Duration: 10.00 pm to 3.30 am
Tide: LW at 10.45 pm
Weather: Mild, calm, dense fog
Bait: Lug, razor, mackerel, squid, clam, prawn
Rigs: 2/0 pennel pulley, two hook flapper (2/0 hooks), three hook flapper (size 6 hooks)
Results: 1 flounder
Report: After the storm on Monday night I reckoned there would be a good surf which might bring in some decent size codling. With the icy conditions over the last few weeks I hadn't been able to get to this mark which produced a few codling for me up to 3.5 lb before Christmas.
I arrived and could hear the surf but couldn't see it as there was a very dense fog - visibility on the beach was only about 15 m. I nearly lost the rod stand a few times after wading out to cast. However, it was very mild - I was well wrapped up and was feeling too warm - which made a pleasant change.
The first cast I thought I had a fish - only to find it was a 5 lb rock with a strand of kelp - it gave a good fight - as it bounced off the sea bed I was convinced it was a good fighting fish
Nothing was biting - the baits were coming back untouched. I tried a range of different bait to no avail. There wasn't even a sign of a coalfish or whiting. It looked like I was heading for my first blank of 2010
So I rooted in the rig box and found a three hook flapper with size 6 hooks and put on the last of the lug and lobed it out hoping to pick up something small.After about 10 minutes I spotted a twitch on the rod tip, struck and could feel a fish on the end. It was a good size flounder, 39 cm - saved from the dreaded first blank of the year
I packed up shortly after that - at least I got one fish but strange that it fished so poorly, with a nice surf after the storm I thought there would be plenty of fish about.
!
