Catch Report - Ilfracombe - 17th July 2018 (9)

Date: 17-07-2018

Time of day: Evening

Location: Ilfracombe

Mark: Capstone rocks

Low Tide: 03:45(0.82m) 16:00(1.06m)

High Tide: 10:03(9.09m) 22:22(9.14m)

Time fished from: 18:00

Time fished to: 22:20

Weather: Cloudy with a steady wind from left to right

Sea: Fairly clear and very choppy with a swell of over 4 foot.

Method: float | lure

Bait: Frozen mackerel strips | 4 hook flahser rig

Caught (weight): 3 Mackerel (0lbs 8oz, Guessed) | 2 pollock (0lbs 6oz, Guessed), 2 Pollock (0lbs 8oz, Guessed), 1 Pollock (1lbs 0oz, Guessed), 1 Poor Cod (0lbs 6oz, Guessed)

The Session: I haven''t fished this mark much recently so I decided to have a session to catch the pollock that frequent the area and also to see if there were any mackerel around.

Beginning with my usual float setup set at around 8 foot deep and baited with some mackerel that I had refrozen a few times I cast varying distances from a few feet to 20 yards. After an hour I decided to give the mackerel feathers ago because I had no bites on the float. I kept the float cast out and began the usual sink and draw tactic of the feathers after casting around 70 yards. I engaged the baitrunner feature of the reel on the float rod and also stood with my feet either side of the butt just in case. Ove time I increased the depth to try and keep the bait just above weed and rocks.

As the tide came in I moved up the rocks a bit and it was here on the first few casts that I had the mackerel, the first one taking immediately after casting before having nothing else until after a good number of recasts of the float, some due to the gulls diving down to try and get my bait before it sank, it finally went under as one of the pollock took the bait.

It was a typical sized fish for the area and I first thought I''d have more immediately afterwards but then I had the other two mackerel on the feathers, which I put in a rock pool to try and keep alive as long as possible.

It began to feel like I wasn''t going to catch anything else. 9pm came around and still nothing else took my bait on the float rod. I eventually went very deep, around 20ft and within moment after casting about 5 yards out the float dipped and I had another pollock. The circle hook had unfortunately caught in its upper mouth and it was difficult to unhook. I put it back but a little later I saw it swiming just underneath the surface as a gull swooped down and took the fish amidst the attacks from other gulls.

I set my float depth a little more deeper, now about 22 foot. 20 minutes later the float dipped a few times in quick succession, I struck and reeled in what I first assumed to be another pollock but as I lifted the fish up the 20 foot of rock face it''s bold broze colouring jumped out at me as I saw it was actually a poor cod. Guessing it to weigh around 6oz it would be the largest one I have caught. I put it back and recast, not having to wait long before the float shot under and disappeared and I reeled in to let the circle hook do its job and after a quick fight lifted up a larger pollock. Just a few minutes after came the next pollock, a little larger again, and 15 minutes later the final pollock.

The tidal flow was increasing, as it does here at high tide, and my float was beginning to be pulled quickly along so I would have had to recast every few seconds. It was clearly time to pack up. So the session didn''t turn out too bad after all. The pollock here are reliable fish, with only odd occasions during summer when they aren''t around and there is always the bonus other species, this time the poor cod, others coalfish or garfish and I reminded myself why I love a casual session float fishing for them.

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

Set up 1: Rod: Shakespeare Omni Mackerel 10ft 2 piece Fixed Spool (£17.95) [ > 4 years 0 months ]

Reel: Lineaffe Carp 60 Baitrunner Fixed Spool (£12.00) [ > 1 years 11 months ]

Line: Maxima Chameleon 20lb (£17.99) 600m

Hooks: Sakuma Circle 440 2 (£5.55) 30

Hooklength: Maxima Clear 15lb (£4.00) 100m

Set up 2: Rod: Shakespeare Omni Mackerel 10ft 2 pieces Fixed Spool (£20) [ > 0 years 0 months ]

Reel: Leeda Icon 5000 Fixed spool (£35.18) [ > 4 years 6 months ]

Line: Daiwa Hyper Sensor 20lb (£12.95) 635m

Lure: Leeda 4 hook flasher rig (£1.50)