Date: 31-12-2016
Time of day: Night
Location: Minehead
Mark: White Mark
Low Tide: 13:12(1.79m) 01:25(1.92m)
High Tide: 19:50(9.98m) 08:06(10.07m)
Time fished from: 23:20
Time fished to: 03:30
Weather: Occasional gentle wind. Light rain beginning after midnight increasing to heavier rain after 2am.
Sea: Just a small swell. Tiny waves increasing to about 2ft high and rolling for 20 yards after low tide.
Method: Ledger (Running Ledger) | Ledger (homemade pulley rig)
Bait: Frozen mackerel segments | large squid pieces.
Caught (weight): 1 Dogfish (0lbs 8oz, Guessed), 1 Dogfish (1lbs 8oz, Guessed)
The Session: I arrived later than I had planned due to thick fog for several miles on my journey and when I stepped out of the car the first thing I noticed is the lack of wind and I could not hear the sea despite being so close to it. I decided to set up directly below the path that leads down to the beach and I cast both rods around 60 yards with large baits on. I had the first bite after around half an hour and it was so gentle I decided to leave it but after noticing my lack of focus because I was watching the fireworks across the channel had meant my line had bowed round a lot after the dropping tide had left slack line that was pulled right by the sea, so the bite could have been from a bigger fish I reeled in and found a dogfish on the end. It had managed to swallow the hook despite being quite small. It wasn't much longer before the sand was beginning to show as the tide receeded and when I had moved on to the sand I had the second bite of the night which was another dogfish. This fish must have not been hooked because it let go just as I got it near me. That was all that showed. From 01:30am I had no more bites and after the rain became heavier I cursed the forecast and felt that it wasn't going to stop so not wanting to be uncomfortable on the wet rocks as the tide continued to come back in I decided to pack up, which was about an hour before I had planned to.
Tackle used (price) [ time since first used ]:
Set up 1: Rod: Daiwa Seahunter X 14ft 3 piece Fixed spool £64.07 [ > 2 years 8 months ] Reel: Daiwa Crosscast S 5000 Fixed spool £48.99 [ > 1 years 10 months ] Line: Maxima Chameleon 20lb 600m £17.99 Hook: Unbranded Baitholder 4/0 50 £3.99 Hooklength: Maxima Clear 15lb 100m £4.00
Set up 2: Rod: Shakespeare Omni Beachcaster 14ft 3 piece Fixed Spool £26.95 [ > 0 years 6 months ] Reel: Mitchell 667FG Fixed spool £23.90 [ > 3 years 5 months ] Line: Maxima Chameleon 20lb 600m £17.99 Hook: Sakuma Manta 2/0 10 £2.35 Hooklength: Maxima Clear 15lb 100m £4.00
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