1st Of The Month Starts Well!

Friday meant a half day at work and the possibility of fishing out on the kayak. When I got home I was greeted by a mirror looking sea. I didn't need to be asked twice and I was soon out on the water, launching from a small beach near West Bay.

Conditions on the way out to my mark seemed perfect but when I was out there the tide was non-existent which meant covering ground while on the drift wasn't easy.
I had a nice little bite and thought I'd bring up my target Plaice, but I soon found out it was only a small Pouting. This was then followed by a small Ballan Wrasse and some Mackerel. A little excitement took place when I hooked a Dogfish that put up a good scrap, but then the fishing only improved when I made the decision to fish a little closer in.
There was a lot of may water around, which is basically a big algae bloom that from my experience, for some reason causes a dip in my fishing results.
Anyway, I battled on, fishing Rag hard on the bottom which was soon rewarded with my first ever Tub Gurnard off of the kayak and only my second ever caught. I was very suprised how well it fought and when it was released it shot of at some speed, highlighting its predatory insticts rather than just the scavenger most think it is.

Then very soon after I was rewarded with my persistance with a nice plump Plaice. This one was kept and given to my friends parents who said they love eating fresh Plaice. I was a little disappointed this ended up being the only one, but I suppose it means there's more for next time!

Then off I went, back to the car before the gates in the carpark were locked. I stopped on the way in by a pot buoy and picked up a couple tiny Corkwing Wrasse and took my species total for the day to 7 species and 1 new species from the kayak. Overall a productive and enjoyable day on a rare dead flat sea. I havn't mentioned previously about my slight obsession when it comes to species hunting. It's just amazing how many species are in our waters. This year I am trying to catch 35 species from the kayak and the Gurnard puts me up to 17, so still a long way to go!

I also got to use my new C-Tug Trolley for the first time today and first impressions are excellent, no sign of it wanting to tip up on uneven ground and very easy to manouvre, folded up and down quickly and effectively but will just have to see if it lasts the test of time...