Folkestone

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  (... 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 ... 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......

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