A Caged Panther
The light was fading ever so slightly as the summer evening sun lowered slowly in the sky. I looked to my right where Andy was watching his motionless rod tips intently as he had been for the previous three hours, maybe three and a half. Mrs P had just left for home with the dogs. "I hope he catches something, he's come a long way," I said as she went. "He's a grown man, he can handle it," she replied as she disappeared over the dunes........
All of a sudden Andy's near vertical rod tip hooped over. His rod butt lifted off the floor, big pit reel and all. Andy's body tensed and he readied himself to pounce. As his rod reached the horizontal there was a slight pause, Andy hesitated, what the hell was going on?. A split second later the rod was clean off the rest and being dragged down to the waters edge with the hapless Andy in hot pursuit........
Big Perch hunt
It almost pains me to write this section. The capture of a 4lb Perch started as a goal, then developed into a bit of an obsession and now has become almost a chore. My old mate Benidorm Dave got in touch and furnished me with some exciting news- he had exclusive access to a pond that contained the usual mythical Perch of gigantic proportions. To be honest I got quite excited despite hearing multiple such stories over the last few years. At least I'd have some company though and a day with Dave is always a pleasure.
It's a nice story behind the main lake actually. A young boy had a passion for fishing but for some reason he couldn't get access to the local fishing lake. His dad was not happy so he did what any decent father with the land and money would do- he dug the son his own lake. Twenty five years later the son has departed and a few select friends are allowed to have a day or two there. Dave was as keen as I was and kindly ordered us both some worms from a company called Willy's Worms. I have to say they were excellent, fast delivery and probably the best worms I had seen. If only I'd ordered some of these last winter I thought as I tackled up.
Did I get a four pounder? Of course not. I did have a few very small Perch along with just about everything else that swims including this........
Dave had a stunning Carp of eleven pounds. It looked as if it had never been caught before. Apart from that the day was a slight disappointment. There are big Perch there, no doubt about it. 'I see them quite often, they look prehistoric,' said the owners other son. Quite how big they are remains a mystery to us all. Sorry about that but I can state confidently- it wasn't for lack of trying.
Jolly Boys
I saw a woman on TV a while ago now, I think it may have been Germaine Greer. Someone asked her why she was going on that awful Big Brother show. Her reply was something along the lines of she was at a certain age and had promised herself she'd try something new every year, kind of like an open ended bucket list. This struck a chord with me recently. I've seen a float go under thousands of times, quiver tips going around the same. I've chased 20lb river Pike, 6lb Chub, 4lb Perch and the elusive 2lb Roach for a while now, it was time for a break. I wasn't bored, just a bit tired of the same old thing week in week out. What could reinvigorate my passion though? The answer came via a Facebook group that contained some rather interesting local captures.......
Every year we get certain visitors to our sea shores and living so close to the coast it would be rude not to indulge. Luckily some of our friends were keen too and so a get together was hastily organised. Dave, Andy, Leo and Phil were first to arrive at my house that Sunday morning. Lee and Martin soon followed and we all sat down for breakfast before heading down to the beach. Now I had been and had a couple of tentative practice sessions with no joy but the pictures on the group kept popping up. The Smooth hounds had arrived it was just a matter of fooling a few. I also was on the beach with the dogs shortly after two locals had landed a big Tope which fired my desire. How hard could it be for a group of seasoned coarse anglers? In fact myself and Leo were the only ones with our own beachcasters (and mine only cost a fiver off the car boot sale). The rest used borrowed gear and heavy Carp/Pike rods.
It was high tide when we arrived and it was a beautiful day. A lone angler had a shock that morning as we had chosen a fairly secluded spot and to see six coarse fishing vagabonds descending on him can't have been what he was expecting. Anyway I'll cut to the chase. I cast my first rig in with a good chunk of squid on the hook. As I was was setting up my second rod I saw my tip bounce. Not unusual I thought as the waves can do that all the time. I looked out to sea. There weren't any waves! I couldn't believe it, after no more than ten minutes I was into a fish and soon beached my first ever Smooth hound, albeit a very modest one. After a bit of whooping and air punching I carefully returned my prize only to look up and see Andy into one too.
In those first two hours six complete novices landed a total of eight hounds a Thornback ray and a few flounders. Dave and Leo had the best examples of the stunning Smooth hounds ..........
As the tide ebbed the fish went with it and we struggled for the rest of the day but those two hours were magical. We had children agog at the sight of mini Sharks coming out of the water. They stroked them and marvelled as they swam back out to sea. Mrs P even got in on the action, tailing one for Dave in the surf. Despite the diminishing action it was as pleasant a day fishing as I can remember. The weather was glorious, I was with great company and even when we stopped catching we all had hope and happily swapped stories on the sand all afternoon. With hindsight I should have bought the cricket set I'd been eyeing up the day before but hey-ho maybe next time.
Hooked
A week later Lee was back and we arranged to meet early one morning. Lee was a little late arriving and by the time he had gathered his tackle and crested the dunes I was already into a fish and by the feel of it it was better than any I had caught before. They certainly do pull a bit and when they take line straight away at range it's heart in the mouth stuff.........
After taking a few photos Lee eagerly set up and we both waited expectantly. In the end after a two hours I had a couple more while Lee (who was only ten yards away) didn't even have a bite. Just the luck of the draw with these strange new foes......
After those two outings I was hooked. Sea fishing seemed to tick all the boxes- beautiful surroundings, the mystery, seclusion and expectation. I went again a few days later and looked southwards towards the favoured mark of the locals to see a plethora of rods pointed skywards. Meanwhile I had the beach more or less to myself about a mile away. It really is a circus down there and of no interest to me whatsoever, no matter how productive it may or may not be. I happily fished away and had a great session, six fish and every one while not massive was an absolute marvel of nature...........
On the way back to the car I met another angler who had been fishing a couple of hundred yards up the beach. He had two great big bass in a bin bag. To be honest it shocked me a bit. Did he really need to take them both I thought? Bit naive I suppose. Anyway It made me want to catch one and I picked his brains for best baits. It wasn't squid apparently, I'd be extremely lucky to get one on squid by his reckoning........
Opening Day
The first day of the fishing season proper came at a bad time. I had booked the day off work but was in full sea fishing mode. Mrs P had however kindly paid for my river ticket and I owed the place a visit. It certainly looked pretty......
After a bit of wander I soon found the resident Bream but were they in feeding mood? Not really. After firing some corn in they stole a few grains and then scattered. It took me a good hour to find them again and they had moved a good quarter of a mile upstream. No feed went it this time and after a couple of false starts I managed to land one after a short tussle........
I didn't see the double hump in the water but it turned out to be my old friend and river PB from last year. It was an ounce lighter but still a great fish. As you know I try not to make a habit of catching the same fish but sometimes it can't be helped. These fish are obviously quite old though and I for one will be leaving them in peace from now on. Living in such shallow, clear water they are pretty easy targets bless them.
Bass Hunt
I had another few short sessions on the beach trying to catch a Bass. Worm and Sandeels were my baits of choice. The Sandeels produced absolutely nothing while the Flounders were devouring the worms within minutes. I switched from worms to squid and took a few small Smoothies......
With the hounds still about Dave and Andy were keen to have another go and drove up one afternoon from the midlands. The weather was perfect and after a quick trip to the tackle shop to stock up on sundries we were soon on the beach. I picked my spot while Andy went to my right with Dave on my left side. I was sandwiched. Since that first group session I hadn't failed to catch a hound so my confidence was high. We were a touch early though as the powerful flood tide was moving seven ounces of grip leads like they were marbles. Andy and I wound in while Dave persevered. I wandered over to him. I noticed his lead had moved to right in front of where my rods were. 'You want to see some of the bites you get here Dave,' I said...........and seconds later Dave's rod hooped around alarmingly. He had a lot of weed on the line which confused him a bit and he thought he'd lost whatever it was. A few seconds later it started thumping again and I readied myself in the surf. As Dave's leader came into view I saw a flash.......could it be? It bloody was. A bristling Bass........caught on squid................and out of my sodding peg!
We released it back into the sea after a few photo's (makes up for the two matey boy took). For anyone shaking their head right now see the opinion chapter below.
High tide came and went and still no hounds. A chap who had travelled nearly four hours to fish that tide could be seen photographing a modest example a bit further up the coast so they were definitely about. Typically Dave was into one first. It turned out to be a very good one indeed..........
Next in was Andy with his panther-like reflexes who ended up chasing his rod down the beach.........
Dave then had another while I remained fishless. I began to get a little anxious. I need not have worried as things suddenly went crazy. Rods flying everywhere, tripods demolished, rod rests uprooted. Andy later said- 'It was like a gang of thugs turning up'. We don't know how many we ended up with but here are my best two including a fine fish of 10lb 14oz.......
We retired back to the ranch for a few night caps and a well deserved sleep. After a spot of breakfast we headed back to the beach where conditions were still pretty good. Three hours passed without any action whatsoever and with work and home beckoning we gave it best. The contrast was stark, talk about all or nothing. In fact I tell a lie, Andy did have his squid taken..........by A Chaos Twin, Daisy. She had a big mouthful off the top of his bag.
All in all I was was made up (despite Dave's fluky Bass). People beach fish for years without catching a double figure fish and I had manged it a few weeks. It really was remarkable.
Great Escapes
There's a program on TV at the moment called Escape to the Wild. It's very good. The formula is simple- Filming people detaching themselves from modern life by living in remote areas of the world. How lucky we are as anglers that we can do that pretty much at will? I knew just the place to get away from it all........
Unlike the local beach this area is absolutely littered with worm casts, razor clams, crab shells and I was dearly hoping it would hold some Bass. After a good forty-five minute walk from the car park I was at the shoreline. Once again I had a bite on my first cast, the culprit? A small Hound. A couple of hours passed and no more fish followed. It was hardly surprising as two young Seals had taken a liking to me and sat about fifty yards out staring at me inquisitively for the whole duration. A bigger Seal was further out creating all kinds of commotion, obviously feeding on something. It was massive, a very nice sight but not conducive to good Bass fishing. Maybe next month.........
Tackle Talk
You know me by now, I use equipment that is upto the job at the best possible price. Now without getting into a debate on retail ethics I bought ordered two beach rods from the dreaded Sports Direct. They were genuinely nearly £50 each on launch. I got two, delivered to my door for the princely sum of £32.99...............
As I said before the guys used strong coarse rods to good effect so anything with a t/c of 3lb and above will see you able to cast the required 80 yards or so. Doesn't sound a lot does it? Trust me it is, especially with 15lb line and a big bait. The principles of beachcasting are totally different to normal casting. It's all weight transfer, rod loading and hip rotation. As the lads will testify I haven't quite cracked it yet but I have seen 130 turns of a Shimano big pit which is pretty impressive, if only i could do that every time.
Couple of other things you'll need- grip leads, bait elastic and a hook sharpener. As ever any other questions (bear in mind I'm still very much a beginner) you can ask me via email here-
the.power@tesco.net
Photos
As ever I've been busy snapping away and what a set of photo's we have this month, I'm very proud of these, hope you like them......
Giving me the eye
Stunning baby Hound
Andy and my hounds
Harry
Amazing Sunrise
Sunset
Pre Sunrise
A beautiful dawn
Opinion
I'm not really a fan of opinions in blogs. I don't for one minute imagine anyone is bothered what I think (if only some others thought the same). Despite this I feel an explanation of my stance on catch and release would be ok. Smooth hounds are threatened under the International Union of Conservation of Nature. They have vulnerable status. Why tell us this Phil, nobody would kill them would they? I'm afraid to say they do. Bastards. This could lead to an unsavoury confrontation one day and have you seen the size of some of those sea fishing guys? My advice- just put them back and with care as they can get disorientated and beach themselves. One of the finest sights in my angling career came this month. I released a hound as the sun was setting, it 'top finned' for maybe a hundred yards before disappearing into the depths. Magical.
I was going to show a few pics of dead fish lined up on beaches, kayaks and boats taken this year from a local sea fishing page but you don't want to see them do you? Cod I can take (just), Bass smart a bit but what about Thornback rays? Dogfish??? They are all there. Shameful, especially the Rays that come here to breed, utterly shameful.
Bass then they aren't threatened? No they aren't but they certainly aren't as numerous as they should be. My local Tesco is a mile or so from the coast. I've never seen a Bass on the fish counter. They do have Vietnamese River Cobbler though, a Catfish from Indo-China. Why, if the far superior tasting Bass is so numerous? It certainly isn't right to my mind. One final thing and an argument that has been thrown my way a couple of times this month. 'It isn't us doing the damage Phil, it's the trawlers'. Is it really. If you live in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula you have a greater chance of being murdered than anywhere else on the planet. Would it be ok if I popped over and knocked a couple of people over the head, after all they have a good chance of being murdered anyway? Also when do we start to worry? When there are 100,000 Bass left? 1000? 100? Until you are of the opinion that every single fish counts you'll never get the concept of catch and release.
I could go on but if these words make just one sea angler think then it's all been worth it.
Till next time.............
