First of four sailings, and Ben, Siri and Ian were on board. Ian is a regular, Ben and Siri are local, and usually fishing from a Kayak. They of course wished to know how we catch bass, but they also (thank goodness) wanted to know how to catch plaice on lures. Everybody agreed that 2 hours chasing bass and an hour on the plaice sounded about the right combination.
The bassing was desperately hard. Just three fish landed, two to Ian and one to myself. But all three were good table fish, with one only just shy of my maximum 60 cm kill size at 59cm. However, Ben and Siri both missed fish, which is understandable as they were only just getting the hang of finger power. Onto the plaice.
The plaice were feeding rather well. We managed perhaps a dozen before the bugger off bugler piped bugger off. Big surprise for the guys, and big smiles. They no longer need to be at the mercy of bait supplies for their plaice fix. Although overall not as good as I had hoped for, the guys all went away happy, with new tricks up their sleeves.
2nd sailing, and Andrej, Christina, Ed and Jakob were with us. Now, there is a cautionary tail accompanying this sailing. I always advise if extra clothing is needed, and with the wet forecast I mentioned that waterproofs would be likely required. And the guys had dutifully gone and bought waterproofs. They looked good, but... When the rain is as it was today, truly, only gortex or rubber is going to cut the mustard. Just an hour in, and one big bull cuttlefish in the fish well, they asked to come back in. Which kind of suited, as I needed to get some fuel, and with four sailings, there werent many gaps. In this situation, even though it was they who asked to come in, I only charged for the first hour. They had my absolute sympathies, and I hope they return just as soon as they have dried out.
3rd sailing was all about the bream. Armando, having his first break from being a new father, Mose, escaping the chaos of hospital wards, and Brian, escaping the pressures of being a top end golf coach. All three needed some big smile r & r. And thats exactly what they got. I did want to run it lure only, but my rectum quivered a bit at the first mark, where I had done well a couple of days ago. No action. On to the 2nd mark. Still very slow. Brian had fessed up to bringing some bait on board as he was fishing the walls afterwards. I suggested they fish that, just in case my super new isome technique was not as super as I was thinking. I remained on the isomes. Armando also for a while, but then bait was clearly beating the isomes. In the end, we worked out it was around 3 fish to one, in favour of bait. However... Sometimes bait is difficult to find, and I have had some thoughts on adjusting the isome rig. So... Watch this space. I'm considering it a work in progress
As the tide increased though, so did the bites. I think that was the only problem at the first mark on reflection. And the fishing increased to the point, that in around 2.5 hours, we amassed 58 bream. And really really good news. This was the same spot we were hammered by dwarf bream last time. This time, much better. But it got so fast and furious, it didnt occur to me to snap the better ones What a strange season. Normally, its the larger fish that appear first. This cold spring, everything topsy turvey and back to front.
Fourth and final sailing, and I was pleased to welcome aboard Neil and Mike. They wanted a full on bass hunt, regardless of that it had not really been a bassy day. And we fished hard. Just three smalls and a better one, plus, another big bull cuttlefish. Lots of bait and mackerel around. Just very few bass. That surely has to give soon. Maybe tomorrow. Time, as always, will tell.
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