All day Friday I was stuck in that classic "will I / won't I?" quandary with a late HT followed by a long drive home from my desired mark. The ultimate deal breaker was a quick look at the August tide calendar and a realisation that this could be my last chance to fish the mark on a viable tide this summer.
So after a trip out for breakfast and a trek around the market, permission slip was signed and the BiL and I were headed south.
Stopped off at a couple of spots down the way in brief attempt to lure something (fish for the most part) but no joy. Wind was blowing in the wrong direction and water too dirty.
Got to the mark in very good time and again tried to pass some time luring as we waited for the tide to rise and the light to start dropping.
Eventually we decided to set up the bait rods. I was actually a bit late in setting up and the light was fading to the point where I needed my head torch to tie on my 2nd rig. I remember thinking "hmmmm, this is the time, pleassseeee don't let this have been a bad decision". Literally as I was casting my 2nd rod in, I got a small few rattles on the 1st rod. The rattles suggested it wasn't want I wanted. Left it briefly and to my relief the tripod then lunged. No mistaking this time. I jumped onto the battle rock and sent the BiL down to the rocks below to retrieve the fish. Shortly after, I had my first hound of the year and species #28. Particularly satisfying as I had been beginning to doubt I'd get one this season. I get the impression that these are fairly thin on the ground to date this year after a prolific last.
Now that one got me into an almighty tangle and reminded me of the necessity of casting rods very far apart when fishing for these powerful creatures. I was out of the water for longer than I'd've liked and the BiL struck back to level.
With one each in the bag and the pressure off, we sat back and enjoyed our fishing. Never prolific, but we grinded out 3 apiece over the night. Average size well below last year with the biggest under 4lb / 78cm but great fun at really any size these fish. We had a mix of what used to be called starries and commons but the scientific school of thought now seems to have moved towards a singular species classification. I must say I see a trend amongst those I've caught in higher sizes towards the "commons" but I don't claim to be particularly educated on the matter.
Lovely warm night, so much so that the midges were out in force. Called it a night and floated home to bed with a few tins of E-juice to keep the tiredness at bay and a long lie in next morning.
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