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Folkestone (1998)
With the weather forecast being less than favorable, Paul and myself decided that we would opt for a change of scene other than the "Wall", which probably would be No go anyway, and thus decided upon Folkestone Pier, which I felt may offer us some protection from the impending inclement weather.....
Drove down to Folkestone with Paul, and arrived just before 8.30am..... parked in the Harbour carpark (3 quid for 12 hours), and walked over to Phil Tanners "Harbour Tackle", to collect the 4 score of lug and score and half of rag that I had ordered at very short notice two days before...... also picked up some squid and a few odds and ends, such as some 6oz breakaways for Paul, and two adult pier tickets etc .... The pier tickets are 2 quid each, if your interested.. they can also be bought from Gary's, and I think from the Pub (Brewery Tap) if you want to night fish on the Sat./Sun.night........
Anyway, got the equipment sorted out, and found our way onto the pier around 9.30am or so...... not a soul to be seen, had the pick of spots....... going by what Tony Swain had told me about fishing during the week, we opted to try our luck in the teen pegs, rather than fish the elbow.......
We initially set-up two rods each.... Paul using 2/0 wishbones, and myself with one 4/0 long flowing traced wishbone, and on the other a clip-down pulley 2/0 : 4/0 pennell..... We both had lug (I also had a score or so, of frozen yellow-tails, after Jaybee's "Runny Down" recipe...), rag and squid... so we played with different combinations of these through-out the day......
Later, I set-up a third "Play" rod with the 11ft Christmas tree rig with 3 French booms with a 1/0 hook on each, all baited with wriggley rag, in the hope of hooking Mr. Pollack, down the wall ..... easier said than done, due to the lower parapet running on the outside of the middle section of the pier... a remnant of the old outer landing stage area....
The weather forecast was as I have already said less than welcoming..... force 5 to 6 from the E to NE, occasionally 7, with wintry showers...... Lets just say, that the force 7 bit seemed to dominate a large portion of the day, with light but lashing showers of rain and sleet, with occasional sunshine thrown in...... felt a bit silly wearing sunglasses, but there were times when we were being soaked, lovely rainbow behind us, and blinding golden sun in front...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway we started fishing just after 9.45am..... an hour or so after high tide......
10.15am: Paul draws first blood with a nice 15" codling..... at the same time, I managed to get the pulley rig snagged up..... lost it, and strung up another wishbone to replace it.....
10.30am: no sooner had I cast-out this second wishbone, than the rod tip gave a discernible bite.... something that for most of the day really was in the lap of the Gods with the strength of the wind..... landed a 17.1/2" codling, just touching 2lb...... just as I land this fish, Paul brings in a somewhat smaller poor cod of 7.1/2"..... he was happy, yet another fish to his species caught list......
10.50am: Paul lands a 16" codling.......
11.00am: We are no longer fishing alone..... Couple of young anglers turn up and start fishing the Elbow.......
11.15am: Paul lands a 10.1/2" dab, and I'm starting to feel a little left out, especially as Paul, not five minutes earlier is ribbing me about were all the flat fish that I'd predicted would be about, are........
11.20am: Manage to pull up a small Pollack of 9.1/2" from down the wall...
11.50am: a 9Ó dab duly obliges on one of the wishbones....
12.05pm: Paul land a nice dab of 13.1/2" and weighs in at 14oz......
12.10pm: Hook a small pout of 8" down the wall... not really the killer Pollack I was after!!!!!!
12.20pm: Paul gets a double shot of dab.. both 10".......
12.30pm: I get a double shot down the wall..... 9" Pollack and an 8" pout :-(
12.40pm: Paul gets a 9" dab... think the rather smelly rag that he brought with him from the abortive outing of his the previous weekend, is doing the trick..... in fact over the next hour, Paul was the only one to catch anything........ :-(
12.50pm: Paul lands an 11' dab......
1.05pm: Paul manages to land a 12" Pollack..... not down the wall, but from 70yrds out!!!!!!!! Must have been from the small reef, that we were hoping to get the large cod from...... well that was the theory anyway.. trouble is the fish can't read!!!!!! :-(
1.30pm: Paul has a codling of 13"... not really the 4 to 6lb codling that we had been told were being landed during the week from this section...... probably a combination of wrong tide, baits, end tackle, and the fact that really we would have improved our chances greatly if we'd been able to fish late afternoon / early evening with a little darkness to help bring the fish in.....
1.40pm: Just telling Paul that he's been the only one catching anything for a while, when I then bring in a nice conditioned 15" codling.....
2.00pm: Paul has a killer pout of 8"........
2.20pm: 11" dab to me..... followed five minutes later with a less than impressive 8Ó pout....
2.30pm: Paul lands another 8" pout, followed 15 minutes later with another....
2.50pm: I manage the smallest pout of the day... all 5" of it!!!!!!!! Five minutes after this I land 8" of poor cod....... and I'm really not a happy bunny..... lack of codling both in the number and size departments, coupled with the hostile weather......
3.00pm... Three other anglers arrived, and set-up to fish the Elbow.... spoke with one of the youngsters, who said they caught very little.....
3.15pm... showing Paul the flattie set up using the Christmas tree rig and a plain weight at each end, when we both get snagged up independently .....(my fault, as I'd opened my big mouth at the time and joked to Paul as I was setting it up, that I'd probably loss it first time out!!!!! why do we never learn, and have to tempt fate.......???!!!!!!)..... Paul managed to pull himself out of his snag..... me.... na, lost the lot.... :-(
Paul rebaits up, casts out... only to see his weight fly, and his baited rig drop at his feet..... the action of freeing the rig had weakened the knot to the lead link, and he'd failed to notice.... not really surprising considering the appalling weather....
3.40pm: Paul's out of bait, and we are both completely knackered from the days battering from the elements, so we decide to call it a day..... but I still manage to reel in a final codling of 15"...
As we walked past the Elbow on our way back, one of the three new arrivals, had just landed a codling of what I would estimate to be 15" or so......
In the carpark, a group of anglers from a club from Essex (I forget the name) were preparing for a nights fishing on the pier... hope they faired better than the pair of us... and wouldn't you know it... as we left so the wind dropped and the sun came out.......
Folkestone Warren 4th May 1998
Drove down to the Warren with Karen for a 5.30am start...... the forecast was good..... light winds force 3 to 4 from the North / North-East ..... in reality as the Warren is south facing, the sea was calm with just a slight breeze of force 2 or less. Cloud cover was due to break-up during the morning, and high-tide was at 6am or so.
Found one other chap fishing when we arrived on the first apron.... nothing to report, as he had only just started.. said he was ledgering for Codling, Bass, or anything!!!
Walked on up to the Nags Head and set-up. Pike rods (3lb T/C), Mitchell 300 spinning reels, with 17lb silver thread (to resist abrasion from the rocks). Used a variety of Rapalas (13cm Jointed in firetiger, blue, and black livery, 14cm Husky Jerk ,in blue and orange, and Rattlin Rapalas in fire tiger and gold.). I also tried out a small silver ABU Krillette.
6.20am: Having been fishing for almost a hour, with no sign of any fish, I was greatly encouraged as I saw a flash of silver, and a tail disappear, just a I lifted the Blue 13cm jointed Rapala out of the water. The fish was small, at only about 2 lb or so I would estimate... but a Bass none the less.
After a while, I changed over to the jointed firetiger.......
6.45am: Just drawing the Rapala in, about 25' or so, when I felt the classic stopping resistance of a bite...... the Rapala held, and up came a small bass..... Karen stepped in an brought it to shore with the landing net...... 35cm Bass, but a baby at just over 3/4lb ... took a couple of photo's and returned it .... not really the 15lb'er that I wanted, but maybe it will be one day..... :-)
7.20am: changed lures a number of times...... then cast out with the Krillette .... as this sinks rapidly, and the ground is rocky, a rapid retrieval was required from the moment it hit the water, so that it raced just under the water at a few feet or less..... suddenly the water exploded about 40' away...... out jumps a Garfish, with the lure in it's beak...... after a short fight, and with Karen at the Net, the Garfish was landed..... we measured it at 60cm, took a few photo's and again released it.......
8.10am: things went quiet, changed around the lures between us, had to stop using the Krillette as I almost lost it twice in the rocks...... but nothing in the way of fish..... Karen went and sat down for a coffee-break ....... about 60 to 70 feet out, that water again erupted with garfish.. not after our lures, but after fry, or perhaps fleeing a bass... anyway we continued on but to no avail..... the tide dropped still further ...... decided to go, and on the way give the first apron a quick going over as we did...... nothing.. :-( ...... packed up and left for the 85 mile drive back to Surbiton at 9.30am. Stopped off on the way at Den's Tackle in Hythe, who had managed to get hold of another Mitchell 300, for me...... I do so love their action, and the locking bar on the bail-arm........ now if I could just test one out, with a 15lb Bass..... ;-)
Folkestone Warren 24th May 1998
Drove down to start fishing on the low apron, around 5.45am. The tide was less than favorable, with high water not until 11.30am. The wind was light, no more than force 2, with grey cloud and a little sun.
Started fishing at the low apron, and around 6am saw a number of bass break surface, with their dorsal fins clearly visible. Unfortunately, as the tide was out, the draft was too shallow to work the plugs without hitting bottom, and I had no joy with the toby lures either...
By 6.30am and with the tide starting to rise, I was forced to give-up working this spot ....... I decided that I would wait for the tide to rise (which I estimated would be an hour or so), and start fishing off the second apron. I used that time to walk the length of the Warren, up to the point where Samphire Hoe is visible, and look for future marks ...... saw one other person, a chap that I've bumped into on a number of occasions, who also spins for bass, on his way to and from collecting winkles.
Walked back to the second apron and started fishing off the slightly subsided end, until the tide forced me to retreat, and I moved off to the Nags Head...... in all that time, I saw no fish at all :-(
Used a wide range of Rapals in both size and colour, but nothing ..... around 9am, I started to notice small fry rising to the surface..... at 9.50am I was playing with a bronze toby lure, when I had my first bite of the day...... 60cm garfish .. landed, unhooked, and returned......
At 11.00am decided to move off, and have a go along the wall at the end of the first apron ...... no joy...... left for home around noon.....
Folkestone Rotunda Beach 25th May 1998
Arrived slightly later than I intended around 5.45am or so....... the wind was light, the sky overcast, and Low Water around 6am or so. Went to the base of the pier ... looks like the work that they were carrying out at the end of last summer, was to repair the low wall/jetty, not as I feared to remove it. The shingle has been built up, and is now very steep, and the repaired section cannot be climbed from the seaward side, so their is a real danger of being cut off with the advancing tide in the corner. As the sea covers this section great care is needed..... !!!!!!!
Used a variety of Rapalas and toby's ....... but not until around 8.15am or so did anything happen. By then I had been forced away from the pier with the advancing tide, and fished on the old stone jetty. I saw white bait jumping out the water, and five minutes later my rod went down... and up came a mackerel on my silver and orange Toby ..... one for the pot .... tried using the toby, along with the plugs, but to no avail ... I was also hampered by the fact, that two chaps decided to fish from the pier ...having seen me catch the mackerel, they moved from the elbow where they where fishing, to right between me and the main casting direction towards the pier.... saw a bass break surface about 20 minutes later, but by 9.30am the tide was too high to fish properly, and I decided to cut my losses and leave them to it, with their ground rigs and floats.
Folkestone Rotunda Beach 30th May 1998
Arrived around 5am, to find that the tide was just falling, and that there was a very light wind, with sunshine. Decided to fish the base of the pier, and use the J9's in blue/white and firetiger, rather than the J11's, as they would probably hit bottom. I also used a silver and orange toby.
5.20am Had a fish break surface about 15 feet away, but I couldn't tell what species, although I'd like to think it was a bass.
5.40am Started working the Rapala parallel to the old jetty... with the tide dropping and exposing it.. lots of white water and backwash ..... BANG...... rod tip dives down, takes me by surprise ..... the way the fish is fighting, I'd estimate that it was over two pounds plus...... the key word here is estimate, after 10 seconds of fun, the fish threw the treble, and I was left with maybe's and if's.......
5.50am Saw a few white bait in the water, that jumped clear of my Rapala on it's retrieve....... then THUMP..... well not so much thump, as pull/tug ..... up comes a small Bass ..... 28cm, photographed, and just as I'm about to put it back, up turns Tony Swain....
We continued fishing ....... I had one small bass chase after the Rapala around 7.30am, and break surface in so doing... but it failed to make contact :-( ....... We saw no more bait fish/fry after 6am, no sign of any mackerel or garfish, and once the wind picked up and was blowing in our faces at 8.45am, we could no longer really use the Rapalas, and certainly couldn't see what was going on in the now clouded waters.... I had planned to try Samphire Hoe that afternoon/evening, but decided that Home and Bed would be a better option .... anyway Tony had family commitments, and couldn't do it either.... went Via Gary's Bait and Tackle, grabbed some replacement Krilletes, Redgills, and floats ...... guess I'm committed to the Bass this summer ;-).
Folkestone Rotunda Beach 12th June 1998
Arrived at Folkestone around 2pm, and walked across the shingle to the base of the pier. The tide was just on the ebb, as high tide had just passed at around 12.30pm or so.... The weather was cloudy with some sunshine / scattered showers, and a force 3 wind from the North.
Decided to try out the Berkley Fireline, having read a number of articles about it from Americans who had used it for lure fishing...... whilst I was setting up, a young chap came over and asked what I was fishing for, and where to buy tackle etc.... Put a 20g Krillette on the end of the Fireline, and cast out...... the Fireline was quite stiff, and managed to twist into a loop, that subsequently knotted, during the cast, as the line hit the rings ........ had to cut the line... pull the lure in by hand, and start again .... because of the stiffness of the Fireline, it really didn't want to settle down onto the spool, and the repeated problem, of thrown loops, twists and subsequent knotting plagued me for the rest of the trip.. even when I had only a 2/3 loading on the spool... very frustrating, esp. as there seemed to be no pattern to the problem ...... I shall strip the Fireline out, and replace it with 20lb Dynabraid.. and see if it's better at abrasion than the 16lb that I've been using, which was my original reason for trying the Fireline.... bit of an expensive mistake at 30 quid for 300yrd of the stuff.
I used a variety of lures, such as the Rapalas J13 /J9's etc., krillettes, weighted redgills, redgill behind bubble float, toby's etc.... really a play day .... the fetch of the waves was too long to really work the lures... ie. I was forced to fish and cast, halfway up the beach or run the risk of being swept away!!!!!!! The wind changed direction, so that it was now blowing across me, from the SW at force 4 or more ...... decided I'd had enough and left at about 6pm, rather than stay until dusk as I had originally planed...... one of those "I'VE BLANKED DAYS"!!!!!!!
Folkestone Warren 4th July 1998
Drove down to the Warren for a 4.30am start.... the wind was light ... force 3 or less and from the north / north-west. High tide was due around 8am, although not great, being a neap. The cloud cover was light with large amounts of clear sky......
No one fishing the first apron, and I walked on towards the second high apron, as the tide had just about risen sufficiently to allow it to be fished with the plugs ........
Set-up just under the Nags Head, and used the smaller shallower running Rapala J9's in both fire-tiger and blue livery. I've stripped out the FireLine which I found too wiry, and prone to self knotting, and re-loaded the Mitchell 300 with 20lb Dynabraid, rather than the 16lb that I had used before. I have to say that it looks like the right move ... the extra diameter from 0.12mm to 0.16mm, looks to have solved to some extent my worries about the ease of it being cut, whilst it's suppleness seems to avoid the problems of self knotting from thrown loops........
Anyway, had little joy, on the fishing side of things, and there was a lot of fine weed floating in the front edge of the water, which I had to pick off the lure before every cast... decided to move down about 40 yards or so and fish off of one of the other buttresses in the hope that I could avoid this problem.....
Just as I arrived at my chosen spot, a red van pulled up along side me with three chaps inside who had been night fishing up towards the headland ..... they'd had one bass of around 3.1/2lb on ledgered crab.....
Set-up on the buttress, and still used the J9 in firetiger, as the rocks had yet to be fully submerged, and the J13's would be in danger of grounding and picking up more weed ......
Then at 5am, BANG.... feels like I've just run the Rapala into a brickwall ..... but no, the reel starts to scream as the line is stripped away, against the drag, and I have to use finger on the drum to slow it down, and the rod starts to compress as it takes more of the strain..... I reel in line, but the fish dives away again, although for a shorter duration... it fights, but I regain control and bring it closer.... another lunging dive, this time towards the seawall and shallower water.... the fish breaks surface ... a large dark coloured seabass ..... YEEESSS..... it's still got plenty of fight left in it, and it takes a few more desperate runs for freedom, but eventually it's on the surface and beaten.... however it's still some 20 to 25 feet out, and I have to gently guide it towards me and the landing net...... then disaster strikes..... the bass must have only been nick hooked, because I felt the lure and the fish part company, and all I could do was watch helplessly, as the fish that I had played and beaten, slowly recovered on the surface just yards away from the safety of my net, and gave a lazy flick of it's silvery body and tail, and disappear beneath the rising tide.......... My heart sank, and the air turned blue!!!!!!! I tried flicking the Rapala out for a while in some form of vain hope that the fish would fall again ... but no...... From the size of the fish on the surface and the feel of the fight / resistance I would estimate that the fish was well over 4lb or more... I really enjoyed the fight, I just wish I had been able to weigh it, if only for my own satisfaction... :-(
I continued fishing, using a whole range of lures as the tide advanced up and around the second apron...... however I saw only one other bass... a small school fish..... following some 5ft or so behind my J13 (firetiger)... very frustrating ....... otherwise nothing.. the weed seemed to clear as the water level rose, and the water was reasonably clear, so I could see down to about 6ft plus ....... the other notable absence was any bait fish!!!!!!!
Tried the low apron buttresses before the tide was too low, but again nothing and left for Kingston around 9.45am or so, still smarting about "The One That Got Away".....
Folkestone Warren 5th July 1998
Drove down to the Warren for a 5.30am start with Karen.... the wind was force 3 / 4 or so and increasing and from the west / north-west. High tide (neap) was due around 9am,. The cloud cover was very light with large amounts of clear blue sky, and bright sunshine.....
We made our way to the second high apron, and decided to fish the far slip-way end, until the water level had risen sufficiently at the Nags Head..... because of the shallow draft, across the sand and worn weed covered chalk, we were forced to use just the J9's and CDJ11's in blue and white, as well as in firetiger livery.
Around 6am, I felt the rod tip lurch as a fish took my J9 (firetiger)........ took a few minutes to bring it in and land it with Karen's help ...... one rather small bass of 33cm.... took a photo, and put it back.......
Moved off to the Nags Head around 7am, and started using the J13's as well...... nothing doing, and the increasing cross wind didn't help matters.....
Karen took a nap...... 3am starts are not her thing!!!!!!
Just before 8am, Margaret and Peter Swain turned up on their bikes, along with their fishing gear, although they were planning to ground fish, with the lug they had dug the previous day.... had a short chat, before they moved off to the slipway area, that we had been fishing earlier.......
Karen went over to chat with them about half an hour later, and whilst she was gone, I made contact with a second fish ...... took the lure almost under my feet, and dived down, taking line with it.... retrieved it back, and then saw that the landing net was out of reach... just as the thought crossed my mind, the fish dived again, hit bottom, and in so doing, slackened the line, and I felt the fish and treble part company!!!! ... oh well felt like a small fish of only 2lb or less......
We continued on until about 10.30am, by which time the wind was up to force 4 going on 5 ...... and whilst still fishable .. we were both knackered and decided to call it a day.....
Folkestone Warren 2nd Aug.1998
Decided to give the Warren a whorl, having just got back from Belarus (even managed to do a little fishing there for bream and perch... although I blanked!!!!)...... and was starting to climb the walls from lack of seafishing for the best part of a month...
Drove down about 5am, and started fishing around 5.10am or so at the Nags Head...... the conditions were not ideal, with the sky mostly overcast, wind about force 3/4 from the NE, a lot of weed in the water from the poor weather of the previous weeks, and high tide due around 8pm or so, but a neap.
Mostly used J13's blue/white, and Firetiger, although I did try using a toby, redgill, and a gold Rattlin Rapala. Had one tug and a head shake around 5.45am..... and that was it........ tried around the groins on the second apron ..... lost a J13 for my troubles..... :-( Spent a while down by the slip-way, but the weed make life difficult ..... walked back towards the Nags ...... bobbing in the water, was a certain J13 ..... cast out and hooked it ....... sad when you have to resort to catching artificial fish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;-)
Around 8am the wind dropped, and the sea became calm... managed to see a few small fry in the water, but that was all, and it didn't last long , before the sky darkened with rain clouds (although it held off.. just a few light spots....).....
Tony Swain came over around 8.30am ... he'd been fishing with his parents on the Buttresses of the first apron ... used a variety of lures, floated baits, and sandeel ..... he'd had a few takes, but no fish to show for their efforts either..... decided around 9am to give up and go back to Tony's parents place just above the Warren, have a cup of tea and a chat...... oh well maybe next time the fish will come out to play!!!!!!!
Folkestone Rotunda Beach 7th Aug.1998
Arrived at the Rotunda carpark around 5am...... walked to the base of the pier and started fishing around 5.20am or so..... Low tide was around 5.45am, with a SW wind of force 2 or less..... and very little cloud......
Decided to use a number of J9's and J13's in a variety of colours around the edge of the concrete blocks at the piers base, and along the front edge of the beach to the old jetty area....... nothing!!!!!!
Around 7.40am or so, and with my spirits sinking rapidly, the sun rose high enough to radiate above the pier ..... and with the rising tide , I saw some movement in the almost liquid metal surface...... 5 or so small fish at the surface... looked like small garfish of no more than an inch or so in length ....... who promptly dived out of sight when my lure came past them on the retrieve....... As the tide had started to rise, I had positioned myself on the old jetty workings, and felt that with the bright sunlight, and the possibility of adult garfish about, the most sensible option was to switch to a Krillette, which I could tempt garfish with, but would also be attractive to any bass in the area, should they so oblige. After about the fifth cast or so, I felt a good tug on the braid, and a fighting fish on the end ...... felt too small for bass ........ thought it was a garfish..... but no... up pops a small mackerel .... nice to be able to play such a fish on light gear.... God made a real mistake not allowing these fish the ability to grow into double figures....
Anyway about fifteen minutes later, and I'm landing a second one...... decided to get a set of feathers out, and get a few more for the pot, along with those to be frozen down for bait..... well that was the plan... the mackerel had other ideas..... blanked....... whilst this was going on, I noticed a number of anglers turn up on the pier for an 8.30am start ..... bet they thought they were early birds!!!! One chap dropped a mackerel strip down at the base of the rocks.... for bass I guess, although conger are not unknown off the pier, although I believe the far end and at night would be more promising.
Went back to the Krillette, as the feathers were producing nothing, and unlikely to score with any bass in the area..... bang.... another mackerel ...... obviously silver shiny things are in, and coloured feathers are out!!!! ;-) ...Twenty minutes later and it's the same story ........ a little before 9am and I hit another, although after about 10 seconds or so, it managed to get off ...... .... saw a few small bait fish just before 9.30am, but only a handful .... decided to return to the plugs, but with no joy........ packed-up and left to go home around 10am, with the sun getting hotter by the minute.... maybe the good weather will encourage the fry and bait fish inshore..... I'm convinced that the lack of fry, etc, is one of the major reasons why so few bass seem to be about at the mo, or at least reponding to the plugs...... maybe things will change soon....
Folkestone Warren 11th Aug.1998
Drove down to the Warren for 5am ...... the winds were force 2/3 or less from the NE, with low tide at 9.30am.
Started fishing off the first apron using a J13 (blue/white), as the water depth was sufficient to use a plug... the water was a little murky, and had a lot of floating weed, making life difficult, and I had to remove weed almost every cast ....... no takes... :-(
By about 6am the tide had dropped and I switched to plan B. Knowing that the draft would be too low to use a plug at low water, I had decided to use a bubble float, and Redgill set-up...... This I employed along the length of the rock strewn stretch of the low apron .... again no joy ...... not even the slightest indication of any fish.......
Just after 7am, I walked under the second high apron, and started fishing the slipway beach area .... as the tide retreated I was able to walk out to, and stand on the table top boulders of Gault Clay (at the low water mark)....
Around 7.45am or so, I saw my first fish..... a couple of mackerel jumping clear out of the water, going across me towards the west. Unfortunately they were well beyond the range of my bubble float/redgill set-up ....... thinking that they may be pursued by bass, I rapidly changed over to a Krillet, which would give me greater distance, but had a high risk of getting snagged...... well I avoided getting snagged, but the fish in turn avoided my lure... :-( Again fifteen minutes later, I saw another mackerel jump out the water, some distance in front of me going in the opposite direction to those seen earlier .... but still no contact. I could see two pairs of Cormorants, some distance further still, bobbing up and down, and diving for fish ... all very frustrating..... Tried using one of the small plugs, but it just hit bottom, and/or became covered in weed!!!!! Went back to the bubble float and red-gill, with no success.
Started walking back towards the caravan site around 9.30am, flicking the red gill out every so often, more in hope, than with any real chance of a bite.......
Folkestone Warren 31st Aug.1998
Arrived
down the Warren around 5.15am or so ..... the wind was light, although it
increased steadily into a SE wind of force 3 plus as the morning progressed,
with broken sunshine. High water was at 5.30am with a neap tide of only 5.2m.
Started fishing around 5.30am at the Nags Head on the second high apron, mainly using a blue/white J13 Rapala, although at times I did substitute in with a Firetiger J13, blue/white CDJ11, blue/white J9, and a Krillette. Nothing really to recount except a couple passing by on their way to fish further on up by the Black Wall. Just before 6am I started moving towards the slipway area at the far end of the second high apron, flicking out the J13 as I did so ...... ..Thump .... I'm into something ... my first thought was a small bass.. (well it would .. wouldn't it!!!)... but no .... a decent sized mackerel pops up..... knock it on the head and continue....
6-06am ...... thump another mackerel on the J13 ....... feel a number of
small tugs after that, but no connection .... lift the Rapala out the water
on one occasion and 3 mackerel half jump out the water after it!!!!! ......
a few minutes later I hook into another mackerel, but it drops off just as
I'm landing it........ the water in front of me is a mass of activity with
several fish breaking surface ..... my thoughts are that, they maybe being
pursued by bass ...... but as the mackerel keep crowding out the lure, they
just don't get a look-in ...... the wind starts to increase, and roughs up
the water so as to make it impossible to tell which way the fish are running
..... I decide to go back to the Nagshead and wait it
out....
6.20am ...... get to see my first bass ... but it's behind the lure and fails
to strike before I'm forced to lift the J13 out the water ......
6.23am ....... get a sizable tug and pull... but no connection ..... cast
back into the general direction ...... one really nice bass comes cruising
behind my lure ...... I'm salivating .... but it's the last I see of it!!!!!
:-(
6.30am ..... thump ... yet another mackerel on the J13 ....... you'ed have
thought that the size of the lure would have put them off, but no.......
Tried feathering for a short while, but with no joy ... probably took me
too long to un-tangle them out the box!!!! :-)
7.45am ...... think the photo says it all ... managed to catch a pair of red and white party balloons!!!!! Who says fishing's not full of surprises!!!!!!
8.00am Had a chat with the people who'ed been fishing on the rocks of the
Black Wall (Mandy and her two brothers ... if you look on the pic.. you should
be able to see yourselves... in the very far distance ....).
They have only just started using lures to catch bass, but seemed to be doing
OK ...... 6 fish in the past 3 days, with the heaviest around 4lb (to
Mandy)... and their friend had a 2lb bass that morning... doing a lot better
than me!!!! ;-)
8.10am Moved off down to the buttresses on the first high apron, but the
water was too low and weedy, so I moved to the far end of the first apron,
and cast across the sandy shore, trying to avoid the wooden groin.....
8.35am ... thump ... another mackerel in the bag...... a few minutes
later I saw a number of fish skid across the water being pursued by what
I
believe was a bass ...... but I failed to connect with either.
I felt encouraged by what I saw and heard... lots of small bait fish in the
water .... mackerel ...... and looks like the bass as well ...... Left for
home around 9am, chatting with a fellow fisherman, who'd been out walking
his dog, about the prospects for the autumn and winter......
Folkestone Warren 1st Sept.1998
Drove down to the Warren and arrived around 5am .... walked down to the Nags Head, and set-up to start fishing just before 5.30am. The tide was rising with high water at 7.30am and 5.2M. The weather conditions were less than pleasant, with a force 4 wind from the SE, and intermittent drizzle......
It became rapidly apparent from the onset that the water contained a great deal of floating weed, which would rapidly collect upon the lures, interfering with their action to varying degrees...... and also resulting in an almost equal amount of time spent removing it!!!!!!! I elected to use a J13 in blue and white livery......
5-38am
........ bang ........ a small bass of around 31cm takes the lure in the
white water of the back wash.... and is well hooked by the central treble
hook..... quick photo... and it's soon swimming off......
Just as I'm returning the fish, Leon Rosk comes ambling along with his rod and gear .......
20 minutes later, and Leon's calling for help ... he's in, and just needs a hand netting the fish, that took the lure from close in ......... soon have the bass on land ....... Leon unhooks the fish from the CDJ11, only to find that the other has just nicked the skin behind the gills.... so he cut the barb off and returned the fish, but not before a quick photo, and a little hand measuring by me ........ fish was in the order of 40cm or so, and at a guess for that size fish probably around 1.3/4lb to 2lb or so (rather than Leons estimate of 1lb, which I think was too light).
6.38am ..... see some activity in the water about 15' out or so,with small
fry jumping out the water ...... I have to say that with the weather conditions
as they were, very little could be seen as the surface of the water, which
was quite choppy at times.
6.55am.... see 4 or 5 mackerel skid across the surface of the water just to the left of me, some 25' out, going in Leons direction ....... gave a shout to Leon, but we both failed to connect with anything........ :-(
7.18am..... just starting to retrieve the lure, when I get a small knock, a shake..... and then nothing... :-(
I choose to stay with the J13, but Leon used a wide variety of lures... some of which looked very interesting....... ooooh dare I spend yet more money on lures ........ don't know about the fish, but this angler's hooked!!!!!!! :-)
By 8.30am I'd had enough of weed, wind and rain, and decided that I really should go to work ..... left Leon to it, who said he'd fish for about another hour or so.......
Leon had another fish after I left ... here's part of the e-mail he sent me......
"Shortly after you went, I moved onto the lower apron. The sun came out and it began to feel quite pleasant, though if anything, the waves and the weed seemed to increase."
"Wanting to take advantage of the sunlight, I put the wedge back on. On about the fifth retrieve, right at my feet, I saw a bass coming straight up at the lure. As my mouth hung upon, it hit the lure and dived, stripping off line :-) "
"Funny how I'm always surprised when that happens. I always tell people to expect bass *close* in!!"
"2lb 4oz, 17 inches, weighed at 9:40 am. Unfortunately my camera is one of those pre-digital thingies, so you'll have to wait a while for the JPG." ............
Nice to know the bass like someone!!!! ;-)
Folkestone Warren 2nd Sept.1998
Arrived at the Warren at 5am, and walked down to the Nags Head ........ felt that it was going to be a good day for bassing, based upon what Leon and myself had seen the previous morning.....
High water was due around 8.30am although only being a neap of 5.4M. The weather forecast was good, with hazy sunshine and cloud, Force 2 / calm winds, increasing to a NE 3 by noon. There was still a reasonable amount of weed in the water as the tide slowly rose.
Started off by using a blue/white J9 as there was insufficient water depth to use the J13's ....... picked up weed, almost from the start, a problem that continued half an hour later, when I started to use the larger plugs.
For almost an hour, nothing really happened, save for the ritualistic removal of weed .... my heart was beginning to sink....... then around 6.20am or so, a number of white bait leapt clear of the water, as I retrieved the J13 unknowingly towards them.... a glimmer of hope.......
However, another hour passed, with no hint of a fish, let a lone a bite!!!!!!! :-(
I was seriously questioning my judgment about getting up at 3am to come fishing!!!!
Suddenly
the water erupted infront of me, to jolt me out of my melancholy thoughts...
a mass of white bait was dancing on the water about 25yrds ahead, followed
swiftly by fleeting shadows of pursuing mackerel ........ although I cast
my lure, and indeed changed over rapidly to a Krillete, I had no takers....
8.05am .... much the same thing happened again, although this time the mackerel were being forced to the surface by hungry bass ... every so often shadows, splashes, fish and fry would erupt and melt away all within a few meters squared, and just as soon as they had appeared, they where gone ..... no takers on the Rapala yet again ... in desperation, I cast along the length of the wall in the direction that I guessed they had taken...... bang..... the fish managed to pull line, and the clutch sang .... but not for long... this was a fighting fish, but obviously small ...... soon I landed a nice little bass of 37cm ... photographed, and returned ........
Things again went slack ... I kept casting along the line of the wall, about 20' out into the backwash , and above the line of small concrete vanes that run the length of the base of the apron.........
By
8.30am the wind had dropped, the sea was going calm, and there was no sign
of activity ... in shear desperation / frustration, I cast the J13 straight
out, as far as I could..... no more than five turns of the reel, and
BANG!!!!!!.... the rod bent... and the reel screamed ...... and continued
to scream..... I had to use my thumb to slow the spool as best I could, and
add some extra drag to slow the fish, before I could adjust the reel clutch
... my initial worry being that if the fish dived too deep, it could brush
against the rocks and cut the braid....... after a while I managed to bring
the fish to the surface... a nice looking bass...... no sooner had I laid
eyes on it, than it made another series of lunging dives....... but with
care it eventually came to the net ...... a good fish of 3.1/2 lb ......
took photos and kept it for the pot ... well for Nigel actually.... it's
his birthday on Friday, and he loves Bass ........
8.40 Talked to Chap with an Old English Sheep dog ...... fishes the point off the Black Wall in his boat ....... and we discussed the pro's and cons of plugging ... he told me that he found a 6lb bass at the base of the Black Wall at the start of the week, that had obviously been hooked, and broken the line, and then got entangled... he had it for tea.... I wonder if it was a fish lost by the people I'd meet earlier in the week fishing off the rock there?.. anyway just as he moved off, "The Winkler" and his border collie came over (sorry really must ask you your name)...... had a quick chat, before he moved off, and plugging on his way towards the Black Wall and beyond......
8.55am ..... have a small bass come chasing after the lure, just as I'm bringing it up.... followed by a few rather rude words gracing my lips....
9.00am ... get a hit, but missed it, and find another bass chasing after the lure again, just as it comes out the water......
Half
an hour later and everything is quiet, and so I cast straight out again ....
before I even start the retrieve .. the rod bends, and I meet resistance
.. not a big fish, but a fish none the less..... a few minutes later and
I'm photographing a 35cm bass, before I put it back.....
9.34am ..... I have another good bass chasing after the lure, but it fails to make a strike .... I cast after it , start to retrieve, and BANG...... the reel sings again....... but all too soon I feel a violent shaking and the line drops dead ..... :-( oh well that's the way it goes.....
I continue until around 10am, and decide it's probably best to leave and go to work .... on the way I bumped into a chap called Geff (I think, I need to look it up), whom Karen and myself had met float fishing here last year, although this time he was feathering with his young grandson and his friends.....
Folkestone Warren 4th Sept.1998
Arrived down the Warren to start fishing around 6am .... High water was at 10.15am with a 6.2M tide. The winds were calm, but slowly increasing to SW force 3.
As the tide was still some way out, I decided to walk the length of the lower Apron, flicking out a J9 as I did so...... got nothing but weed ... lots of weed, with big clumps of shredded Laminaria. Walked under the second high apron, and decided to fish from one of the small buttresses at the far end..... again no joy... just weed..... until around 6.50am, when a flash of silver came rushing up towards me, just as I was lifting the lure..... but no sooner had it risen, than the fish flicked it's tail, and melted into the murky depths.....
By 7.15am I moved to fish on the slip way, so that I could fish over the small weed coved boulders and sand, as the tide steadily advanced ........ again no takers.... :-(
I tried a couple of times to fish under the NagsHead, but the cross wind and weed made life too difficult ......
Went down to the Buttresses between the first high apron and the low apron, around 9am or so ....... guess what ..... more weed, although much less than up on the second high apron .... met Geff as I was packing up ... he'd got a jointed plug and spinning reel ... I wished him well, and advised against going to the NagsHead, which was now being splashed badly by the increasing swell of the waves, not to mention the cross wind / weed ........
There were a number of young lads trying their luck, feathering for mackerel, along with an older chap fishing the far end of the apron ...... but again no-one was having any joy.....
Folkestone Warren 18th Sept.1998
Blanked but I'll up load a.s.a.p., once I've written it.....!!!!! ooops.. I need to find the right notebook first....
Folkestone Warren 19th Sept.1998
Arrived at the Warren around 5.45am, and walked down onto the first apron ... the tide was out, and high water was not due until 11.30. (6.5m). The wind was lighter than the day before, around force 2/3 from the SW, with broken cloud cover.
Continued on towards the centre of the low apron and set-up at 6.30am ...... as the tide was out, and the draft shallow, I decided to use a J9 in firetiger ....... 3 casts later, and I'm snagged ... at which point Leon turned up, and made a quick quip about "bottom fishing" ... ha, ha, ha ....... anyway I lost the lure ....... and Paul came down to join us ....
We decided that our best option was to go back to the first high apron, fish on the beach by the elbow (which is less snaggy!!!!), until the water level rose sufficiently to allow us to move on towards the Nagshead.....
Rolled up my jeans, and waded out so that I could have sufficient depth of water to work the lures ..... sure the other two thought I was mad!!!!! I used a J9 (blue and white), Leon looked as if he was mainly using a Dexter Wedge and a CDJ11 (black/white), and Paul, a Toby, and a J11 also in black/white...... Although the draft was shallow, managed to work the lure OK, which was further helped by a low weed loading in the water.... the wind dropped further to a calm, but although the surface was still, we saw nothing in the way of fish activity, at range or beyond!!!! :-(
By 7.30am, the tide was coming in and allowed us to fish off the concrete buttresses, with Leon on the Elbow, Paul on the next easterly one, and yours truly on the one after that ....... by 8.15am however, the spray being generated by the advancing tide was too much for the potions that Paul and myself were upon ... and I decided that we'd go to the second high apron and see what we could do ... as Leon's potion was at a different angle to the wind/wave direction, he elected to remain, and join us a little later.....
8.30am .... Paul and myself set-up on adjacent buttresses in the centre of the second high apron, as the water depth at this point looked to be workable .....
first cast, and thump... I have a fish about 30 feet out..... call to Paul, and start to reach towards the landing net behind me ..... more instinct than anything, just moving it so that I can grab it , should I need to do so ..... but it's obvious that the fish is small, and I lift the rod, and out pops a small bass ...... tried to take a photo with the camera, only to realise that the battery is flat, and it will not work ... not having a good time with cameras at the Mo, having just sent the Digi Cam off at the start of the week to be mended .. having dropped it!!!!! Anyway measured it, against my hand span quickly ... about 11" or so .... chap with the Old English Sheep Dog comes up and has a chat , as I'm putting it back..... yet another person I really have to ask their name .... strange (if not somewhat rude) how I can keep having quite lengthily conversations with someone, without managing to do so......
Anyway, kept going but nothing doing ..
By 9am, the water level had risen sufficiently to change over to using a J13, Leon had by this time re-joined us, and I moved off to the Nagshead, whilst Paul fished off the other end of the apron towards the Black Wall.
As I retrieved the J13, I saw on numerous occasions, white bait jump out of the way of my lure ...... about 9.10, I had a hefty bang on the lure.....and then nothing.. :-(
Paul wandered back towards Leon and myself, and the pair of them used a variety of lures, but seemed to favour the Rapala jointed needle fish ... looks like a nice lure... I may well be tempted to get a couple for next year...... the wind picked up, and got a little choppy, making reading the surface impossible....
10.30am ... Leon gave a shout, that he'd had a good tug on his Dexter Wedge.. but had lost the fish, very rapidly afterwards.... :-(
By 10.45am, Leon had to go ... five minutes later and the water was over-topping the apron .. I got wet feet, and Paul and myself decided to call it a day...
Walked back and met Geff fishing off the Buttresses at the end of the first high apron ..... he'd not caught anything.....
Walked up to the cars and said good bye to Paul ... the mad fool was going to buy bait, sleep in the car, and night fish for bass, and maybe whiting, down at Dungeness ... I thought I was bad!!!!! ;-)
Having fished at Deal the night before, I decided that as there was so little wind, that there was a good chance to fish Dover Breakwater that morning ... I'd looked in on the tackleshops in Dover on my way to Deal, and from the sign boards outside, looked like bait would not be an issue.. I slept in the car (having brought my sleeping bag for just such an eventuality)..... woke-up for the shipping forecast at 5am ..... outside there is not a breath of wind ... however the Met Office shipping forecast was talking of force 3 to 4 winds, rising to force 7 and 8 at times!!!!! .... decided there was no chance that the motorboat company would be going across with a forecast like that, despite the actual conditions locally. Pulled up outside Bills Bait and Tackle in Dover, and thought about what to do .. either get fresh bait and fish the Admiralty Pier, or go for the easy (but probably less productive) option of Folkestone Pier, using the old bait I had ....... the easy option won ......
Arrived just before 6.30am .. there were about 5 chaps already fishing the
elbow ... they'd had a number of pouting and a couple of codling, the best
of which looked around the 4lb mark. I walk on until the old crane workings,
and set-up at Peg 17 (old 22/23), with the flowing wishbone (2/0's) and pennell
(2/0,4/0) rigs that I'd been using at Deal, baited with lugworm only......
6.40am: The pennell rod starts tapping ..... reel-in a pouting of 11"
6.55am: get a series of taps on the wishbone .. try to retrieve, but it's snagged on lost tackle .. eventually work it free, and get a brand spanking new 170g Gemini as a bonus ...... no fish however :-(
7.10am: Get the pennel hooked-up in yet another tackle snag, but pull it free.....
There are a lot of small pouting taps and pulls on both rods.. most of which I ignore in the hope of better fish.....
Walk up to the end of the pier where a lone chap is fishing ... he's not
had a good night ..... only pout from what I understand..... and soon he's
packing up to leave.....
7.20am: manage an 8" pout on the pennell!!!!
7.45am: better pout of 12", again on the pennell.
8.15am: Double shot on the wishbone, with a nice 12" dab, and a small pout
of 8"...
Few new arrivals that go and set-up at the end of the pier
The chaps on the elbow pack-up and move off.....
9.15am: another 8" pout on the pennel
9.30am: Chap at the far end lands what looked like a codling of 3lbplus.. on his first cast... almost enough to make one spit......
More people arrive and set-up on the elbow.....
9.33am: 8" pout on the wishbone.....
9.55am ... get a good solid bite on the pennell, strike, start to retrieve, and hit a tackle snag... this time however, the rig and line part company, and so I decide just to fish with the wishbone with the few remaining worms that I have left..... have a few taps, but nothing solid, so by 10.35am or so, I've had enough and decide to pack-up and go...... the fishing may have picked up towards high water with the tidal run, but I was really ready for my bed and a forty winks ..........
Folkestone Pier 13th Dec.1998
With a forecast of W force 7/8 there was no chance of Dover Breakwater .... talked to Clive in Bills Bait and Tackle about the previous days dismal fishing at the Ad.Pier, and decided to go and fish Folkestone Pier just for the morning and grabbed my lug and rag for the day... picked-up the maddies that I'd ordered from Channel Angling on the way....
Set up around 7.50am: one chap had just dropped a codling before I'd arrived ... decided to try my luck on the very end.... bad move as I was to find out later .. most of the action the previous week had been from the elbow.....
Decided to try the wishbones 2/0 with lug or lug/rag, and have a Christmas tree baited with maddies down the wall for a coalfish... wind seemed quite light .. 3/4... very few white horses....
8.20am .... snagged, and lost the tackle...
8.30am ..... one small velvet crab on the Christmas tree....
9.00am .. another snag, and another lost set of tackle....
9.35am: decent bite and a 12" pouting at 1lb.....
10.30am: snagged .... lost another set of tackle ...... replaced by a pennell...
Pier marshal came around and I handed over my 2 quid...
10.40am: 7" pouting on the pennell...
11.20am: 11" pouting.. on the pennell ....
11.45am: had enough and decided to go home and do some work...... gave what few worms I had left to the chap next to me (whom I'd spoken to before on the Breakwater) .... saw two codling that had been landed earlier that morning ... largest was around 6lb or so ........
The weather forecast was bad .. force 5-7 NE winds, going on force 8/9 ......the reality was more like force 5, but it still meant that Paul, Ant, Karen and myself would be unable to fish the Breakwater ...... picked up the bait from a variety of sources to spread the load.. Ant from Phil Tanners place in Folkestone, Paul from Bills Bait and Tackle, and Karen and mine from Den's in Hythe along with that from Bills and Channel Angling in Dover...
Drove over to Folkestone to collect Tony Swain, said hi to Margaret and Pete and set off for the Pier .... we knew it could be crowded as it was booked for the Folkestone Sea Angling Association Christmas match ...... we fished the section before the elbow, which was roped off for the comp .. a number of anglers were there ahead of us, but we decided to stay and just have a bit of a jolly.....
Set-up around 9.30 ... and used a 2/0 flowing wishbone, and a 2/0 : 4/0 pennell, baited with lug and tipped with rag/maddies as the mood took me....
9.55am: Paul has an 11" dab....
10.05am: Paul has a codling .. all 7.5" of it!!!!!!!
10.20am: Paul has a 7" pouting ... I manage to get snagged and loose a set of tackle, and then the heavens opened .... joy of joys!!! Decided just to use wishbones....
10.50am: Karen has an 8" pout.....
11.15am: Karen has a 9" pout..... Tony and myself have yet to see a bite, let alone catch a fish .... maybe we were casting too far!!!!
11.25am: at last .... 11" whiting ... one of only a handful we saw all day...
11.40am: 10" dab...
11.55am: Karen has a 10" dab.....
12.15pm: Tony lands a 7" pout.... followed a few minutes later by Paul .. sure it was the same pouting :-)
12.35pm: Paul has a double shot of dab .. one of 12" the other 10"......
12.45pm: I get an 8.5" dab....
1.10pm: Paul has an 8" pout....
1.15pm: 10" dab to me.....
1.18pm: get hooked into the rope/railings below the wall ... lost tackle..... in fact this had occurred twice before already!!!!!
1.20pm.... other rod that I'd just cast out starts banging..... bring in another 10" dab....
1.50pm .. get an over-run and birds nest .. recover tackle with Ants help, but decide enough is enough....
2.00pm .. get snagged with the other rod .. pull .. lose another set of tackle ... Karen's cold and Ant's bored .. so we leave Paul to it ... who tells me he stayed for another hour and had 3 more dabs around the 10" mark.....
To sum up ... Day of the Dab..... we didn't see any codling .. well except for Paul's 7.5" wonder!!!!
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