27th October - General fishing with Alexanda and William

Sunset at Shoreham

Met up with Alexanda and William down at Shoreham, with me running a little late. The local source of blow lug has taken a bit of a hammering, and instead of the hour allocated to secure the bait for this session, I was nearer twho and a half, plus a very bad back!! But on arrival, the sunset made it all worthwile. A very nice way to start work!!

William's first Sole

The plan of attack was to fish a rod with a back weighted paternoster, which would seek out sole and whiting, a margin rod on the squid seeking out an outsized bass which Alexanda would be holding, and a rod out at distance seeking a cod. The plan began well, with young William catching his first sole, unfortunately slightly too small to for his culinary desires.

Alexanda's first dogfish

The bass rod got some attention, a couple of hits that removed the squid heads, but wether bass or whiting it was hard to tell. I would suggest bass, as the backweighted rig, which if whiting were about in numbers would have let us know, was remaining dissapointingly motionless. It was the cod rod, fishing whole squid, that was away next. But instead of the hoped for whiskered one, it was a tidy dogfish, and a new entry into Alexanda's species list. Followed by a second one shortly after.

Father and son with their first codling

IT got to seven o clock, and with temperatures plummeting, and the fishing being a little quiet, we discussed the option of packing away. As we talked, the cod rod gave all the right signs of a whiskered one, nodding down in a way that only cod can do. Steadily retrieving, Alexanda had no difficulties in bringing the fish to the shingle. Typical early season codling, all head and lean body, it was still a very fitting end to a most enjoyable session.