Folkestone

Folkestone Warren 24th April.1999

The alarm went off at 3.15am ..... and I have to confess to being VERY close to just rolling over, and going back to sleep ..... but a little nagging voice inside of me, persuaded me, that I'd only waste the day wondering what it would have been like .... so I decided to get up and give it a go .. even if the rain was drumming against my windows etc.....

Anyway ... arrived down at the Warren just after 5.15am ... and I walked down to the second high apron to commense fishing at 5.30am ... a light drizzle was falling (as it would for most of the morning), being blown by a light wind, around force 3 from the SW..... high water (neap of 5.4M) was due around 7am.

I decided to take the new Carp rod, that I'd brought from Marsh Tackle the previous week and give it a work out ... this I complemented with a Mitchell 300 loaded with 20lb braid, and a blue/white J13 Rapala......

The water was relatively clear, with a little MayWeed ..... from the first cast I could see white bait in the water, that leapt away from my lure as it approached them....

5.40am ... thump .... a fish hits home ...it's gone for a head strike on the rapala.. it's not very big, and I'm able to lift it out of the water , .... 13" bass .. photograph it, and pop it back.....

6.10am .. more bait fish on the surface ... 10 minutes later, and a small swirl in the water in front of me, coupled with the frantic jumping of white bait, betrays the presence of a predatory fish .. which I'd like to think was bass, although garfish are now being taken from Samphire Hoe .. so who knows....

6.30am ... have a sharp tug, as a fish hits the Rapala .. but fails to connect  :-(

6.50am .... bang ... this time a fish connects, and makes a series of short burst dives .. again not a big fish, but a bass, none the less ... all 16" and 1.1/2lb of it ..  and again favoured the head strike on the lure.... photograph it, and release it...

7.00am .... cast out along the same line as I did for the last fish .. and just as the lure reaches my feet, the unmistakable flash of silver, that are the sides and belly of a bass, dive away, back into the depths....

7.33am ... another hit .. another flourish of activity .. and again a small school bass of 14" ....... this time falling to a tail hit on the Rapala...

7.40am .... my heart stops again,  as a fish its the rapala ... but only for a fleeting moment, as it fails to make contact :-(

8.20am .... tide is well on the turn, and I'm starting to think about moving off, may be down to the buttresses of the 1st apron .. when thump .. I'm in again .. surprise surprise .. another schooly, head shot to the rapala ... this time of 15" ... photograph it and return it ...  all these head/body shots makes me think that the bass are hungry.. rather than just playing chase, as they so often do...

8.38am ..... cast along the wall ... only to see the top section of the rod fly off and clatter on the steps .. obviously worked loose, from all the casting, and I'd failed to notice ... slightly chipped the end of the ferrel section of the rod :-(

9.00am .. decided to try the 1st apron as the water was getting to low .... had a play, but hampered by little water, and stiffening cross-wind .. by 9.30am .. I'd had enough, and decided to call it a day ..... with luck the larger bass should start to move in over the next few weeks .... just hope the netters give them a chance :-(

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