Catch report - Ilfracombe - 27th May 2016 (14)

Date: 27-05-2016

Time of day: Evening

Location: Ilfracombe

Mark: Capstone

Low Tide: 03:43(1.84m) 15:56(2.08m)

High Tide: 10:07(8.07m) 22:30(8.07m)

Time fished from: 18:15

Time fished to: 22:50

Weather: Sunny and just an occasional breeze from left to right but turning misty later on.

Sea: Virtually flat with a brief period of choppyness and a swell of about 3 ft later on. Very clear.

Method: Float | feathering | prawn trap

Bait: Frozen mackerel strips, frozen squid pieces | hokkai heads | frozen mackerel head, frozen squid pieces, frozen lugworm, frozen peeler crab

Caught (weight): 1 Pollack (0lbs 3oz, Guessed), 2 Pollack (0lbs 5oz, Guessed), 3 Pollack (0lbs 6oz, Guessed), 3 Pollack (0lbs 7oz, Guessed), 1 Pollack (0lbs 8oz, Guessed) | 2 Mackerel (0lbs 8oz, Guessed) | 1 Poorcod (0lbs 1oz, Guessed), 1 Shore Rockling (0lbs 3oz, Guessed)

The Session: I set up the float rod first and baited with a mackerel strip cast it about 15 yards at a depth of about 8ft, later increasing the depth to 13ft and just flicking the bait a rod length or so out. I left the float out while I set up the mackerel rod. I had no bites on the float for a while but had the first mackerel on the fourth cast. At just after 19:30 I had the first pollock and then continued to get bites and manage to catch another 6 up until about 20:50 when I hooked a nice fish that pulled the rod over and with 3 shakes of its head, it came off. Things died down for a bit on the float for about an hour, seemingly coinciding with a change in the direction of the tow of the water to left to right, and I just managed another mackerel on the feathers until at about 10pm I had a few more bites and managed another 3 pollock, with them being the biggest of the session. I had cast out the prawn trap and retrieved it a few times but only having a poorcod after dark followed by a surprise rockling (I cast the trap out but retrieved it only a few minutes later as I had decided to pack up). The rockling brought up the lugworm and squid while I was taking it out of the trap.

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

Set up 1: Rod: Shakespeare Alpha X Travel 11ft telescopic Fixed spool (£16.99) [ > 2 years 11 months ] Reel: Lineaffe SX50 Fixed Spool (£10.00) [ > 3 years 0 months ] Mainline: Maxima Chameleon 20lb 600m (£17.99) Hooks: Sakuma Circle 440 size 2 30 per pack (£5.55) 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 Lure: 3 hook Hokkai

Set up 3: Other1: Prawn trap Other2: 50m cord

Set up 4: