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Albert Pier 7th Aug 2002
Map Ref: 647,477
Tide: HW 6.07am (9.4m)
Weather Forecast: Sunshine and light showers. Wind, westerly F3
I’d landed on the Island the previous evening, and after a lengthy search by customs (don’t think they realised what a search of the “FISH MOBILE” was going to be like for them ;-) ), I’d driven round from the ferry terminal to the Albert pier, just to have a quick look … sad or what!!!!.
Anyway there were a lot of people feathering, so I decided that it was probably going to be essential to get there early and “book our spot” ie the stairs, even if the time was less than favourable with respect to the tide …. More a case of sit it out, rather than being prevented from fishing at all……..
So with this in mind, I’d prepared a bucket of broken up bread, and left it to soak over night (I’d brought the 4 loaves with me, just in case!!!), and I got up at 4am the next morning!!!!! Sorted a flask of coffee out, and drove over to St Helier, and the Albert pier….. Arrived around 5.15am, to find a n elderly couple feathering out from the end into the main channel….. Got my stuff out of the car, prebaited the area down by the steps, and set up….
The water was teeming with bait fish of various sizes, swimming in shoals … some of which were very large, given away by the occasional glint and silver flash, when they were not at the surface itself….. bad omen for plugging ….. with so many baitfish around the bass would probably be gorged by 6 or 7am …. But as I was after mullet it didn’t really bother me, but something to bear in mind, should I decide to plug at some later stage in the month….
Started fishing around 5.30am, using a small free running waggler, set with a stop-knot to a depth of around 12 to 13ft with the shot some 16 to 20” from the white painted size 10 hook, baited with flake…. Didn’t make life easy, trying to cast this length of line with the centre-pin, but managed to do so, and paid out the line rapidly after each cast, to allow shot to sink, and the float to cock…..
Over the next two hours or so I had a number of bites, but failed to connect …. No telling what fish where there without hooking into them ….. could have been mullet, but just as easily smelt, or something similar….
7.25am….. see a mullet swim in to the submerged landing in the corner of the steps, nosing around as it did so .. I’d guess the fish was around the 2lb mark, but it continued on past me and the rest of the steps, and back into the depths….. lifted my soul to at least know they were about…..
7.40am ….. another mullet, this time swimming around the pilings … a better fish than the previous one, but again swims off……
7.50am …. My float suddenly went under .. a cracking bite, strike ….. and nothing ….. very frustrating …. Like to think it was a mullet, but who knows!!!
7.56am …… same thing again … whoosh under goes the float …. Strike, but nothing to show for it!!!! :-(
Over the next four hours or so, this pattern of strong bites, and failed strikes, repeated itself, time and time again, almost to the point of madness!!!!! I think the worst part was not knowing if it was mullet or not….. if it was then whilst being frustrating, would also have to be an accepted part of fishing for this species …. But there was the ever growing suspicion in my mind that it was something else such as smelt……. If only I could just connect with one of these fish and resolve the issue……
The other thing that also added to my misery, was the fact that I’d forgotten to put on a long sleeved shirt, and so every time the sun came out, I was forced to cover up using my fleece …. Thus cooking myself in order to avoid being burnt!!!!
11.52am….. whoosh … here we go again …. Strike….. BANG…. I hit home … this was no smelt … the fish went off like a rocket, and I could feel the power as it surged off …… a few seconds later and it powers off again, much, much harder than I’d anticipated …. Start to give line, whilst attempting to maintain a constant tension, but disaster ….. the line goes slack, and I assumed it had thrown the hook … when I retrieved the terminal tackle however, I found that the fish had not thrown the hook, but had snapped the fluorocarbon hook length, at the point were it was tied to the small joining carp ring……
This revelation, whilst exhilarating on the one hand, with the thought of the fish that ripped through the 5lb fluro, was tempered by the growing anxiety and unease, that there was a problem with the tackle, or the way I’d tied the hook lengths, etc ….a thought that persisted, and indeed got worse, the more I watched the float gently bobbing on the waves in front of me…..
I decided to take a few minutes out, and set up the second rod with a self-hooking rig, and drop that down the wall at my feet, just to enhance my chances…….
11.52am …. The rod with the self-hooking rig starts twitching, and gives a couple of bites, but fails to deliver :-(
I also noticed whilst spooning out the ground bait, a number of small fish, that looked like gobies, clinging to the pilings …. Suddenly they would launch themselves at the bread flakes as the drifted by, and then dart straight back onto the pilling…..
1.15pm ….. whoosh, under goes the float …. Strike… Bang, hit home.. YES….. fish moves off, with a series of lunges, and mindful of the events of an hour or so previous, give it line as required….. the fish soon came to the surface….. a mullet in the 2lb range ……. Bring it in towards me and the waiting net…… NO WAY… fish wakes up, and powers off, and down, down, into the depths….. although only small, this mullet had no intention of being landed…… run, after run after run ……. I just can’t seem to bring the fish up .. much to the delight of the on looking kids …. Who also want to know if they can keep it ….. politely tell them that its going back once / if, I manage to land it……
Whilst this fish is dancing on the end of my line, a number of other smaller mullet come along, and start swimming in tandem with the hooked fish…..
Eventually, after about 15 minutes, and with rather tired arms… I manage to get it , into the net …. Measure it (17”), weigh it (2.2lb), take a picture, and slip it back, to find its buddies….. phew….
1.35pm …. No sooner have I baited up, and cast out once again, than the float goes under … strike, an hit home ….. its another mullet … Chap up on top shouts down “ that was quick”, to which I could only agree… after a series of short runs, it pops up on the surface…… yup a mullet, and smaller than the first)….. I’m still aching from the previous fight, and decide to land it, before it wakes up….. which I managed to do …. Measured it (14.1/2”)(and now its starting to wake up.. flipping about making life just that little bit harder) take a picture …. And pop it back .. again explaining to the kids why its better to put the mullet back, rather than keeping it….
2.30pm …….. having arranged with Chris to go down later in the afternoon and fish Fort D'Auvergne, I decided to pack up had go to JFS Sport in Green Street, and buy a tide table and some No4 shot…….
Unfortunately on the way there, I managed to clip a curb stone, and punctured the front near side tyre …… went in and saw Eddie in JFS Sport, while I waited for the AA, got the tide table etc, and then went and waited by the car…… realised how much stuff I had in the boot.. covering the spare, so I started to empty it….. and then it rained…. Why is it every time you breakdown, your misery and woes are compounded by rain!!! Anyway the breakdown chap arrived promptly, and set about changing the wheel .. had extreme difficulty getting the spare out, so I’m really glad I wimped out and called them, rather than try and do it myself….. he saw the gear and asked how long I’d been over on the Island… replied I’d got in the previous night, and that I’d been fishing.. he asked what I’d been fishing for .. told him I’d caught a couple of mullet .. to which he replied “Oh your that advanced then”… to which all I could say was “ yup … just need to work on my driving skills now!!!!!!!”
With the help of Chris later, I managed to get to Tafs Tyres just before 5pm … unfortunately my spare tyre was also damaged!!!!! …… 80 quid later and two new front tyres, we went back to Chris’s place to plan for the weeks to come …… too late, and rather distracted to go fishing down at Fort D'Auvergne that eveneing, and besides which Chris was out of phase as well, having been delayed for hours at the airport trying to getting his two youngest off for their holiday in Wales …….