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Tackle Shops:
Dover Breakwater 6th Sept-97
Arrived at the Marina Southern Quay (DumpHead) before 8am. Karen and Tony went off to get some food, and left me to look after the tackle. Paid the Dover Sea Angling Association (Tel: 01304 204722) permit fee of 3.50 sobs per person, per day, and waited. Boat turned up at 8.30am, but no sign of Karen or Tony. Second boat turned up, loaded up (12 persons at a time max.).... K and T return..... catch the 3rd boat out to the Breakwater... further 3 sobs for the boat. The boats will only go out weather permitting.... Wind over force 5/6 NO GO.
Contact: Dover MotorBoat Co. Tel: 01304 206809
The Breakwater itself has toilets (both male and female), and a small tuck-shop
at the eastern end. Fishing may occur both on the seaward side and the harbour
side.
Both inner and outer walls have an open rail running along them, so you may not wish to bring rod rests, although at high tide a certain amount of splash and spray does occur on the seaward side. You may wish to attach / secure your rods with bungie straps, as the tidal run is very strong...... 210g long-grap weights or more needed!!!!!! Tidal run occurs counter to each wall.... ie inner wall flow maybe eastward, in which case outer will be flowing west. Tidal run less on the harbour side, but would seem to have more snags.
Set-up to fish between Pegs 25 to 35 or so at the eastern end, at around 9.15. It was a lovely day (although a very sad one!!), hot, sunny, and with very little wind.
Decided to try for codling, flat-fish, and bass (if we caught small pout) . 2 to 3 hook rigs with size 1 to 2/0 hooks for the codling, and long trace rigs with single or 2 hooks (size 4) for plaice.
Baits: Crab, rag, fresh black lug, and squid.... single and cocktails
Tony started by fishing for flat-fish on the inner wall, and codling on the outer, Karen with a three hook rig on the outer wall, and myself on the inner for flat-fish. For a time, I also knocked out a plug for bass down the wall (the water was lovely and clear, and very few pout down the wall... always a good sign..). After a while decided to try to catch small pout to free-line for bass.
Very little caught during low water (and certainly not by us) .... scad, one or two undersize codling, a plaice and a few pout (Karen walked the length of the BW to find out). Girl next to us had (and lost) a mackerel on floated sandeel).
Caught the first fish of the day..... 4 inch pouting..... it then went straight down the wall on a free-lined pennell (4/0 hooks) for bass....
Caught a few more small pout down the wall, then Tony had his first fish of the day (having lost 3 sets of tackle on the harbour side) around 1.40pm.. a 12" codling on black lug., from the outer wall.
Pulled up a few more small pout for live-bait.... then something I was not
expecting.... a 1lb Lobster...
yum...yum...
Karen pulled her first fish of the day... a sizable pouting....
Things started to pick-up from high tide onwards (wind increased noticeably and the sky darkened ) with other people taking plaice, dogfish and pout on the inner side, with codling and pout on the outer. Pout started getting bigger for me on the innerside. Stopped pout fishing, used the pike rod with a 3oz lead and a long sliding trace (size 4 hook, baited with rag) for flat fish.... and used a wishbone rig on the outer wall for codling, all the while with the free-lined pout on the inner wall for bass.
Took a few sizable pout, as did the others.... almost a fish a cast..... then took a small but sizable sole from the inner wall around 3pm. Had to pack-up around 3.30 pm to be picked up by the boats (this applies to everyone fishing, around 40 individuals or so). We all took a few more sizable pout, and Tony had a nice codling around 15 / 16 inches or so.
Caught the boat back ( be warned.... you may get rather wet with the back spray!!!!!), took Tony back to Folkestone. Nipped down to the Folkestone Rotunda beach to see if I could spin / plug for bass with the water being so clear.... but the wind had picked up to about force 4 plus, and so I had to give up on the idea, and drive back to sunny Surbiton!!
Dover Breakwater 13-Sept.1997
Karen and myself picked Nigel up at around 5.30am to drive down from Kingston to Folkestone to collect Tony. Got to Dover around 7.45am which gave the others some time to do some shopping before the E.T.A of the crossing boat (8.30am onwards). The weather was great, just a breath of wind to half lift the flags, and not a cloud in the sky. I started to get worried however, around 8.20 or so, as there where only 3 other Chaps waiting, and no Marshal from Dover Sea Angling Association. Decided to phone the club house to make sure everything was OK..... informed that the Met. weather forecast was force 6 winds, occasionally 7, decreasing to 3 to 4 in the afternoon. Looked out the phone box..... sea is like a mill pond..... Met. get it wrong and we can't fish the Breakwater (Boats will not leave if the forecast is unfavourable, regardless of the local conditions. Guess it must have something to do with the insurance!).
Told the others, and decided to fish the Dover Admiralty Pier, having been told that sizeable codling and dogfish were coming up. So off we went.......
Admission is around 3 sobs or so, with a small food and drinks kiosk and toilets halfway along its length. All night fishing on Fridays and Saturdays.
Started fishing around 9.30 towards the far end (and within a stones throw
of the Breakwater), with 2 hook clip-up / clip-down rigs, size 2/0 hooks
or there abouts with a variety of baits: black and blow lug, clam, crab,
rag, mackerel, and squid. Lug / squid combo's tending to
dominate.
Around 10am my rod went flying down (forgot to clip it up with a bungi strap)..... not sure if it was a fish or something else rolling on the bottom, tried to hold it but had to give it line, and then retrieve walking along the pier, got towards the end of the pier... started to retrieve more line than I'd lost... PING.....looked like the leader knot gave.... guess we'll never know.......
Karen took the first fish around 11am, with what would turn out to be the best fish as well; a 1lb codling on lug/squid.
Decided to fish down the wall for small pouting for live bait.... took the first around 11.30, put it on a free lined 4/0 pennell down the wall, for Bass (all ways the chance of a codling taking it as well).
Nigel took his first fish (11.45), a sizeable pouting. I took more small pout down the wall, and then at about 12 noon a small wrasse.
A party of children just up from us, were doing at lot better..... 3 or more codling, dogfish and pout...... I know that youth shall have it's day, but I'd rather it didn't occur when I'm fishing to show us up (No really good luck to them, they were obviously doing something we couldn't, even though we tried to match their tactics!!!!!).
Tony took his first fish around 2pm, and was not very happy to find it was a pouting, rather than the codling that we all were seeking..... I caught another wrasse, and then a fish I'd never had before.. A female Dragonet (the males are very spectacular I'm told). Pouting was the only dish on the menu for the rest of the day until 4pm. Left to drive back up to Kingston wishing we'd been able to fish the Breakwater.......
Dover Breakwater 21-Sept.1997.
Karen, Tony, and myself started fishing around 9am between pegs 140 to 150 approx.. The weather was fine with a force 4 easterly wind and High Tide at around 2pm. Reports from the previous day, and the all night competition before hand seemed to indicate a good chance of codling and flat fish with maybe some bass.
Terminal tackle consisted of one or two size 2/0 or 4/0 hooks either clipped down or in a clip up / clip down arrangement, for the codling, with black lug and squid combo's as the main bait. All three of us started by fishing the outside wall...... very strong tidal run...... 8oz long wire graps a must.....
Tony took the first fish...... a small codling........
Unfortunately the chaps next to us consistently used inappropriate leads and tactics for the venue, and kept crossing our lines........ eventually I decided to fish the inside wall, for flat fish and maybe dogfish, with one rod, using the same rig as before, but with size 2 hooks, and no squid on the lower hook. The other rod I set-up to catch Bass with......
Tried to catch small pout down the wall to live bait with using the pike rod (find that it is so sensitive that one rarely misses a bite)..... but no joy..... so I alternated between a squid head with tentacles, and a side of mackerel on a 4/0 pennell down the wall......... just helped to keep the crab population healthy!!!!!!
Very little else caught along the Breakwater..... a few pout... one or two codling, and we saw a flattie being pulled up............ mostly however we pulled up weed and lost tackle (I suspect washed up by the very large tides of the past week.... Tony said something about the biggest in 20 years or so!!), Karen even managed to rap a hook snood around, and pull up a barnacle encrusted stone of about 1lb or so.... Soon after this she changed over to a wishbone rig.......
Set the pike rod up for spinning and plugging, and walked up and down the inside wall and flicked out where I could with a variety of lures (oh how I wished I had brought the rapalas with me)..... on two occasions I saw white bait rise to the surface along with a bass in hot pursuit, not 10ft away from the wall....... but as with the rest of my miserable attempts..... no joy!!!!!!!!
Tony caught his second fish around 3pm, again a small codling, on the outside wall on lug/squid. Someone further down managed to land a lobster, just as I had done the previous visit to this venue, although this one was around the 3lb mark...... Boat collected us at 3.50pm...... on the way back the boat stopped to help a gull that had line and weed caught around one of its legs...... not as a result of our activities I must stress..... I wonder if we shouldn't have some form of biodegradable line... better for the wildlife, and would reduce the amount of tackle snags at such venues..... maybe it already exists and I'm just ignorant of it......
Would have liked to fish the Breakwater, but the winds were too high, something like force 4 to 5 and gusting force 6 or 7 from the N/W.
As a result Karen and myself, decided to fish the Admiralty pier, in the hope of catching some codling. Walked towards the far end and started fishing (along with a lot of other people) around 8.30am or so......
Used clip-up / clip down rigs with 2/0 and 4/0 hooks, baited with lug (black and yellow tail) and tipped with squid. Like the Breakwater, the selection of weights makes a big difference in holding the bottom...... 8oz long wire graps a must if you don't want to make trouble for yourself.
I also used a single long flowing trace (6ft) with a 2/0 or 4/0 hook which I alternated with the clip-up / clip-down rig.
I set up a second rod to catch small pout that I could then live bait down the wall, using a 6/0 pennell for bass. In the end I alternated between pout and a whole squid, both set at about 9 to 12' down..........
Not long after we started the wind really started to pick-up, and although we had weighted down the newspaper that the lug was in, before we knew it on of the packs (with a score of lug) had taken off over the side of the wall...... luckily, the lug fell to the ground just before the paper was over the side..... only lost a few worms, but the air did turn a shade of blue c/o one enraged Whiting!!!!!!!
Had a few bites but no connections, once or twice the line came back with the 20lb hook snood bitten through..... we could see small teeth marks all around the break area....... as others were pulling up the occasional dogfish, I assume that these were the culprits!!!!!
Took a few small pout down the wall as planned..... but that was it for the majority of the day.... poor Karen had nothing at all. Either side of us a few small codling, and occasional dogfish and pout were coming out... but it really was rather patchy...... Had one big bang on the live bait, no connection, and brought up only half a dead pout, something big had just had the other half!!!!!!!
Around 3.20pm or so, just when we were thinking of packing up (you have to be off the Admiralty by 4pm on a Sunday), I pulled up a 1and1/4lb Scad..... not really the fish I was after, but proof if required, that we are still in that transition stage, between the Summer and Winter species (someone else had a single mackerel), not surprising really if you look at the sea temperatures.. around the 15 to 17 degree mark........ oh well, at least I know the cod are coming......
Lovely day, with winds around force 4 from the NE, and High Tide at 11.30am.... just me (well along with about 50 others.....), as none of the usual fishing crew could make it.....
Started setting up my tackle around 9am at peg 150...... then horror of horrors....... I'd packed everything (and the sink), but NO HOOKS..aaaaaarrrrrrrrrhhhhhh..... Very nice chap next to me, called Jamie, came to my rescue, and gave me a selection to play with.......
Set up one rig for codling.... 1 up / 1 down, with 2/0 hooks, and an 8oz long wire lead. Baits... well lug, black lug, and squid, combo was the order of the day.... Couldn't double Pat., due to the lack of hooks (didn't want to have to keep asking people.. I felt such an idiot!!!!!) ..... so I wasted a lot of time baiting up......
Set the other beachcaster up for Bass, down the wall..... 3/0 pennell with whole squid or live pout, about 15 feet down.... Set both rods for cod and bass on the outside wall). Used the pike rod and a 1/0 hook for pout down the inside wall......
By the time I had got myself sorted, people around me were already pulling in codling..... Jamie managed a good sized dogfish as well .....
Took my first fish around10am..... a codling just over 14", then another slightly larger twenty minutes later..... things were looking good..... baited up... and no sooner had the bait hit bottom, than the rod tip banged over and the tackle went with the tide... had a fish all right, but it did mean having to walk down the Breakwater avoiding other peoples lines..... got the fish to the surface.... a nice dogfish of 2 to 3 pounds.. two chaps fishing where I had landed up.. asked if I needed a hand... I didn't think so.... rod and line were strong enough for the job..... BUT... fish came off the hook half way up... oh well I'd have only thrown it back anyway.....
By 11am, I'd also started catching pout, both large and small..... felt like winter was almost here at last..... after this I just kept pulling in codling, with the occasional pout.... it was very frustrating to be wasting fishing time by having the rig out the water whilst baiting up..... the chaps the other side of me (who had real troubles holding position 'cos they were not using fixed grap 8oz leads although they were still catching fish), pulled up what looked like a large dab. I then decided after chatting to another very helpful chap (who had caught 30 odd fish, mainly on the inside, and using beads), that I would try using the pike rod for flatties, with a 3 or 4oz rolling lead, with a bottom 6 foot trace with the single 1/0 hook, with a line of beads set above the lug only bait...... took a few pouting..... one whiting, and a number of codling (that rather bent the rod over...)... but no flatties for me.....
By the end of the day.. 3.30pm, I'd 5 nice codling for the pot, all around 1 and 1/2 pounds, and must have put back at least 15 to 20 smaller ones, not including the pout.... Most people seemed to have a very similar time.. the heaviest codling fell to the DSAA steward (over 6lb) along with a number of pollack, whilst he was also fishing for Bass....... Hastings Angling Club held their own mini comp... the winning weight was around the 10lb mark, with mainly a mixed bag of codling and pout, I think.....
A great days fishing, and if you read this Jamie, then a very big thank you......
Karen and I started fishing around 4.30pm... things were looking good, with others catching codling, the largest being around the 7lb mark. The wind was dropping down to force 4 to 5 S to SW, with scattered showers forecast. High tide had passed us around 3pm, but with darkness rapidly approaching, and the severe weather conditions of the past few days abating, we felt we were in with a shout......
Used clip-up / clip down rigs with size 4/0's on top, and 2/0's below (scaled up on the hooks in the hope of getting quality fish rather than quantity), baited with fresh lug, frozen black, and squid combo's...... I also fished a second rod with a 4/0 wishbone rig....
Whilst we were rigging up, one got the impression that things were starting to slacken off, and rapidly...... and the tidal pull was still very strong, with 8oz long graps, still not holding bottom well....... this was compounded by a lot of weed, old fishing net material, and general rubbish blown in by the storm....
Around 5.15pm, my rod with the clip down set, started bouncing with a bite, and then dipped down in an alarming fashion...... lifted the rod and felt it bend with the drag... pumped the tackle home, but it kept on pulling, and every so often diving down..... really thought I had a decent fish, 'cos I could feel the characteristic movements, and could now feel weight as well... Karen couldn't see over the wall, so I shouted at two chaps next door to lend a hand to see if they could see anything.... after a short while, one of them said he saw something, and that it looked small enough to bring up with out a net..... I was not entirely convinced, but started to winch up the haul....... suddenly Karen and the two chaps started to laugh...... I'd managed to catch a polythene bag, full of sea water..... and so they turned away laughing to themselves... I continued to wind in some what perplexed, 'cos it sure had looked like a bite, and felt like a fish..... and then surprise, surprise, over the wall attached to the hooks, one small codling, and a pouting to boot...... nice but I'd rather have had the large cod that I originally thought I'd hooked into......
Around 5.50pm, I had another very positive bite, and brought the tackle in.... again the rod tip bent well, and I could feel a reasonable fish of around 3lb on the end.... after the last incident decided that I may as well try and bring it up myself..... unfortunately the leader knot got stuck in the top ring with the extra weight, and I could feel the fish kicking, although I obviously couldn't see it in the dark, and half way up the wall... the only way to free the knot, and continue to reel in was to turn the rod over.. unfortunately in doing so, the knot jerked free, and dislodged the fish........ just one of those things I guess.....
Just after 6pm, Karen gave a shout, and her rod was bending nicely...... after a little while, she managed to land a nice sized dogfish, that we unhooked and returned..... about 45 minutes later Karen gave another shout, and felt she had a decent sized fish... unfortunately it seemed to come off just as she was bringing it in towards the wall..... much the same thing happened to me about 10 minutes later.... but I guess these are all just fishy tales......
Anyway, I managed another small pout around 7pm, and that was to be my sum total for the night..... Karen managed a sizable whiting around 7.45pm, and a small pout at 8.30pm.... We packed up around 8.35pm, and managed to be the last people off the pier, at 8.55pm..... Talked to the steward, who like us seemed some what perplexed at the sudden drop in fish, with the onset of darkness..... the night before had been great... is it not always that way, in this game!!!!!!!
I'm also told that a Bass of around 13 to 14lb, was taken at Samphire Hoe, on the Friday before, I shall be very interested on how, as the Hoe, is really just an extension of the Warren.... maybe we'll give it a whorl very soon.....
Just before 8pm I had a great bite, that pulled the rod right down, and then banged away..... lifted the rod, felt the fish kicking, but it dropped off after only 10 turns or so..... told Karen, who refused to believe me, claiming there were no codling out there, and that she'd had enough ( I should point out that she was soaked to the skin because she only had a light shower top and trousers on, rather than full waterproofs), told her not to be so silly, can't repeat what she said, but claimed she'd give it one last cast...... in doing so, and with the rain pouring down, her finger slipped during the cast, and the tackle went straight down the wall, rather than the 30 yard lob she'd intended..... I knew then that it would be her last cast of the night.....
10 minutes later whilst I'm rebaiting, I look up to see Karen starting to
reel in..... her line had just gone slack.... the rod bent over.... my first
thought was she'd got snagged down the wall, but then the rod kicked....
it was a fish...... grabbed the drop net 'cos Karen had started to lift the
fish out the water, and could get no further..... looked down.. a nice sized
codling.. got her to backwind gently just to place the fish in the water,
and take the
strain out of the tackle..... lowered the drop net, with the
rain and salt spray blowing straight into my face, so that I could hardly
see anything..... got Karen to walk towards me, and in so doing bring the
fish to the lowered net.... not easy as the very strong tidal run had just
started to kick in...... pulled up the net with the fish, only to realize
that she had a double shot, and that I'd missed the second smaller fish of
about 1 and 1/2 lb..... managed to get both up..... weighed the larger of
the two codling.... 3lb... Karen was really happy and I took a few photo's
(that I'll slip here when they are developed).... The rain stopped......
we took a few more pouting, and packed up around 8.30pm... the tidal run
really was strong... 8oz long wire graps could just have been 1oz plain weights
for all the good they were!!!!!..... left by 8.45pm, to drive back the 90
miles to a warm and dry bed......
Rick Ryder told me via e-mail, that he and his wife had much the same experience the night before, with the codling being very close to the wall..... looks like most (myself included) were over casting most of the time, 30yds was probably too much!!!!!!!
Dover Breakwater.... 16th Nov. 1997
Went over with Karen, Tony Swain, and his Mum Margaret...... the weather
was fine, with sunshine and mist and fog in
the afternoon. Wind was less than force 2 most of the time....
not really like the weather forecast. High Tide around 12 noon....
Set -up on the inner wall (peg 20), with one rod down the wall, 15 turns
off the bottom with a 4/0 / 6/0 pennell with a small live pout for Bass and
large Cod.....no result. Use the other two rods, to cast out, a 4/0 clip
down pennell with impact shield rig, and a 4/0 clip up, and clip down rig,
both with 8oz long wire leads. These were baited up with yellow tails and
tipped off with squid..... managed 4 codling (best 1 and 1/2 lb).. along
with 8 pout and two
whiting......
Really should have fished the outer wall, like the other three.... but I just had too see how it was going to fish, curiosity got the better of me.......
What did the others get between them..... something in the order of (and I probably missed quite a few 'cos I had my back to them).... 20 codling, 30 odd pout (some a nice 12" or more), and about 8 or 9 whiting.... not bad but it could have done with a bit more stirring up I think.... most people caught a number of codling, but the largest was no more than a couple of pounds, plus of course pout and whiting......
Dover Breakwater 23rd Nov.1997
Arrived in Dover around 7-45am... went over to Bills to collect the bait..... apparently I had caused a bit of bother..... I'd phoned up on the Wednesday, and asked if any yellow tails would be available, and was told that was OK..... unfortunately, no-one had consulted their son (who digs the bait) if this was pos.... being a set of neaps, he felt that he'd never had to dig so hard and fast, to complete an order.. ( and even then wasn't very happy with the quality of some, being a little small for his liking... personally I thought he did a great job getting any at all !!!!!!).... and then had to shoot over to Pegwell to dig normal lug for others..... This Sunday, he got the tray out in preparation of my arrival.... big mistake..... every angler that walked in to the tackle shop, could clearly see them, and apparently all bar none, attempted to beg, bribe, or indeed almost steal them.... things I guess were made worse with a Comp on the Ad.Pier, DSAA Boat Comp, and another Comp that night down at Sandgate....... many offers of Grandmothers were made........ anyway picked up the 6 score, plus some frozen black, and squid, not to mention the possibility of a few death threats from my fellow anglers.......
Went across on the boat with Karen, and decided to walk down to the mid 50's pegs to give ourselves some room. Karen decided to fish the outerwall (clip up / clip down) with a clip down 2/0 pennell combined with a single bottom clip-up 2/0 with beads. These were baited up with lug and squid.
I decided to fish both the inside and outer walls, with identical rigs to
Karen, although my pennells were 2/0 : 4/0, and the lower single clip up
was a 1/0 (basically I used the same rigs that I'd just put away from Allhallows
12 hours before)..... I also set-up a third rod (on the inside wall) for
Bass..... 4/0 : 6/0 pennell, 10 to 15 off the bottom..... mounted with whole
squid or squid
heads......
Started fishing around 9am......... nothing for an hour or so... things did not look good...... no one else seemed to be doing well... one small plaice and that was about it..... Around 10am I had a good solid bite, and dipping tip..... unfortunately, what ever it was did not connect to the Kamasans :-(
10.20am and I take my first fish.... 13" of whiting on the pennell from the inner wall. Karen went off to get some coffee, and said that more flatties (dabs and plaice) had been caught.... decided to remove the squid tips from the single lower hooks to try and improve my chances...... I later found-out that the dabs had gone for squid tips.... indeed one chap had swapped to just squid to try to catch codling rather than dab... but the flatties came even faster!!!!!!!!.
10.45am 12"Codling again on the innerwall but on the bottom hook baited with just lug....
Around 11am I managed to pull 2 starfish out from the outerside, when again the rod on the inner started to bounce around.... 13" of codling again on the lower lug only hook.....
Things went a little slack for the next hour.... I was a little concerned for Karen who had yet to hit home.... I suggested fishing the inside....... 2 major snag-ups, one set of lost tackle, and a few looks that could kill.... I wish I'd not make the suggestion.. and she returned to the outer wall!!!!!
Suddenly, around 12 noon, the ratchet on the 7000 started to sing... the squid heads had done their work... we raced over.... I grabbed the rod, Karen put the drop-net down the wall....... unfortunately it was not the large silver bass, that my heart had just promised me...... but a codling of 1 and 1/2 lb!!!!!!!!!
Took 3 more codling again from the innerside until around 2pm.
Decided to try and catch a small pout to live bait with down the wall.... instead I pull up a Bull Head (sea scorpion)......
2.20 Karen pulls up a 10" dab, her first and only fish of the day, and the only fish for us from the outerside..... a trend really in reverse of the week before....
2.40 and I catch the worlds largest pout on the 4/0 pennell.... all 4" of it!!!!!.... it went straight down the wall on the other rod, for Mr Bass..... who as it happens didn't show (no change there then!!!), and so I let the pout swim free at the end of the day....
Anyway picked-up another codling around the 1 and 1/4 mark at 3pm...... started to pack-up ready to be taken off the Breakwater for 3.45...... left the main rod to the last minute.... the tide had turned and the flood had started....... the steward was coming our way collecting up the rubbish..... I went to reel in..... I instantly knew I had a fish... something in the 2 to 3 lb range..... brought the tackle to the surface... it's a double shot of codling... the largest just over the 1 and 1/2lb mark... nice way to end the day...... Most people (Karen included), did not fair so well (most fished just the outer wall), with a few dab being the main stay of catches with only 1 or two codling here and there with a few pout thrown in for good measure..... One luck chap, had a 3lb plaice, which I think was the best fish of the day.......
Arranged to take Paul Davies down, and show him around....... thought we'd been scuppered when we got to Folkestone, with a huge tail-back (what we thought was the result of the efforts of Welsh Farmers, but later transpired to be due to an accident...), nifty bit of driving through the back streets, and up over the White Cliffs, and we got there with time to spare...... picked-up the bait from Bill's.... I'd ordered 4 score of yellow tails, but supply was limited, so I had a mixed bundle of yellow and blow plus some squid...... Paul had only ordered blow, and also purchased some 8oz long wire graps......
The weather was not what I had anticipated at the start of the week... the weather I thought we would have for the weekend turned up a day early, and so now the weather was deteriorating with showers and a force 4 to 5, occasionally 6 predicted, and worse to follow on Sunday.....
The boats were a little slow getting out, so we were on the Breakwater just after 9am, and set-up around pegs 65 - 73.
I chose to fish both sides, using 2/0 : 4/0 clipdown pennell (at the top), with a single clipup 2/0 with beads on the bottom.... these were baited with a couple of lug, and tipped with squid for good measure. I set-up a third rod on the inside for Bass, with a 3ft flowing trace with 4/0 pennell, mounted with squid.
Paul set up 2 rods (and went with my suggestion of trying to fish both sides.... not sure he believed me at first, as just about everyone else was fishing the outer-wall), one with a 3 hook Pat with booms (with size 2/0's), and a single hook rig (again 2/0's) ..... well at least I think that's what he used... he did tell me, but I forgot to write it down!!!!!
By the time we got ourselves together, we started fishing around 9.15am. The tide was not ideal, neap, and high water not until 3.30pm or so, just when we would have to leave!!!!!
Paul drew first blood with a small pout around 10am. Approx.10 minutes later, I managed to follow by catching a small plaice of 11", ...... ten minutes after that Paul was really happy with his first ever flattie.... a plaice of about 7"......!!!!!
The inside of the "Wall" is rather snaggy, and around 10.25am or so I lost a rig... and whilst I'm trying to tie my new leader, Paul pulls out a double shot of Whiting at short range from the inner-side.....
New leader and rig, and I'm back to fishing the inside again..... 10.55am, and I pull up the first codling of the day, and from the inside.... only about a pound, but nice to see, before I put it back.....
11.05... and Paul gives a shout of joy.... he's just caught his first ever
Bass.... OK, so it's only 11", but it's still a special
moment
for him...... I have to say that Paul was very good at putting fish back,
not just in terms of size etc, but also the manner.... rather than dropping
them over the side (which I have to put my hand up for doing), he went out
of his way, to lovingly return them, by walking down the sea steps, and returning
them by hand regardless of the species..... and a far better policy than
stuffing every fish caught into large white plastic drums, as some would
seem to be doing!!!!! There was no Comp. on, so the question is
simple...WHY!!!!!!!
11.20, and I catch my second codling of the day, around the 1 and 1/2 lb mark, followed shortly by the loss of more tackle..... as a result I decided to fish very close in..... under-arm cast, so no more than 20ft out..... 5 minutes later, and I'm pulling out a codling of 1 and 1/4 lb....... Looking at what others were catching..... or in reality not... I decided to pull my rod from the outer wall, and just fish the inner...... I also decided to stop tipping with squid, having tried a few combinations with and without....... and finding without, seemed to be doing the trick......
11.50, and Paul pulls out a nice flattie from the inside....
a right-handed flounder of just over 1lb...... Pauls eyes were starting to
burn, and was eager to get out again...... another advocate of the "Wall"
had been born.......
Half an hour later, and I'd pulled out another Codling of 1 and 1/2lb and a small pout...... Paul laughed at it's size until 30 seconds later when he pulled out a smaller one!!!!!!
Around 11-40 or so, and Paul and myself are having a chat, and comparing how we are doing relative to others...... on the whole about the same if not better), when my rod on the inside, gave a big dip, and rattle..... grabbed it, and reeled in....... one very small pout...uuummmmm!!!!!!
The wind started to get up.... I would think around force 6 or so..... white horses on BOTH sides..... only good thing, was the wind was blowing from the SW, so the waves generated, were running parallel to us, but some of the outer waves were really rather large, and just a little scary!!!!!! Thought a few times, we maybe called off.... but everytime it dropped just a little, and so we fished on....
Just after 1pm, Paul had a double shot..... his first codling (he was desperate to catch one before we left), and also a whiting, both undersize........
Over the next half hour or so, I pulled in another codling, a dab of reasonable size, and a 6" pout!!!
The tidal run kicked in, and started to increase around 1.40pm or so..... as a result, many people were finding difficulty holding bottom, and switched to the inside..... what they failed to appreciate is that the tidal run marks the rapid flood, which brings the fish with it..... and whilst the weights may not hold static, 8oz of lead with graps, will touch bottom and more around to an angle or 20 to 30 degrees to the flow direction (anything less tending to be swept in before doing so!!!!!)..... Me , well I changed, and started fishing the outer wall for the first time properly that day.....
1.50.... double shot of pout and codling.......... surprise, surprise.. from the outside...... 1.55 Paul picks up a small pout from the inner.....
The wind started to back and blow more from the south, as a result the waves started to lap (well lap is maybe the wrong word... crash would be better) into the seaward side of the Breakwater, and with the rising tide, ment that the occasional one came over...... I'd just walked away from my rods, when a huge wave crashed against the wall, soaked my rods and reels, and washed over my tackle box and bait, set towards the back... the lads next door laughed, but not for long... they had a tangle, were right by the wall sorting it out.... whoosh, sploosh... two wet anglers!!!!!!!!
2.10... Codling and pout, both sizeable, on the same Pennell, pout on bottom hook, codling on the upper!!!!! never really had that before...... not like trying to catch small pout, and then using the top hook for cod that want to eat the pout..... this pout was about 2/3 the size of the codling.......
Around 2.10 both Paul and myself catch Pouting...... I manage
to persuade Paul to start fishing the outside again (he'd stopped 'cos of
the difficulty of the RUN...)..... he was soon rewarded with his biggest
codling 1.1/4lb, followed by another Pout. Around 2,40, I had a double shot
of codling, with 1and 1/2lb on the top, and a 9" monster on the lower snood!!!!!!
Paul managed another whiting, followed by a 1and 1/2lb Codling (his best fish of the day), along with a Pout..... just at the same time as I pulled out a small but sizeable whiting.....
Around 3.15pm, I was chatting to a Chap who was packing up and was going to wait for the boat.... told me that two chaps in the corner, under the Lighthouse had the largest fish of the day.. a 4lb codling..... no sooner had these words been said, than out of the Corner of my eye, I saw a large wave bearing down.. straight into said corner...... wave crashes into wall, overtops, and in slow motion and in horror, I watch as the hapless pair have their gear washed over the side behind them.... with no retaining wall, just the open railings, all goes over the side and into the stormy drink!!!!!
After a number of futile attempt to retrieve some of it with rods and dropnets, they get to were we are standing.... but they are throwing the net out and not retrieving fast enough.... after watching this two or three times, I had to step in , and with one throwing the net, me on the retrieve, and a third chap holding the ropes end, we managed to salvage some stuff..... well packed lunch mainly... and a haversack, with a weight in it .... other gear, stowed away in the bag, reels, etc..... lost...........
I reeled in, so I could pack-up...... pulled in my last fish of the day.... 1and 1/4lb Codling......
Caught the Boat... very interesting in the swell....
Drove back to Subiton for about 5.30pm....... think Paul enjoyed his day out!!!!!!!
Dover Breakwater 13th Dec 1997
Went to Bill's to collect my bait, but no yellowtails..... Clive said he'd try and make sure that he had some for Sunday... so I had to settle for normal blow lug and a couple of packs of squid......
Decided to fish both sides, so that I could determine a reasonable strategy for the Christmas Competition, to be held on the Breakwater the next day..... With this in mind, I had two identical rigs set (clip-up / clip-down), with size 1/0 hooks... whilst I wouldn't normally fish for codling with less than 2/0, I was interested in maximizing my catch potential.. not just codling.......
The wind was blowing from the SW around force 3 or less, with a mixture of sunshine and cloud. High water was due around 10.30am....
By the time we had crossed and I had walked to were I wished to fish..... around peg 50.. I started fishing at approx. 9am.....
9.15: 11" Pout from the outside on the lower hook......
9.20: 13" Codling from the inside on the lower hook....
9.25: 13" Codling from the inside on the lower hook.....
9.35: Small pout from the outside on the lower hook
9.45: 15" Codling (1&1/4lb) from the inside on the lower hook......
9.55: 17" Codling (1&1/2lb) from the outside on the lower hook.....
10.00: 14" Codling from the outside on the lower hook......
10.05: 14.5" Codling from the inside on the lower hook.....
10.15: 10.5" pout from the outside on the lower hook.....
10.20: Missed bite from the inner wall..... think probably due to hook being too small!!!
10.25: Coffee Break ..... normally Karen very kindly does the honors, but as she was unable to come fishing due to work commitments, I had to get my own..... I took the opportunity to chat with others and see how they had got on...... by and large the same.. with one or two larger fish being pulled up (esp. around pegs 30 to 35) with fish in the range of 4 to 6lb cropping up..... one chap down the other end (western) had a cod of almost 9lb
10.40: 14" Codling from the outside, again on the bottom hook......
After this things went slack... really coinciding with high water.....
11.30: I decided to modify the rigs based upon what had gone before..... the most striking feature was that all the fish were coming from the bottom..... so I set up a clip-up wishbone with a long flowing snood on both inner and outer rods.....
12.10: 8" Pout from the inside.......
12.30: Decided to try at range from the inside....
12.45 8" Pout from the inside......
12.50: Bite from the inside... snagged..... lost tackle..... dropped back to short range on the inside!!!
12.55: 10" Pout from the outside......
1.05: 16" Codling from the outside.....
1.35: 6" Pout from the inner....
1.50: 11" Pout from the outer....
2.10: 15" Codling from the inner....
2.20: 10" Dab from the outside....
2.50: 12" Pout from the outside.....
3.10: Bizarre experience..... 3 codling on 2 hooks!!!!! 16", 15" and 14"...... 16" lower lip, 14" upperlip, same 1/0 hook!!!!!!! never had that before... who says wishbones aren't magic!!! :-) Felt slightly cheated... thought I'd got 1 reasonable size fish when I was reeling them in!!!! :-(
3.25: Small pout from the inside.....
3.30: Super thumping bite on the outside.... connect with a good size fish.... but after a few minutes, I felt it dive, and it must have pulled out the hook.... second decent fish lost, probably due to the hooks being too small, or just nicking into the flesh rather than substantially penetrating..... oh well always next time......
Packed up and caught the boat back...... Tom the steward told us that one of the boats (Growler, I think he said) had radioed in to ask what the specimen size for whiting was.... told around the 3lb mark... back comes the reply... OH, think this fish is more than that.. more like 6lb!!!!!!!!....... Winters almost here!!!!! :-)
Dover Prince of Wales Pier 14-Dec.1997
DSAA Christmas Competition......... Having fished the Breakwater the day before, and reasonably happy with the strategy devised, and with a few rig adjustments at 4.30am that morning, I was horrified to learn on the long drive down, that the Met. Office shipping forecast mentioned the dreaded number 7, in terms of the wind speed..... in all probability the motorboat company would not take us across, and the Comp, would be fished in the Harbor, on the Prince of Wales Pier......
More bad news greeted me when I got to Dover...... the digger for yellowtail had not shown up at Bills Bait and Tackle .... Clive was most apologetic, and so I had to settle for normal blow lug..... but he was able to give me a score of rag, which I felt had some merit for the PoW (and if I'd thought about it would have grabbed for Pollack on the Breakwater as well..) ... there was only a slight shade of jealousy in my eyes when I saw Clive's own personal container full of large pristine white rag.... one of the perks of the job I guess.....
Made my way across to the PoW after going to the DumpHead and been told by Tom, that the venue had definitely been changed. I was still unsure that I'd been entered for the Comp... very nice Chap from DSAA, Duncan Goulds, had made a number of phone calls on my behalf, as I had been unable to contact the Organizer, Frank Hern, directly..... as I understood it, the entrance fee to the Pier (which is normally 3UKP, and you pay near the barrier... small dispenser that looks like a car ticket machine), was included in the Match fee..... Walked down to the end to find people milling around, and a little confused as Frank had yet to make an appearance!!!!! mind you as it was only 8am and the Comp, wasn't due to start 'til 9.30 guess the observation maybe a little harsh..... Steve Allmark seemed to take charge, and with some Chalk provided by Tom, proceeded to mark out the Pegs..... not long after the job was done, Frank turns up, with the bag labels etc.... I picked mine up, and paid my 12UKP as arranged.. I had drawn Peg 26... right next to Tom.... looked across the Harbor to the Breakwater, with hardly a ripple on the surface, and silently wept....
With 3\4 of an hour to go, a chatted a little, set my gear up around the Peg and waited... decided to stick with the traces that I'd made up... and give the 1/0 wishbones a go.... there was a chance of a few codling about, along with whiting, and maybe pout..... but flatties, were going to be the order of the day.... along with anything from down the wall, such as Pollack...... On reflection what I should have done, is packed up, forgot about the comp, and moved over to the Ad. Pier for some Cod fishing..... or did what Rick Ryder did.... go Christmas shopping....!!!!!!!
9.30am.... Competition starts..... few small whiting are being landed by people around me...... I get a bite.... hit straight into a snag (It'll teach me to laugh about snags with Tom, 2 minutes earlier!!!!).... one set of lost tackle...... not a great start to my first match in almost 20 years!!! :-(
I then watched as the occasional whiting and small codling were retrieved by others, along with one or two Pollack down the wall.....
By 11am, I decide to fish down the wall..... bait up with various combinations of Rag or Lug, with the occasional bit of squid for good measure.....
11.40am.... bang down goes my rod tip.. a fish at last.... only trouble is that it's 13 odd inches of CoalFish rather than Pollack (taken the top hook baited with lug), and so has to go back.... and whilst It's very nice for people to come up and say things like "you don't often see those down here", it would have been nice if it had been a sizable fish... hell even a sizable pout would have been good!!!!!!
The wind picked up strength as the day wore on, to what I would guess would be between force 4 to 5..... It was very frustrating having to fish like this with the Breakwater right in view.....
After about 12.30pm people started to pick up flounders, and it seemed to me that they were steadily increasing in size as the afternoon wore on.... me, well I started getting Tip happy... you know, when the slightest twitch necessitates a response... had a few bites, and missed them..... really should have sat on my hands and let them develop, but I guess by this time my heart was not really in it, and I was lamenting my failure to pack-up earlier and fish the Ad. Pier....
3.30pm.... Time called..... Clive came past with some fine looking flounders, guess the white rag had done the trick... I had nothing to weigh-in, so I packed up slowly, and was the last to walk off..... by this time the wind had dropped to about force 2 or 3, just to compound my misery...... the Breakwater could have been fished..... but rules is rules....
Decided to go home so I don't know what the final outcome was, but I guess many were in the same happy mood that I was.. :-)
Dover Breakwater 20th Dec.1997
Decided to try out a new supplier for bait and tackle....it was suggested that I should give Mick's Tackle in Hythe a go. Mick felt that he could supply both fresh black and yellow tail, but equally crucial was that he would be open at 7.30am so I could collect before going over to Dover, something that a lot of local tackle shops outside of Snargate St, don't seem to do!!!!!!.........
Arrived before 7.30am with Paul (who had ordered his blow lug from Bills)...... unfortunately Mick turned up late (having been delayed, by running errands for his Wife's Party, to be held that night), and by the time he had the shop open, it was already 7.45am...... as the Boats start leaving the Dump Head at 8.30, I started to get butterflies in my stomach....... anyway, collected 4 score of lug (2 black, 2 yellow tail), along with 2 score of rag, and a 1lb block of squid....... if anyone's interested, Mick seems to have a very extensive range of baits on offer...... even Maddies (Tiny Harbour Rag for those of you that don't know)!!!!!!!
Drove straight over to Dover....... Paul jumped out and grabbed his Lug from Bills along with some more squid...... Drove to the Quay to drop the equipment off around 8.15am...... NO ONE THERE, APART FROM 1 CHAP, AND TOMMY THE STEWARD!!!!!!!!!!!........ The first boat had gone!!!!!! They were leaving early to go and join a Pilot Boat exercise...... dropped the gear and Paul off, drove to the Hoverport car park, and ran back.... !!!!!!!!!
Started fishing just before 9am, around peg 60 or so..........
Fished both the inside and outside, with long flowing (6ft) bottom traces, with 4/0 wishbones....... used combinations of black and yellowtail, tipped or untipped with squid (of in the case of the inner wall were I was under-arm casting) rag.........
Weather was good... wind around force 2 or less, and it got decidedly warm, almost like Summer in the Morning.... down to T-Shirts!!!!!!!!! High tide 3pm or so.
9.10am: first fish of the day....... 13" codling on the inside to me
9.15am:Paul strikes home and brings in a 15.1/2" codling, again from the inside.
9.25am:Paul with 6" of pout!!!!
9.30am: I got snagged in lost tackle on the outside, and lost my own set!!!! :-(
9.53am: Paul gives a shout...... he has a double shot from the outside.... 11"Bass, and a 6" Pout........
10.00am: I land a 16" codling from the outside, weigh it... 1.1/2lb.....
10.10am: 14" codling from the inside for me.....
10.25am: Paul has a 16" codling again 1.1/2lb from the inside.....
10.55am: 15" codling outer for me........
11.05am: Paul.. 15" codling from the inside....
11.15am: 17" codling, also from the inside for me.....
11.17am: Paul has a 6" pout from the inside.....
11.30am: Paul lost a codling..... the pre-made wishbone rig he was using, untied itself :-( ...... lucky it wasn't a good fish!!!!!!!!
11.32am: I failed to connect to a super thumping bite from the inside :-(
11.45am: Pulled on the outside rod to bring it in..... really heavy...... manage to land, 1 rock and a sea-anemone!!!!!!!
With things a little slack both in terms of fish and tidal run, I decided to remove the grip lead from the inside, and replace it with a plain 6oz lead, that could roll over the sea bed.
12.10pm: I was rewarded for the change in tactic with an 18" codling from the inside, just touching 2lb......
12.20pm: I had a double shot on the outside...... another 18" codling and an 8" pout!!!
12.24pm: Paul pulls up 6" of prime pouting from the inside!!!!
12.30pm: Paul's turn at a double shot from the outside with a 7" and 6" pout... not what he really wanted!!!!!!!....... :-)
12.37pm: Double shot for me again, this time from the inside, with a 14" codling and an 8" pout!!!!
12.55pm: manage to land yet another 8" pout from the inner side....
1.00pm: Paul gets in on the act with a double shot of pout... 10" and 8".......
1.25pm: Land a 14" codling from the outside....
1.30pm: Paul lands a dab of 9.1/2" from the inside....
1.32pm: 13.1/2" codling to me on the inside....
1.52pm: 13" codling, this time on the outside.....
1.55pm: Paul lands 8" pout, from the inside......
2.00pm: Double shot from the inside... a reasonable pout of 11", along with the same sized whiting...
2.07pm: Paul...... 8" pout from the inside........
2.12pm: not to be out done.... 8" of pure pout for me, from the outside!!!!!!
2.15pm: Paul lands a 9" whiting from the inside...
2.20pm: manage another pout from the inside..... all 10" of it!!!!!
2.22pm: Paul has a codling from the inside... 16"......
2.25pm: Another double, with a 15.1/2" codling and a 7" pout, from the outside....
2.35pm: Paul goes from strength to strength, with a double shot of codling 16" and 17.1/2", from the outside..... the later being our best fish at 2.1/4lb.....
2.45pm: 17" codling from the outside for me.....
2.47pm: 9" pout for me from the inner wall....
2.50pm: Paul pulled up two good pout from the outside, both 11.1/2", and 3/4lb each...
3.00pm: There must have been a grand-daddy shoal passing by, 'cos I then landed a double shot of pouting, although slightly smaller at 10" each.......
3.05pm: Paul takes a 16" codling from the inside..... followed five minutes later with a double shot of 6" pout and a 17" codling, from the outside this time.........
3.25pm: I manage a 9" pout from the inside, followed swiftly by a double shot from the outside, consisting of an 11" pout, and a 17" codling......
3.32pm: Paul's last cast produces an 11" pout from the outside.....
Packed up and walked to catch the boat.......
Asking around most had the same sort of outcome or worse...... couple of chaps claimed to have had a 4lb'er.... when they proudly pulled it out, I saw Paul's jaw visibly drop..... the sorry specimen was no more than 18 or 19" long, and certainly no more than 2.1/2lb....... Now you may ask how does he know... well just for the record, I measure all the fish, and the weights I give in these reports are as accurate as I can give...... a calibrated pocket spring balance is a wonderful thing...... shame more people don't use them, and stop themselves from looking a little foolish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dover Breakwater 21st Dec.1997
Drove down with Karen to Hythe to pick-up the Bait from Mick's...... unfortunately (and I should have thought about this from the day before), Mick was late and didn't arrive until around 7.45am..... his Wife's party was still going on!!!!!!!
Grabbed the yellowtail and black order, along with a couple of score of rag, and drove straight to Dover........ and found Ant waiting at the Quay along with a dozen or so other anglers...... It strikes me as very strange that as the height of the cod session approaches, the number of anglers fishing one of the premier Cod spots in the country should decline.... guess the Christmas shopping held a greater interest for the majority!!!!!!!!!!
Caught the boat across, and walked down to the teen pegs, and set-up under the Lighthouse......... the wind was a little stronger than the previous day, around force 3 or more from the NE, with high tide due around 4pm or so.........
By the time we got ourselves organised and set-up, we managed to start fishing around 9am........ I elected to fish both sides, again with the same set-up as the day before........ Tony (Ant), set two rods up on the outside, with wishbone and 2 hook flapper........ and Karen set up with her single rod, and flowing wishbone on the outside as well. To the bait already mentioned, Tony brought a supply of squid and clam to tip with, if we wished....... we all decided that we would try for quality rather than quantity, so we were using 4/0 to 6/0 hooks..........
Things started off a little slack........... no bites.......... until.........
9.45am: My rod tip rattles on the inside wall...... 15" Codling......
9.55am: Good solid bite again from the inside, lift the rod, and it bends with the weight and strain placed upon it........ I called Ant over, who grabbed the Drop net...... on one hook is a 7" wrasse, and the other a very large rock........ Tony thought it was possibly the smallest fish ever to be landed, with the aid of a drop net!!!!! :-)
10.05am: I land a 7" dab from the outside.......
10.20am: The rod tip on the inside, dipped well, pulled up a 17.1/2" codling of 2lb....... by this time, Karen and Tony were beginning to plot my untimely end, not yet having had a bite between them.......... Ant decided to start fishing the inside as well.......... followed swiftly by Karen........
10.30am: Ant caught his first fish of the day....... 16" of codling from the inside.....
10.45am: I take a double shot from the outside...... 17" codling and a 10" dab... five minutes later and Ant pulls out an identical dab...... and 5 minutes after that I landed a 16" codling from the inside....... managed to get snagged up and lost a set of tackle next cast... :-(
11.15am: Both Karen and myself get bites on the inside....... Karen lands a 14.1/2" whiting, and all I can manage is one of 11"..........
11.20am: No sooner do I cast out than the rod tips rattling again..... this time it's a 17" codling of 1.3/4lb, followed by Ant pulling in a 15" codling from the outside.......
11.40am: Really good bite on the inside, but failed to connect :-( ..........
11.45am: Ant take a double shot with a 16" codling and 11" whiting from the outside, followed by a 9" codling from the inside........
12.15pm: get a good bite from the outside....... the rod bends with weight, and I can feel a fish on.......... manage to drag in a load of lost tackle, plus a 15.1/2" codling as well......
12.20pm: Land a double shot from the inside 16" codling at 1.3/4lb, and a smaller one at 12"......... this was followed rapidly on the next cast, with an 8" pout, and 15mins after that a 6" pout....... plus crab!!!!!!!!
1.00pm: Got a good bite on the outside, could feel a fish and a reasonable weight..... turned out to be a double shot of codling...... 18" and 14.1/2" ... this was followed rapidly by Ant pulling up a double with a 15" codling and a rather sad looking 6" pout, from the outside........
1.10pm: Ant pulls up a 16" codling from the outside..... along with 2 dabs shortly after.....
1.20pm: I manage a 6" monster pout!!!! followed by an 11"dab from the inside....
1.30pm: Karen starts to catch fish.......... 17.1/2" codling at 1.3/4lb, plus a crab!!!!...... in fact it was noticeable that this tide was bringing in fish of a comparable size to the previous day, but that the fish were a better quality and weight..... around a 1/4 to 1/2lb more........ Not long after this Karen lost a set of tackle, and switched back to the outside.......
1.40pm: Ant has a 10" dab from the out side... followed by a double with a 17" codling and an 8" pout....... at the same time as I brought up a 16" codling and 10" pout...... and Karen a 16" codling....... must have had a large mixed shoal pass us bye...
2.00pm: have a small 6" pout from the inside....
2.05pm: both Karen and I have bites on the outside....... Karen has a double shot, with a 16" codling and a small 6" pout, whilst I have a double shot of codling, at 17" and 16"........
2.30pm: Karen lands a 19" codling that is just a shade over the 2lb mark, along with an 11" pout....... just before this, part of her reel mechanism, had dropped out!!!!!!, so winding the fish in proved to be a bit of a struggle for her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2.45pm: Ant lands a 12" codling from the outside.....
3.00pm: I have another double shot on the outside, with a 12" pout, and a 14" codling...... sad when the pout are almost as large as the Cod!!!!! :-)
3.05pm: Ant has an 8" pout.......
3.10pm: Karen lands a 12" whiting..........
Me well I'm gutting fish for the pair of them!!!!!!!!
3.20pm: Ant lands a 15.1/2" codling , followed rapidly by another of 16"........
3.25pm: Karen has a double shot of pouting...... 9" each.......
3.30pm: reel in to pack away, and bring in an 18" codling at 2lb, and an 8" pout.......
Caught the boat back, and then drove back to London........ Not a bad days fishing.......
Dover Breakwater 27th Dec.1997
Drove down to Hythe with Karen to collect bait from Mick's Tackle, and arranged to meet both Paul and Ant, at the Quay in Dover........ Things were not great on the bait front...... being the weekend straight after Christmas, Mick was having difficulty meeting demand..... could only give us 10 score of yellow and black out of the 12 that we wanted, but we were warned, that worse would follow the next day, with the Cod Championships being run from Micks....
Mick arrived around 7.40am, and with a couple of Chaps in front of us, the mad dash to Dover was on once again....... we made it, and found the other 2........
Went across on the boat, and set up around the 40's...... Along with the 10 score that I'ed picked-up, along with 2 score of rag, and a box of squid, Ant had managed to get hold of another 4 score of yellow tails (from the tackle shop under the Archs in Folkestone), some squid / clam, and Paul had picked-up 4 score of blow lug from Bills..... we were set, and looked like we should be OK for the next day........
Wind was light (force 3 or so), and High tide was around 9am... so we'd be fishing the falling tide......
By the time we got our act together, we managed to start fishing around 9.15am or so....... fished both the inside and out, and the main rig that we all used, were flowing wishbones, to a greater extent with 4/0 to 6/0 hooks......... we wanted the big ones..... unfortunatly they didn't want us........ :-(
9.25am: Karen hits into the first fish of the day.... 13" Codling from the outside.....
9.30am: Paul has a double shot with a 16" codling and a 12" pout, from the outside....
9.35am: Karen takes a 10" Pout......
9.40am: I manage to pull in a 16.1/2" codling of 1.1/2lb from the inside......
9.45am: Ant, pulls in a double shot...... 10" pout, along with a dogfish of 24"....
9.47am: Karen gets a pout of 8"...........
9.55am..... my line drops slack on the outside, go to reel in and there is no resistance... lines been cut!!!!!!.... as it was away from the others, suspision falls upon the rod rigs.... sure enough, with an inspection, comes the revelation of a slit inner top ring...... gosh I'm pleased..NOT!!!!!!!! :-(
10.05am: Land a 12" codling from the inside.......
10.13am: Paul has a 9" whiting, followed rapidly by Karen with a 16" codling of 1.1/4lb.....
10.40am: Paul takes a 9" pout, followed rapidly by a double shot of codling.. 16" and 17'....
10.50am: Karen lands a 17.1/2lb codling of 1.3/4lb, and I pull up second prize, with an 11" pout!!!!......
11.10am: Ant lands another 24" dogfish of 1.3/4lb......... they do so love that lug/squid combo.......
11.15am: Paul has a 10" dab, and then an 11" pout from the inside.....
11.35am: The outside, gives me a 14" codling......
11.50am: I take a nice whiting of 15" from the inner wall......
11.55am: I then have a 10" pout from the outside... along with Karen who does the same........
12.00pm: Paul gives a shout, he can feel a fish, and he's having trouble getting it in.... run to his side, and watch and wait........ Paul being a very nice man, pulls up my lost rig (see 9.55am), and to add insult to injury, there is a 17" codling of 1.3/4lb on my old trace, and not on his hooks......... felt it only fair to let him have the fish!!!!!!!!! :-)
12.10pm: Ant, has a 10" pout, followed 5 mins, later by Karen with a 12" codling, and then Ant again... with another 10" pout....
12.30pm: Ant lands a 17" codling of 1.3/4lb.......
12.35pm: I got rather exited on the inside...... could feel something heavy on my line..... felt like 4 or 5lb in weight..... pulled to the surface a lovely lobster, but just as I started to lift, it shifted position, and was lost :-(
12.50pm: Karen lands a 16" codling......
12.55pm: my turn with 16" codling of 1.1/2lb......
1.05pm: Paul has an 11" pout.....
1.10pm: Karen has a small 10" codling.....
1.18pm: Paul with an 11" whiting.....
1.30pm: I have a good solid thump on my outside rod... land a pout..... 16" and comes in at 1.1/4lb....... at the same time Ant lands a 13" pout as well......
1.45pm: Karen has a double shot with a 24" dogfish and a 12" pout......
1.55pm: the outside produces a 15" codling for me.......
2.00pm: Paul has a double shot of 12" pout.........
2.05pm: I land a 14" codling from the inside this time....
2.10pm: Paul has a nice 17" codling of 1.3/4lb, followed by a 10" pout....
2.30pm: Karen gets a 10" pout, and Paul's in again, this time with a 13" codling......
2.32pm: Ant, has a double, with an 11" pout, but also an 18" codling of 2lb....
2.35pm: manage a double shot myself, with a 12" pout, and a smaller codling at 14"...
2.45pm: Karen lands an 18" codling, but is slightly disappointed that it only manages 1.3/4lb.....
2.53pm: Ant, brings in a 13" codling, but it's foul hooked in the belly region..... this is followed very shortly, by a 9" pout.....
3.00pm.... all action..... Karen lands a 10" pout, at the same time that Paul lands a codling of 14", and I land a 17" codling from the inside.....
3.12pm: Ant, has a 13" codling........
3.15pm: Karen has a double shot of codling, one at 16", the other 14".......
3.20pm: I have my last fish.... 17" codling, coming in at 1.3/4lb......
3.25pm: Ant asks for the landing net........ lands the largest fish of the day..... 3.1/4lb of codling..... goes to throw it back, 'cos he feels he's already got enough, and a chap walking by on his way to catch the boat, pleads with Ant to hand the fish over.... Ant, looked a bit perplexed and obliged.... what can you say!!!!......
3.30pm: Ant brings in the other rod, so we can pack-up and catch the boat back..... he manages to bring in a double shot of 11" pout.......
From the chat we had on the way back, we felt that the outside had fished much better than the inside, and that for the first time, the tipping with squid, as opposed to not, was paying dividends.......
Dover Admiralty Pier 28th Dec.1997
Drove down to Hythe to try and collect the bait order that I'd given Mick a week before..... on the drive down, we listened to the Radio 4 weather..... inshore forecast was talking about force 3 to 4..... unfortunately the shipping forecast was talking about force 5 to 6, with 7 to 8 at times..... looked like a no go situation to the Wall (as it happens, as usual the shipping forecast got it wrong, and the inshore was right.... BUT... as the Motorboat company go by the Shipping forecast, we were to be denied access.....).
Arrived at Mick's..... along with the hoards wishing to fish the Cod Championships... not only was Mick supplying the majority with bait, they were also picking up their draw tickets as well...... things were looking bleaker than Mick had suggested to both Tony and myself over the coarse of the week.... bait was obviously in short supply, with the competitors being rationed with 1 score of black and 1.5 score of yellow tail.... eventually I got to be served..... my original order had been for 12 score of black or yellow.... well we'd spoken to Mick who said he couldn't meet it... been let down by some diggers.. but now even the 2 or 3 score that he said he hoped would be available to us ...was not... :-( ..... I couldn't even purchase any squid... did manage a couple of score of rag.......
Arrived at Dover, to find a large queue of people waiting at the Quay.... thought for one moment that common sense had prevailed over the Motor boat company... it was short lived.. after speaking to one or two, it became apparent that they had not phoned up to ask....... than someone who had phoned, turned up to deliver the bad news....... very frustrating when your standing there, with fishing boat parties pulling out to sea.. and your left standing in spitting distance of where you wish to go.... :-(
Waited for Tony to turn up....... he'd managed to get another 10 score of blow lug from Bills (ordered at the start of the week, when Mick had very kindly warned us of the difficulties he was facing.....), along with the yellow tails and black left over from the previous days fishing........ he also had with him, his mum and Dad, and Rolly (well I think that's his name.. better ask Ant....)..... Ant could hardly speak to me, he was furious with the decision not to go across in the light of the prevailing conditions, and the inshore forecast... took almost 3 hours for him to calm down enough to have a civil conversation, guess after the previous days fishing he was very disappointed......
Anyway, we decided to fish the Ad. Pier, as we were already in Dover... so off we went...
So we went to the end section... it was packed.... strange, 'cos the day before when we had gone across to the Wall, it had been almost deserted..... Anyway set up half way along and started fishing around 9.15am, using the same basic long flowing wishbones that had served us so well.....
The tidal run was very very strong, and I had extreme difficulty holding bottom.... if fact I just couldn't for some reason, no matter what I did.... think I may have upset a few people... oooopps....
Rolly took first blood around 9.40am ... codling around 16".....
Margaret than landed a codling around the 15" mark at about 10am, followed by Karen with an 8" pout...
By 11.30am I was not in a good mood, and really just wanted to pack up and go home or move off to Folkestone, but I continued against my better judgment......
Ant caught a 15" codling whilst Rolly took a double shot.....
Chaps next to us hooked into a large cod... had a devil of a time getting it into a drop net, with the very strong tidal flow... someone had a rectangular one which helped... chap didn't weigh it but I would estimate it to be between 4 to 5 lb.... They did OK, must have had about 10 fish between them by the time they left, later that afternoon.... think that they were using 10 oz fixed leads, that just held that much better than our 8oz fixed grip leads... it's the only thing I can think of, as they were using almost identical rigs and baits to us.....
12.25pm: Ant almost lands a 2lb'er.. but the top easy link of his trace seemed to have unclipped some how, so he lost both fish and trace.. not a happy bunny.. :-(
12.30pm: At last a fish, I land a 14" codling that I didn't even know I had until I tried to retrieve..... Ten minutes later and Pete who's fishing next to me gets a 17.1/2" codling of 1.3/4lb...... Rolly gets a small pout......
3.00pm and Ant gets a small whiting...... it's time to leave, enough is enough..... and then the heavens open, just to end a perfect day....... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I really should have stayed at home and watched paint dry!!!!!!! :-)
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