The last couple of months have seen my fishing effort limited and when I have managed to get out I have not caught very much at all in fact I was beginning to think I had lost the knack.
During stressful times fishing is a great escape and casting a line is often enough. A trip to Bristol Waters Barrows complex proved fruitless though a delayed start and early finish did not help.
I ended the salmon season on the Torridge on a warm sunny day. The river had dropped back after a spate and occasional salmon showed encouraging just one more cast. One actually seized the fly but connection was only momentary. Consolation came by way of a handsome brown trout close to 1lb 8oz.
A competition at Wistlandpound Reservoir with the Fly Fishing Club also saw me draw a complete blank.
A mullet fishing trip in the cold light of dawn also failed to result in a bent rod.
A trip out onto the rocks with Kevin Legge and Dave Brooke resulted in a brace of tiny tackle tangling strap eels. Kevin caught a nice huss of 7lb 15oz that I was able to lift from the water and photograph. Despite the lack of action it was great to be out on the rocks beneath a star-studded sky I actually missed a screaming bite whilst photographing Kevin’s huss. So at least the fish were taking interest in my bait.
It’s surprising how easy it is to get out of bed when going fishing. I had set the alarm for 4.00am and still got up before it went off! I was due to meet at Rob’s house for 4.45am for a 6.00am sail at Minehead. I did arrive spot on time to find no sign of Rob??? Then the penny dropped he had moved house; somewhere in Bratton Fleming!
We arrived on time at Minehead and stepped eagerly onto Steve Webber’s Osprey. Fifteen minutes later down went the baits. Within seconds my rod was straining to go over the gunnels. With the tide racing back whatever I had hooked did not wish to visit the boat. For a while it was stalemate with line begrudgingly taken from the reel. Steady pressure did its job though and after the battle ebbed and flowed the culprit appeared to be expertly netted by Steve. Whilst I had hoped for a cod the twenty-pound plus eel had given good account and warmed me up for the day ahead.
The hot mug of coffee was very welcome after my tussle with the eel and the stormy sunrise was well worth getting up for.
As it grew light the day unfolded and the banter flowed freely. Steve worked hard throughout the day with the fish generally hard to locate. Even the dogfish were not abundant. I was fortunate to land a beautifully marked thornback that bent the rod well past its modest size of approximately 10lb.
John Shapland landed a brace of blondes and everyone else had to make do with small to medium sized conger and doggies.
The cod that we hoped for failed to show. Two were landed on Steve’s son’s boat Teddie Boy. Several showed over the next few days on several of the Minehead and Watchet boats so every day is different. Roll on the next adventure.
