and of equal importance, they are much lighter than a 60” brolly.  Today it wouldn’t be tested too much, the sky was clear and bright, the wind was light from the north east, comfortable conditions if not good fishing weather?

The new tackle wasn’t cursed, I’d seen a couple of plucks on the light rod but when I eventually wound it in I was still surprised to find a small Whiting attached.  After that most casts brought a bite on the light rod and two hours in I’d managed three more Whiting of various sizes, mostly taken on the upper hook baited with strips of squid.  By this stage Giles was still fishless but this changed with a slow bite on whole squid, his rod took on the full curve, was it a snag?  No it was moving!  With the heavy gear we have to use the fight is more a case of pumping in a dead weight but as the fish neared the beach it was definitely moving down tide.  Giles kept the pressure on and the leader emerged, followed seconds later by a large diamond shaped thing.  I grabbed the leader and with the next wave dragged a nice big Ray onto the beach.  Not just any Ray but Giles’ first and he was delighted, it had to be a scales and camera moment.  Thornbacks are awesome creatures, definitely the thing we prize most at this time of year and they don’t even look like real fish.

Soon after Giles’ second sea fish of the spring was a nice sized Dogfish but after that it all went quiet, for two hours nothing much moved but as high tide approached and darkness fell, (a nice coincidence?) things started to happen again.  Giles dropped a bait in close and was rewarded with a double hit of Whiting including a bloody big one, by far the biggest either of us have seen so far.  I tried a short cast but it didn’t work for me.  Right on high tide the light rod bent over and I found myself into something with a bit of weight, I hoped for a small Ray but it was a Dogfish which although cool creatures are a bit of an anti-climax in comparison. 

After half an hour of nothing a proper pull on the heavy rod had me scrambling out of the chair.  I stood by the tripod, the tip rattled again but then so did the other one, the light rod was banging too!  I winched in the heavy rod first to find a decent sized Whiting had engulfed a squid but whatever had attacked my other bait had got away with it.  While this was going on, Giles managed another couple of Whiting but then things slowed to a stop. Half an hour passed, the sea was retreating quickly so we decided to call it a night.  The new shelter had stood up to its first test and packed away easily, first impressions are positive.  I tidied the light rod first which is usually the case because it’s always more exciting when the big bait goes.  That job was almost completed when I glanced up to see the tip on the heavy rod had straightened, I wound in but felt no weight but something wriggled up the beach, a small but beautifully marked Dogfish, my last fish of the night.

The hike back to the motor was more awkward than it should have been taking away any spring that might have been in my legs.  Still it had been another interesting evening, over a dozen fish between us and it was great to see another big Ray.  So far this spring I've just caught Whiting and Dogfish but I don't think I'm doing a lot wrong...