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A bit of a late start, mainly because I had only just got back from a week away in Norway with work and couldn't face getting up at 6 am to make it out of the marine before low tide.
I was with my son, Oli again and we were not expecting much after the strong winds during the week. We went up towards Boulmer and found that the algae bloom had at least been dispersed by the winds, but instead, the water was pretty murky, with viz about 4 feet. Very little bird activity too, and with water temp inshore still at 11.7 degrees, we were not likely to land any mackerel.
The first hour was a bit slow. I had 4 codling to 2lb during that time on bait, but bites were few and far between. In the early afternoon however, the fish started to show up on the sounder, and sure enough we were both into more codling. Length-wise, they were fairly small, with the biggest fish of the day measuring 50cm, but they were a lot chunkier and heavier than a few weeks previously, and all the bites were very aggressive. We had planned to keep only a couple of fish, but they were attacking the lures and baits with such ferocity that they occasionally they were so badly hooked that we had to keep 5 fish in total.
In the shallower parts around the kelp beds, we were picking up coalies, and again, though small they put up a decent scrap. Wish they would stay and grow to he sizes that you get in the English Channel or in Norway as they fight so hard.
Oli managed to add to his tally of odd "creatures" that he has landed on his metal jig. This time it was a 13 legged bright red starfish!
It was not a day to go wrecking, but it didn't matter. We had the place to ourselves all day, until a Blyth boat muscled in briefly on its way back south. The fish are still there, but not all over and just in patches. Overall, we had caught over 20 codling each, and perhaps a dozen coalies, but with the wind veering due East instead of the predicted SW, we had a wet ride back in to be alongside at 17.30.
I was with my son, Oli again and we were not expecting much after the strong winds during the week. We went up towards Boulmer and found that the algae bloom had at least been dispersed by the winds, but instead, the water was pretty murky, with viz about 4 feet. Very little bird activity too, and with water temp inshore still at 11.7 degrees, we were not likely to land any mackerel.
The first hour was a bit slow. I had 4 codling to 2lb during that time on bait, but bites were few and far between. In the early afternoon however, the fish started to show up on the sounder, and sure enough we were both into more codling. Length-wise, they were fairly small, with the biggest fish of the day measuring 50cm, but they were a lot chunkier and heavier than a few weeks previously, and all the bites were very aggressive. We had planned to keep only a couple of fish, but they were attacking the lures and baits with such ferocity that they occasionally they were so badly hooked that we had to keep 5 fish in total.
In the shallower parts around the kelp beds, we were picking up coalies, and again, though small they put up a decent scrap. Wish they would stay and grow to he sizes that you get in the English Channel or in Norway as they fight so hard.
Oli managed to add to his tally of odd "creatures" that he has landed on his metal jig. This time it was a 13 legged bright red starfish!
It was not a day to go wrecking, but it didn't matter. We had the place to ourselves all day, until a Blyth boat muscled in briefly on its way back south. The fish are still there, but not all over and just in patches. Overall, we had caught over 20 codling each, and perhaps a dozen coalies, but with the wind veering due East instead of the predicted SW, we had a wet ride back in to be alongside at 17.30.
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