First sailing, I had pulled, based on the strong wind forecasts and the very cold temperatures. However, on the morning, it was really just the temperatures. Wind was quite reasonable. so I took advantage to do some more hunting of bass in tight. It wasnt going so great, until I hit one 50 meter stretch. Fish on!! Nice fish as well, over the 50. And five more followed, before I took the conscious decision to stop, and hope they would still be there for 2nd sailing, when with Mark and Kevin. Mark has a boat in Littlehampton, and was along to see how we do things for the plaice, and the bass, up this end.
The problem with fish is, they have fins, and move, often. So, of course, by the time we got there, they had moved on. We gave it a proper good try, but luck was not with us. I re-assured the guys that the technique works down their end when the fish are there, and after an hour and a half the guys had it nicely polished. But without fish to put the icing on the cake, it felt a bit empty.
So, on to the place. Which happily, were feeding well. We ended up with 19 plaice in that hour and a half, plus plenty dropped, and two good sized gurnards. Looks like it isnt going to be a glut year for Gurnards, but nice to see them anyhow. And these two were quite good enough for the table, as were half the plaice. So, mission accomplished with new methods to play with down west, and a bonus bag of food to go with it.
The three o clock sailing, had Ian, Ian and Steve on board. All returnee's. WIth some tide left, we got on the plaice, which did continue feeding well, for about thirty minutes. And then, in only a way plaice can do, they simply decided to shut up shop. But with three rods really hankering after bass, it was for the best.
Of course the bass fishing was tough. But not completely without reward. A pollack and a schoolie for one of the Ians, and a 48cm dinner fish for the other ones. Steve's were very out of luck though, as were Robin's. Thats early season for you. But air was breathed, reactions tightened, and many laughs were had. Not so bad really, if a little chilly.
And then, the bolted on squid session. Lets just say, I didnt charge, as we didnt touch a single squid. Shagging Loligo forbessi's are very difficult creatures to predict. When they are simply feeding, in the autumn, very straight forward. Add in their reproduction, far more complicated. Methods remain the same. Location is a bigger issue. We did some fuel hunting, but the only squid seen all day, was on the sailing with Mark and Kevin, where one came and harassed our shads briefly.
One more days sailing tomorrow, and then looks like wind shutting it all down for a few days. Time will tell, but it does seem the settled patches are getting longer. Summer almost here.
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