A good hike and a contented walk

It was a workday with a glimmer of fishy opportunity from late afternoon but after recent beach fishing experiences could I be arsed?  I talked myself into a few hours on an estuary, I’d travel light – soak a squid and have a good go with the lure rod, hoping for a Bass.  But after a phone call from a mate in the tackle shop I’d half a pound of rag on hold and plans had changed to humping the whole kit down to the point.  With my shift finished I demolished a pizza, loaded up then got away.  First I had to head into Town where I swooped into AD to pick up the bait, then a frustrating drive east before finally pulling up in a secluded car park.  Next I had a good hike towards the shore and as I put one foot in front of the other, the sound of the wind through the trees made me think that leaving the shelter behind might not be such a good idea, when will I learn?

Finally around 1800 I had a couple of rods out, two running leger rigs were holding baits down in the boiling waters off ‘the point’, I’d mostly be fishing for Bass but with a chance of flatfish and who knows else, it’s the sea after all.  On the heavy rod I had a small whole squid which I’d allow to soak and on the light rod it was ragworm all the way.  Today was forecast to be the last of the warm spell we’ve been having and the northerly wind made it clear the air had changed already.  The evening may have been bright but was cooler than it looked, the water was crystal again and I’d brought a few lures which I chucked around from time to time with enthusiasm if not confidence.  By the time I’d arrived high tide was two hours behind me so I’d be fishing it down which is not ideal in theory but this time last year it had made no difference, the coming of darkness had been the key.

At 1920 I noticed a flutter on the tip of the light rod, then again seconds later.  After the blank last time I was keen to actually catch something so I got to my feet in anticipation but of course nothing happened until I sat down again.  This time the tip shook with purpose and I found myself winding a fish in.  The bite hadn’t been at all Bass-like so I wondered what was on the end but it came off in close so I’ll never know.  Whatever it was it had lifted my confidence as it had been several hours since I’d last seen a bite.  The next couple of casts brought tremors and rattles but nothing I could strike at, then it went quiet and I wondered if I’d missed my chance.  I tried my luck with the lure rod from time to time, spoons and shads mostly but I don’t know where to start and didn’t feel a bite. Perhaps I’d been over hasty in this mad scramble to get to the seaside, I should have thought it through a bit more.  Oh well, it was a nice place to sit on my backside, I’d heard my first cuckoo of the year earlier and a Tawney Owl sounded like it was just waking up.  Every minute now saw the light fade a little more, this should have increased my confidence but instead I began to plan my getaway, how much longer should I give it?

At 2120 the light rod banged and rattled in the tripod, not even I could miss it, there was a bit of weight on the end and a swirl on the surface.  With tackle like this strength isn’t an issue but I bring these fish in patiently so as not to pull the hook out, I soon had a nice Bass of a couple of pounds or so at my feet.  A photo worthy fish at any time but especially when things haven’t been going to plan recently and my departure was delayed.  Twenty minutes later I had a repeat performance, the fish if anything fought a little harder but was actually slightly smaller.  Another twenty minutes and another bite, my third Bass was the smallest so far, around half the size of the first.  I was tired so it was time to go but I chucked a fresh ragworm out again while I tidied up the rest of the kit and while I was doing so the tip started banging again.  I hooked another decent weight but this didn’t fight like the previous ones and my final fish of the night was a Doggy.

This was another day when I felt I was leaving a few fish out there but I get to a point where enough is enough.  In these wild environments I find that just being there can be in a way, draining and there is usually a feeling of relief when I close the door against the wind and waves, yes I’m getting old.  That makes it sound like I don’t enjoy it but this is miles wide of the mark and I’m making plans to get back soon.  This part of the world is as wild as our island gets and driving home I saw several Muntjac, a couple of Foxes, Rabbits galore and had to stop the car to allow nine Deer to cross the road.  Enough there for an episode of ‘Springwatch’ but fishing in wild places we almost take it for granted.

 

I had plenty of Ragworm left so these were well wrapped then sneaked into the back of the fridge where I hoped they’d enjoy a few days of slumber before I could get back to the river.  A couple of days later I set off in the middle of evening rush hour, swung in to pick up Rich then took the circular route out to the coast. To be fair the traffic wasn’t as bad as expected but I was in no hurry and our journey was painless, drenched in conversation.  We pulled into possibly the most secure car park in the country, loaded up then hiked towards the estuary and ten minutes later stood looking out from the point.

Rich, like me, is a Piker and only an occasional beachcaster, this was his first visit to this spot where he hoped to experience the Bass fishing I’d bent his ears about a year ago.  My previous visit had been promising, it looked like the Bass were in the same areas and behaving in the same way they this time last year.  I’d carted the beach shelter this time which provided a bit of a windbreak but this evening felt more comfortable than previous.  We’d be fishing the tide one up then down for as long as we were enjoying it but evidence so far suggests that is largely irrelevant, darkness is key.  By 1840 we were relaxing in our chairs, each fishing two rods, soaking up the atmosphere of the estuarine environment.

The fishing started slowly as expected but this gave us plenty of time for a chat and as time began to tick by and the light gradually faded, things started to happen.  To begin with just rattles and taps on ragworm and I had one violent bang on squid but there was nothing we could strike at.  Before we knew it darkness had swallowed us and as always the doubts started to creep in.  Then at 2125 I had the first proper bite of the night and beached our first fish, a bass of eight ounces or so.  The recast had hardly settled before the rod was banging again and I had a similar sized Bass doing its best to spike me.  We got ourselves settled again and were hoping it would be Rich’s turn next but my rod folded over like a Barbel bite and I wound into a better fish which held its own then charged up and down at close range.  After allowing it to knacker itself on a short line I dragged my best Bass of the season onto the shore.

Soon after this Rich got off the mark with his first Bass for a few years and for an hour bites came regularly to both of us.  Rich’s next fish was a better one that gave him a bit of bother amongst some rocks before he managed to drag it ashore.  He was well chuffed with a fish around two pounds which he thought was probably his biggest Bass from the shore.  When they get to this size Bass really do have a go at fighting, despite having no real chance against the kind of tackle we have to use.  My next fish was another good one which managed to go round the other line before succumbing, a nice fish at any time and it’s not often we’ll see two bigger ones the same night.  By 1130 our combined total was ten fish but things were beginning to slow down.  What bites we had were more plucks and flutters although Rich managed to wind in another Bass and an Eel.

Around 1230 we were running out of bait so loaded all the chunks and lumps of worm we had left onto our four hooks then slung them out into the ebb while we tidied the rest of our kit away.  We didn’t leave the rods too much longer, tonight our energy had outlasted the feeding spell but by now we’d had enough and we had a decent hike ahead of us.  This would be a contented walk though because for once things had actually gone to plan.