Jolly Boys trip 2007

It finally came. I had intended to write this up a day at a time but it's probably best I summise before I go on, that way the lazy or hard of reading among you can skip to the pictures. We all blanked at least once, the fishing was at best poor at worst piss poor. The weather kicked us about a bit and we missed the big spider crab moult and the fish have probably thinned out a bit anyway. Still we did have some fun and there were a few nice fish and some new species for some of us. I fished 5 sessions which I'll detail below, apologies to the boys if I get the fish count/weights wrong etc. but I only took mental notes and everyone that knows me knows my mental is just that..

5 am Monday morning, I'd got to bed around midnight and 5 am comes quickly then. The bait had been sort of delivered the Friday previous, I say sort of because it was a bit of a disaster. I waited in all day for the delivery and it never came. A friend in the process of moving house had come round to use our phone to sort out some utility, insurance type mundane stuff that goes with the territory. No problem I thought, if anybody needs to get hold of me I have my mobile fully charged and on the mantel piece. Around 2pm our friend has finished with the phone and the honourable Abbott rings me, "JB's been trying to get hold of you the delivery man can't find you". After a few calls I end up racing to Stalham to pick up my box of crabs, fecking mare, my phone didn't get a signal on the mantel, as soon as I moved it 2 foot it went potty with text messages and answer phone messages. Still I had the bait, JB had warned me it was small, he wasn't kidding, but he'd put plenty in so we'd be ok.

Gear loaded into PK's car 7am Monday, left me, Karl and Nobby in Smudger's motor and PK and Johnny in Paul's and off we go. The trip normally takes around 4 hours from Paul's to the ferry terminal it took nearer 6 thanks to hold ups on the M11 and M25. Whilst on the subject of the M25 why the feck don't they build some services. I wanted a pee from where we got stuck on the M11 and couldn't get off the motorway until Fleet services on the M3. That pee lasted a full 10 minutes, too much info probably but I have to tell you that relief was better than any chemical related high, so don't take drugs just hold your pee in.

We got over to the island by around 230pm and at the digs 5 minutes later. Baggage dropped off and we were keen to get going, the forecast wasn't great for the Tuesday so the plan was to hit it hard on the Monday and Wednesday and let Tuesday do its worst. There's a guy on the island that Paul knows from when he could cast, I mean went casting. Russ is a thoroughly nice guy and happy to share his marks with us lot of doughnuts, what he doesn't know about the island's marks and its foibles isn't worth knowing. Russ popped in shortly after our arrival and suggested we head down to Castle Point for the first session just like we did last year. It's a handy mark from where we stay, you can actually see it out of the lounge window, so we'd fish that until dark then either turn in or there was chance of an all nighter for the (fool)hardy among us.

Always plenty of boat traffic on the Solent, session 1 at Castle Point.

This mark had probably been the best of the lot last year. We'd all had smuts, I think Nobby took the day with a half dozen or so, fish to 7lb were common and there was a sprinkling of bass with them too. We were on the weeks later tides this year but I half expected similar results, including the large amounts of weed that seem to reside in the Solent. I was right about the weed.

Karl with a first session Smut, a nice starry around 5lb.

How wrong can you be with the fish. Nobby, Smudge and Johnny blanked, Karl had 3 with nothing bigger than around 5lb, I had one very similar and I think PK and Russ (at the end pegs) had one small one apiece. Last year after our first session the heat was off, we'd all caught and we just went to the club house and had some food and beer, tonight was going to be very different.

Could be the same fish, it isn't, it's typical of the size we had this year.

There'd been a strong SW blowing most of the day which had died to nothing by around 2100, we finished fishing the point at around 2300. Russ was up for a ray session so were me and Karl, the rest went to bed. The conditions were just too good. Despite getting up at 5am and the thought of not getting back into bed until 7ish the next day, we had to go. The way I looked at is we were there for 3 days, the weather was going to deteriorate Tuesday and we'd had a blow that had gone to nothing, no brainer really.

Smudge with the ever present weed. The Solent has some wicked tides but I've not found one unfishable except for the weed it brings, shame really.

We both jumped into Russ's motor and headed for the South side of the island. The plan was to fish Chale for the rest of the night and the first of the light. The only trouble I could see was it was dark now and would be light be around 3am, not ideal I would've liked more dark but we had to take the chances we got. After a relatively easy scrabble down the cliffs, easy by island standards, we made our way along the beach for a hundred yards or so, Karl first, then me then Russ.

First chuck with sand eel and cuttle wrap and I'm shell shocked by a drop back bite. If you'd transported me to Pakefield or something I'd be winding in a 2lb codling or something. I just wasn't expecting a drop back, the last time I fished here they just pulled the tip down and kept going. I picked the rod up and wound down for ages before there was a slow and steady thump and a constant weight, not really heavy but obviously not a dogfish which Karl had managed first chuck. I was well chuffed, that was until it dropped off half way in. The same had happened to Russ, big drop back and bumped it off. He reckoned they were little small eyed rays, the most common shore caught ray on the island.

Karl with the first ray of the night, a nice small eyed a little over 5lb, note the posh pinkies.

It was beginning to look like we'd got something right and despite feeling like a zombie I was confident we were all going to catch. Karl snared the first ray within half an hour of the start, followed by Russ. I was struggling, I'd lost some kit and managed a doggie and a smut. Then we had a mad half hour, I had a bite that I thought might be another dog, Karl had a couple of smuts and a shout from Russ signalled he had fish too. I finally got the "dog" in to find it had turned into a small eyed ray around 4 or 5lb. By this time Russ had made his way over to me saying something like "look at this for a ray". He walked over carrying what looked like my Granny's hearth rug.

A nice small eyed "dogfish".

I was still elated when Russ came up holding the hearth rug, I laid it next to my "doggie" and it made it look like bait! The first painted or undulate ray I'd seen outside of sea life centers. Karl brought up his scales, Russ guessed it at around 14lb, I reckoned 11lb though in truth who has much experience of guessing shore caught double figure fish?

Two stunningly beautiful fish, Russ's painted and my small eyed.

A male too, the females are often the larger specimens, we were all itching to get a bait back out again, but first things first, a weigh in and a proper picture.

11lb 8oz of stunning fish and...

Russ holding up the best fish of the few days, a stunning male painted ray of 11lb 8oz.

Baits were soon banged out again in the hope for more of the same but we never quite managed to reach the highs of the first hour or so. Russ managed two small eyed to go with his undulate, Karl and me managed a small eyed each a couple of smuts and a doggie each. The fishing slowed as daylight broke and around 5am we made our way back up everest and to the car, back at the digs by 6am a quick can of beer and bed by 7.

Tuesday came without the torrential rain forecast but with the strong SE wind, same old thing with winds with east in them, the fishing goes off. After mine and Karl's all nighter the plan was to fish another location in Chale Bay and hope for some of the same. Bed by 7am up at 10am doesn't do me any good and I honestly didn't fancy it. I was also worried about the cliff climbs in the forecast rain. Anyway we all went to Blackgang, down the cliff and spread out along the shoreline. The wind hadn't put a surf on yet but it was strengthening by the minute, no wonder then that Nobby had a bite first chuck that he missed and Johnny managed a smut early on. The chances of catching ebbed with the increasing wind and by the time we left rain and thunder was starting. Only Johnny managed to catch at this mark, I've caught there in the past, in fact it's my favourite mark on the island, but I reckon night time's a must for the rays.

Johnny with his Blackgang starry, see the sea starting to get toppy over his shoulder, by the time we left there was a 3' surf.

There was no way on this earth I was going again Tuesday night. Nobby, Paul and Johnny went off to fish Hamstead for smuts with Russ while me, Karl and Smudge decided on a night in the club house, a steak and stella.

Hamstead river mouth, a massive walk and on this occasion not worth the effort.

The lads struggled and blanked. We didn't, we had a nice steak n chips and a few Stella's. The only down side to our night was the Karaoke. There was an old guy who's mum must've told him he could sing. I swear to god if Sinatra was still alive he would have had the Coza Nostra take the fella for a swim with the fishes. I have never heard so many Sinatra songs murdered in one night. There was a woman who sang "Pearl's a singer" and made it sound like "Pervy swinger", needless to say we spent the evening sat outside. Tuesday turned out to be the the pain that was forecast, with I think only Johnny catching, Wednesday promised to be better.

We planned to have a social knock up during the afternoon on Wednesday and split into two groups for the night session. The afternoon knock up was on Yarmouth Pier and Paul, Nobby and Karl fished Hamstead again on the night with me, Johnny and Smudge fishing Fort Victoria. Yarmouth pier was fun if not a little uncomfortable, its more like a jetty than a pier, apparently its the only all wooden constructed pier in the British Isles still open to the public. Nobby was first in with a miniature bream, scooping the first fish prize.

A pretty little fish, I bet they go like stink on light gear when they get up around 2-3lb.

I was struggling, I'd hooked a racing rib and lost some gear on snags so I decided to mess around in the pier legs. I put a sole rig on, 5oz of plain lead (there's a bit of tide) and a couple of pieces of rag. I was quite happy catching hand sized wrasse when I had one a bit better, somewhere between 2 and 3lb.

A cracking scrap even on my beach gear and some of the most vivid colours on our sea fish, a cracking ballan around 2-3lb.

PK and Smudge were first into smuts, I think Paul ended up with 3 or 4 and Smudge 2. I'd tried proper rigs "out" again without any joy so I persevered with the bits.

The leg end with a nice smut, the pier was ok but not what I'd call proper fishing if you know what I mean, still it was a fun little social.

Johnny then managed one. It was Karl's turn to blank this time. The fun and games weren't over yet though.

Smudge with his first smut, shame the fish is camera shy.

I was still messing around with my sole rig and scraps of rag worm. I had a bite a little different to the rattly tugs of the wrasse, more of a steady tug tug. I struck only to find myself anchored to the sea bed. I pulled and pulled, slacked the line and pulled again, no joy. I walked round to the right where Nobby was fishing and pulled again, this time the sea bed moved. I have never felt power like it, I daren't let it go too far in the tide and I was seriously worried about my kit. I'd tied the rig straight to my 15lb mainline after losing the kit to the rib, there was no way I was going to beach this thing. With my rod doubled over I did at least manage to get it up off the bottom, but just holding it in the tide was difficult. I asked Nobby to try and handline it up, if I got it on the surface I'd have at least a chance. As Nobby hauled the weight to the top, the large diamond shape of a ray loomed from the depths, it was a sandy brown colour and probably a big blonde ray. It was never meant to be and the line parted with it just under the surface, I never had much chance with size 2's and 15lb line. Impossible to guesstimate the size and weight of the thing, it would've been the biggest shore caught fish I'd ever managed for sure. It never made any surging runs, to be honest it didn't know it was hooked, it just slunk back down in the tide.
We had a fry up back at the digs which rejuvenated us for the evening session. Me Smudge and Johnny were going to Fort Victoria on account of the fact we didn't fancy the walk at Hamstead. Johnny had done it the night before and last year when he'd had a little spotted ray.

I make no apologies for putting this pic back up, it's Johnny at Hamstead with a little spotted ray from the 2006 trip and one of my favourite pictures.

Both venues were deep water. We got to Fort Victoria around 2100 to find we had the place to ourselves, surprising given its easy access to deep water. Car parked and the 20 yard walk completed we sat down on the grass verge and started to get tackled up. The place is famous for its bream so I started with a flapper carrying size 2's and baby squid which I bound up first then threaded onto the hooks. First chuck, feather the line as the lead hits the water and count. I reckon it took around 8 seconds for 6 ounces to hit the bottom and I guessed around 50' of water 60/70 yards out, awesome.

First bung and I nab a double of bream, the biggest only around 8oz but firsts for me

First cast I get a tremble then a drop back. I wound down to what I thought was a mackerel, they seem to have that same skitish scrap, a few seconds later and a double shot of black bream are on the bank. Quickly returned and out goes the squid again and another near instant bite and another 8oz bream. As much as they are fun, I didn't think I'd get anything much bigger than I was catching so I switched to crab and had a pout straight away, a big chunky one at that. Next chuck produced another drop back on crab but this time it had some go in it and a minute or so later and I've had a smut around 5lb. Smudge was next with a smut of similar proportions.

Smudge with his Fort Vic smut.

Johnny was just round the bend from me and Smudge and the water was whacking through where he was, it was a maelstrom of boils and eddies, it looked awesome but he was struggling for a bite in it. I had more pouts as did Smudge then Johnny grabbed a smut. I had another monster bite as the tide picked up and had a better feeling smut on that somehow got snarled up with Smudge. Smudge thought he had a bite and leapt on his rod, my line parted and that pretty much did for me. Smudge carried on playing my fish and eventually beached a pout on his rig and my smut. That signalled the end of the session and we packed up around midnight. The other boys were struggling at Hamstead (again), Karl managed a pup and a big eel, Nobby got a proper smut as did Russ along with schoolies up to 2lb. PK struggled but snared one in the end I think. That was it then, an uneventful trip home had us back for tea time, fished out and tired. I don't know whether I'll go back next year, it might be time for a new venue..

As the sun sets on this years trip, I don't know if the Jolly Boys will be back. It may be time for a change of venue in 2008?