Folkestone

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".....

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