Impromptu session..

I had planned to go but couldn't make up my mind what to do. I thought about going southwards and having a try for a sole or stay round here and have a go for a bass. The sea was quite nice round here, rolling sea rather than surfing and well coloured, probably too much lift and certainly too much colour to expect smoothounds, but there'd be a few bass and maybe a codling in it..

I'd exchanged texts with Pete and Karl trying to formulate a plan for a session Thursday. Pete wasn't too keen, Karl was then wasn't then was again and I just didn't know what to do. In the end I thought I'd just go down to Cart Gap and blow some of my frozen bait, I had a few crabs, eels and blacks and they'd have to do. High water was around 1830 allowing me to fish the ebb into twilight, not perfect, would've been better with HW around 2100 but it'd do.

Smudge had texted me to see if I fancied a session in the river on the Friday, unfortunately I had too much on. It's sad really that I have some of the best coarse fishing in the country and I hardly ever take advantage of it. I did go a couple of times last year with PK and I'll try and get this year for a social followed by a mixed grill and pint.

Back to the fishing. Cart Gap is a strange place, it's one of my favourite spots yet it can be fickle. You can sit there all day without a bite then a switch is flicked and the place goes mad. I didn't feel that confident despite the rather nice looking sea, there was a bright blue sky which occasionally darkened with heavy clouds passing over and I only had frozen bait. I had a few frozen crabs which I'd save until it ebbed so I started with eel and alternated with blacks more in hope than expectation.

Karl pitched up not long after I did, he had some fresh crab which in itself is a minor miracle. He has to buy 100 to have a dozen left for a session three days later! Genocide I call him. Pete once told me about when he was fishing and them losing a boat load of edibles in a thunder storm, perhaps thats what did for Karl's peelers, either way don't let the bloke look after your pets if your going on holiday.

I stopped fishing for a brew and a babble with Genocide. First chuck and within a few minutes his tip was bouncing away and a schoolie was soon beached. Not bad first chuck, thankfully I'd forgotten my camera so I don't have to subject you to more pictures of the scowl. My phone rang, it was Paul "Pedro" Blythe asking me what I was up to. I explained I was wasting my time down at Cart Gap with Karl. He said he was planning to fish up the Happisburgh end and did I want him to drop me some fresh crab off! Is a pig's arse pork? Top stuff, I now had some fresh bait and more enthusiasm.

Within the hour Pedro had dropped me off a little bucketfull of peelers, smashing. I'd use my frozen crabs up and the poppers in the bucket. My first chuck with a frozen crab resulted in a lovely drop back bite, real text book stuff. I wound down to a bit of weight and Karl made his way over to see how it's done. I reckoned it might be a codling, it just hung low without doing too much. I uttered the immortal words to Karl, "I reckon it's a codling or it might just be an eel". Why do we do things like that? A few minutes later a bootlace is on the beach, thankfully it didn't do any damage to my newly tied rigs.

A Cart Gap boot lace, apparently eels are getting rarer these days, something to do with a parasite and liver disease. Even knowing that it doesn't make it nice catching them, even when they're well over 1lb. Photo from Genocide's mobile phone, can you remember when phones just rang?

No cod and chips then, still it was a good eel. I didn't weight it but it was certainly over a lb. Genocide hadn't had a bite since his first chuck and I'd only had the one bite too. I sent a text down to Pedro, I could see his rods away in the distance. He'd had a 1lb codling and a schoolie, nobody was tearing any trees up. We had another hour or so of nothingness, not unusual for here, and with big black clouds looming we decided to make our last casts then head off for a pint. I decided to whack one out, there'd been some weed and a bit of tide earlier which forced us inside though most of the fishing here is in the gulley which is really close, probably 50 yards is far enough to put you in it. The weed had eased with the tide so i hammered one out, always nice when the wind is backing you up and I'm guessing it went around 130 yards. I start to pack my other bits away, Karl's a step ahead of me and is putting his rods away as the one I've just banged out drops back and pulls forward again. Karl reckoned it was a flattie bite, I doubted it, I was a long way out (for me) and I reckoned it was a schoolie. After a short but sweet tussle, I landed the schoolie, packed up and followed Karl to the Poachers. You've guessed it, I had my "other" jeans on and he had to buy the beer, bloody marvellous!

A 3lb 9oz schoolie, I've got a worried look on my face, I'm probably hoping Genocide can stretch to two pints.

I don't know yet how Pedro finished up, he wouldn't have needed to do much to better us, still it was nice to get my fix before work kicks in. I'll go next Wednesday or Thursday evening depending on the weather, if the wind stays west or southwest the sea will flatten and clear and there could well be a few smoothounds. Failing that there should start to be a few sole show round the corner Lowestoft way, we'll see.