Well.......the clocks have changed, it's cold, it's dark when you get up and dark when you get home. Not my favourite time of year. I'm sure I suffer from S.A.D (seasonal affective disorder). Living in practically perpetual darkness just does'nt do it for me.
Having said that, it's not all doom and gloom on the fishing front - it does mean the cod are creeping along our coastlines and the bass are feeding hard, fattening up for the lean times of winter ahead. The winds have been blowing fairly steadily from the south-west so conditions just lately have been ideal for both the aforementioned species.
I have been rather busy just lately and fishing has had to take a back seat, London and the lure of it's splendid 24 hour entertainment has sucked me in. The mother of all halloween do's and a couple of rather entertaining techno parties have been a minor distraction. They say variety is the spice of life.....and I've certainly had some good variety just lately!!
I've managed to get out fishing 3 times in the last month, the first session was on freshwater to open my account with the Sussex Pike for the season. I have returned to the running waters of the tidal Sussex Ouse this year and my first attempt was rather successful. In a 6 hour session I managed to catch 3 nice pike, the biggest was just shy of 14lbs and the other 2 were around the 5-6lb mark each. All were taken on float-fished frozen mackerel baits caught from the beach during the summer. I forgot to take the camera that day so there are no pictures I'm afraid. It was a lovely day though!
The second session was a spur of the moment idea. I had a friend, Pete, staying with me for a week as he had just finished a years contract working and living on a big yacht in the Carribbean (Lucky Git!). He had been following my blog whilst away and was keen to have a go at some fishing now he was back.
We purchased 4 x wraps of black lug and a box of squid from the tackle shop and I suggested we try locally along the shingle for the chance of a cod. We went about as locally as is possible - which if you draw a straight line from my house to the coast, ends up slap bang in the middle of Hove seafront.
It was a fairly blowy night with a good swell running up the beach, I chose to fish a single size 2/0 clipped down paternoster rig on both rods. Each was baited with 2 black lug and a strip of squid then blasted to the horizon. Pete had a go at casting, but being new to this sort of fishing did'nt do to well. So in the end it was agreed I would cast 'em out and he would reel 'em in! Seemed fair to me!
Pete reeled in around 7 or 8 whiting througout the session but the cod were not having any of it. It was'nt until bang on high water that one of the rods bounced enticingly and then sprang back with some slack line. Pete was on it in a flash and wound down nicely into the fish. It came in as a dead weight until it neared shallow water and then started plodding around a bit. I charged into the surf and scooped out Pete's prize for him in the shape of a very respectable codling and certainly dinner for 2 the following evening. I was made up for Pete as it was his first cod ever, it's a great feeling to be able to take someone fishing and actually produce the goods, so it was big smiles all round.
- Pete with his first ever cod -
The only other session I have managed to squeeze in was a bait fishing session for the bass along at Brighton. This was just last week and the winds had been blowing steadily from the south-west creating ideal conditions for fishing a big bait in close after dark. With low water at 7pm that day it was decided to fish the first 3 hours of the flood to see if there were any hungry spikeys cruising the tide line.My companion for the session was Barry, he planned to fish worm baits at range while I concentrated on whole squid baits in the gutter. There was a distinct deeper area along the gutter which was clear to see as the white crests of the waves disappeared as they went over the gutter indicating deeper water. It was here that I felt was the ideal spot to present my bait, no more than 20 yards from my feet.
Barry managed to catch a succession of reasonably sized whiting and a couple of small schoolies as I stood biteless. It was'nt until the tide had started to push up the shingle a little that I got my first bite. The rod quivered in my hand and nodded once, it really was'nt positive enough so I let the bait remain. There were a couple of more dinks on the rod and then eventually a good solid pull. I struck this time and connected with the fish, it did'nt feel very big and was thrashing around 15 yards out in the breakers. It did'nt really fight as such, it just appeared to be panicking in the turbulent water. It was'nt until I slid the fish up the shingle I realised it was infact quite a respectable fish and as fat as a barrel! It went 5lb 6oz on the scales and was very welcome!
- 5lb 6oz of fat Sussex Spikey.
With the mild weather we've been having I predict that the bass will be around for the rest of November and possibly into december too. With the best of the cod fishing upon us now aswell, November could shape up to be a good month....Tight Lines!
No comments:
Post a Comment