Catch Report - Ilfracombe - 24th November 2019 (6)

Date From: 24/11/2019 18:30:00

Date To: 24/11/2019 23:30:00

Time of day: Evening

Location: Ilfracombe

Mark: The Pier

Low Tide:

Moon Phase:

Weather: Cloudy with varying wind from the right and face-on

Sunrise/Sunset:

Sea: Murky and choppy with a swell of around 3 feet.

Method: Ledger (homemade up and over rig) | Ledger (running ledger) | float

Bait: Whole frozen medium sandeel, frozen black lugworm | frozen mackerel strips | frozen Mackerel head, frozen whole Scad

Caught:

The Session:

I fished my local pier because the weather had been bad and the forecast was aswell save for a period of relative calm this evening.

When I arrived there was already an other angler there and I set up in the middle of the pier. I usuallly set up four rods but I opted for just 3 this evening.

I set up the distance ledger rod first and cast it around 70 yards straight out with two sandeels on the hook. Shortly afterwards I dropped a float near the edge set at about 15 feet deep and baited with a small strip of mackerel and the finally I set up a simple running ledger with a very large hook and dropped a whole Scad close in to the pier.

It was nearly 8 oclock before I had a bite and landed a fish, which was a small pollock on the float. As with previous years they seem to fight a lot harder over these end of year months and this took almost a minute before I was able to lift it out and I estimated it at around 12 oz. I dropped the float down again, expecting a bite quite soon after but I watched it for almost half an hour before it showed signs of the bait being taken. In the choppy sea, the home-made 3D printed float I was using, made hollow so air was trapped inside, managed to stay above the water well in the largest moments of swell so that I was able to spot a brief bite where the fish let go almost as soon as the float straightened ready to go under. It did this a few times before I seized a moment and quickly but softly lifted the rod hoping the circle hook would take hold as the fish turned. I timed it right but didn't expect a Pouting to be the species that took it because I rarely get them this close in. It began to rain lightly but because of the wind direction was quite uncomfortable to wtach the ledger rod in.

I had another fish soon after which again came on the float rod while I was checking the bait on my distance ledger rod, on which I changed the rig and bait to try for smaller species. I had the float rod btt resting on the stabilising bar of my tripod and the rod then resting on the railing with an eye of the rod just next to the railing, which I believe will allow bites to register on the rod tip but bigger fish will not be able to pull the rod over the railings. The tip on this occasion bent down a little bit a couple of times and the species this time was a small Long Spined Sea Scorpion which characteristically just puffed itself up until I unhooked it.

It wasn't long after when the ledger rod registered a bite. A whiting took my worm bait and showed at least something was out there at a distance. I kept most of my attention on the float rod though especially when I moved along the pier a bit after an angler had packed up. I was able to put the float down where I tend to get more pollock over low tide whenever I fish here. I had another whiting on the ledger rod first though and I checked the conger rod and changed the crab-eaten remains of the Scad to a Mackerel head and dropped it back down again. The rain was showing signs of stopping but then getting a bit harder again and as the wind began to pick up I hooked what was to be the last fish of the night, a Pollock on the float rod. I gave it a while longer before deciding the forecast was not going to be correct and the wind, instead of dropping was getting stronger, and I then packed up.

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