Fish of the day... Weighed later in Al's kitchen at 8lb 3oz
See that CAT (Cod Accumulative Total) now...? What a day. I consider a single coddy in a 3 hour sailing a good session. Just to see one up is a result. But this year, has all the signs of being a bit special. Factor in all I learned with our amazing spring run earlier this year, and I feel BIF1 is in a great position to make the most of it.
However, this amazing day should not have happened. Once more, XC over estimated the wind speeds, and having tracked them as both under forecast and differing direction from forecast, I managed to salvage two out of three planned sailings today, having again cancelled them based on the forecast the previous evening.
First one, I had regulars Richard and Ashley on board, and they were joined by Armando, who is recently arrived in Brighton, where he is working as a web developer. His usual fishing is for Pike in the waters around his home in Ankara, (Turkey) and some bass fishing on the turkish coast. But the bass there rarely survive to good size, and he was really keen to see a big bass. So, with this in mind, we agreed to do an hour looking for coddies, and then hit the bass... However, it sort of went upside down. First coddie venue, nothing doing other than a few mackerel. 2nd one, as the guys fished for cod, I was casting across the rock prospecting for bass. Which were there in good numbers, So, I switched everyone over to bass seeing as the cod were not interested.
Which worked really well, until we moved inshore. Close inshore,.. And, a coddie attached itself to Ashley's HTO MIghty minnow. being fished for bass... A welcome suprise, and the CAT shifted to 12... More bass followed, with some quality fish also, which made Armando happy. Richard was totally without luck, although a bass did eventually show pity. He was doing nothing wrong whatsoever, as I had been watching him discreetly (creepy?? maybe... but if I notice a reason someone isnt maintaining a catch rate, its my job to chat about it... ). Its just fishing can be like that sometimes.
2nd and final sailing had achieved a sell out, which I was very happy for, after almost losing it all to dodgy forecast. And what a sailing. It began quietly, as I quested for bass for the first hour. Then some smart arse (James...) said the "C" word... His brother Cameron, Jon and Al all nodded in agreement... "I had a look this morning for nothing" I said, by way of a warning that we were clearly about to waste our time. Good bass hunting time...
First drift, and someones rod (dont remember who) slammed over to the unmistakable thud of a coddie. Another went on the same drift... 2 cod on a drift... Thoughts of that amazing day back in March went through my mind. That day, we took 21 fish in three sessions. But a great first drift has been an irony played by Neptune, with nothing for the rest of the session. Not this day though. Neptune was showing us great respect. Suddenly, everybody except Jon had caught a cod. Which meant of course, I had someone to direct my black humour onto... Clearly Neptune took sides, as Jon took one, and on the next drift, as I called "All up" and he was winding like the clappers, a cod actually chased up over 20 feet to slam his lure within clear sight of the boat. Absolutely amazing, and perhaps a very obvious clue to why bait fishing has so far produced very few cod from the bait charter fleet. Their time will come should the sea colour, but until then, there clearly are far more cod than we perhaps appreciate. And latex is answering the questions....
Everybody (even me) had a cod, with Al and Jon both with two, including a cracker in the 8lb bracket for Al. But then, too many drifts without action, other than the ever incessant mackerel shoals. We came inshore, to see if we could find a spikey, but even they didnt want to play. Nobody really cared though. They had all experienced the thrill of cod not wanting to leave their rocky homes, and their battle intensified by the 35gm outfits. It really rocks....
Looking like some extreme weather forecast. As much as XC often exagerates, I feel that I will be shore based until perhaps Tuesday of next week. All bookings before then, are very likely to be cancelled, so please check in with me before travelling, on 07970 112774
If you want to turn a boat booking into a shore experience, we can do that. Same number, but source some waders.... Shore rates are £10 per hour, all tackle and bait included. Bassing. Minimum 4 hours. maximum four people.
