Isle of Wight - August bank holiday 2011

[barbelblanker]

Well there aren't any pictures sorry.

Didn't miss much if you are looking for pictures of huge fish.

Being so far inland though it is always great to be by the sea.

We were over for five nights on a family camping holiday so it was a case of fish when you can really. So it was a bank holiday friday and saturday.

Went to Scotties in Sandwon for some excellent ragworm rather than dig them, mostly as a time saver but also because I didn't have Dan the Rag digging man with me this time and I knew I;d make it ten times harder for myself.

So friday night was a lazy night. Wander down the end of the slope from the Whitecliff Bay holiday park (we were next door to it), to find the tide pretty much already in . So it was a case of cast off the wall and just see what turned up. Dan leant me his Slosh reel as I had said I didn't use multipliers because they were so hard to use. Wrong! I am getting at least one, probably two of them next year. The only problem I really had was with the Fixed spool reel and the old problem of the bale arm slamming shut mid cast. SNAP!

First night was a three hook scratching rig on one rod and a one hook flowing 2/0 trace on the other . Both hurled out to the massive range of probably no more than 60-80 yards.

It did rain but I'd bought a load of cans of spotty duck so it was an ejoyable night. caught 2 school bass and two pouting, one more bait size than a fish.

Next night I became as popular as hell with the family when my response to "let's go to St Helens fair" was met with "bugger tht I'll miss the tide.". A few more cans (only 4 this time) made it's way in to the bag and I eventually went down to the beach in time to walk all the way left to the start of the rocks at Whitecliff (no car see, it was in St Helens AND I had four cans....not doing the drunk driving thing, nope! No!). Set up the bass rod with the single hook flowing trace and the other with a simpler two hook rig.

Noticed that the one rod was vibrating rather than knocking, reeled in and there was a fish. It did this everytime time there was a fish on.

About three hours or so and it was two school bass, two pouting , a blenny that had swallowed the worm and the trace line but wasn't hooked and my first shore caught ray. Sort of brown in colour with dark spots.

The next day I recovered some of the tackle I had lost only to find my left hand rod had probably been sat high up on a rock ledge. I knew that low tide recce was a bit rushed the previous day.

Oh well that's it for another year. We are hoping to get over for a bit longer next year as I love the Isle of Wight and Whitecliff bay is beginning to become a favourite fo rme as I can spend time with the family and walk down to fish at lights out AS well as enjoy a can or two without worrying too much about breaking my neck (rocky end was backed by a shingle beach).

[pingu]

sounds good to me
well done

dave

[SIMPLE MAN]

Well done mate nice report and all the family happy too

[cod]

nice one mate great read aswell