Catch Report - Porlock-Bay - 19th September 2019 (4)

Date From: 19/09/2019 13:00:00

Date To: 19/09/2019 19:00:00

Time of day: Afternoon - evening

Location: Porlock-Bay

Mark: Left hand side of weir

Low Tide:

Moon Phase:

Weather: Sunny with very little wind.

Sunrise/Sunset:

Sea: Flat and clear with tiny waves.

Method: Ledger (shop bought 2 hook flapper with rotten bottom) | Ledger (shop bought clipped down rig with rotten bottom)

Bait: Ragworm | frozen mackerel segments

Caught:

The Session:

I hadn't been to Porlock for a while and I wasn't really expecting much as I haven't had much sucess there but I decided to give it a go, even if just to enjoy the scenery on such a nice day.

I walked a couple of hundred yards along the top of the boulders and walked down to the shoreline almost level with the fencing that is at the top. I had a lot of ragworm to use up from the previous day so I intended to pack the hooks of a flapper rig out to tempt both small and large fish, while also putting out a big bait.

The wind was virtually non-existant and so I was managing to cast even the flapper rig around 70-80 yards without the ragworm coming off. I put the big bait just off to my right, around the same distance. On the flapper rod I was suspecting something was around as the ragworm was coming back shorter than I had put it on and I had a feeling it wasn't crabs. I was eventually given a chance to find out what it was when I saw the rod tip tremble, and I jumped up out of my chair to wait for it to happen again. I double shecked the line, drag and the position of my hand as I hovered it over the real seat ready to grab it when the toip shook again. It did so, but very gently so I didn't react, but then it went again and continued so I grabbed the rod and struck.

The fact that the tip was trembling indicated this was not a dogfish and I expected it to be something small, but didn't really think it would be a Bass, but it was and although it was small it was my first one from here. I rebaited and waited by the rod just in case a shoal of them was around but after 15 minutes or so I returned to sitting down and watching the passers by on the top of the boulders watching me.

As I was beginning to think I was just going to have one lucky fish I saw the tip of my bog bait rod move and then it began to bend round and not stop so I lept up to grab the rod and I briefly felt a weight before reeling in my bait to see that the hook had pulled into the middle because I hadn't whipped it on with elastic good enough. I cursed myself but quickly rebaited and got it back out around the same distance. As it was nearly low tide now I spent some time scouting around and collecting lost line.

I began getting more bites on the ragworm now but nothing I could hook. I suspected them to be smaller bass. Eventually another one rattled the rod tip as if it had hooked itself and I reeled in quickly to see a slightly bigger one appear at the shoreline.

Things went quiet then and I spent some more time looking around the rocks and taking photos but was sat down again when the tip of the big bait rod bent down again. I reached for the rod and as I lifted it I sensed the fish had dropped the bait. I had pulled the bait around a meter or so but left it for a few minutes before bringing it in and seeing the bait had clearly been taken and chewed.

Some Dolphins or Porpoises appeared quite near in, almost within casting range and could have explained the lack of bites after a promising period earlier. I tried filming them for a bit before they disappeared.

Almost 2 hours after the second bass on the ragworm the tip shook again. It was much gentler this time, and after it did so a couple more times I took a chance, lifted the rod and reeled in fast. I was sure I could feel something on the end but when the red colour of the fish was visible I almost jumped up with excitement. Surely it wasn't a Red Mullet£ But it was. Not very big but it was the first one I've caught and it made the session worth it for me. The colouration and visible scales of this fish are very much like a Koi Carp, with just the mouth, double dorsal fins and very large barbules on it's chin making it distinct from the freshwater lookalike.

I then had a couple more bites on the ragworm, as if the fish were coming back but I missed them both before hooking the third one which was a small Conger Eel. I was almost out of ragwiorm now and I had already stayed past the 3 hour window I felt comfortable fishing in without risking losing tackle so I packed up and decided to come back in a day or two and see what turns up then.

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