First sailing, and joining Mark, finally allowed by Neptune to grace BIF1 once more, after a terrible run of cancellations due to wind, was fellow floatie enthusiast Ray, and the lovely couple that is Dave and Natalie. Nice conditions, very light winds, and a lot warmer than the previous morning for it.
The fishing was quite tough though. Hard going indeed. Bycatch was plentiful, as there are at quite reliable / pain in the lure numbers.. And cuttlefish. This years early hatchers are already fist sized plus. Great bait size and also, some would say, the best eating size also. Some exceptionally pretty Gurnards also. Although not bycatch, Mark's first cod of this years season was much appreciated, admired, and then released.
As for bass, we managed just seven, with a brace being killed for the table. And yet, conversation was light and bubbly, and smiles (Guaranteed on BIF1) a plenty. All good really. It was the following sailing I was more worried about. Two hours of quite dead ebb, with perhaps the final hour being good. On paper. Thing is, bass cant read. Paper gets all wet and the ink runs...
Joining me here, was Tim, Martin, Paul and Terry. Just Tim returning, Martin, Paul and Terry all new to BIF1. We headed out and I took a stab at a spot which has in the past produced on the last trickle of ebb. Bingo. Not stacks of fish, but some fish, which is always a positive for those that enjoy fishing. The final tally was in fact just seven bass in total. And yet, one was a 62, one a 61 and one a 58. After a run of nearer 50cm fish, it was nice to see a different year class back inshore.
Third sailing was very different indeed. A southerly breeze, and every gin palace in Sussex, meant quite a bit of bounce. And even worse, a true lack of any inspiration. On paper, the best session. And again those pesky bass were not up for a read. I'm fairly certain the popular expletive "Bastard" was originally spelt with two S's.
Five sounds great on paper perhaps, and if they were all sixty pluses everyone would have been happier. Yet they were, small. Just one creeping over the 42. And all of them bar one to Garry, who even outfingered Mark, who didnt get a single knock all session. Another Mark and Ian, gave it everything. But despite covering much ground, we simply couldn't find the fishes.
My 54th Birthday today. I would like to thank Neptune, for his kind gift. Finally allowing me to sail three sailings. If this wind carries on, might be time to negotiate for a berth on Bewl reservoir... And yet more wind coming, with intense heat, that we really shouldn't have been seeing in our life times. All those with bookings later this week, wise to have a back up plan.
