First up, Damo, a Mark that isn't Damo's regular fishing partner Mark, as that Mark was out getting a new personal best Pollack out on Proteus (Brigand Charters). Well done that Mark! And of course, skipper Steve. Also Max and Sam. Flat seas, which remained all day happily, and none of that fog to greet us this time either.
An all out bass attack with these guys. Although I did allow Damo a squid jig above his shad. I've done some comparisons with this rig against a rig without a squid jig, and came to the conclusion that the jig does put off the bass, but not the cod. However, Damo's luck was in, and he did manage a bass on the shad, as well as a few squid on the jig.
The total for the trip was ten bass, plus a gurnard for Sam first cast and one for Max also.. But all bar one were small. And a total lack of bait fish around, compared to that great hit of bass with Jon a couple of days back. I also managed a belter of a squid and Sam nailed the first cuttle of the year. Great fun as always, and nice to be on mirror calm seas for a change.
Second sailing, Damo stayed with me, and we swapped that Mark for another Mark, who also is not THE Mark that Damo fishes with, as he was still out with Steve and now nailing Codling... Mark was along with James, and we topped up with Deyan, all returnee's, and all happy smiley folk, which is actually very much the norm on BIF1 to be fair.
Because the bass fishing had been a little disappointing we elected to focus on the plaice on this session, with the last hour in pursuit of a bass. It was a most excellent call. The plaice were fairly ravenous, and some excellent fish among them. They are now pretty much all very meaty, but sizes also good. Deyan nailing the biggest, at exactly 50cm, and thick with meat. We had perhaps forty, plus I nailed a small thornback ray.
The final hour on the bass though, was not good. We did have two brief connections, but zero landed. Damo topped up the squid some more mind, so, not a complete loss as these were donated. And happy foodies left the boat, to be replaced with the return of the Compass Home Care team, on a team building initiative.
Luke and Sandra have fished with me before, but new to the boat, and new to fishing, was Tamsin. I like newbies on board. And because it was my favourite corporate's event, I went the whole hog and taught Tamsin how to cast, and how to drive a fast boat. And then we cracked on with the fishing. With still some ebb tide in hand, the plan was to use that on the plaice, and then go hunt some bass at an area where I found a few yesterday over the low tide.
Another sound plan. Although it was evident that the plaice were far more reluctant, with a few poorly hooked. And another absolute belter fell to Lukes rod, at 49cm. To add to that, Tamsin, with careful instruction on how to pump, worked the rod a treat, to bring to the net a half tidy thornback ray. Perhaps twenty plaice, and then onto the bass.
The poor bassing theme continued though, with just one landed. Biggest one of the day, and again to Luke's rod but released due to its very poor condition from spawning I should imagine. A few jumps around, but sadly, that was the lot for the day. Brilliant fun as it always is with these guys.
And then, with tomorrow suddenly showing a stiff SE wind, which will mean cancelled sailings, I decided to throw on a full moon squid session. Two hours squidding, £40 per head, no win no fee. This means if the trip doesnt see any squid, nobody pays and I am out of pocket on the fuel. However, if a single squid gets caught, everybody pays. I do like a gamble, and it spurs me on to give you guys the best shot.
It sold very quickly after being announced on Facebook, with Angela, Andrej, Asim and Brandon up for the gamble. It wasnt as good as I hoped, but the gamble paid off. Three landed, two to Andrej and one to Asim, with others dropped. And a stunning sunset, and lovely vibe. A really great day.
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