Young Jon made the trip down from Essex for all three sailings, to be joined by none other than former BIF1 partner Bruce. Whom we swapped for that man Mark for the third and final sailing.
And boy, was it a cold one this morning. To be fair, it hasn't exactly been warm all week, but this morning with that persistent Northerly wind being, well, persistent, it was true brass monkey territory. Happily with such seasoned Biffers, they were well prepared.
First job, a quick squid hunt whilst the light was still low. Sometimes a magical time for squid. But no joy, although myself and Bruce both suspected we had been tentacle slapped. Onwards, and onto the shads for a look for a bass. And, happily, bass there were. And happily for the bass, nobody was taking for the table today. And not only bass, but Wrasse. Two very beautiful specimens including one weighed aboard at between 4.25 and 4.75 for Bruce, in stunning Classical colourings.
And just to show that Neptune likes a giggle, I also nailed a squid on the shad. Squid really like shads, way more than they like jigs. If anyone wants me to trial a shad made with squid spikes, Im in... Just saying like... Snag with regular J hooks, is mostly, you dont get a good hook hold, and the squid simply lets go. Perhaps one in 10 will remain attached.
Next sailing, we started with bass, which again we found. Mostly around 1lb, but some lucky table fish also. But it was a long way from fast and furious. That annoying and stiff Northerly wind not helping at all, scooting us across the tide. I am hoping to install some tech mid season to deal with that. Watch this space.
So, after the bass, it was time to induct Jon into the wonderful world of plaicing on lures. I promised he would giggle. To ensure it, he bought along a little wand, rated to 10gm. It certainly made me giggle each time he hit a plaice on it. Bruce strangely struggle a little, (he is usually plaice master). It wasnt furious, but the final tally for the 1.5 hours spent, was 25 caught and released. The other beauty of plaice on lures is hardly any deep hook, so release is very viable.
Final sailing, and after swapping Bruce for Mark, we headed out again looking for bass. It was all looking hopeful, with a couple of smalls landed, when suddenly that annoying wind swung ESE, and freshened. Unexpected, and because of that, I had no choice but to head back close to the marina. Here, we engineered a double drift, part bass, part plaice. Just two schoolies for Jon from the bass part, but the plaice were in the mood. Although they did get very finicky towards the end, with many dropped. And oh my. Jon loved it so much, he is likely coming back Monday. Mark was top rod on this session, by a fair amount. Something about that man that fish like.
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