Mr Fish
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2020
- Messages
- 21,365
- Reaction score
- 73,976
- Points
- 116
- Location
- North Devon
- Favourite Fishing
- Shore
The conditions looked good so I thought I’d return to my favourite bass beach for another attempt - and pray no lighthouse numpties turned up!
It was raining on and off but that’s what coats and waders are for.
Had the beach to myself again to start but saw quite an ominous amount of weed dumped higher up, which wasn’t there Thursday night and was a bit worrying.
A very slow start. A few odd kind of bites that I thought were weed but no weed on the line, so I don’t know.
I’d risked the lighter rods again and tbh they can’t really cope with the powerful autumn surf, which I think explains some of the odd movements. Laziness on my part - they were already strapped up and the other rods weren’t, so I took them again.
After about an hour a bright headlight appeared. Ffs.
But then I noticed they didn’t seem to be carrying fishing rods and it transpired it was either a couple walking, or perhaps a woman and a kid.
Similar happened a bit later but again it was probably a couple of kids.
None of them stayed long on seeing me there, lol.
Perhaps they had notions of skinny dipping (!) but that surf was STRONG so I did them a favour if that was their plan.
Around low I caught a dog. We’ve all seen dogs before. Then as the flood started, another, then another.
It’s not usually a doggy beach but sometimes they find you and then hang around, it seems.
Still no bass bites at all. I was about two hours into the flood by now and was wondering if it was even going to happen tonight.
As I retreated back up the beach, when I reset the reels, one kept taking line. Weed? I’d brought in a couple of clumps tonight.
Whatever it was, it was heavy, it seemed like weed. Maybe a ray? They don’t do much.
When I got the light on it close in, it seemed like a white bucket lid being ridden by a huss. Wtf?!
Slid onto the sand and no, it was a new flavour of shark donut!
The hound was, I dunno, maybe 6lb, and only hooked in the mouth. The huss wasn’t hooked at all though it was near the mouth so I guess it tried to go for the squid bait.
After a few seconds trying to untangle the twisting mess, I realised it wasn’t going to happen, ran and grabbed my scissors and cut all the leader and trace off. They would have died if I’d spent ages trying to untangle it.
They both seemed pretty lively, the huss was trying to eat my coat, and disappeared instantly when I dropped it in the water.
The hound was a bit disoriented but I turned it the right way and it shot off. I didn’t see it go but suddenly it wasn’t there.
The hound had some grazing on it, but the beach is totally clean so presumably that was an old injury.
An odd double shot anyway!
Then back to not much happening. On the last cast before I was pushed off the beach, I brought in a schoolie about 1lb 8-12 that I didn’t even know was on there.
No pics as was up to my thighs in water and was trying to sort it out.
Unfortunately it was deep hooked and peeing blood so I make no apologies for bashing it on the head and gutting it.
Would never keep one that size that would go back, but equally I see no point whatsoever putting back a dying fish to feed the crabs, the law be damned.
And that was it. Gutted and scaled my tiddler and then headed home as a bit of lightning flashed in the distance.
It was raining on and off but that’s what coats and waders are for.
Had the beach to myself again to start but saw quite an ominous amount of weed dumped higher up, which wasn’t there Thursday night and was a bit worrying.
A very slow start. A few odd kind of bites that I thought were weed but no weed on the line, so I don’t know.
I’d risked the lighter rods again and tbh they can’t really cope with the powerful autumn surf, which I think explains some of the odd movements. Laziness on my part - they were already strapped up and the other rods weren’t, so I took them again.
After about an hour a bright headlight appeared. Ffs.
But then I noticed they didn’t seem to be carrying fishing rods and it transpired it was either a couple walking, or perhaps a woman and a kid.
Similar happened a bit later but again it was probably a couple of kids.
None of them stayed long on seeing me there, lol.
Perhaps they had notions of skinny dipping (!) but that surf was STRONG so I did them a favour if that was their plan.
Around low I caught a dog. We’ve all seen dogs before. Then as the flood started, another, then another.
It’s not usually a doggy beach but sometimes they find you and then hang around, it seems.
Still no bass bites at all. I was about two hours into the flood by now and was wondering if it was even going to happen tonight.
As I retreated back up the beach, when I reset the reels, one kept taking line. Weed? I’d brought in a couple of clumps tonight.
Whatever it was, it was heavy, it seemed like weed. Maybe a ray? They don’t do much.
When I got the light on it close in, it seemed like a white bucket lid being ridden by a huss. Wtf?!
Slid onto the sand and no, it was a new flavour of shark donut!
The hound was, I dunno, maybe 6lb, and only hooked in the mouth. The huss wasn’t hooked at all though it was near the mouth so I guess it tried to go for the squid bait.
After a few seconds trying to untangle the twisting mess, I realised it wasn’t going to happen, ran and grabbed my scissors and cut all the leader and trace off. They would have died if I’d spent ages trying to untangle it.
They both seemed pretty lively, the huss was trying to eat my coat, and disappeared instantly when I dropped it in the water.
The hound was a bit disoriented but I turned it the right way and it shot off. I didn’t see it go but suddenly it wasn’t there.
The hound had some grazing on it, but the beach is totally clean so presumably that was an old injury.
An odd double shot anyway!
Then back to not much happening. On the last cast before I was pushed off the beach, I brought in a schoolie about 1lb 8-12 that I didn’t even know was on there.
No pics as was up to my thighs in water and was trying to sort it out.
Unfortunately it was deep hooked and peeing blood so I make no apologies for bashing it on the head and gutting it.
Would never keep one that size that would go back, but equally I see no point whatsoever putting back a dying fish to feed the crabs, the law be damned.
And that was it. Gutted and scaled my tiddler and then headed home as a bit of lightning flashed in the distance.
, when I was younger and fitter I used to be able to do that position, impressed the ladies
