The wind had dropped a little; the boat could make it out to the relatively sheltered reefs at the mouth of the Haven near Saint Ann’s Head. Although the sea was not calm enough to venture further out to sea to the islands of Skomer and Skokholm, this location would surely be more productive than yesterday.
I trolled a Rapala in a known hotspot on our way out to the reefs. Maybe it’s a little early in the year to catch bass on a lure?
A Fiiish Black Minnow 120 12g, in the original khaki colour, was going to be my weapon of choice today. Fished on a 6 foot flowing trace, the ‘weedless’ design of the hook would prove to be effective in this notorious lure graveyard. The winning technique was to let the lead hit the seabed, then wind in. Most takes came after 8-10 turns of the reel handle. Pollack and ballan wrasse liked the lure equally. I don’t remember catching wrasse on a lure before (other than the occasional few on mackerel feathers). None of the pollack were of a great eating-size, so all were returned.
A fellow Marina berth-holder approached in his boat, to have a chat about how the fishing was going. I enviously looked at the big pollack caught he’d caught. Some larger Redgills might be going on the shopping list.
After lunch in nearby Mill Bay (no fish caught here) we relocated to our favourite ray mark in the Haven. The baits were squid – and as an experiment, strips of frozen rainbow trout – offered on size 3/0 hooks. (Let’s see if the fish here have more of a taste for muddy flavoured trout than me). No ray for me today, although a smallish one was taken by the other rod on the boat. A small grey gurnard also liked the squid which I’d additionally added to a smaller rig on my lure rod. Nothing had a nibble of the trout.
The tide turned and a string of lesser spotted dogfish then got in on the act.
In hindsight, three rods on the boat is one too many. Tangled lines seem to be a feature with hooking multiple dogfish.
A unproductive troll for bass up the Haven rounded off the day. Hard work fishing this weekend; hoping for better later in the summer.
Total Catch:
- 4 Pollack
- 2 Ballan Wrasse
- 1 Grey Gurnard
- 5 Lesser Spotted Dogfish
A Fishing Diary 