Two sailings with the same crew, Peter and Jack, returning, and bringing friend Phil a.k.a. Monkey along to pop his BIF1 cherry. With the wind due to pick up later in the afternoon, we ran the sessions back to back, which I must admit I found surprisingly tiring. That little break between sessions is very energising.
First off, conditions were dreamy. Light offshore winds, and seas super clean. I went in very tight, bringing BIF1 to a halt in seven feet of water. "Ok guys... I will just show you what you need to do in here". I went through the motions, using the 14gm mighty minnow. "And on the last bit, wind at this... Fish on". I passed the rod over to Jack.
Incredibly, in broad daylight and hardly any water, and that hardly any water being crystal clear hardly any water, a little codling popped up. Well, after quite a battle. Happily, it released well. And so it began. That was our 6th codling since they appeared a week ago.
Fishing was nicely consistent all through the session. The guys had a camping trip planned locally after this event, so the max kill was welcomed, and indeed achieved quickly as sizes were much better. The final tally was twenty two bass to the boat, with finally some bigger fish, one of 59, and one of 55. But it shows what a poor season it is, when in August, I am calling a 59 a bigger fish,.
By-catch today was some very pretty gurnards, and of course, I will count that cod as by-catch, as we deffo were not fishing for it. I think the guys had a lot of fun, and I think that, as their new families grow, this once a year escape from the normalities, to return to the comradery of uni brothers in arms (Edinburgh university is where they met and became friends) might become an annual event. I hope so. Despite the spilled beer, a very easy and fun group to accommodate.
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