Chesil Beach

Chesil (SY 560 845) 29th Nov.1997

Arrived at Abbotsbury and the Chesil Beach car park around 2.30pm.

Met up with Graham Chapman, Dave Huxley, Alan Travers, Phil Vossler and others from the mailing list.. introductions, smiles, hand shakes, along with a short discussion of options, and out comes.. it was decided to walk to the "Dragons Teeth" (which would seem to be a set of tank traps, on the eastern side from the car park running over the spine of the spit). We failed to reach it, and pitched just after the start of the Bird sanctuary.

Things looked a little tight, with two comp's on at the same time... elbow to elbow fishing...... just the sort of fishing I like..uuuummm!!!!! The wind was still blowing from the SW (around force 4 or so), and thus the surf was high...... no sign of the wind backing to the North and dropping to force 2, as predicted by the Met.Office (well it did... as we started to pack-up an leave... only 6 or 7 hours too late!!!!!). Plus around the 50 to 80yrd mark were very large patches of floating bladder wrack. The tide was on the flood, with high around 6.30 or so.

Pitched the Beach Buddy roughly in the centre of our group (took me about 20 mins to stop wheezing...... glad I stopped smoking in August, but looks like the damage is already done.........). Karen and I both set-up a rod each with a clip down pennell (K's was 4/0, mine 2/0 : 4/0), with a single clip-up with beads (K's 2/0, mine 1/0).... or as Graham so kindly put it..... one of "those" rigs with the gizmos... baited with lug and tipped off with squid...... started out with 170g breakaway leads, but with the weed and cross wind / surf, landed up with 210's and 8oz leads. I also set-up a long trace pennell (4/0's) loaded with squid, set at close range with a 8oz grip lead for Bass. By the time we got ourselves sorted out, everyone else was fishing, so I guess we started just after 3.30pm or so.

Lug seemed to be on everyones lips... for many, obtaining it was, or had been nearly impossible...... as local tackle dealers were getting supplies from Wales etc., the supply is even more subject to disruption (plus the demand out stripping supply with the comp's that weekend, along with the hoards after cod!!!!).... very much a first come first served system. The quality of the blow lug, was very good, but then at 12 quid a lb (or about 4 quid a score.. it should be)..... Guess the answer is order early.. but that's never easy, esp. if like me, you want to know what the weathers going to be like, so you can choose venues.. which themselves may dictate the bait required.... Also we were limited to 1 and 1/4 lb per person...... as it was I ordered for Nigel, who had to cancel at the very last minute, due to sickness in the family. As a result I traded some of our lug with Graham who had none, for some of his rag.....

Karen's first cast, resulted in a tangle with next door, along with pulling something in her neck...... as a result I had to cast for her, for the rest of the night..... I love using fixed spool reels, 8oz lead, and no finger protection.... Karen's leather finger stools were not really my size!!!!!!

My first cast, ultimately resulted in a tangle with Graham... went over to help...... the tangle was compounded by weed...... momentarily turned my back to twist off weed and weight..... surf comes up, and over my boots.... lovely freezing cold water, and no change of footwear....... I was beginning to really enjoy the whole experience of this trip........!!!!!!!!! :-)

Next door pulled out a codling and pout (sorry chaps, in all the excitement, I forgot to take down names, plus I really should have taken many more photo's.... if this rings a bell then tell me..... you pitched brolly in concrete slabs, and were fishing before we arrived, you also wore red flotation suits)..... Grahams lot were blanking, and beyond them, a few codling, whiting and pout were making a show... Mr Huxley's bunch I think!!!!.

5.10pm.... yippee a fish..... well an eel to be exact..... small, slimy, and totally bent on the destruction of my rig.... taken the lower hook with lug and squid.... had to cut it free...... and return it to the sea... easier said than done, with the height of the crashing surf...... indeed it's worth noting here that, due to the surf height and the weed, combined with the cross wind, bite detection was almost a non-starter..... either cast and retrieve after 25 mins or so, or wish for the "BIG" one to pull the rod over.....

6pm Karen's tackle, along with my two sets, decide to intimately entangle...... decided to forget the bass rig, and just shoot for codling......

7.15pm Karen pulls in a load of weed, under which on her pennell, is a 4' pout... well at least it was a fish.....

Phil Vossler came over and had a chat...... (got a bit confused over identities, but that I guess it's one of the joys of night fishing..!!!!!!). Phil said a few codling had been landed, along with whiting and pout..... the largest cod, being around 6lb, and that the chap who'd caught it, also had a small but sizeable Bass.... only problem was that they had both been taken at low water!!! :-(

Occasional codling, pout, whiting and dogfish were being pulled out by others... but not by Karen or myself :-(

Things become really pleasant when the drizzle and rain started to fall!!!!!!

People started to pack-up after 8pm or were at least in the process of thinking about it...... around 8.30pm, my rod jumped, and the line went slack..... reeled-in 1 surprised looking dogfish!!!!!...... just what I wanted... two summer species instead of King Cod........

Had one thumping bite, just before Graham moved off (about 9pm)..... could feel a fish at the end, but I also had weed on the line as well..... felt like a respectable fish, but who can say... for my troubles the tackle got snagged at the base of the breaking waves.... really frustrating to feel a fish, so close... and lose it by getting snagged...... looks like I hit the same problem that Grahams friends had encountered, and had lost a few set of tackle upon as well.......

By 9.30pm or so most had called it a day...... so we decided to do like wise, and with a 150 mile drive ahead of us, it was probably the best thing.........

On reflection, it was nice to be able to put names to faces (if only I could remember!!!!!), and to be able to fish a new venue. I think that if the opportunity arises again, I may put my own fishing slightly on the back burner, and try and keep a more accurate account, with photo's etc, for the benefit of all...... maybe we should think of a more suitable venue, so that we can chat, look at rigs, and swap ideas directly... not something that was ever going to be easy on a wind swept shingle beach, in the dark..... but there again, I guess most came to fish, rather than chat about it!!!

******* UPDATE*******

Alan Travers had one Whiting and three Pout, all undersize.

Paul Davies, BLANK

Dave Huxley- one large doggy, one small poor cod (not pout)
and his friend Andy - 1 small codling, 2 dogs, 2 whiting, 3 poor cod

Phil Vossler, BLANK
and his mate Simon caught two poor cod & a pouting

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