Hayling (Eastoke) Report 24-3-10

scottish_and_mental · #1 03-25-2010, 04:03 PM

Well yesterday was gonna be my first forray of the year due to work and naff weather and as i checked the forecast i thought to myself sod it, i'm going fishing regardless !
After taking a wrong turning and heading towards Southsea ( it's an automatic thing as i fish there quite a bit )

i eventually made my way over to Hayling and arrived at Mannings around 4.00 pm..
With 3/4 lb of Rag,the 100 or so Lug that i'd dug an hour before and a 1lb box of squid i headed round the corner to the chippy and grabbed some tea before i hit the beach.
Tripod up, rods together and rigs out the wallet - oh f**k ! , i've left all my leads in the cupboard at home

...so back i trundled to the shop and purchesed half a dozen 5oz ers - i wouldn't have minded but i used to make leads for a living and have around 250 kg worth here !
Decided to fish lug on a 3 hook clipped rig with size 2 aberdeens on one rod and a 2 hook rig baited with squid and rag on the other.

The weather had been amazing from the time i got up and drove from Salisbury - Sun on my back and Top Gun soundtrack on the stereo and my new 2 piece suit never got a look in the whole day !
After the first 2 hours i had one bite on the lug which resulted in a few minutes of excitement but no fish.
As the night darkened i started to get more rattles on the lug so decided to leave them just a little longer and managed to pull in my first fish of the year !

A baby Whiting but none the less a fish to start my species count for 2010..
More rattles followed on the lug but not even a sniff on the rag ( which to be honest wern't that fresh ) and about 30 mins after pulling in the whiting and with the tide well out on the ebb , by now around 8.30 i got another little tap on the lug and suspected another little Whiting only to reel in this little chap..species number 2 !

By now i was still sat in just a trackie top and there wasn't a breath of wind - i couldn't have been happier and really didn't want to leave !
As i started to pack up the rods the rain showed its head and by the time i'd left the island and hit the A27 the rain was torrential and an hour trip home was looking highly unlikely !
Some guy turned up 10 mins before i packed up and i gave him the 50 or so worms i had left as he'd been to work late and didn't have time to catch the shop

and as i thought back i wondered how a week of total crap weather had left a window of glorious sunshine for exactly the right length of time ( tho not for the poor sod who had just set up and i suspect made a hasty retreat to the back of his transit )..
60 miles of flooded roads later and at exactly midnight i set foot in the house and you know what , if i had the chance i would have re filled my flask,prayed to the weather gods again and headed straight back to the shore !
Not the biggest fish i've ever caught but there are times when you think a day just can't be any more perfect....
Steve

Can i just add my thanks to Rob for his guidance and to Ada for steering me away from the Inn on the beach

maghouse · #2 03-25-2010, 04:49 PM

Well done Steve - gotta be init to winit !

Nice flounder ... made the trip worthwhile in the end - beats working ...

BaggieRich · #3 03-25-2010, 05:19 PM

What a cracking report. Well done Steve, it sounds like you had a great day. Don't cha just love it when it all comes together perfectly? Makes all the blanks worthwhile.....