Day one was to be floundering in the morning, pit stop followed by a crack at the smoothies in the evening/night. Carsethorn was the venue of choice and after meeting Stuart (a new forum member Jedi Master) to dig some lug to the crabs foraged the night before we were off. Stuart is a grand chap to fish with especially as I've met few folk to out chatter Malkie
His car was like an angling supply shop to boot, most of which came with him down the shingle lol. This was where I made my first mistake, I'd left my cap back at Malkie's house and as it was a blazing hot day I slowly got cooked. Fishingwise it was not prolific but we had all had a handful of fish I think Malkie and Stuart had 6 each and I had 5. Most were between a pound and a pound and a half, no massive ones either with the biggest going to 1lb 9oz. Stuart should have a good photo or two as he took the bigger fish home as his mum loves flounders.
We were out all through the heat of the day and I was absolutely cooked by the end of the session but after a rest and a feed it was off to the night fishing at the old lifeboat station. The way the rocks are there I set up a fair bit away from the lads so was a bitty bored as I had very little to keep me active no bites and snags. Malkie and Stuart had a progression of whiting and doggies coming in to all the baits under the sun, lug, crab, bluey and squid. I wasn't getting any nibbles or anything, fishing to the same rough distance no more than 60 yards along the rocks. Still I persisted until about midnight when I decided to have a snooze, thinking if the smoothies come on I'll hear about it soon enough. Unfortunately they did not. I finally landed a single whiting of about a pound that had been hooked while I had a kip and something sizeable had bitten a chunk out of its belly and its upper jaw. Looked a bit hellish but a blank saver it was! We had fished until about 3 a.m. and I'd been up for 23 hours by that point so it was a slow daunder back to the motor.
Day two after a glorious 3.5 hrs sleep we were off again to Port Logan for a wrasse bash, just Malkie and me this time. Stopping off for Malkie to dig some lug that were like bloody hawsers, thick, fat and heavy.
The route to the mark once we had parked up should have just been over the field, through the gate then along the cliff tops to where we were to fish. Unfortunately the farmer (who we had chatted to briefly in the passing) failed to say there was a new electric fence up so the relatively short walked turned into a full lap of the field to then get into a second before we found a spot to safely get through the electric fence. All the while the sun was splitting the sky and seemed even hotter on the pasture for some reason.
First spot a rocky gully we had a few smallish pollock on hard spinners and small shads nice wee sport but nothing to get excited about, Malkie had the best at 2.5 lbs. We then moved a few hundred feet along the rocks and Malkie found the wrasse. He had landed a couple before I caught up and was landing one as I got there. Freelining lug out and letting it drift under the overhang directly below us. It took a few casts but I got my first after 5 mins or so which gave a good account of itself on my Rockfish (the matchstick as Malkie calls it). A browny red coloured wrasse, not sure what species but i expect ballan.
Malkie had another as well and I followed that with a pollock of about a pound which again gave me a good fight on the light rod.
I moved round to another spot just 20 feet away but where I could work the other side of the overhand and after a long time of nothing other than one more pollock, a tad bigger, I got an almighty hit. This is what light tackle fishing is about a decent fish on taking line whilst I kept trying to turn its head so it would not go to ground. I could see some orange gold flashes in the sparking water but was not sure if I had a wrasse or pollock on. The rod coped well and whilst it was well compressed I eventually got control and started to get some line back. I could now see it was a nicely sized wrasse definitely the best fish I've had on the light gear. Malkie came round to help me land it and take the necessary pic. Lovely red orange coloured Ballan, about two pounds by Malkie's reckoning. Great fun. We kept going another hour or so before trudging back up the cliffs in the heat but this was the last of the day.
Thanks as always to Malkie and family for the hospitality. I'm just sorry I was so knackered and sunburnt but i decided I needed my own nest to recuperate a tad. If it is nice this Saturday think I'll head out again after some more wrasse as that was a cracking bit of sport.
