Bray Harbour 22rd March

[beebub2]

People: Me & Stephen8wood

Bait: Mack, sandeel, rag

Rigs: Three hook flappers, two hook rig, flattie rig

Time: 8.30pm-11pm

Tide: HT 10.45pm

Weather: A little windy getting progressively worse and colder

Result: Me: 1 LSD, 1 3 Bearded Rockling, 7 Whiting Stephen: 11 Whiting

On discussing where to go, I realised I had forgotten wellies so a pier was the only real choice and we’d been reasonably successful recently in Bray. Got my second Doggie which was great. He wasn’t as big as the last and I didn’t know I had him on the line until very late. I saw a bite on the line and left it for a few minutes. When I reeled it in I felt nothing but decided to keep reeling in case the bait was gone. All of a sudden it dropped like a stone and I had a fight on my hands. It must have been swimming towards me as I was reeling. Again Stephen helped me unhook as I held it. I still can’t believe how strong they are. No photos as I forgot my camera but he was a good deal smaller than the last fella. Hook out and off he went.

Stephen devised a competition between us before we started. 1 point for a Whiting, 5 points for a doggie, 2 points for anything else and -1 point for a rockling. Stephen seems to have an inexplicable and considerable dislike of the humble rockling, regardless of beard numbers.

Of course my first cast produced a 3 bearded rockling so I was on minus numbers from the start. However I did bring in a small crab on the same rig. Feeling sorry for me Stephen revised the rules to allow ½ point for crabs; meaning I started with -½ point from my first catch.

By the end Stephen had 11 whiting and so 11 points and I had 7 whiting, minus 1 for the rockling, plus 5 for the doggie; 11 points. I pointed out that actually I had 11½ points because of the crab (I had caught a second crab but he jumped off the hook as I was bringing it over the railing and Stephen insisted that the crab must be ‘landed’ in order for the ½ point to be awarded). So on totting up, realising that the addendum to the rules after we had commenced had resulted in a loss for Stephen, he retrospectively removed the ½ point allowance saying ‘I’m not going to be beaten by a crab’. So it was a draw. A fair result, I suppose.

I was going to lodge an appeal to the rules committee given that it seems to be grossly unfair for minus points to be awarded for actually catching something, but given that Stephen had formed the one man rules committee mere moments before announcing the rules I knew that my appeal would fall on deaf ears.

Besides, as Stephen said, I only complained about the rules, having agreed to them before we started once I had caught a rockling and been the only one to do so. I suppose he has a point.

A draw it was.

[taz]

nice session you will have organize a rematch

[Stephen8wood]

It was a very small crab and my three year old could have caught more with a rasher tied to a string, as such they don't count!

This is my first full winter of fishing, so does anyone know when the whiting finally go away? They are great little fish but I'm well and truly tired of them. I'm beginning to see them in my sleep and it's turning me right off. I went to Bray Harbour last Thursday and spent the last half hour of the evening reeling in double after double of these tiny buggers. I was using 2/0 and 3/0 hooks with big baits but it just didn't seem to matter. If remember from last summer the pin whiting had been replaced by pin coalies and I know that come November the whiting will probably be seen as a welcome return but I've had enough of them for the moment.

[Al and Jordan]

good report man nothing like a wee competition to spice things up a bit