Allhallows

Allhallows Holiday Camp. Isle of Grain 30th Oct.1998

Met up with Steve Burling just off the M25 (who had very kindly sorted out the bait for the evening -- very lucky really, as Surbiton is not known for it's vast beds of lug!!!), and drove over to Allhallows for 7.30pm.

The wind was light (force 2 at most), with clear skies .. almost felt like a summers night, which was in contrast to the gales and storms of the last few weeks. Steve thought that HW was around 9.15pm from his tide calculator, but the reality was more like a neap at 8.30pm.

We both set up two rods, Steve had a bomber rig on one and a Pennel on the other .. both had 2/0, 3/0 Kamasan hook combinations. I elected for a flowing wishbone (2/0's), and a pennel 2/0, 4/0 combo, again with Kamasans ........ I don't think there was any doubt what we were trying to catch ...... Codling ... although we felt that the chances of whiting and flounder could be more the reality.....

Well things didn't start off as I had planned .... took my stuff out the car, walked the 30 yards to the sea wall, unpacked my gear, only to find that I'd packed Karen's fixed spool rod, rather than my other multiplier rod, decided I'd use it, but thought I'd get the long range rig set-up first ... so I then strung the other rod, put the rig and bait on ... only to discover that the line was looped over the drum of the reel, so I had to restring the whole thing ......

As a result ... I watched Steve land a very nice flounder of around 14", before any of my worms had seen the murky depths of the Thames Estuary!!!!!!!! Steve found that the flounder had been feeding on whitebait, as it very kindly coughed a few up when he was unhooking it...

Twenty minutes after arriving, I finally manage to put some bait in the water......

8.10pm ... had a really nice thump on the pennel .... retrieved the tackle, but got hooked up .. though it was on the wooden groin to my right, but just as Steve came over to join me, it freed-up ..... thought I had a fish, but also weed, especially as I had small clumps on the line .... rig came to shore, and I commented to Steve that it looked as if it was just a fish head .. as it drew nearer, it was apparent that it was a Codling ... 13.5" and a shade over 1.1/4lb .. with a large head, and very small, but plump body, took a photo and tried to put it back .. but it turned turtle!! :-(

8.15pm .. Steve had a Whiting .. well all 8" of it!!!!

We were both getting bites and knocks ... I suspect from small whiting (maybe flounder), but not connecting due to the hook sizes that we were using .... but as we were really after codling, neither of us really minded missing them....

8.45pm ..... took a nice whiting of 14" on the wishbone, that was just a shade under a 1lb. Steve had another Whiting of a similar size five minutes later... looked like they'd been feeding on shrimp...

9.25pm: had a very small Whiting of 8" hook itself on the 2/0 hook of the pennel .. tried to return it, but it suddenly jumped out of my grasp, and 'bounced' on the concrete of the steps ...... sometimes you can't help but wonder why!!!!!!

Again lots of small missed bites, but gradually even these started to fade ... the water was ebbing away, and with it the fish ... lost the wishbone just before 10.30pm .. clip had somehow undone ... decided that enough was enough ... and Steve agreed .. although he did manage to pull out a second flounder of around 10" or so, as he was packing up......

Not a great night, but we did catch fish, and not having been able to go fishing for almost six weeks, it felt bloody marvellous......

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