Stewart 1971
Well-known member
Ok Ok, so I know technically we shouldn't talk about the new cod season until 1 September and I'm a couple of days early but...
Last day of my week off today, and after blanking down Horden on Sunday then blanking at St Mary's on Wednesday (my first two blanks of the year and they came together in my week off
) I decided to head for Roker this morning in the hope of at least catching something.
Got to the pier just before 9am and made my way along until about half way between the last steps and the round end and a decent gap before the early morning Mackerel bashers. Set up the big rod with a two hook flapper, size 1 hooks, baited up with ragworm and cast it out. It wasn't long before I could see a little tap tap on the rod tip, left it to develop and then after a better bite I lifted in to my first fish of the day and a brand new species for me:
My first ever Dragonet. Baited back up, cast back out and 10 minutes later another bite and, like buses, you wait for ever then two come along at once as another Dragonet came up the side.
Next cast i decided to try something different and put some fresh crab on, all was quiet for 15 minutes then a good pull signalled something a little better, lifted in to it and after a short tussle I had my first size (just) codling of the season on the pier:
Quickly got baited up with a bit more crab and again, 15 minutes after casting out another good pull down and another, slightly better fish came over the side:
This was the pattern for the next 90 minutes or so, it was a codling a chuck all taken on crab, I had one more size and another 6 just under. Three of the fish came to the same bit of crab after the fish took just moments after I'd put the rod down (though by the third fish the crab was a bit battered and barely left on the hook
). As the ebb kicked in things quietened down, I did get one lovely coloured codling that must have made it's way uip from the kelp further down the pier (it looked a lot more bronze coloured than in the photo):
After the codling switched off I started getting Coalies, mostly small but a couple of decent ones 30 cm plus; I also had a LS Bullhead on the bait rod. As more Macky bashers started to turn up bait fishing became difficult so for the hell of it I hoyed some feathers on and managed to get a couple of Mackerel out as well though it was no fun on a TTLD and also hard work with a low reel mutliplier.
All in all a cracking days fishing, 9 codling 3 of them size, plenty of coalies, a couple of Mackerel and a new species for me with the Dragonet. Apart from the Dragonet (and of course the Mackerel) all the fish took crab, rag was hardly touched and Bluey completely ignored...
Last day of my week off today, and after blanking down Horden on Sunday then blanking at St Mary's on Wednesday (my first two blanks of the year and they came together in my week off
) I decided to head for Roker this morning in the hope of at least catching something. Got to the pier just before 9am and made my way along until about half way between the last steps and the round end and a decent gap before the early morning Mackerel bashers. Set up the big rod with a two hook flapper, size 1 hooks, baited up with ragworm and cast it out. It wasn't long before I could see a little tap tap on the rod tip, left it to develop and then after a better bite I lifted in to my first fish of the day and a brand new species for me:
My first ever Dragonet. Baited back up, cast back out and 10 minutes later another bite and, like buses, you wait for ever then two come along at once as another Dragonet came up the side.
Next cast i decided to try something different and put some fresh crab on, all was quiet for 15 minutes then a good pull signalled something a little better, lifted in to it and after a short tussle I had my first size (just) codling of the season on the pier:
Quickly got baited up with a bit more crab and again, 15 minutes after casting out another good pull down and another, slightly better fish came over the side:
This was the pattern for the next 90 minutes or so, it was a codling a chuck all taken on crab, I had one more size and another 6 just under. Three of the fish came to the same bit of crab after the fish took just moments after I'd put the rod down (though by the third fish the crab was a bit battered and barely left on the hook
). As the ebb kicked in things quietened down, I did get one lovely coloured codling that must have made it's way uip from the kelp further down the pier (it looked a lot more bronze coloured than in the photo):
After the codling switched off I started getting Coalies, mostly small but a couple of decent ones 30 cm plus; I also had a LS Bullhead on the bait rod. As more Macky bashers started to turn up bait fishing became difficult so for the hell of it I hoyed some feathers on and managed to get a couple of Mackerel out as well though it was no fun on a TTLD and also hard work with a low reel mutliplier.
All in all a cracking days fishing, 9 codling 3 of them size, plenty of coalies, a couple of Mackerel and a new species for me with the Dragonet. Apart from the Dragonet (and of course the Mackerel) all the fish took crab, rag was hardly touched and Bluey completely ignored...
