Date: 18-04-2018
Time of day: Evening - night
Location: Brixham
Mark: Breakwater beach
Low Tide: 02:06(0.71m) 14:28(0.73m) 02:45(0.76m) 15:06(0.86m)
High Tide: 08:47(4.95m) 21:05(4.94m) 09:27(4.88m) 21:42(4.87m)
Time fished from: 20:40
Time fished to: 02:00
Weather: Clear sky and very little wind.
Sea: Mostly clear. Waves breaking but getting smaller over the session.
Method: Ledger (homemade pulley rig) | Ledger (homemade 2 hook flapper) | Ledger (running ledger)
Bait: Whole frozen loligo squid | frozen squid pieces, frozen mackerel strips, frozen black lugworm | Frozen mackerel head
Caught (weight): 1 3 Bearded Rockling (0lbs 4oz, Guessed)
The Session: I fished here after the mark further round the coast turned out to be unfishable. I considered walking along the breakwater to fish but as I had been driving longer than I intended and I wanted to try here for big, as well as small, fish I opted for the easy beach mark and quickly began setting up.
I set up 3 of my usual rod and put the main two around 70 yards out, which was just further than the reflections of the lights from the nearby buildings reached. I put a third rod out fairly close to the breaker wall about 40 yards out.
Apart from a small bite on the first cast on the flapper rig things were very slow. I didn't get chance to strike at the fish and there were another couple of bites on both rods that were so gently and quick that I didn't strike at either. It was a bite that showed more movement of the rod tip and showed the fish properly had the bait that I hooked up from, and a welcome Rockling came out. It had taken the squid on the flapper rig, but the worm was also mostly gone. I've not caught many Rockling on rod and line but have had numeress numbers in the prawn trap I sometimes use, so this was a bit of a different experience to me and it felt bigger than some of the dogfish I've hooked before.
The tide was well on its way out now and most casts were coming back with the bait partially or entirely eaten by crabs. The few more bites I had were all on the large squid bait but they were all so gentle I wondered if it was just bigger crabs taking the bait. I didn't hook anything I had a go at striking at and sometimes it felt like the crab was holding on during some of the retrieve. The rod with the mackerel head on produced nothing at all, save for, again, evidence of crabs being around.
At around 01:45 I decided to have one more cast and tried some mackerel on the flapper rig but that too came back partially eaten. I decided to pack up as I might be fishing again this evening.
Tackle used (price) [ time since first used ]:
Set up 1: Rod: Daiwa seahunter Z 13ft 2 piece MFS (£42.99) [ > 0 years 4 months ]
Reel: Daiwa Crosscast S 5000 Fixed spool (£48.99) [ > 3 years 1 months ]
Line: Maxima Chameleon 20lb (£17.99) 600m
Hooks: Sakuma Manta 2/0 (£5.78) 30
Shockleader: Gardner Slinky 60lb (£6.99) 100M
Hooklength: Sunset Amnesia 40lb (£4.50) 100m
Set up 2: Rod: Vercelli Outlander KW 13.5ft 3 Fixed Spool (£33.75) [ > 0 years 1 week ]
Reel: Shakespeare Agility Surf 70FD Fixed Spool (£39.99) [ > 3 years 11 months ]
Line: Maxima Hi-Viz 20lb (£15.42) 550m
Hooks: Sakuma Manta Size 2 (£15.00) 100
Shockleader: Gardner Slinky 60lb (£6.99) 100M
Hooklength: Sunset Amnesia 40lb (£4.50) 100m
Set up 3: Rod: Daiwa Seahunter X 14ft 3 piece Fixed spool (£64.07) [ > 3 years 11 months ]
Reel: Leeda Quicksilver Fixed Spool (£19.95) [ > 0 years 11 months ]
Line: Maxima Hi-Viz 20lb (£15.42) 550m
Hooks: Sakuma Manta Extra 8/0 (£6.75) 10
Hooklength: Gardner Slinky 100lb (£7.95) 100m
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