Best fish of the day for Mose at 5lb 4oz
What an amazing mornings fishing!! With XCWEATHER predicting light winds holding until 10:00, I called the sailing on quite late. But after yesterdays good fishing, I wasn’t completely surprised that it sold out by 10:00 pm the previous evening. Joining regular fly boy John, were two new members of the frequent flyers club. I should explain this a bit more. To celebrate the launch of BIF, and to encourage a fast uptake of regular clientele, the lifeblood of any service industry, we decided to create the “Frequent flyers” club, which entitles you, on your forth day out with us, to a discount from your initial 3 hour cost of £60, to £45. This offer expires on the 31st December 2017, but I suspect the fourth member of our crew today, Mose, (pronounced MOZE) will qualify in time. I suspect he enjoyed today rather a lot.
I swung BIF west, on yet another AMAZING sunrise. The water was oily calm, perfect for the surface lures we had prepared. John was stripping back poppers, the rest of us were open mouthed at how effective the new HTO surface lures were. The CANINE and the CLIMAX (really guys??) particularly excelled themselves, and accounted for the best fish of the day. Weighed in dead, ashore, at 5lb 4oz, normally its size would have meant it would be released for another day. But it found the Climax so exciting, it hoofed it head first, the head of the lure engulfed by the stomache lining. Sadly, this meant the middle treble gill hooked, and the fish would not have survived. But the silver lining, Mose, who is no stranger to bass (he showed me some incredible pictures of catches from the canals of Venice… I wonder if they have a gondola equipped with a lowrance HDS 7…? ) will ensure not a scrap goes to waste.
The bass clicker kept clicking. Charlie and David wanted to fish for mackerel for a few casts, so they swapped onto the 14gm HTO Frantic slow jig. Their wishes were instantly met, including a new personal best for Charlie. I forgot to weigh it ashore, but it was over 1.5lb and sets a new record for BIF1 also.
The only person who struggled today was poor John. Just a month ago, the fly was heavily outscoring the lures, but now, with the arrival of bigger fish like spratt, large sand smelt and whiting, it looks as though the shads and surface plugs are reclaiming the title of most productive method. Although I suspect if the wind let us out a bit more, we could work out what was happening, and adjust the fly technique to suit. He actually ended up with just mackerel and garfish on the score card, for the first time this year.
As the sun rose, so the fish were more reluctant to come to the surface lures. The HTO mighty minnow now became the major player, as the clicker continued to make its lovely sound. And sizes were up. Everybody that wanted a bass for the table, walked away with a bass for the table, and we released quite a few more table fish. No REALLY small schoolies at all. Fast, furious and very enjoyable action. I was even thinking I might be able to call on a 2nd sailing, when, at ten minutes past ten, the projected wind arrived. We could see the sea ruffling as it sped towards the oily calm we had enjoyed all morning. When it came, it came hard and fast, and kicked up a swell instantly. With the session technically expired, it was time to head in. The bass counter, sat at 61. Our very recent record, would certainly have fallen if Neptune had allowed us another hour. But Neptune had clearly been watching XCWEATHER, and sent the bass protecting breeze at precisely the allotted time…
Not looking too good for sailing weather for the next few days, possibly into next week. But with our unique 3 hour sessions, a window of opportunity often springs up. If your lifestyle allows you to be available at short notice, keep an eye on our site, or on our facebook page, where we will advertise sailings as they become viable. Come enjoy the fishing, whilst it is at its peak. - 07970 112774 to get on board.