3rd - Pevensey Bay with Gary

Gary with cod No 1 - 4lb 4oz

Back out with Gary, who after taking in a morning stroll on Worthing pier and noticing the heavily coloured and very coddy looking water, gave me a ring to enquire if I fancied a dangle that evening. I was already booked to be our, but when I contacted Mick (whom I was supposed to be out with) I could hear straight way he wasnt going to be fishing, as a result of a heavy chest infection. So, I rang back Gary and took his kind offer of a ride to Pevensey bay. We popped down for some worm pumping, to discover that as on many local beaches, the recent storms had made some changes. A lot more rock exposed, and so much shingle in the mud that I very quickly damaged the end of my copper punp, as did Gary. But we persevered, and managed to extract enough worms for our session. We headed off to the bay, and began fishing. I had chosen to fish one in close for a bass, and one at range on a livebait rig. This rig involves fishing a size 1 hook baited with a lugworm, fished hair style below a size 6/0 bare hook. The idea is a whiting takes the bait on the size one, and in turn becomes a bait being fished on the 6/0. With the best numbers of double figure cod showing around our coasts at the moment, for a very long time, I am determined to bag one before Christmas. Gary on the other hand, was fishing a one up one down baited with single worm. It kind of shows how well he knows this beach, bvecause amongst a succession of whiting, he called over in a way suggesting he was into something bigger. I ran over just in time to pluck a 4lb 4oz codling from the surf!!!!

Gary with 6lb 2oz cod

Just as I was landing the cod, another friend Steve arrived. He went further along the beach and set up, and I returned to my rods. Between us we landed a steady stream of whiting and pouting, until I once more heard the shout go out from Gary. Once again, I was just in time to pluck his latest cod, 6lb 2oz, from the surf. Then, back to whiting and pouting for a couple of hours, with no action save the odd whiting attack on the bass rods fished just on the back of the shore break. It was bitterly cold, and at two hours down the tide we all agreed it was time to pack it in. One last cast for Frank, and once again the shout went up. I ran over to find him bent into a considerably bigger fish. He was taking his time, doing it all right, and the fish was approaching the beach nicely. Right up to the point where the rod pinged back and the fish was gone. On retrieving the rig, it became clear that the hooklink had been bitten through by a good cod. What might have been? We will never know, but this session on top of the session at Dungeness has got me wondering if my single minded approach with the livebait rig in search of a double is the right way to go at all......!!