Catch Report - Weymouth - 29th June 2021 (4)

Date From: 29/06/2021 13:00:35

Date To: 29/06/2021 16:00:47

Time of day: Afternoon

Location: Weymouth

Mark: Portland Lighthouse

Tide Times:

Moon Phase:

Weather: Overcast light clouds, gentle wind from right to left.

Sunrise/Sunset:

Sea: Clear and a little choppy with a swell of around 1 foot.

Method: float

Bait: Live King Ragworm

Caught:

Session and Lifetime Statistics:

The Session:

This was my second session of my fishing holiday and the only session where I intended to take a roving approach.

I arrived at the car park by the lighthouse and took a walk along the shore to the left to see what spots there were near by. Other people were fishing right by the lighthouse but none further away. I saw what I wanted to be my first spot and went back to fetch my tackle.

My rucksack was filled with the two tubs I have my float fishing gear and my LRF gear in. They are two food tubs both just big enough to even fit the reel that I use for each method in. This is so I know everything I need except the rod is in the tub so when I leave the house to try one method all I have to do is grab the respective tub and rod. I also took my usual float rod and my LRF rod, and a drop net just in case.

The first spot required a little bit of a climb down to almost a flat area level with the current sea level. I was able to find natural steps down. I set up the float rod and set the depth at around 8 feet first and cast the float as far as I could. It wasn't long before it became apparent I was fishing over large rocks and areas of kelp and so I moved around a bit to try to find some deeper and clearer areas. After numerous casts, which was required due to the tow in the water causing the float to travel to my left a lot I decided to move. The water level was dropping and more rocks were becoming visible under the water. The next spot I stopped at was a high up with around a 15 feet drop to the water. I could see the bottom in most places and occasional patches of weed so I cast near some weed and waited. The float here drifted gradually to the right and as it did so it dipped gently and I thought it was catching on rocks or weed when it went under sharply but to briefly for me to react to. I was sure there were fish around, but how big was anyones guess. Giiven I could see the rocks under the water I was sure any big fish would just be visible too so I guessed something small had taken the bait. So I cast a few more times and each time the float dipped the same amount at which I didn't strike until on one cast I decided to just chance it even though it felt too late. I could feel the fish so I pulled it quickly away from the weed and was able to quickly lift it up to unhook and photograph it. It was far from the large fish I was hoping for but I was glad I had something.

I continued to fish from this high spot for a while. It was a large flatish bit of cliff that jutted out to become one side of a kind of rocky cove. I went to the very end of this rock and saw there was a hole in the kelp close in and dropped the float down and watched the ragworm sink out of view. After a few moments the float dipped as it did in the other spot and several times I tried to hook what it was but failed and eventually I decided it was time to move again. I could see another low expanse of rock level with the current water level so I walked around to that.

At this spot I was able to climb down natural steps again and found a bit of water to cast to that looked free of weed. It was very difficult to tell though and several times I found the float sliding under as the hook caught in the strands of weed. What I found here was that the weed always broke off when I pulled the line back, unlike other marks I fish where a snagged hook can be a guaranteed float loss. There was one moment though where the float movement was definitely caused by a fish as it was too quick and didn't follow the rise and fall of the sea as the swell cycled towards me. I missed it though and had to cast back to the area a few times to tempoted more bites until I hooked a fish on the fifth attempt. It was a Corkwing Wrasse, slightly bigger than the sizes I get elsewhere but still not very big. Once it was returned I tried closer in dropping the float close in another hole on the kelp. To my surprise the float shot under and I lifted the rod to feel a fish on and I lifted another Corkwing out of the water, slightly different in pattern and colouration but similar size.

The tide had dropped a lot now and I could see more and more kelp on the surface. I tried a few more casts here and managed to get one more fish before I considered moving again but the realised my parking needed topping up or I needed to go. As I hadn't had the busy session I had hoped I'd have and because I felt I was fishing the wring tide as I should be fishing a rising one up til high I decided to pack up and maybe try again before I the holiday ended. I packed up and decided to have a break at the caravan and think about going back out ledgering in the evening.

I was a little dissapointed at not getting any big Wrasse here bit it was my first time fishing it and if I decide to repeat the holiday next year I'll give it another go on a rising tide next time as I think the area would be more fishable.

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