Despte fewer people using this forum, I thought I'd give an update on our most recent trip out, on Saturday, and our first for more than a month due to the horrible winds we've had.
We knew the tides would be big, being Spring tides, but hadn't expected to catch nothing, nor even get a bite for the first 5 hours! True, the water inshore was a really dirty brown when we left Amble marina in the morning, and perhaps we should have gone straight offshore to the wrecks, but there was a big swell running and we didn't fancy slogging against it until the tide changed around midday. We'd come prepared for the murky water with some excellent rag from Tight Lines, a stock of frozen bluey and squid, as well as frozen prawns, but nothing enticed the fish.
We headed up to Seaton Point with the ebb, knowing it would be too fast and bumpy to fish there in such a tide, and uptiding would certainly be out of the question, but we did manage to get some nice drifts due north up to Houghton Stile. Around the Point, it was a fast 1.7 knots, but eased to 0.7 knots further around. We tried various depths, from 20 feet to 70 feet, but couldn't connect.
By now, the seas were subsiding, so we headed out to some wrecks, but they produced nothing. Not even any ling at slackwater. We were getting some nibbles at our big squid/bluey baits, so I dropped down to a sliver of squid on a small hook and landed the first fish of the day - a small pout! This was now our 5th wreck, and by now the seas had flattened considerably and the sun had come out. It was a beautiful afternoon. It was also noticeable how many puffins, guillemots and gannets were still around out here, and the sounders showed baitfish near the surface, but we tried feathers and sabikis in case of mackerel, herring or launce, but didn't get anywhere.
When the tides are so strong, we have found in the past that the inshore reefs, out of the current can be a refuge for the fish, so we duly headed inshore, and within 15 minutes I'd caught my first tommy and 4 coalies. The next hour and a half produced a further 16 codling to me, including several keepers, and a similar number of coalies as well as some pout. Oli had a mix of codling and coalies too, with his best at around 5lb. It would seem the fish are around, but we would need a mid-sized tide to really check it out, and it doesn't look like the weather gods are going to play ball.
We knew the tides would be big, being Spring tides, but hadn't expected to catch nothing, nor even get a bite for the first 5 hours! True, the water inshore was a really dirty brown when we left Amble marina in the morning, and perhaps we should have gone straight offshore to the wrecks, but there was a big swell running and we didn't fancy slogging against it until the tide changed around midday. We'd come prepared for the murky water with some excellent rag from Tight Lines, a stock of frozen bluey and squid, as well as frozen prawns, but nothing enticed the fish.
We headed up to Seaton Point with the ebb, knowing it would be too fast and bumpy to fish there in such a tide, and uptiding would certainly be out of the question, but we did manage to get some nice drifts due north up to Houghton Stile. Around the Point, it was a fast 1.7 knots, but eased to 0.7 knots further around. We tried various depths, from 20 feet to 70 feet, but couldn't connect.
By now, the seas were subsiding, so we headed out to some wrecks, but they produced nothing. Not even any ling at slackwater. We were getting some nibbles at our big squid/bluey baits, so I dropped down to a sliver of squid on a small hook and landed the first fish of the day - a small pout! This was now our 5th wreck, and by now the seas had flattened considerably and the sun had come out. It was a beautiful afternoon. It was also noticeable how many puffins, guillemots and gannets were still around out here, and the sounders showed baitfish near the surface, but we tried feathers and sabikis in case of mackerel, herring or launce, but didn't get anywhere.
When the tides are so strong, we have found in the past that the inshore reefs, out of the current can be a refuge for the fish, so we duly headed inshore, and within 15 minutes I'd caught my first tommy and 4 coalies. The next hour and a half produced a further 16 codling to me, including several keepers, and a similar number of coalies as well as some pout. Oli had a mix of codling and coalies too, with his best at around 5lb. It would seem the fish are around, but we would need a mid-sized tide to really check it out, and it doesn't look like the weather gods are going to play ball.
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