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.