Catch report - Ilfracombe - 14th September 2016 (6)

Date: 14-09-2016

Time of day: Evening

Location: Ilfracombe

Mark: The pier

Low Tide: 10:54(2.00m) 23:17(1.56m)

High Tide: 04:47(7.92m) 17:12(8.48m)

Time fished from: 18:45

Time fished to: 21:10

Weather: Cloudy but sunny with a small breeze from the sea.

Sea: A little murky with a swell of around 2 ft. Slightly choppy.

Method: Float | float

Bait: Frozen mackerel strips

Caught (weight): 5 Pollack (0lbs 2oz, Guessed) | 1 Pollack (0lbs 6oz, Guessed)

The Session: I popped out for a quick session just to catch a few pollock. I set up a float rod and just dropped the float under the rod tip set at a depth of around 10ft. I was getting bites immediately but most of them resulted in the bait being taken. I was feeding loose bits of mackerel in too and as it was falling through the water I could see the flash of the fish as they went for the bait. Some fish were also coming to the surface to take any bits of mackerel that floated. The float was barely going down as each fish had a go at the bait but I managed four fish here and I moved to the lower part of the pier once it was clear. I set up another float rod with a night float on just in case I decided to stay longer than I intended but I fished it by shining my head torch on it as it drifted from side to side in the tow barely a rod length out right by the water covered steps. Again I was seeing the float move just a small amount as fish took the bait from the hook before I could react and I assumed they were all the small fish again until I hooked one and it was a fish a bit bigger than the others. I had a chat with another angler for a few minutes before deciding to pack up about the time I intended.

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

Set up 1: Rod: Shakespeare Alpha X Travel 11ft telescopic Fixed spool (£16.99) [ > 3 years 0 months ] Reel: Lineaffe Carp 60 Baitrunner Fixed Spool £12.00 [ > 1 week ] Mainline: Maxima Chameleon 20lb (£17.99) 600m Hooks: Sakuma Circle 440 size 6 30 per pack (£4.85) Hooklength: Maxima Clear 15lb 100m (£4.00) Other1: Fladen Pencil Float 210mm (£2.00)

Set up 2: Rod: Shakespeare Omni Mackerel 10ft 2 piece Fixed spool (£16.95) [ > 2 years 5 months ] Reel: Abu Cardinal 176 SWi Fixed Spool (£34.99) [ > 1 years 8 months ] Line: Maxima Chameleon 20lb (£17.99) 600m Hooks: Sakuma Circle 440 size 6 30 per pack (£4.85) Hooklength: Maxima Clear 15lb 100m (£4.00) Float: Fladen Night Float (£2.00)