Andy 1965
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2020
- Messages
- 410
- Reaction score
- 3,705
- Points
- 93
- Location
- North Wales
- Favourite Fishing
- Lure
After yet another unsuccessful hunt for congerzilla, it was time on Saturday for the first club match of 2022. January is always a tough month to chose a venue, but after my exploits with the 15lb conger while fishing for bass and coalies, the lads were all keen to have a go at the same mark themselves. After the place had fished poorly on my second visit, I was a bit unsure myself but they were still up for it, so I had everything crossed that it would produce for us ?.
After a spell of relatively calm weather, it was typically all change on Saturday, with strong South Westerly winds blowing all day, and though the wind was forecast to turn to the North West by early evening, it was also due to calm down significantly after dark. We arrived at the mark to find it blowing right across the rocks, and though this would make for some awkward casting to begin with, things would only get easier. Also on the plus side, it meant that the water was quite rough with some decent colour, perfect fishing conditions ?.
Once everyone was geared up, with the tripods and other bits and pieces wedged firmly in place to stop them from blowing into the sea ?, the match got underway. Most of the lads decided to go with flapper rigs, targeting the usual match fare of dogs and whiting, but in the current conditions there was also the chance of a bass or coalie. Given my adventure the first time I fished the mark, there was also talk of trying bigger baits, just on the off chance that there might be some bigger, toothy critters on the prowl.
The first 20 minutes of the match were quiet but then the bites started, and shortly afterwards the first dog of the night was landed by Kenny, a nice fish of 0.94kg. This was followed soon after by another cracking catch, a 5 bearded rockling of 0.21kg, a new club record for Gwion ?. It looked like my fears of poor fishing were unfounded but unfortunately for me, my match wasn’t getting off to the best of starts. It took me an hour to get off the mark and when I eventually caught something it happened to be a pin whiting, too small to weigh in ?. Surprisingly, Steve A was also struggling to get going but he eventually got off the mark himself, with his first dog of the night.
Most of the guys were catching steadily by now, and eventually I had my first decent bite of the night too. It began just like a typical doggie bite, but after a minute or two it suddenly got a lot more exciting, as my line fell slack before it began to move from left to right ?. I quickly picked up my rod and tightened up the slack, then I immediately felt a very decent weight on the line. When the line first dropped slack, my initial thought was that it might be a coalie but now I didn’t know what to make of it ?. The fight went from heavy nods on the line, to moments of weightlessness, when I thought I might even have lost it, but I needn’t have worried. After a few minutes, my catch appeared among the surging waves below me and I could see that it was in fact a half decent conger! ?
After my previous attempt to land a conger off this very ledge, I was obviously a little bit concerned about how to get this one ashore but I needn’t have worried, firstly the conger wasn’t anywhere near as big as the last one I hooked there, and thankfully this time I wasn’t alone. Steve A immediately sprang in to action and thankfully, despite suffering cuts to his hands from the braid, he managed to successfully hand-lined my prize ashore ?.
Once the eel was landed I could see how fortunate I had been, it had taken a small bait on a size 1 hook and a 25lb snood, which could quite easily been bitten off, but thankfully the hook was safely lodged in its lip ?.
Being in a match and with no time to lose, I put the conger out of harm’s way first while I clipped on a freshly baited rig, then once that was cast out I turned my attention back to the eel. With Steve as a witness, my catch weighed in at a healthy 3.67kg, or 8lb 1oz in old money, to immediately put me into a commanding lead in the match ?.
After belatedly getting off the mark, it didn’t take me long to catch again and over the next hour I managed to add a couple of dogs to my bag, but just as quickly as my luck had turned for the better, so it changed again. Over the course of the last 90 minutes of the match, I could only manage another 3 undersize whiting.
While I was struggling, the other lads were still catching and though my lead should be comfortable enough to take the win, Steve A wasn’t about to give up. As I sat there helplessly watching a series of rattling bites, as the pins stripped my baits, he was somehow managing to find the bigger whiting. As well as that, he was also finding a few dogs and as time ticked slowly by, he was steadily catching up with me. Eventually, the end of the match duly arrived and we made our way back to the cars in order to add up the weights.
Steve A had indeed made a serious dent in my lead, with his bag of 5 dogs and 3 whiting adding up to 3.29kg, which was enough to take second place, thankfully though I had managed to hold on for the win. My 2 dogs had merely cemented my first place and I finished in front with a total bag of 4.72kg ?. As if that wasn’t good enough, I also became the first winner of one of our new prizes of an exclusive club hoodie ?.
As for the rest of the places, Steve O finished in third with 4 dogs and 1 whiting for 2.46kg, and Glyn came 4th with 3 dogs and a whiting for 2.10kg. Kenny came 5th with 2 dogs for 1.50kg, Gwion was 6th with his club record rockling of 0.21kg, while last but not least was John, with a last cast whiting of 0.16kg.
So the first match is over and I’ve got off to a winning start, but there’s a long way to go yet with Steve A already snapping at my heels. The next match now is on March 5th but in the meantime, rather than fish the rough stuff after my 20lber, I’ll probably stick to fishing clean ground marks where I seem to be having much better luck ?.
After a spell of relatively calm weather, it was typically all change on Saturday, with strong South Westerly winds blowing all day, and though the wind was forecast to turn to the North West by early evening, it was also due to calm down significantly after dark. We arrived at the mark to find it blowing right across the rocks, and though this would make for some awkward casting to begin with, things would only get easier. Also on the plus side, it meant that the water was quite rough with some decent colour, perfect fishing conditions ?.
Once everyone was geared up, with the tripods and other bits and pieces wedged firmly in place to stop them from blowing into the sea ?, the match got underway. Most of the lads decided to go with flapper rigs, targeting the usual match fare of dogs and whiting, but in the current conditions there was also the chance of a bass or coalie. Given my adventure the first time I fished the mark, there was also talk of trying bigger baits, just on the off chance that there might be some bigger, toothy critters on the prowl.
The first 20 minutes of the match were quiet but then the bites started, and shortly afterwards the first dog of the night was landed by Kenny, a nice fish of 0.94kg. This was followed soon after by another cracking catch, a 5 bearded rockling of 0.21kg, a new club record for Gwion ?. It looked like my fears of poor fishing were unfounded but unfortunately for me, my match wasn’t getting off to the best of starts. It took me an hour to get off the mark and when I eventually caught something it happened to be a pin whiting, too small to weigh in ?. Surprisingly, Steve A was also struggling to get going but he eventually got off the mark himself, with his first dog of the night.
Most of the guys were catching steadily by now, and eventually I had my first decent bite of the night too. It began just like a typical doggie bite, but after a minute or two it suddenly got a lot more exciting, as my line fell slack before it began to move from left to right ?. I quickly picked up my rod and tightened up the slack, then I immediately felt a very decent weight on the line. When the line first dropped slack, my initial thought was that it might be a coalie but now I didn’t know what to make of it ?. The fight went from heavy nods on the line, to moments of weightlessness, when I thought I might even have lost it, but I needn’t have worried. After a few minutes, my catch appeared among the surging waves below me and I could see that it was in fact a half decent conger! ?
After my previous attempt to land a conger off this very ledge, I was obviously a little bit concerned about how to get this one ashore but I needn’t have worried, firstly the conger wasn’t anywhere near as big as the last one I hooked there, and thankfully this time I wasn’t alone. Steve A immediately sprang in to action and thankfully, despite suffering cuts to his hands from the braid, he managed to successfully hand-lined my prize ashore ?.
Once the eel was landed I could see how fortunate I had been, it had taken a small bait on a size 1 hook and a 25lb snood, which could quite easily been bitten off, but thankfully the hook was safely lodged in its lip ?.
Being in a match and with no time to lose, I put the conger out of harm’s way first while I clipped on a freshly baited rig, then once that was cast out I turned my attention back to the eel. With Steve as a witness, my catch weighed in at a healthy 3.67kg, or 8lb 1oz in old money, to immediately put me into a commanding lead in the match ?.
After belatedly getting off the mark, it didn’t take me long to catch again and over the next hour I managed to add a couple of dogs to my bag, but just as quickly as my luck had turned for the better, so it changed again. Over the course of the last 90 minutes of the match, I could only manage another 3 undersize whiting.
While I was struggling, the other lads were still catching and though my lead should be comfortable enough to take the win, Steve A wasn’t about to give up. As I sat there helplessly watching a series of rattling bites, as the pins stripped my baits, he was somehow managing to find the bigger whiting. As well as that, he was also finding a few dogs and as time ticked slowly by, he was steadily catching up with me. Eventually, the end of the match duly arrived and we made our way back to the cars in order to add up the weights.
Steve A had indeed made a serious dent in my lead, with his bag of 5 dogs and 3 whiting adding up to 3.29kg, which was enough to take second place, thankfully though I had managed to hold on for the win. My 2 dogs had merely cemented my first place and I finished in front with a total bag of 4.72kg ?. As if that wasn’t good enough, I also became the first winner of one of our new prizes of an exclusive club hoodie ?.
As for the rest of the places, Steve O finished in third with 4 dogs and 1 whiting for 2.46kg, and Glyn came 4th with 3 dogs and a whiting for 2.10kg. Kenny came 5th with 2 dogs for 1.50kg, Gwion was 6th with his club record rockling of 0.21kg, while last but not least was John, with a last cast whiting of 0.16kg.
So the first match is over and I’ve got off to a winning start, but there’s a long way to go yet with Steve A already snapping at my heels. The next match now is on March 5th but in the meantime, rather than fish the rough stuff after my 20lber, I’ll probably stick to fishing clean ground marks where I seem to be having much better luck ?.
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