First up, Max and Martin back again. Martin is a fellow boatie, with his craft down in Littlehampton, where he fishes similar ground, including the awesome Kingmere reef. And I was absolutely delighted to hear, that since previous visits, his lure fishing has gone from strength to strength down there, including no less than 7 cod this season, which is really awesome, as there is a long held thought, that cod visit there no more. Well, they do, but just like the cod up this end, it would seem they want their rubber served in a very specific way. It really lifted me to hear this news, as well as some really great catches of bass on the lures, and very flattering, that now Martin had returned for squid technique, or more specifically, the prospector rig.
But first move, was to get in on some action. Indeed, bass were again impossible not to find. The game at the moment, isnt finding bass, but finding quality bass. How you serve your rubber is how you make the difference, as can how you choose your marks. And it is getting ever harder to avoid the smalls, as more and more gather for the bait balls that are simply getting bigger and bigger with the extension of the current calm patch. Not going to last though. Looks like more normal UK December weather systems are coming back after tomorrow. The jet stream, which for some strange reason decided to dive a few hundred miles south of UK for no apparent reason, will be returning from its holiday to warmer climes.
First venue was chosen as we still had a bit of movement in the ebbing tide. It is also the first and last place I find the quality fish. And it shined once more. Here we managed to find perhaps fifty percent over the 42cm, as we amassed a dozen fish. Biggest, around the 5lb mark. I mention the 42cm, as I feel, although of course we are no longer killing bass (recreational anglers season now finished. Commercials continue to fish to January 31st. Not quite sure who thought up that one or why...??) the 42cm seems about right to stop calling a bass a schoolie. Then, as we made our way to another spot, due to the ever slackening tide making the first redundant, we came across a bird feeding frenzy I could not ignore. Here, plenty of fish, and still finding the odd 3lb fish among the smalls. We continued here, until I noticed just 45 minutes left of the session.
Remembering Martins main objective, we went off to the place where the squid and cod came up last week. I ensured the guys understood that I was not confident of either, especially with the bright sun. This is rarely good for squid in sub 60 feet of water in daylight. Except when their breeding urges override their sanity. A lot like humans in that respect. But 1st drift my rod slammed over to a plump codling, just to show they are still about. Just one more drift, and it was time for breakfast.
In the afternoon, I had my perfect clients. I am not sure, unless perhaps you have previously been chartered, or guided for people, even without payment, the weight on the shoulders of anyone that steps up and says "I can take you to these fish... " based on their own interpretation of their behaviour. Add charging money, and in my case, at the moment with COVID restrictions and more and more litres of fuel being spent AVOIDING bass, quite big money, and I have to get it right. Except, with these guys. They really couldn't give a fleck if they didn't catch even a mackerel. As long as they were out enjoying the banter. Don't get me wrong, they gave me grief even for providing a pretty good session. They could have broken British records, but they would have still given me gip. Its in their nature. It was time for the return of Autotune Garry and Dingo, Unchained...
It was pretty much a reverse image of the earlier session. We started on the cod, where my rod slammed over to another coddie. A very lucky coddie, as none of us were in the mood for killing, despite it having a very plump in a succulent kind of way expression. And then, another 30 bass across a couple of venues. The main difference was the balance was very much in favour of the smalls, with just a single 42 + from 30 fish. But on the whole, not a bad day. 60 bass to 5lb, and two cod, to three rods in six hours. None to shabby for early December. Tomorrow, lets see if there will be a blog entry. XC hinting at no, but gut feeling is, XC is lying to us... As always, time will tell.
