Duration: 4.00 - 8.45 pm and 10.00 pm - 2.15 am
Tide: HW at 7.15 pm
Weather: Overcast, strong southwesterly breeze, a few heavy rain showers later
Bait: Lug
Rigs: 4/0 pennel pulley, two hook flapper (4/0 hooks), single hook flapper (2/0 hook)
Results: Me:- 4 bass, 1 flounder, 2 dogfish; Melissa:- 1 flounder
Report: Beach 1: we arrived at the beach at about 4.00 pm. There were 4 other anglers there but nobody had caught anything so that wasn't looking too promising. I have never had much luck off this beach in daylight but as it was a very overcast dull day and the water was nicely coloured I was hopefully of getting something. I set up two rods both baited with lug. I had thought about doing some spinning close to high tide but the water was far too coloured for that. So I set up the spinning rod with a single hook flapper baited with lug for Melissa to stop her getting bored
However, the rods were remaining motionless and the baits coming back untouched. The other anglers gave up before high tide, but I reckoned that we might have a chance of a bass close to high tide. Then I heard a shout from Melissa, she had a fish - a small flounder - her first fish of the year
About 30 minutes after high tide I spotted a sharp knock on the rod with the two hook flapper, grabbed it quickly and struck. It was putting up a bit of a struggle but it didn't feel very heavy so I reckoned it was probably a small bass. Sure enough it turned out to be a 40 cm bass
Saved from a blank and the embarrasment of been beaten by Melissa's flounder.We stuck it out a bit longer and then moved onto another beach that fishes well on the ebb.
Beach 2: I got set up at about 10 pm. There was a bit of weed strewn along the beach and the first 10-15 m of the water was quite dense with weed. While I was setting up the second rod there was a tug on the first - a big clump of kelp
I cleaned off the weed and cast the first rod out again - returned to baiting the rig for the second rod - then spotted a sharp knock on the first rod - struck and felt a definite fish not a ball of weed. It turned out to be another 40 cm bass I rebaited the first rod and cast out again - then as I was about to attach the rig to the line on the second rod there was another knock on the first rod, then the line went slack. I grabbed it and quickly reeled in the slack until I felt a fish - struck and could feel the pull of a bigger fish. This one was a 47 cm bass
So that was a good start, two bass on the first three casts, before I even had a chance to cast the second rod 
However, the weed became a serious problem after that. I was continuously reeling in and cleaning off big clumps of kelp. However, I did manage to get a 23 cm flounder and a dogfish.
Eventually I decided to move further up the beach. There was still a lot of weed in the first 15 m of water but it was a lot cleaner further out and I didn't have so much of a problem, although the rigs tended to snag weed when they were retrieved. I had a good knock but missed it. Then I had another good bite, struck this one well. As I was reeling it through the surf all I could see was a clump of kelp - I thought it was only weed after all, but then caught a glimpse of sliver beneath all the kelp - a 46 cm bass
I missed a slack line bite after that. I started to pack up at 2.15 am and when I reeled in one of the rods I found a dogfish on the end along with about 10 lb of kelp.
So despite the weed it was a good night's fishing. But if it had been weed free I am sure it could have been even better.
and well done to Mellissa on the Flounder and her first fish of the year 
