Great day out on Top Cat Weymouth

[Portland Pirate]

Fishing really can be fickle. I just read Drew's report on his poor day out of Weymouth on Sunday, and yet myself and DB,DB went out with Ivan Wellington on Top Cat and had a great day.

Due to the small tides Ivan opted to tackle some of the marks that are normally dificult or at some times impossible to fish due to the tidal flow. We were all warned to bring heavy gear with 2lb leads and braid.

We headed off round the bill and spotted a load of birds working over a shoal of Mackerel. So it was down feathers to get some fresh bait and for us another new species.

They were not in big numbers but 10 minutes of feathering had us enough fresh bait for the day. I was hoping that we could get a Herring but that was not to be.

Our first stop after the Mackerel was the Kidney Bank for a shot at the big Blondes that love the fierce tides that sweep the banks. Within 15 Minutes John the trip organiser was into a nice fish. After a good fight he brought it on board and it weighed a nice 24lb

It was not long before a few more Blondes came onboard with one opting to take out everyones lines. As the tide slackened off the bites dried up. However just before we decided to move to another location I had a quick knock. At first I thought it was a doggy but when I wound into it I knew it was something a bit better. My first Blonde Ray for over two years.

We estimated it to be around 14lb, and it was sent on its way to get a bit bigger.

After a quick move to a reef with a drop of that went from 45m to 60m we were very soon into some small Conger. I managed one of around 18lb with Elliot following closely after with a similar if not slightly smaller one

Much to my delight this was closely followed by one of only two Bull Huss on the boat that day. Lets just say I was delighted. It weighed in about 8lb, much better than your pesky doggies which were remarkable in the abscence.


Ivan was confident that we could bag a few Cod in the last hour or so, so we headed back round the bill to have a go for them. he reccomended using shads and sidewinders. I however was more convinced that a Pirk and muppets would work and sure enough I was right. John managed one on the first drift and another on the second. I also managed the biggest Cod of the day on the same drift. I think it was around 7lb but it put up an unusualy lively fight for a Cod.


I was really pleased to see that Elliot managed to bag himself a Cod on the last drift. I have to admit I was pleased when Ivan said we were calling it a day. I was knackered.

What a great day it was with 5 new species for our ever growing tally.

[fishypaul]

great report PP, you had some lovely fish,certainly a session to remember

[Drew]

Hi Portland Pirate,

Great pictures and an excellent report. Well done.

If you are ever looking for crew members please contact me, I am nearly always available at short notice.

Regards

Drew

[Portland Pirate]

I am sure I can make room on board for a fellow Scotsman :-)

[pingu]

wow what a great day out
cracking blondes there

dave

[Devon Born & Dorset Bred]

Well done mate!

Was a cracking day!

[Norfolkboy]

Well done guys, some cracking fish there

[Greenheart]

Cracking mixed bag there Sean. As with Drew, if you ever need anyone to make up a place, let me know, although I may not be able to get time off for mid-week trips.

[the boss]

looked a great day. well done on the the fish. they are great looking blondes! nice.

[pompy.bass.man]

well done mate