Patience pays off

Davey · #1 03-08-2010, 02:53 PM

After 2 months of barely catching a thing, I was Banking on 2 marks that should be starting to produce so Friday morning I was down on the beach early digging Lugworm for the evening,managed about 40 big ones. Left home again at 5pm and after collecting a load of King Rag I was set up at the 1st mark by 6.15pm.

High water was at 2.30am Saturday, so the plan was to fish the last hour of the ebb and the tide up till midnight, then move around the headland to the other mark, where I had the 2 schoolies the week before and fish till the 1st of the ebb.

Both rods would be using 2 hook flappers with Lug on one hook and Rag on the other, hooks were strong 1/0 baitholders. After an hour I had the 1st rattle which continued so striking I felt some weight, thinking it could be a flattie, unfortunately it was a big shore crab, hooked in the arse, and he was a grumpy bugger trying to nip me while I unhooked him.

An hour later I had another similar bite struck and again felt some weight but this dropped off 20 yards out, so not sure if it was another crab or a fish.By 11pm I was fishless, despite a few more small bites, none of which were strikeable, so it was time for a move.

Was set up at the 2nd venue just gone 11.20pm, the tide was stil out away but was flooding fast. Well I poured myself a coffee and decided to have a pee, when I looked over to see my rod nodding, not a big bite but the best I'd had so I ruhed over and struck, at first I thought I was stuck as the rod bent into something solid, but then realised this was moving and shaking its head. I took it easy with the fish fighting hard in the shallow water but eventually the fish was flapping in the waters edge, nice sized Bass, which weighed 5lb 6oz.

Photo taken I wadded out and slipped her back and she swam off none the worst for her encounter.
Well that was a good start, finished my Pee lol! rolled a cigarette and read a text on my phone, when I looked back up, the rod I'd just cast out had a major slack line, turning the handle of my Abu 6500 frantically I finally caught up with the fish and it felt another good one, this one fighting even harder in the shallow water, as it neared the shore I saw the line cutting through the inky black water from left to right as fish tried to escape, eventually I landed the fish 20 yards down the beach, again another Bass, almost identical to the previous one going 5lb 1oz.

Again photo taken I slipped her back to fight another day.
Things were looking good, 2 good Bass within half an hour, well by 3pm I'd had one more small bite which I'd missed and that was it, no more fish not even schoolies so I called it a night. A cracking nights fishing though with 2 good fish and a nice starry night.