WSF Charity comp. Preston beach, Weymouth.

andy colmer · #1 01-21-2008, 09:45 AM

Having not been out yet in 2008, I was really looking forward to this event.....I have been going stir crazy, either too busy to get out, or blown off by the weather when I have had the time! Nightmare.

Fishing wise, there was one thing I was fairly certain about prior to turning up; given the time of year, it was always going to be a grueller with few fish and that simply catching would get you in the prizes. I did think, however, that a couple of schoolies, pollack, pout, or even a doggie or two might have put in an appearance.

With that in mind, having turned up nice and early, I chose a spot near the end of the reef and went off and collected some slipper limpet in the hope of bagging myself one of the schoolies. Much to Henry's amusement, I went for a 3 hook flapper armed with size 4 aberdeens and made the 'down' trace much longer (to bait with slipper for those bass); the other two hooks I alternated with combinations of rag, lug, squid, mackerel and limpet. Figuring that any fish that were about would be tight to the reef, I set about fishing as tight to it as possible.

Two hours into the match, two lots of lost gear and no bites to show.....I spat my dummy, baited up with a scrap of rag on each hook and lobbed out about 8 yards! 20 minutes later and I had a bite! Tiny, but a definite bite, 5 minutes after that and no further indications so I reeled in to check my bait.......only to find a fin perfect plaice of 15cm! An absolutely beautiful little thing with stunning spots....it will be a cracker when it makes 5lb! That put me in the lead (I had heard about another angler landing a 10 cm scorpion fish) and a smile on my face.

It also prompted Henry to switch to a beaded plaice rig on which he soon has his two cracking wrasse of 35 and 24cm which beat me into 2nd place. Well done matey.....very nice fish and deserving of the win in such tough conditions. Note for future reference.....wrasse like green beads on snoods.

All in all, despite the lack of fish, it was a cracking day out (my first of 2008 and not a blank!) and by having more luck than judgment I was able to walk off with a prize (Shakespeare Salt 12' FS beachcaster).....can't be bad!

The irony of the fact that the two top prizes were going to Hampshire, was not lost on Ian and Deano (the two local organizers) and there was some good natured banter as they handed out the prizes! lol.

All this......and nearly £200 raised for the RNLI and The Teenage Cancer Trust

There is a certain irony to that too sadly. On the same day that we were raising money for those worthy charities.....Gordon Brown was handing over £835 million to India!

(Heard that on the news on the way home).
So much for charity beginning at home.

Happy New Year All.

A.C.