South Coast Fishing FAIL Becomes a Fossil Hunt

[DJDBazzer]

Hi all.
I headed down to Chapman's Pool last weekend for a fish and camp.
I have fished down there a few times and always found clean ground, however, this time, it was not the case.
I got off the mark quite early in the session with a small pollack on my lure rod, but that was it for the night.
After losing 3 sets of gear on the bait rods, I opted to catch some winks in the shelter.
I had a surprisingly good nights sleep, and unfortunately slept through sunrise, arguably the best time for a bass.
I chucked a few lures anyway but sadly could not tempt anything.
As I walked back to my shelter after packing up my gear, I noticed some fossils in the mud so spent the next hour or 2 seeing what else I could find.
I thought I had found dinosaur teeth but I have since learnt that they are belemnites, the bones of squid like creature that were around with the dinosaurs, so still pretty cool.
Here's a video of the night's antics, hopefully the next video is a bit more exciting!

 

[Gold’nOldie]

Can’t win them all Dave, shame the fish didn’t play ball. When my kids were young, we camped nearby and spent some time swimming in Chapman’s pool but didn’t notice much in the way of clean ground - it was all ledges and weedy rocks with the odd clear patch from memory - certainly wouldn’t have considered it a bottom fishing mark, particularly at medium/long range. Didn’t actually fish it, but like you, did some fossil hunting, with lots of belemnites and a few ammonites. Happy days and memories - my boys are now 52 and 49 and still occasionally return to the same area with their kids, and those memories still linger with them as well. Cheers, Bob.

 

[DJDBazzer]

Can’t win them all Dave, shame the fish didn’t play ball. When my kids were young, we camped nearby and spent some time swimming in Chapman’s pool but didn’t notice much in the way of clean ground - it was all ledges and weedy rocks with the odd clear patch from memory - certainly wouldn’t have considered it a bottom fishing mark, particularly at medium/long range. Didn’t actually fish it, but like you, did some fossil hunting, with lots of belemnites and a few ammonites. Happy days and memories - my boys are now 52 and 49 and still occasionally return to the same area with their kids, and those memories still linger with them as well. Cheers, Bob.

True that, mate. I usually fish a bit further round towards St Albans and have found 140 yards usually clears the rocks, although you need to reel like a madman to get your gear over the ledge.
It's a beautiful section of the Jurassic Coast and one of a few places where you can sit on a hot summers day during the holidays and not see a single person!
Many happy memories down there.

 

[wingnut55]

Nice report mate, and great vid too...

Ian.

 

[Trampster]

Great video Dave. Led me to have a look on Google maps at some nearby places like Winspit quarry & dancing ledge - that's half the morning gone, reading up & looking at photos!

 

[DJDBazzer]

Nice report mate, and great vid too...

Ian.

Cheers mate, appreciate it

Great video Dave. Led me to have a look on Google maps at some nearby places like Winspit quarry & dancing ledge - that's half the morning gone, reading up & looking at photos!

Haha I am always doing that, I'm pretty sure I have ADHD Winspit and Dancing Ledge are both great spots, especially for snorkelling and luring, if that's your thing!