Date From: 11/07/2019 19:00:00
Date To: 11/07/2019 22:45:00
Time of day: Evening
Location: Ilfracombe
Mark: The Pier
Low Tide: 07:46 (2.31m) 20:17 (2.39m)
High Tide: 01:30 (7.89m) 14:09 (7.61m)
Weather: Cloudy and mostly sunny, some wind.
Sea: Mostly clear with just a small swell.
Method: float
Bait: Frozen mackerel strips
Caught:
| Fish | Qty | Lbs | Oz | Bait | Date and Time Caught | Weighed or Guessed | Setup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pollock | 1 | 0 | 3 | frozen mackerel strip | 11/07/2019 20:03:00 | guessed | 1 |
| Pollock | 1 | 0 | 4 | frozen mackerel strip | 11/07/2019 20:34:00 | guessed | 1 |
| Pollock | 1 | 0 | 3 | frozen mackerel strip | 11/07/2019 20:54:00 | guessed | 1 |
| Pollock | 1 | 0 | 2 | frozen mackerel strip | 11/07/2019 21:17:00 | guessed | 1 |
| Pollock | 1 | 0 | 6 | frozen mackerel strip | 11/07/2019 21:48:00 | guessed | 1 |
| Pollock | 1 | 0 | 4 | frozen mackerel strip | 11/07/2019 21:52:00 | guessed | 1 |
| Pollock | 1 | 0 | 3 | frozen mackerel strip | 11/07/2019 21:54:00 | guessed | 1 |
| Pollock | 1 | 0 | 5 | frozen mackerel strip | 11/07/2019 21:59:00 | guessed | 1 |
| Pollock | 1 | 0 | 5 | frozen mackerel strip | 11/07/2019 22:04:00 | guessed | 1 |
| Pollock | 1 | 0 | 12 | frozen mackerel strip | 11/07/2019 22:07:00 | guessed | 1 |
| Pollock | 1 | 0 | 10 | frozen mackerel strip | 11/07/2019 22:14:00 | guessed | 1 |
| Pollock | 1 | 0 | 12 | frozen mackerel strip | 11/07/2019 22:17:00 | guessed | 1 |
| Pollock | 1 | 0 | 12 | frozen mackerel strip | 11/07/2019 22:21:00 | guessed | 1 |
| Pollock | 1 | 0 | 9 | frozen mackerel strip | 11/07/2019 22:25:00 | guessed | 1 |
| Pollock | 1 | 0 | 5 | frozen mackerel strip | 11/07/2019 22:34:00 | guessed | 1 |
| Pollock | 1 | 0 | 8 | frozen mackerel strip | 11/07/2019 22:37:00 | guessed | 1 |
The Session:
I went for a short float fishing session on my local pier but ended up staying longer than I intended due to the fishing being quite good.
I set up on the pier an hour r so before low tide. There were already people fishing along it so I went to the first available spot and set the float around 10 feet deep and dropped it a couple of feet from the edge. I had a couple of quick bites but that was it for around an hour so I moved to another spot. Here I began to get bites straight away. The first fish was a typical sized pollock af a few ounces and it took the float under relly fast. The string of bites I had in the next 2 hours ranged from small dips to even faster takes than the first. The few fish I landed were of similar size and then it seemed to go quiet and I had no bites for half an hour. As the sea level rose and the sun set I adjusted the depth of my float by a few feet, keeping the bait close to the bottom.
When they began again the next fish was noticeably bigger and fought well enough to make me think I might not be able to lift it out, but it was still under a pound so I did manage it easily enough. Several fish after wards were of similar size and a bit bigger and the bites became more frequent. There were even a couple where I was sure the weight hadn't even sunk before a fish grabbed the bait and pulled the float under. Within 50 minutes I caught most of the fish before I ran out of bait. It was typical the day I took 1 mackerel with me for bait, I could have easily used 2.
This was a pretty good session and I am quite glad to have chosen to just float fish as nothing much was being caught by the anglers who were ledgering, though one of them did manage to catch a small red mullet, which I had not seen one of before.
Tackle used (price) [ time since first used ]:
Set up 1:
Rod: Shakespeare Omni Mackerel 10ft 2 piece Fixed Spool (£17.95) [ > 5 years 0 months ] Reel: Lineaffe Carp 60 Baitrunner Fixed Spool (£12.00) [ > 2 years 11 months ] Line: Maxima Chameleon 20lb (£17.99) 600m Hooks: Sakuma Circle 440 4 (£9.24) 50 Hooklength: Maxima Clear 15lb (£4.00) 100m
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