Me and Mrs S decided to head off down into the valleys last Friday for a spot of fishing,i mean camping :o on Shell Island in Wales.After the 5 1/2 hour drive :o(roadmap said way under 5) we made it onto the island.Off we went to the reception and books in,followed 10 seconds later by the sound and smell of burning rubber off towards the North End where the harbour inlet is.It looked like bass heaven and the water was as clear as gin.I saw an old guy on the harbour wall float fishing a dead sandeel(on about 60lb line) ;D and popped over for a yarn,the news wasn't good,only one bass had come out all week :o :'(. Anyway,after a quick recce off we went and put the tent up in a corner by the sand dunes and bugger me,do i mean sand dunes ;D
After a quick cuppa and bacon butty off we headed to the harbour inlet again,it had emptied in just over an hour!!
Before :o
After :o
We decided to go for a mooch over on the estuary where the boats were now high and dry,so it was chesties on and fork in hand to go and find a few lug.After wading across 2 channels,the worm casts started to show,only when you put your fork in,well lets just say you may as well dig in quick sand ;)We decided to head upstream a little,walking alongside of the water when about a dozen big sandeels jumped out of the waters edge and vanished into the sand in a nano second.I walked another couple of yards and the same happened so i watched where a big juicy fat bugger buried himself,and set about excavating him out of the sand,after kicking up a sweat,i was still sandeel'less >:(.After sitting and having a tab and a drink i was racking my brain for a way to get the buggers,as i knew if i could get them,the bass would take them as it was obvious thats why the bass were there.Off we go again and out they jump,this time i was ready and scooped him out like and old salty sandeel pro :P.Well it wasn't as easy as first thought as me and the missus spent a full 2 hours to get 8 eels :o Was highly amusing watching the dog walkers faces as we jumped on and wrestled the eels,god knows what they thought!! ::) Anyway, it was flooding by now and there was about 20 minutes of daylight left so it was back to the car and a sliding float rig set up on my spinning rod in 5 seconds flat!!.. On went a live eel and i flicked him about 20 yards into the channel,it just felt fishy,there was sea trout jumping everywhere,after about 3 or 4 minutes under shot the float,i gave it a little bit of time and struck,into nothing >:(...Ah well i thought, at least they are here.Out went another live eel set about 12 foot deep and out it went again,once again after a few minutes the float shot under from a savage take,missed it again,after a few choice words and a goob bit of stomping around like a tart,i was lobbing another eel out,this time no take and the daylight had faded :'( So it was back to the tent for a bar-b and a few corona extras...mmmmmm..corona extra... and off to bed. Next morning it was back down to the same spot,full of expectation and hope for a nice little silver bar.This time i gave the rod to Mrs.S and out went the biggest live eel we had,the line parted at the stopknot, and the float was still attached about 20 yards out,i had my other rod set up with a toby,so cased over the float and managed to hook it and drag it back in,as soon as i had the line in my hand i could feel a tugging,and after playing him in,sure enough there was a little schoolie of about a lb.Nice one at least we hadn't blanked.
After 4 more chucks we never had another take,so it was off to the tent to chill out and have a bit of brekkie while the sea ebbed.After dinner we set off over the rocks for a go with the big rod."Can i have a go with the Zippy asks Mrs S" i thought "F**k ME" it didn't take her long to learn,so i hands over the Zippy while biting my tongue ;)
We gets her chucked in,and i sat down to have a tab,then wondered off into the rockpools to see if there was any peelers,i looks round 2 minutes later to see her down on a bite ready to strike :o
Over i runs and asks her,good bite or just a rattle,arced over twice she says,nothing came of it and never had a thing on the big rod,it seemed to be very very shallow and just didn't look fishy.The following morning we awoke to 40mph winds and a sand storm so after a bit of brekkie,we got the tent down and homeward bound it was.There are bass there in the harbour channel,but it,s a very strange place tidewise,it seems to ebb for ages,then flood like a train,you only have about a 2 hour window to get at the bass as the water drops miles in a very fast time.Bottom fishing on the big rod was unfruitful, but the scenery and piece and quiet made up for it.If you want hectic fishing,this isn't the place for you,but if you are bass crazy,there is potential there if you put the time in.Thinking of Port Logan or Port Patrick next for the pollock....Happy days......Smokey+ Mrs.S ;D ;D
