Different days, different beaches

When my next time off came round I couldn’t decide what to do.  I probably should have fished an estuary for Bass as it is still a bit early for Hounds but as much as I like the tranquil estuary areas it’s usually Bass or bust.  I mostly prefer fishing the open beaches for the variety of species that can turn up, you never know what might turn up.  Also if I really want to catch Smoothounds I have to fish where I’m most likely to encounter them and be prepared to sit it out. 

I had time to kill so turned up early and got settled into the cosy shelter to watch the world float on by.  The first couple of hours were quiet and I was distracted by a cheeky Herring Gull which was far too comfortable coming right up close. Whenever I was distracted, winding in or getting ready to cast, it headed straight for the shelter and my bait bag.  I soon got the hump with this and chased it off and thereafter kept a watchful eye on anything winged and vaguely white.  My second close encounter was with a large seal that seemed to be patrolling up and down the shelf in front of me.  No wonder I wasn’t getting any bites.

Time ticked on and the sea rose up the slope, the high tide period is usually best at this location and for a couple of hours either side of high water I had constant action, bites and rattles on squid fished at any distance.  I’d chosen this dramatic shingle beach hoping for variety but as it turned out I caught more of the same, another good size Whiting and loads more Dogfish. 

This kind of fishing is no longer an interesting novelty but by putting up with it I put myself in with a chance of a Hound and if I manage to catch one or two of these this year it’ll be worth it.  That said it’s probably still a bit early for Hounds and I fancy a change, using some lighter gear for Bass in the near future appeals to me.

My next trip came a few days later, I finished a gruelling shift, got ready in a hurry, then had a frustrating trip into town which was unavoidable because I had some ragworm to collect.  After that I had an even more tedious drive out of town and eastward but eventually broke free into countryside and began to feel myself again.  Tonight I was after Bass at a lovely spot on an estuary reached by a good hike through another marsh.  As I walked, I heard a cuckoo for the first time this year and spotted three deer which obviously felt safe strutting around in broad daylight, two just tried to stare me out but the third slowly crouched into the reeds until only its ears were visible.

I was set up at 1830 using lighter gear for a change, my usual Bass rod as well as a Greys Pike rod pared with a crappy Nash baitrunner which I’d put on a rod for the kids to use years ago.  On both rods I used a running leger with a long hooklength ending in a size 1 long shank hook, bait on both was ragworm.  High tide had been and gone but I don’t much bother with the tide at this spot as in previous years the onset of darkness had been key.  The evening was mostly clear and bright to begin with but the northerly breeze was chilling and I positioned my chair so this was on my back.

I didn’t expect anything much in daylight but I moved the rods around regularly dropping baits into various spots in the slacker water on the near side.  As the tide dropped I realised I’d gone too far right and the water I’d be fishing would be dry mud flat soon, so I moved into slightly deeper water.  The birdlife was interesting, Oyster Catchers are fairly common in these locations but I saw Avocet too and I can’t remember seeing these too often here. Things started to happen around 2000 with fishy rattles on both rods but these didn’t develop.  On the next few casts I had little plucks and rattles but nothing to strike at, I wound in a crab which was a clue to the culprits.  I’d assumed I just needed to turn up here and fish into dark and I’d catch but as the light faded I began to wonder if I’d got it wrong, a blank began to seem inevitable.

Four hours into the ebb I started to see signs, fish swirling close to the bank in about eighteen inches of water.  I’ve seen Bass in close here before and caught one or two small ones so using the Greys rod I under-armed a rig about a rod length out.  A few minutes later the tip was wrenched over then straightened, how do you get a slack liner with just five or six yards of line out?  I still had to wind a couple of turns to make contact with something charging around in circles on a short line, yanking the rod over as it did so.  The fish had nowhere to go and I managed to heave it onto the shingle but it wasn’t a Bass!  Bugger me I’d caught my first ever Mullet which was long, muscular and shiny, much cooler than the one that had sat on my head in the eighties.  It weighed 2-08 and I wish I’d taken more time with the photos.

Twenty minutes later the same rod banged again but I should never take these unmissable bites for granted.  Another half an hour passed before I had another chance and this time I did connect with a Bass of about a pound but that was my lot.  The rod tip action went back to annoying plucks and tremors and I didn’t get another proper bite despite fishing till about 2330.  In hindsight I probably should have paid more attention to the tide as by the time I packed up the outward flow was as slow as I’ve seen it here.  Most trips here leads will be shifted and the rig bounced down tide but this didn’t happen at all tonight.

Walking in these quiet parts of the county is interesting after dark as the natives come out to forage.  My head torch had been picking out Bats at the shore but on the walk back they reflected the eyes of Deer in the marsh.  About half way back to the car there was a sizeable lump on the bridleway in front of me, as I got closer it became apparent the lump was alive and moving.  Then the torch beam made it clear I was looking at the rear end of a Badger.  I slowed my stride and started scraping my feet as I didn’t want to surprise the animal but it was unaware or unbothered.  I stood still and because I didn’t know what else to do I said loudly; “Badger!  Fuck off!”  I swear the creature turned its head to look over its shoulder, seemed to do a double take then trotted down the path increasing speed as it did so.  That’s probably the closest I’ve ever been to a live Badger and honestly, coming across a big mammal when you’re alone in the dark is unnerving.

Things were surreal back at the car as the key didn’t want to work to begin with but I managed to get in and enjoy the drive home, regularly slowing for Rabbits and even more Deer.  Spring in Suffolk is wonderful but the majority of people are surrounded by all this stuff and rarely notice it, if ever.  We anglers know how lucky we are.

Another day a different beach but which one?  With high tide due at 2020 and a nice off shore breeze, I fancied my chances in three different places so where should I go?  I had a bit of ragworm left which made it sensible to go somewhere these might be effective, did the tail wag the dog?  The cauldron is a tricky spot to fish, you never know what conditions will be like until you get there but I figured I had a good chance of Bass and unlike the estuaries there’s a chance of catching almost anything.  I hiked across yet another marsh with the west wind on my back, the afternoon was clear and bright but cloud was building and showers were forecast for the evening meaning I had to carry the shelter.  The countryside is bursting with life at the moment, I seem to see Deer wherever I go and another one burst through the reeds today.

I was fishing by 1610, sitting at the top of a steep slope looking down at a flat but boiling sea.  Tonight I reverted to my normal heavy rod/light rod set up.  On the former it was the usual big bait but due to the strength of the current here I wouldn’t be able to give it a big chuck until later on, when the tide went slack.  On the Bass rod I used the regular running leger rig baited with ragworm cast no further than twenty yards and often just under-armed out into the deep water close in.  I didn’t expect much to begin with but within half an hour the heavy rod wobbled and I hooked something with a bit of weight.  You never know what you’ll catch at this spot but of course it was yet another Dogfish.

I can never predict how things will go at this spot, (more than any other!) but tonight I expected to catch Bass as the tide peaked and darkness fell.  I sat in the comfort of the shelter watching the rod tips but often distracted by the birdlife; more Oyster Catchers and Avocet along with what I now know to be a Wood Sandpiper.  The highlight was a large shape that soared overhead, it dawned on me that what I was looking at was a large bird of prey.  Just how big was difficult to tell given there was nothing to give it scale.  Having compared the silhouette with a diagram in my RSPB book, it could well have been a White-tailed Eagle, I don’t know what else it could have been?  This was a welcome distraction as none was coming in the form of bites.  I was quite glad of this during the twenty minutes or so of squally rain that blew through and had me sat right at the back of the shelter.

An hour before high tide, at around 1910, I had a proper bite on the light rod and found myself attached to a spirited fish, a Bass of around a pound or so.  This came pretty much on time and I expected regular spells of action over the next couple of hours and into darkness as fish moved in and out but unfortunately this didn’t happen.  I had a few fast rattles on ragworm and when I was able to fish at range, a couple of knocks on squid, one of which resulted in yet another Dogfish.  By 2230 I was done and soon had the gear packed away and loaded on my shoulders.  I’ve fished this area enough to know my way around so have no excuse for taking the wrong path and almost losing myself in the marsh.  Thankfully I realised my mistake before going too far and managed to get back on the right track and accompanied by the calls of owls, hiked back to the car.

East winds

After my last successful visit to the beach things just wouldn’t fall into place, when I had the time off the conditions were all wrong.  Strong onshore winds do nothing for the fishing, make the chances of a Ray almost nil and make life bloody uncomfortable while you’re struggling on the beach.  All of the above is accepted fishing logic which I have reinforced through learning the hard way but this spring I didn’t bother.  I considered fishing an estuary but I’m struggling to get my hands on ragworm at the moment and it’s pointless trying for Bass without.  So for the first time this spring I did a bit of coarse fishing and visited a venue I’d not yet fished, this is because I didn’t think it was my cup of tea and I was right.  The water itself, a small pit, is actually quite nice; steep sided therefore sheltered and nicely tree lined.  The trouble is it’s located close to some industrial units and the noise was constant, I think I’d have relaxed more braving the easterly wind on the beach…  I float fished sweetcorn over a bed of hemp which is a simple and effective and had a few rapid bites that I was way to slow for, apparently there are crucians in here?  I did hit one bite and the float rod bent nicely as something with spirit pulled away on the end, I was happy to scoop a little Tench up in the net.  I can’t remember the last one I caught, it’s been at least ten years and not for want of trying!  If you’d offered me a single Tench when I set off, I’d have taken it so no complaints but I doubt I’ll be back.

Eventually things appeared to fall in my favour, after a few bright, breezy, clear days I had a mild cloudy evening with a light onshore breeze.  With high tide due around 0100 I arrived at the shallow beach around 1900 and was greeted by a mostly sandy expanse that has changed subtly since my first visits this year.  Crucially the sea was flat with small waves and I set up eagerly thinking the chances of a Ray were good.  I started off set up half way down the gentle slope but showers were forecast and I’d brought the shelter which I erected above the tideline.  The first heavy shower came earlier than expected and saw me scurrying to rehome myself in comfort.

My first bite came after an hour, a good thump on a whole squid which resulted in a slight fishy presence on the line that was actually my first Bass of the year.  After that I had a couple of hours without a decent bite for which I was almost grateful as the weather was pretty unpleasant.  The only thing of note in this period was a strange, bedraggled figure appearing through the gloom which was actually Giles having his first trip to the Beach for some time.  Three hours before high tide, an almost full moon had risen, the rain had mostly cleared away and the tips started to rattle regularly.  The action was never as hectic as on previous evenings but regular enough, however it was Whiting and Dogs all the way, the Rays didn’t show.  Apparently they move up the estuaries to spawn at this time of year and having consulted the diary I later realised I’ve never caught a Ray from this beach in May. 

We fished till after midnight by which time we’d both caught enough decent sized Whiting to make a decent feed back home.  The drive home was a pleasant one with loads of animals on the move along the lanes.  There were dozens of rabbits, a barn owl ghosted across the road, a badger gave me a glare before slipping into a hedge and I had the stop the car to allow groups of deer to cross on three occasions.

 “Through the fish’s Eye – An anglers guide to fish behaviour”  Written by Mark Sosin and John Clark.

On the face of it I thought this should be an interesting read, which it was for the most part.  I hadn’t heard of the authors but Sosin is an angling writer and tackle consultant while Clark has a degree in fishery management.  Both are American, as are most of the species discussed although in fish behaviour there are bound to be obvious parallels with European species.  The book was first published in 1973 and this version for the British market came out in 1976 and was edited by Fred J. Taylor.  Other than being a legend of British angling from times mostly before I was a regular angler I know little else about FJT.  He was amongst one of the first UK anglers to be successful with deadbaits for Pike but other than that I don’t know what he contributed to British angling nor what he caught.  There’s some future reading…

I expected FJT’s introduction to literally introduce the authors to the British angling public but he doesn’t even mention them.  Instead he is selling us the idea that what has been documented in the USA has relevance here and why.  FJT succeeds in this but the very first chapter from Sosin and Clark bothered me.  In the very first paragraph they state; “…the fish must avoid getting caught.  Nature takes care of this by genetic adaption: the smartest fish survive to spawn and thus give birth to smarter fish, the vulnerable are caught and the weak strains eliminated.”  This carries on in the second paragraph; “The overall effect is to build up a strain of fish that is resistant to capture…” I’ll accept that angling can condition fish to behave in a different. ‘unnatural’ way but as I understand it evolution works a whole lot slower than that.  I don’t believe fish feeding unnaturally is the same thing as evolution.  “New techniques must be devised to replace those used by anglers in the past…”  Ah there’s the catch.  We’ve established one of the authors was a tackle consultant, enough said, I have my guard up.

Thankfully there was no attempt to sell me anything and I enjoyed the book on the whole although I’m not sure I learnt much I didn’t already know.  This may be because what is written here has been repeated by other authors and as a long time angler, I’ve absorbed this knowledge from other sources.  I can’t recall too many exciting new discoveries regarding fish behaviour in this time.  There are theories concerning fish behaviour being linked to atmospheric pressure, Barrie Rickards being an notable exponent.  Another relatively new theory links fish behaviour to moon phases and Dr Rickards was coming round to that one too.  Other than those I can’t think of anything.  The descriptions of how fish use their primary senses to detect food or threat was interesting enough and mostly sound. 

However there were several occasions where I strongly disagreed with what I was reading.  In the section on fish’s use of smell; “Results from a series of experiments on the sense of smell show that the least hours for odour perception should go to the northern pike…”  I can’t argue with the results of this experiment but I know that Pike can detect my deadbaits, often in murky water and smell plays a big part in this.  They go on to say that because of their reliance on sight, at night a Pike is “…generally helpless and must spend the hours of darkness resting and biding its time…”  This is simply not true, I know Pike can find my baits after dark and they don’t have torches.  It doesn’t get darker than 0300 in February, just one of very many examples I can recall.  To be fair Fred J. intervenes with some thoughts of his own at the end of the chapter which diplomatically correct Sosin and Clark. He goes and spoils things later, in a discussion of various species preferred temperature ranges, FJT adds a bit stating that in the UK Pike do better at lower temperatures than in the US.  He goes on to say British anglers don’t generally fish for Pike in summer saying anglers “…leaves them strictly alone while he pursues more worthwhile species…”  Worthwhile?  Fuck off Fred!  Apart from those gripes it was a decent read overall.

 

“Rainbow’s end” by Phil Smith

Phil Smith was one of those seemingly ever present faces in the angling press when I was a youngster in the eighties.  For many years he was one of the country’s top all round “specimen hunters” who caught fish of most species to impressive sizes.  This book was published in 1987 and is very much of its time in terms of species, sizes, methods and baits but a good fishy story is timeless and there are a few of those in here.  In this book, in general the longer the chapter the better it reads, the shorter stories just read like afterthoughts put in to pad things out, with a bit more effort they could have been much improved.  There are plenty of spelling and grammatical errors along the way as is often the case when an angler writes.  On the whole it’s a decent read but could have been a lot better with a second draft.