Catch Report - Brixham - 14th September 2019 (25)

Date From: 14/09/2019 13:05:00

Date To: 14/09/2019 19:55:00

Time of day: Afternoon - evening

Location: Brixham

Mark: The Breakwater

Low Tide:

Moon Phase:

Weather: Sunny with a small amount of wind from behind.

Sunrise/Sunset:

Sea: Clear and choppy with a small swell to begin with but increasing to around 3 feet later on.

Method: Ledger (shop bought 2 hook flapper with rotten bottom) | Float

Bait: Live ragworm | live ragworm

Caught:

The Session:

I went for another session from Brixham Breakwater but this time I met up with Bob. I think Bob was hoping to at least catch a Cuckoo Ray for a species hunt he is doing. I was hoping for any of the wrasse, but bigger than I've caught previously.

I stopped off at the tackle shop by the harbour and bought 1lb of ragworm. I had hoped to get 2lb because last time I ran out when I bought 1lb, but the shop only had 1lb left which wasn't already ordered. With this in mind I decided to only use two rods but also to get some blow lugworm as backup bait.

I was lucky to get a parking space as soon as I entered the breakwater car park which kind of made up for the delay in arriving at Brixham and also the wait to park in the town car park when I went to the tackle shop. I was beginning to think it is a day where things are just going to go wrong for me after the journey took me over 2.5 hours when it should have been around 1.5 hours.

Once I had put outside the car everything I thought I'd need, including an LRF rod just in case, I opted to take it all on a trolley, a cheap trolley that cost me less than £10 but is fine for flat ground use. I walked up to the same area I fished last time and began by setting up a 2 hook flapper and casting it baited with ragworm, around 6o yards just to my left (this was to avoid a snag that I lost tackle in last time and which I thought was right in front of me).

As with many sessions here I had a bite within 30 seconds of casting out. The tip shook a few times and I hesitated to strike hoping for a better opportunity. But the bite stopped. I reeled in a few minutes later to see both hooks with barely any bait on.

Back out it went, with more worm on this time. I began setting up my float rod and rather poorly kept an eye on the ledger rod tip. A couple walked past and stopped to ask me some questions and as I was answering someone walked past me, on the plinth and also asked how I was doing. As I looked up to him I saw my rod tip bend round, and back, and round again. Something quite big had taken the bait maybe, this wasn't a bite I'd had here before. I think I surprised all 3 people a bit as I jumped up from my kneeled position and grabbed the rod. There probably wasn't much reason to strike, but I did anyway. I'm sure the fish hooked itself though. I reeled in fast and kept it out of any snags and soon landed what looked, to me, like a nice sized Ballan Wrasse.

Things went wrong a bit here. I panicked and couldn't unhook the fish quickly enough. It was deeply hooked and I had to cut the line. Other people stopped to look at the fish too and I wanted to weigh it so I fumbled around in my box for the sling and scales. Then I needed to put the fish back, but the water level was low and I feared not getting it back in the water. Another angler took the fish from me and put it back the other side of the breakwater but it didn't swim off. Unfortunately it had died. Obviously I felt bad but the people comforted me a bit by all agreeing the seals or something else will have it for food. I was quite sure it was my biggest to date, or my second.

No bites followed immediately after recasting and Bob soon turned up with a rod, set up casually and set about showing me again how to pull out fish at a constant rate. Bob fished with a light ledger rig and also float over this session and caught more than me. A couple of seals were playing behind us at one point so I took a few photographs of them before returning to the fishing. I began casting the float out like I have before, around 6 feet deep and 20 yards out so it was just past the weed. I soon had a small Pollock, while Bob had had a couple of Pollock and a wrasse. I was spotting some bites on the ledger rod but nothing to strike at, until another one pulled the tip round far and was unmissable. Or so I thought. I grabbed the rod and knocked my tripod off the side of the plinth onto the ground behind us. Bob helped me get it stood back up as the line had caught round it and in the panic I couldn't figure out what I needed to do, especially as I didn't know if the fish was hooked or not but it felt like I was at least snagged.

Nothing was on the hook so I recast. Shortly after, it was as if I was offered a consolation with a wrasse of around 1lb. Then my catches began switching between float and ledger for most of the rest of the session. Bob just continued to pull fish out on the float, then by ledgering, as if there was a queue of fish in front of him. At one point he caught a Bailons Wrasse which counted towards his species hunt. He never got his Cuckoo Wrasse, but he was very happy with this fish.

On the ledger I decided to try lugworm on the bottom hook and not long after casting a very tiny but consistent shake of the tip showed and I pulled in a Dragonet which spiked me twice and drew a surprising amount of blood. Respect earned, I put it back and was torn between wanting another, and also not.

40 minutes passed until I had another bite and it came again to the ledger rod. A pretty big one again and whatever was on felt bigger. I gave no slack as I reeled in but still momentarily got snagged but managed to free it. As all of the rig appeared I saw how I may have been lucky to not have lost the rig and fish as I had two on, a big Wrasse and a small Pollock. This Wrasse was bigger than the last and now the biggest I've caught and I was thanking the Pollock which I was sure helped me to not be badly snagged by taking the other bait and preventing my hook from joining the weight when it caught on something.

So with this Wrasse weighed and showing 1lb 13oz, I continued but lost some tackle in a snag and by the time I had set up again my float had drifted in close into the weed.

I reeled in the float and found a Goldsinney Wrasse on the hook. Bob had already had one or two so I was glad to have caught one too but not so pleased to risk snagging in the weed close in again.

More Wrasse showed and so did another Dragonet. I managed to avoid a deep spiking with this one, but it still got me with a small cut. When the tow of the sea had switched direction a mackerel featherer who had set up along the breakwater a bit crossed my ledger line and so I recast in front of Bob a bit intending for the weight to have drifted in front of me by the time it hit the bottom, but I miscast and it ended up in front of Bob. As I said of my miscast the tip began shaking a lot and I struck to find a bigger than usual Pollock on the hook along with a small Pouting. I'm sure it must have taken them both all of 20 seconds to take those baits.

It was starting to get dark now and I was only expecting more Pouting, so when I hooked a small Poorcod I was pleased to have another species, even if it did take the bait on the ledger when the float would have been preferred. Bob had gone now after putting me to shame with his tally and that he had also caught some Corkwing Wrasse, and as it began to feel colder I thought about packing up myself. The last few casts produced a couple of Pouting, with one being around 4oz, the biggest one of that species.

I think that fishing in places like this breakwater having company is a good thing because the fishing is not anything like the hard slog that happens on the surf beaches where you are pretty much involved in the fishing and don't have time to talk or be away from your rods. We had a good laugh over the afternoon and Bob helped my interest in this venue to build again after almost being put off the last time with the problems with parking and the lack of fish at the start of the session. I hope to get another session in before the end of the year but also have others I want to try so I will have to see.

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