Catch Report - Ilfracombe - 6th December 2019 (12)

Date From: 06/12/2019 16:20:00

Date To: 07/12/2019 23:30:00

Time of day: Afternoon - night

Location: Ilfracombe

Mark: The Pier

Low Tide:

Moon Phase:

Weather: Overcast with some light rain and wind from behind.

Sunrise/Sunset:

Sea: Fairly murky with a swell of around 4 feet.

Method: Ledger (running ledger with rotten bottom) | Ledger (running ledger with rotten bottom) | Float | Prawn trap

Bait: Half Frozen Mackerel, Frozen Garfish segments | Frozen Mackerel Strips

Caught:

The Session:

Two of us met up to fish the pier primarily for Conger Eels. I also fished a float rod to see if there was anyting about close in.

We arrived a little early and the lower part of the pier was not yet clear so we took our time getting our equipment ready. Once the pier was clear we went down and Tony went the furthest left, while I set up just to the right of the lower steps and railings.

We both fished two rods for Conger Eels. I tried some Garfish for bait and also Mackerel heads and tails. Tony also tried Squid and Cuttlefish. I set up my float rod aswell and just dropped the mackerel strip near the edge with the depth set at around 14 feet.

It took a while for any of us to get a bite but my confidence was kept high even if just because Tony's ratchets occasionally made noises which hinted if it wasn't the largish swell, then something was occasionally having a little go at the bait. Eventually, Tony had a better bite and after giving the fish a while to take the bait properly, he struck and had something on. It was somehow managing to hold itself down and Tony held the rod up to keep the pressure ion for several minutes before the fish released its grip and came to the surface. I think we were both a little shocked that it was only small given how much it managed to resist the pressure Tony put on it.

Sometime later while just wandering around the pier and chatting I noticed the line on one of my Conger rods was quite slack so I took the rod and wound in the slack line, gently felt for some movement but didn;t feel anything, but I decided to strike anyway and as I did I felt a solid weight on the end for a moment before it then slipped and I could feel a Conger Eel on the end. It came up quickly and I unhooked and weighed it which showed it to be 4lb 1oz. I then put it back, forgetting to photograph it. I rebaited and dropped the bait in the same place, just a couple of feet from the edge of the pier.

A while later I put out a prawn trap filled with some old squid, sandeel and mackerel. I had no bites on the float up until this point and I hoped the smell would attract some fish. It eventually seemed to work as I had a bite which came from a very small Pollock. I had two more soon afterwards, but these were bigger and I hoped I would have more bites to give me something to do while waiting for more Conger Eel bites. There was a gap of half an hour or more before I had any more fish though and I checked the prawn trap in the meantime to find some Prawns and a crab inside.

Then I had some more Pollock as Tonys reels every now and again alerted us to the possibility of something still having a little go at his baits. I also had a Rockling in the prawn trap, which was small, but was the first I'd had in a while. Then, I had more pollock before Tony had one better bite which took maybe a yard or two of line before looking like it was going to make off quite hard but suddenly dropping the bait. We were both a bit dissapointed at that but carried on, still with some hope. I had a pollock on the float which was a nice size to use as livebait so I put that on one rod and dropped it near the edge.

Other people were fishing the pier by now and the wind had increased in strength a bit and we had occasional rain. It soon became time to move to the upper pier because the swell was threatening to begin flooding over the pier earlier than it usually would. So we both dropped our baits over the edge of the upper pier, down around 30 feet into probably around 10 feet of water below.

I was about to have one of my least favourite moments in fishing. The rod with the live Pollock on was close in and my other one was a few yards out. Tony had done the same with his rods. I was trying the float but not getting any bites and I had the prawn trap out along the pier out of the way. I commented that the Pollock was making the tip of my rough ground rod move a bit and I saw the line angled over towards Tony, but it didn't click that something might be up. Then Tony commented how his line was also going to his right and he struck. I saw my rod tip moving more so I struck aswell. Tony said he could feel a fish on the end. My bait felt stuck fast and after some moments of peering down the edge we figured we were tangled. Eventually I pulled to snap my line, then somehow Tony was able to reel in and brought my line and hook with him. No Pollock, nor Conger Eel was on the end. Tony said he reckoned it was a fish that took the live Pollock. Thinking about what I saw with the tip movement and everything I was sure it had too. No point in dwelling on a stupid lack of reaction though so it was back out with another Mackerel head until the time when we decided to pack up.

Although we both lost what could have been good fish, at least we had one each and I hope I'd introduced Tony to a venue he will be happy to fish again for Conger Eel.

Tackle used (price) [ time since first used ]: