...nobody told Ray

Late afternoon and I was getting ready for an evening on the beach, a message which I’d been expecting but dreading came through, bless you V, never to be forgotten.

I need to get out now, head for somewhere peaceful and get my head around this stuff.  By 1800 I was sitting behind the tripod, two rod tips against a hazy blue backdrop.  I’d travelled light tonight and the north easterly breeze was enough to make me wish I’d brought the shelter with me.  The sea was pretty flat though the smallish waves did break with energy, still it looked good for a Ray, to me at least.  Baits were mostly squiddy bits though I did try chunks of bluey from time to time.  Rigs were the usual but honestly, how much does it matter?  The beach below me was totally different to when I was last here, the gully had gone and all the WW2 leftovers were buried under sand and shingle once again.  The sea was coming towards me with high tide due at 2340 though whether I’d last that long was debatable.

I sat and contemplated things we don’t want to think about but smiled too at happy memories.  The baits were getting long soaks as nothing rattled the tips; on the light rod dropped in close the bait was coming back whole but the baits given a heave were getting nibbled by something, probably crabs.  I’m never bothered by crabs (?), I see this as something that will attract the interesting species and with this in mind I switched the light rod over to a pulley rig which enables me to punch a bait out a bit further.  Two hours in, the light was noticeably dimming and with that the breeze was easing off and the waves shrinking.  It really did feel good for a Ray and now should be the time but still the tips were stationary and I was getting to that weekly mindset where I feel like extracting anything from the salty grey mass is impossible.  But the very next time I winched in the heavy rod I found a small Whiting had impaled itself.

Another hour sped past and by this time the tip lights were lit and the headtorch had replaced the shades sitting on the brim of my hat.  I could have sworn the heavy rod tip made a different movement and when I this repeated a minute later I had to check it.  I wound it in but there was nothing there and the squid was still whole so went out for another swim.  Within minutes the same rod tip was thumping for sure and this was the start of a spell where every cast brought a decent bite but I failed to hook anything at all.  What’s more the baits were coming back almost untouched, what was going on?  Whatever it was, perhaps a whole squid was a bit too big…  I wondered if a shoal of small Bass had moved in so I switched the lighter rod from bluey to a small squid and whacked it out.  Now both rods were banging but I missed a couple more before I finally dragged a Dogfish up the beach after an hour of almost constant action.

A few minutes later the other rod banged over and there was a decent weight on the end this time, would this be a Ray?  No it was a good sized Doggie in a seriously bad mood and with that I decided I’d had enough.  To be honest after a few years the novelty of catching Dogs and Whiting has worn well thin and I need something more interesting to keep me out there when tiredness starts to creep up.  So having managed to calm my swirling brain and catch a couple of fish I packed up and tramped back to the car.  I shut the sound of the waves out, started and cranked the stereo up, playing a song for a friend.

 

It seems the Rays have moved away, I believe they move up the estuaries to spawn?  Anyway the most interesting target for the next few weeks is Bass so time for a change of approach.  I had hoped to have a midweek go on a river mouth spot but forgot to order the bait!  I had time to fish but where do I go and what should I do?  The Tardis needed a bit of a sort out and I considered rigging up a couple of rods to fish sweetcorn on a little pit I’m yet to explore but this didn’t inspire so in the end I got ready for another session on an open beach but further north than I’ve been so far this year, or should I try a river mouth, just give it a go with the baits I have?

Spot the difference...

I had a slow journey on mid week roads and set up as the fun boat disappeared into the haze, a daytime tide for a change.  I was fishing by 1000, four hours before hight tide on a clear, warm day with just a feather of cloud in the hazy blue sky.  The sun had enough power to make me put sun cream on ginger skin but the north easterly breeze kept the temperature comfortable, what most people would describe as a glorious spring day.  The water was virtually flat with just the tiniest waves and the north sea was actually blue for once and as clear as I’d ever seen it.  Should have brought a lure rod!  There were a couple of other anglers about and inevitably the weather attracted other humans to the beach, some of whom were daft enough to actually get in and judging by the screams it wasn’t as comfortable as it looked. 

From my seat there were four Martello towers visible, over two hundred years old and despite the harshest environment they are still solid, in fact many are holiday homes nowadays.  But why here I wonder?  What is it or was it about this stretch of coast that needed such defences? Probably the same reason I’m here, deep water close in.

A Herring Gull kept me company for most of the morning.  I’m usually suspicious of these bait stealing fuckers but for some reason today I felt charitable and chucked a piece of rancid squid which it swallowed in a gulp but maybe I’ve poisoned it?  To be fair after that the gull behaved itself, it kept its distance and I chucked it scraps of bait which rarely hit the stones.  Every now and then it would take to the air, circle the bay and chase away any other gulls that may interrupt its food supply before returning to keep a hopeful eye on me.

Towards high tide the breeze picked up and felt cool, the turn of the tide saw it run harder than expected.  I fished big baits and small baits, tried them at all kinds of ranges from close to as far as I could chuck it.  Bait was mostly squid but I also tried fishy chunks and strips.  The conditions meant the rod tips were virtually still so any bites would have been easy to spot but I didn’t get any, not one and the baits were coming back in one piece.  Once again it looked good for a Ray but... and what I’d have given for a Whiting or a Dogfish this morning!  I got it totally wrong today and in the absence of any fishy photos here, (gasp!) is some video!

Fishing and fishing

I consider myself very lucky to have a small group of close friends, we’ve known each other since the eighties and have grown up together.  Fishing has been a constant thread that has helped bind us for over forty years, one of the greatest things about this sport of ours.  Me and Mr T met through a shared love of music, beer and good times and we’d known each other years before we ever fished together.  Nowadays it’s probably the thing we do most.  I suppose most of my fishing is somehow ‘serious’ in as much as I am hoping to catch a specific species or a fish of a certain size, you could say my motivation is some kind of target fish but that definitely wouldn’t be the case tonight.

This evening we hauled our gear to a spot that would give us a little respite from the fresh north easterly.  We quickly set up in the sunshine, the rods were cast and crucially on this occasion, the shelter erected.  We settled into our chairs, opened a couple of beers and there we pretty much stayed because the fish were showing zero interest.  We’d occasionally get up to freshen the baits which were coming back quite undamaged but honestly this was irrelevant.  If the fishing had been too busy we wouldn’t have had half as much time to chat and the night wouldn’t have been anywhere near as enjoyable.

High tide came and went, the sun dipped and it was the fading daylight that finally seemed to trigger a fish or two.  We had a few rattles and between us managed to drag a tiny Dogfish and a decent Whiting up the beach.  Had we stayed I’m sure we’d have caught a few more fish but the cold wind made emerging from shelter a chore so we decided to get away before things got too uncomfortable.

A week later this time fishing alone, my mindset was totally different, this time with no company other than the noises in my mind I was focussing on the fishing.  The day was pleasant, mild and bright with a light south easterly but of course its always a few degrees cooler on the east coast.  I travelled from a different direction on unfamiliar roads, the journey seemed quick and I was soon pulling up at a coastal car park. 

Emerging through the scrub I was surprised to find an empty beach, the tide was at its lowest with a lot of the ground I’d be fishing over revealed to the eye, a small gully of water ran along the beach about twenty five yards from the high tide mark.  I took a couple of minutes to make a couple of practice casts, ensuring I’d be able to drop the rig into this gully when the tide climbed further up the slope.  The usual Pennelled squid was hurled eastward on the heavy rod and I put a two hook flapper on the light rod, small baits hoping for a flatty early on in the tide.  By 1830 I was sat comfortably in front of the shelter looking up at two rod tips that were almost still.  The salty liquid mass was pretty flat today which always makes life easier.

Two hours passed, the sun sank and obviously the sky grew dark while the sea crept relentlessly closer.  Everything seemed right for a fish but the tips were motionless, I’d have no trouble seeing any bites but there was nothing to see, the baits had been coming back a bit chewed but they’d been getting a long soak.  I changed the lighter rod swapping to a running leger rig and wondered why I ever use anything else?  I’ve been mucking about with multi hook rigs for a couple of years and I’m not convinced they catch me any more fish.  I’m not match fishing and do I really want to be winding in two or three small fish at a time?  But to be fair at that moment I would have been happy to see any kind of fish, any size.

Whenever sea fishing is like this it feels like you’ll never get another bite, ever.  To catch feels impossible.  Then at 2045 a sharp pull on the heavy rod changed the vibe completely!  A minute or so later the tip pulled round solidly and I was on my feel pulling a decent fish towards the shore.  Heavy tackle, a running tide and a bit of weight on the end makes hauling it all back towards me a laborious task but when a nice Ray was revealed by a retreating wave it proved well worth it.  This one didn’t go smoothly as I managed to tangle with the other line but this was soon sorted and a fish of about three pounds was returned.  I would have taken a quick picture but the phone was in the car and I'd killed the camera batteries trying to take photos of the moon.  Yes really.

Half an hour passed before the same rod was banging again and I winched a second, smaller Ray onto the beach.  This was quickly unhooked and returned, as usual the next hooklength was baited and ready, another squid was thrown out and disappeared into the darkness.  This rod was hardly back on the tripod before the lighter rod banged over for the first time this evening and I wound in a decent sized Whiting.  I’d just chucked this back when I had another good bite on the heavy rod, the tip was dragged down low and it looked like I’d be into another Ray but the tip straightened again, whatever it was had made its getaway. 

After that mad hour things settled into a more normal rhythm, fishy attention on most casts but fewer proper bites.  A good whack on the heavy rod around 2215 resulted in me battling with something spirited which the waves revealed to be my first Bass on the year and it was a good one that was not quite legal size.  Shortly after this another similar bite seemed like it would give me the same result, something decent battled in the shallows but my last pull up the beach only saw the hook pull and whatever it was, probably another Bass (?) made its getaway so I’ll never know.  Most of the bites were coming to baits given the big chuck and I considered putting a pulley rig on the lighter rod too.  But by this time the tide was way up the beach and I’d started dropping the lighter rod into the gully, this brought me a couple of fast bites but I was too slow to hit them.  Something to try on another day though…

By 2300 I was knackered and even though high tide was still about ninety minutes away I decided to get away.  I’d caught a few fish and was confident of more but I’d actually run out of steam.  As usual I tidied everything up and packed away the shelter before starting on the rods.  While I packed up the light rod I was sure the other, now resting on my chair, was banging a bit and so it proved, a Dogfish had hung itself for my fifth and final fish of the night.  This was soon back in the briny and within a few minutes I was loaded up and trudging back across the shingle, happy with how my evening had gone. Then again, maybe I should have fished both rods with pulley rigs whacked out?  Whatever, I set out hoping to catch Rays and succeeded, I also had a nice sized Bass so a successful fishing trip but was it more enjoyable than the previous one?  I’m happy I have time to do both.