Dover Breakwater 7th March 1999

Not having fished for almost 5 weeks, due to a combination of work, weather, and poor catch reports, Paul Davies and myself decided, that enough was enough, and that we just had to drown some worms, regardless of outcome.

Encouraged by the few reports that I could get for the area, which tended to indicate the a few codling were to be found, although not in great numbers, most falling in the 4 to 6lb range, we decided that's what we would target.

I have to say as time goes on, I find that targeting a single species tends to bring it's own rewards, rather than adopting the false match fishing doctrine which tends to pervade throughout much of the current tactics operated by many that I observe fishing .. fish for something = fish for all .. and in truth it's a myth .. watch a good matchperson, and they tend to be very specific about what they fishing for!!!!!!!!

So we set off to "sunny" Kent, around 6.50am .. I had to drop in on the Swains and pick up a new rod .. Diawa Tournament Plus AWT12M ..... nice rod ;-) .. then it was off to Bills Bait and Tackle to collect our bait ... yellowtails, rag, and for Paul the added extra of some very small squid .. had a quick but pleasant chat with Clive, just before going down the road to pick up the rest of Pauls bait order from Channel Angling.

Arrived at the DumpHead around 7.45am, to find another 9 anglers in front of us .... but it did look as if we'd be on the first boat .... and with the forecast being for NW 3/4 occasionally 5, scattered wintry showers and High water at around 2pm (6.4m) .. things were looking good.... Tom arrived shortly after 8am, and we paid our £2.50 for the Members .. he told us that a few codling had been landed the day before .. one around the 3lb mark from the inside early in the day at the low numbers, and a 5lb'er around peg 80 close to 10am ... two other fish of almost 6lb had been taken in the Knuckle during the afternoon.

We got onto the first Boat, indeed the only Boat (although one did come over half an hour later with 3 anglers I think??), paid our £3 for the boat, and waited to see where we would be dropped off .... we secretly hoped it would be the western arm, thus allowing us to race the length of the Breakwater to get to the Knuckle .. BUT, as fate would have it, we went on towards the Eastern stairs, right at the Knuckle. With others in front of us, I knew the Knuckle would be taken before we got off the boat, so suggested to Paul we fish our usual spot around pegs 60 plus, next to one of the other sets of stairs .. we would just have to grin and bear it.... anyway the stairs are nice to be able to put fish back, rather than stunning or killing them by simply throwing them back .... and so that's where we went and set-up..... around 8.50am or so....

I decided to fish big baits / big hooks on the outside ..after all we wanted Cod not pouting!!!!! Used a 4/0 flowing wishbone loaded with 4 or 5 yellowtails on each hook, may be with the odd ragworm thrown in for good measure..... whilst on the inside, I decided upon 2/0 wishbone with yellowtail/rag combo's, and also to fish down the wall with a 1/0 Christmas tree with rag/yellowtail, just in case I could get a small coalfish to photograph.

Paul adopted much the same tactics, although instead of a Christmas tree, he used a whole mounted small squid on a pennel on the outside .... again for Mr Cod .....

Well it started slowly, and the weather slowly deteriorated .. sleet and rain, with a westerly wind, the better side of 5 .. fun :-(

9.40am and Paul brings a load of lost tackle with a small 9" pin whiting from the inside..... The lost tackle had 4oz breakaways in it .... I still don't understand people using this sort of tackle at this venue ... you really need 8oz fixed wire leads esp. for the outside, and probably a 6oz on the inside if there is little tidal flow .. yes I know that rolling leads are valuable for flounders etc., but with the number of snags on the inside I would have thought that the losses would out weigh the potential gains ..... but what do I know!!!

10.00am went and collected two coffees from Tom, and had a chat about what things had been like over the past month ... I don't think we'd really missed much...

10.10am add a series of sharp tugs and pulls on the inside rod .... pulled up a 13.5" codling.... oh well at least it was a start.....

10.20am .. pulled in the outside rod, managed to tangle with the chap next to me, but still had an 8" pout to show for it... it's a fish!!!!! ;-)

10.33am .. another series of sharp tugs on the inside rod, but this time I failed to connect!!!! :-(

10.46am .. managed to get tangled up with Paul on the outside this time .. but brought up a 10.5" whiting.....

10.53am.... Paul has an 8.5" pout from the inside..... followed by a 7" pout ten minutes later from the outside, and yet another pout of 10" from the inside, 15 minutes after this.... I was beginning to feel a little left out .. and just got more cold and wet!!

11.25am .. pull up a 10" pin whiting from the inside....

11.35am, Paul and myself are chatting when I notice the chap next to me struggling with his rod ... looks like he's snagged on the inside .. and he obviously thought so, the way he was pulling at it ... that was until the rod tip thumped back towards the sea!!!!! .... we walked over to see ... up comes a very nice looking codling ..... I'd not yet sorted the drop net out, so one of his friends raced down and grabbed someone else's .... after a little difficulty, they pull it up, and I offer my scales ... 5.5lb of codling

11.44am .. can't manage a codling but do pull up yet another pin whiting, this time of 9"

12.15pm.. Paul has an 11" codling from the outside.....

12.25pm .. 10" whiting and a stone!!! .. from the outside.....

12.35pm .. pull up someone's lost 4oz breakaway from the inside!!!!!

12.50pm .... retrieve the outside rod ... meet a lot of resistance, but with no fight.... pull up another load of tackle with 3 weights and line etc..

1.00pm Paul has a 6" pout from the inside.....

1.07pm 7" pout from the inside as well.....

1.20pm 6" pout, this time from the outside....

1.35pm Paul has a 7" pout from the inside.....

The drizzle is now rain, and the wind is up, and the waves are starting to lick at the top of the wall ... uummmm .... fun.....

1.40pm .... the Chap next to us is again struggling ... he's in again..... nobody else has had a sniff all day!! .. anyway he again brings up a good sized fish .. looks much better than the last .... I go and grab my dropnet, and hand it over ... shortly there after, he is the proud owner of a 6.3/4lb Cod ... Paul makes the comment that it's not fair .. doesn't he know about sharing the fish!!!! :-)

1.50pm ... suddenly my outside rod gives a lurch, and the line dropped slack .. now there is nothing odd in that here, as the tidal direction often changes without warning, but there was something different to this action .. more aggression, and vigor to it .. I snatch up the rod, and instantly realise I have a fish when I collected the slack .. thump, thump, thump .... those tell tale signs of Mr Cod ... I call over to Paul to grab the net .... and without too much problem, he nets a very nice fish for me .... all 26.5" of it .. it popped my scales, bouncing above and below 7lb .. took a second set to it .. 7lb .. and all I could think of was .... YES

1.50pm Paul has a double shot of 8" pouts from the outside, followed 15 minutes later by another double shot of pout, this time 9" and from the inside....

2.30pm Paul has an 8" whiting from the outside....

3.10pm Paul has another 7" whiting .. from the inside...

3.20pm .. the chap next to me, again has a codling .. this time only around 2lb ...

3.25pm ... my rod goes slack on the outside ... I can feel a fish on the end.... I ask Paul for the net, but he's changing his inside rigs, so I bring the fish to the surface .. but I realise to my horror, that I'm snagged with Paul's line.. in fact both Paul's rods .. having lost a decent fish last time out, to just this scenario, I decide to lift the fish as it looks no more than a couple of pounds, but I still want to land it.... and in so doing tangle Paul's lines still further .. hope he's forgiven me .. anyway .. it's an 18" codling, a shade under 2lb......

3.30pm ... packing up to catch the boat home, and I have my last fish of the day .. an 8" pin whiting .....

Waited for the boat to collect us .. by now it's raining steadily, and I think most were pleased to be leaving, as the chap next to me, and myself were the only ones to land any sizable codling , although a few doggies did show, along with a few dabs ... oh and of course the pin whiting and pout.... and the odd undersized codling...

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