From Paignton Again

[JustMark]

There is something about standing on a quayside at dawn on a summer's day. I was feeling really good this morning as I stood on Paignton harbourside waiting for everyone else to arrive.

The Tuonela looks fantastic after her winter refit. This is a 76 year old Oak boat. As the day wore on, she turned out to be the only septegenarian on best behaviour.

We steamed aout to Berry Head and dropped feathers for Mackeral. In they came, dozens of them!

That's when the problems started. After 4-5 drops bringing up full house each time, I got tangled with the bloke next to me. Badly tangled. This guy was in his 70's and had two hearing aids in. He also mumbled so as to be completely unintelligable.

Problem turned out to be he was using a 3 ounce lead, and an 11ft beach rod. Apart from his hooks flailing wildly over my head, his line was tangling with mine because the weight wasn't enough to handle a 3 knot running tide. While untangling I got one of his hooks in my left hand when he got impatient and pulled his line out of my hands and shouting at me.

It didn't improve. When we got to the mark, I was quick to drop my conger gear. After a very short while I felt a distinct tug. I started reeling in,only to find that although my neighbour had changed to a more suitable rod, he was still using a three ounce weight. Given the fact we were all using a pound and a half by now, you can imagine what had happened again. This time the tangle was a monster and cost me 90 minutes and over 150ft of powerpro braid plus a rig. I managed to get his rig free, and gave him a pound and a half lead from my box.

He shouted at me again and threw it back at me, litterally. I handed it back to him trying to explain the lead he was using was never going to hold. He took the lead and put it in his box.

I waited for him to drop his line before I did, hoping he would be dragged far away from my line. Down went my brand new rig. After 20 minutes or so I hooked a real biggie. It took me ages to get it halfway up, then it felt I was hooked onto the wreck. Every now and then the fish would make a lunge. Then, the line snapped, costing me what I reckoned to be another 100ft of braid and another rig.

Almost immediately, the old boy's gear went nuts. He wound in furiously. After 10 minutes we saw a huge conger, attached to his line by a great big ball of powerpro braid and my rig! As we tried to retrieve both, his 10lb line snapped and the whole bloody lot went down.

He shouted at me again.

At this point, I decided I needed some distance from this bloke before I completely lost my rag. Not easy in a 36ft boat, but I went to seethe in the wheelhouse. I gave up smoking 6 months ago, and that was the closest I have come yet to scrounging a smoke. While I was talking to the skipper, the old boy tangled with two other lines.

In the meantime everyone else was being plagued by Pout and LSD's, not something I've seen before this far out. One guy on the opposite side of the boat landed a conger of about 20lb.

When I retook my position, the old boy had again decided his beach rod was going to get him something. I got a hook graze on the back of my scalp, and, when the inevitable tangle happened again, a hook straight into the back of my right hand as once again he lost his temper, shouted at me and pulled his line as I was trying to untangle it. Luckily, I was able to pinch the skin and bring the hook out the way it had gone in.

Let's just say I gave up at that point and packed away my gear.

Al in all, not the day I had hoped for, but can I have 1.5 points for my first mackeral of the season?

[tjnorton]

Sounds as though he was a know it all and didn't want to listen mark. I have had some great congar trips with him in the past.

tj

[Drew]

Hi all,

Where was the skipper?

Surely he should have been aware of what was happening and intervened PDQ.

We had a similar situation last Thursday on board True Blue, a group of 4 anglers turned up for a wrecking trip with reels filled with mono, need I say it, the tangles were horrific until the skipper sorted it out after the second drift.

There are quite a few idiots about with no boat sense, How many times have you seen an angler fishing for Mackerel with a string of six feathers and a Dexter Wedge as a weight? just in case a Bass may be about, It makes you think, at least with a weight you have something to grab when you bring your feathers in.

Regards

Drew

[pingu]

tough one mark

dave

[Fishing Forum Admin]

great read shame the fishing was hard