jonny_s
Well-known member
After a kind invite from FishermanDaniel to join his party aboard Mistress my Dad and I couldnt believe our luck when the forecast looked to be so good.
We left the quays at 8.00am and found the water outside the piers very flat, not quite a mill pond but very comfortable for fishing
was suprised to see the pier so empty having heard that the mackerel are still about.
We steamed out for a few miles to a mark where we could get some mackerel and I got one one my first drop. Tony had to re position the boat for another run as the drift was very fast and after a few more tries we all started getting good numbers of mackerel. With plenty of fresh bait we headed for another wreck.
I reckon if I had been using smaller hooks and baits I could have caught on every drop. Coalie, Whiting and pouting were everywhere. Using braid I could feel the pests chewing on my macky fillet. I hooked quite a few but also foul hooked many as they chewed up my bait.
As i mentioned the drift was very fast and everyones lines seemed to go horizontal very quicky no matter what weight you used ( Tony held position with engines at times ) With a full boat tangles were common and quite a lot of gear was also lost on the bottom
For the first couple of hours there were no real keepers apart from mackerel and I was worried it was going to be a day of catching undersize fish.
At around 11.00am I caught my first keeper, a ling of around 2.5lb. I was tempted to return it but it had thrown not only its swim bladder but half its digestive tract out its mouth
.
Not long after one of the lads caught a cod of around 6lb and we all thought here we go but it still went a bit slow, odd fish showing every now and then.
After a few tangles I decided to simplify my rig and just used one hook on a 3ft trace and a whole macky fillet It was easier to untangle when the inevitable happened.
I eventually hooked into something decent that felt like it might be a big fish Someone shouted for the net and I was thinking I am going to look a right plonker here when it turns out to be a small coalie foul hooked or something. A nice sized ling appeared at the surface, was promptly netted and lifted on board. I borrowed Daniels scales and it was a shade over 10lb It was also weighed several hours later and was just a shade under
Another guy from NESA Gary ? caught what looked like a decent Cod and he also had a nice sized Ling. Not sure what bait caught most of his fish but I saw him using bait elastic on mussel frequently.
Squid and Mackerel seemed to be catching but I saw nothing on shads. My Dad and I both tried to no avail. I dont recall anything taken by anyone on them.
Its funny but the best fish seemed to be caught nearer the shore than on the far off wrecks. There were plenty of mackerel showing at the last stop just a mile or two out from the piers.
No Cod for me but I ended up with 4 Ling at 2.5, 5 , 7 and 10lb My dad kept one Ling which weighed at 7.5lb
Fishing was spoilt by a big tide but i think we all had a pretty good day out. It was a lot cooler out at sea but brilliant for the time of year. It was also a pleasure to meet Daniel, his mate Gav ( who is on my sons Uni course, small world) and Gary from Nesa.
The mackerel and abundant coalies,whiting etc meant we were kept reasonably busy on what was a relatively quiet day. Was expecting at least a few Cod.
My first double.:
Big thanks to Tony for tirelessly helping with the tangles, saving our fingers from braid when snagged and finding a few fish on a difficult day.
Thanks for reading
Jonny
We left the quays at 8.00am and found the water outside the piers very flat, not quite a mill pond but very comfortable for fishing
was suprised to see the pier so empty having heard that the mackerel are still about.
We steamed out for a few miles to a mark where we could get some mackerel and I got one one my first drop. Tony had to re position the boat for another run as the drift was very fast and after a few more tries we all started getting good numbers of mackerel. With plenty of fresh bait we headed for another wreck.
I reckon if I had been using smaller hooks and baits I could have caught on every drop. Coalie, Whiting and pouting were everywhere. Using braid I could feel the pests chewing on my macky fillet. I hooked quite a few but also foul hooked many as they chewed up my bait.
As i mentioned the drift was very fast and everyones lines seemed to go horizontal very quicky no matter what weight you used ( Tony held position with engines at times ) With a full boat tangles were common and quite a lot of gear was also lost on the bottom
For the first couple of hours there were no real keepers apart from mackerel and I was worried it was going to be a day of catching undersize fish.
At around 11.00am I caught my first keeper, a ling of around 2.5lb. I was tempted to return it but it had thrown not only its swim bladder but half its digestive tract out its mouth
.Not long after one of the lads caught a cod of around 6lb and we all thought here we go but it still went a bit slow, odd fish showing every now and then.
After a few tangles I decided to simplify my rig and just used one hook on a 3ft trace and a whole macky fillet
It was easier to untangle when the inevitable happened.I eventually hooked into something decent that felt like it might be a big fish
Someone shouted for the net and I was thinking I am going to look a right plonker here when it turns out to be a small coalie foul hooked or something. A nice sized ling appeared at the surface, was promptly netted and lifted on board. I borrowed Daniels scales and it was a shade over 10lb It was also weighed several hours later and was just a shade underAnother guy from NESA Gary ? caught what looked like a decent Cod and he also had a nice sized Ling. Not sure what bait caught most of his fish but I saw him using bait elastic on mussel frequently.
Squid and Mackerel seemed to be catching but I saw nothing on shads. My Dad and I both tried to no avail. I dont recall anything taken by anyone on them.
Its funny but the best fish seemed to be caught nearer the shore than on the far off wrecks. There were plenty of mackerel showing at the last stop just a mile or two out from the piers.
No Cod for me but I ended up with 4 Ling at 2.5, 5 , 7 and 10lb My dad kept one Ling which weighed at 7.5lb
Fishing was spoilt by a big tide but i think we all had a pretty good day out. It was a lot cooler out at sea but brilliant for the time of year. It was also a pleasure to meet Daniel, his mate Gav ( who is on my sons Uni course, small world
) and Gary from Nesa.The mackerel and abundant coalies,whiting etc meant we were kept reasonably busy on what was a relatively quiet day. Was expecting at least a few Cod.
My first double.
:
Big thanks to Tony for tirelessly helping with the tangles, saving our fingers from braid when snagged and finding a few fish on a difficult day.
Thanks for reading
Jonny
Last edited:
plenty of mackarel, and a double shot of nice size coalies that went back in.
! 
