Blyth pier 24 Jan

Took advantage of a bit of free time yesterday and tried Blyth pier again from about 10am until 3pm. High water was about 2pm.

After using only rag and squid so far in my new fishing adventures, I decided to try something different and bought some frozen razor and mussels. I also used the last of my squid from the other day.

I had no bites at all for the first few hours, but about 2hrs before high water I started to get loads of little knocks - every minute or so, but nothing took the hook at all.

There didn't seem to be much gling on at all, judging by the glum looks from the other lads on the pier, but then one of the guys next to me pulled in a nice whiting.

Most times I checked the bait it looked untouched despite all of the bites. One time I pulled in to re-bait and found only the elastic left - those nibbles must have been crabs after all...

So a bit later I wound in to re-bait again and thought I was going to lose my gear as it was so badly snagged. It started to move though with my rod bent double, and although I knew it was a snag, it didn't feel quite right either.
I could feel something moving, and as it broke the surface I couldn't work out what I was dealing with.
I'd snagged somebody else's lost gear. One end was wrapped around a 10ft length of thick rope and kelp stalks, and the other end had this beauty hooked on it!

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Short spined sea scorpion, about a foot long. It was fine, and once unhooked was released unharmed. It can only have been hooked for a few hours - maybe a day at most I reckon, as the bait was still on the hooks!

So if anybody lost some gear off the bend at Blyth pier recently, I think I might have found it - thanks for the fish.
The rig was a wishbone with a 5 or 6 oz grip lead. Green beads and black or grey mono line of about 50 or 60 lbs I reckon. Sound familiar, anyone? The lead is in the pic - it has a flat end. Not seen one like that before.

After all that excitement I caught a dab too. Unfortunately it had swallowed the hook and there was no way I could get it out. Dispatched humanely and returned to the sea to feed the next catch.

Thanks to the lads that helped me to untangle the snag - hope the left over bait was useful!
 
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looks like the lead weight has been used for boat fishing, bouncing up and down on hard ground, why it has grips on is a bit of a puzzle ??
 
I wonder what the record is for a Scorpion fish. I might have hung on to it until i found out.
I have never seen one that big.
Mick.
I,ll pm Alan Charlton.
 
I didn't realise it was so unusual. Wish I'd measured it now!
Fantastic looking fish though - beautiful. It's great to know that there is such interesting stuff just on the doorstep.
Can't wait to get back out again.
 
Good size granny fish.
When flatties are deep hooked cut the hook off, at least they get a chance of surviving. They are pretty hardy fish and usualy go back.
 
Thanks - that's a great tip. I suppose that the hook will rust out pretty quickly too.
I really didn't want to kill it but couldn't think what else to do, and I had been trying to get the hook out for so long that I don't think it would have survived any way. I'll know what to do next time.

I have started to crimp the barb down on my hooks when I remember - I am sure I'll lose fish because of it, but I don't like damaging the ones that I'm not going to be able to eat.
 
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