First sailing, and out with Stuart. I had almost cancelled the day, based on a forecast that gave a fair SW breeze, but somehow, it didn't fit with the charts, and a couple of other websites were giving less wind. So, I called it on, and I was very happy I did. There actually was a meter of swell, but no wind. This made making way hilarious, as the bigger troughs don't show so well on a mirrored seascape. But eventually we got to where I wanted to be. And we didn't leave it for the next three hours.
One of those rare occasions when the fish are happy to not leave. We had all ebb tide, and despite its small side, a reasonable pace of drift for most of the session. The tide did leave us towards the end of the session, but the fish, although pace of catching slowed, still surrendered themselves occasionally And the best bit about the bass, were sizes were back up. The vast majority of the fish this session were 2-3lb, with only a handful smaller. No beasts either, the biggest perhaps around the 4lb mark.
Not just bass either. A squid did not let go, and I think for the first hour, they were present in good numbers. But so were the bass, so what do you do? Mackerel byecatch also. A couple of pretty wrasse. A real good work out. And Stuart was fishing like a man possessed, catching more than me by a comfortable margin. By the time the bugler sounded, 42 bass had graced the deck.
2nd sailing and out with Nick. A very different session, where I used all the fuel I didnt use earlier plus much more hunting the fish. The mark which fished so well on the flood was barren. A quick burst of three smalls in close sent me off further. East and West we went. picking a couple of fish here and there, but not really finding consistent fishing. Despite that, by the time we tallied up at the end of the day, another 14 fish had graced the deck, with the biggest of the day, a fish of around 5lb, to Nick.
Thats it till next week by the look of things, with the boat. Wind once again says no. Availability ticker on the home page here up to date to end of November Fingers crossed it wont be too long before the blog is being updated once more... Stay safe out there :)
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