BIG Plans..
Cromer mid flood today, a proper sea on.
Smudge popped round today, he was taking a ride out to Gorleston Angling to top up some bits and pieces ( http://www.gorlestontackle.co.uk/ you'll find Jason and the boys very helpful ). I joined Smudge for a ride out and a coffee. Reports from the shop echoed what we knew and had seen reported elsewhere, lots of just sizeable fish with the chance of a better one and a few bass and flatties. The sea at Walcott was ace, lovely white surf being chased in off the bank by a 3 to 4' lump of chocolate coloured water.
After mine and Geno's half decent do at Pakefield it was just too tempting not to go back down that way, I'd been speaking to Steve Smith at Lowestoft, he'd had a right old beano on the North beach at 'stoft, but the thought of battling the snags swung it in Kessinglands favour. Tide times would allow us to get down there at civil o'clock, fish the ebb grabbing some tea on the way back up here and drop in somewhere like Cart Gap for a few hours of the ebb in that lovely dying surf. That's a big session for me and my mates. Because I live so close I don't need to justify the drive with a mammoth session like some other hardy souls do, I can just fish when I think it will, I'm a lucky boy.
Smudge would be able to join us sometime Wednesday, PK was on nights and Johnny was working. Nobby was up for it and Geno managed to get a day off work, despite his recent bout of workaholism. I've got a really good feeling about this winter and I know I wax lyrical about fishing with my mates, but you really can't beat it. The craic would be mighty and hopefully we'd get among a few, if we didn't it wouldn't be through the lack of trying.
I picked Nobby up at 09:00 and made our way down to Kessingland. Genocide was going to get there early and if there was any weed he was going to text me and we would change venues to Pakefield or similar. As we pulled into Kessingland village I got two texts, one from Smudge and one from Geno. Smudge "I'm straight over from the cafe mate", Geno "I've had one whiting at the sluice, it's crab city, shall we go to north beach?". Dilemma. Smudge hadn't seen Karl up by the sluice and vice versa. We parked up and walked over to see Smudge, texting Karl to let him know where we were as he packed up. Smudge had to be home earlyish so after a brief discussion the three of us decided to head off to Lowestoft north beach, while Smudge fished on at Kess.
We got there around 11, parked behind Birds Eye and walked up to the Sparrows Nest. We did consider going to Tramps Alley but given the warm sunny weather the place would've been heaving with middle aged men flashing their crown jewels, fecking wrong. There was a few guys fishing along the wall but not reporting much, hardly surprising with a bright blue sky and a blazing sun and a sea as flat as a witches tit.
You can see it was more like July than September, not going to catch much in that, at least it holds some colour here.
Fishing for 11:30, first put in and Nobby has a nice little codling, a good start on a nice summers day! Steve Smith had been up to Kessingland to say hello to us, Smudge had told him we were going to be down here. It was just as Steve turned up that one of Geno's rods straightened up, unfortunately he got it snagged up on the way in and lost the lot. The stretch is famous for its snags, lots of old sea wall and broken up groins means there are plenty of features to hold fish but obviously lots to get snagged up on. Not long after Nobby's codling I had one, they all seem to be around the regulation 1 to 1.5lb and there's plenty of them, should be good this winter.
It must've been solid if Nobby's got among 'em!
I missed a few bites lost two sets of kit and managed three, peas from the pod codling. Nobby managed the same three codling but won on the fact he lost no gear. Geno, poor little lamb, he struggled. To be honest his mind wasn't on it, he lost six sets of kit and managed a solitary starfish, things will improve for him no doubt. We decided to pack up around 2pm and go and get some lunch before heading northwards for the second session of the day. Just as we were packing up I got a text from Pete. Him and some of the boys are having a ball in Ireland, the night before they'd had 18 rays in four hours fishing including a specimen small eyed for Trev at 11lb 3oz, Pete reckoned it was slow..... You can imagine my response though I have asked him to get some pictures and either him or Pedro can do a write up when they get back and I'll post it up, lucky bastards!
Pretty little fish and nice and chunky, they'll be perfect come the winter, I'll just be older, fatter and uglier come the winter!
Cheap mixed grill and a couple of Stellas and we're on our way to Cart Gap. Me and Nobby had to use all our charm to persuade Geno into coming, bless him, he needs some time off to recharge. One of the problems with shift work is that if you ever have to come off shifts and work days it wipes you out. Totally fecks the body clock up, especially when your working 7 days a week. He'll have more energy and enthusiasm when he gets back on shift.
We finally got to Cart Gap for around 17:30 and would be fishing by 18:00. Just as we got down the slip two couples had been building sand castles, actually it was probably more accurate to call it sand sculpting. They were pensioners and had probably been at it all day, they had all the trowels and tools and made a cracking job, shame the sea would wipe it out in a couple of hours. Looked like a scene from the Lord of the Rings or something.
Smart innit.
Straight in at Cart Gap and Nobby manages a schoolie, there was more sea on than round the corner at Lowestoft but not nearly as much as I would've liked to see. The sands shift tide to tide here like they do in lots of places, the thing that puts me off the spot we fish at Cart Gap lately is the fact that the bank is so close. Don't get me wrong it means you can easily fish a bait on the bank when there's a sea on or a short lob puts you into the gulley. Trouble is I'd rather the gulley was wider and deeper, the closer it is to you the narrower and shallower it is. I think the next time I fish that way on I'll try Happisburgh.
The slightest sign of a bit of lift on the bank, this is mid flood and the bank is within 10 yards of the end of the first groin to the right of the slip, too close for my liking.
Smudge popped down to play with his new camera, hopefully he'll mail me some of the pictures and I'll update this post with them, they're bound to be better than mine. Geno had had enough by 19:00 and was off for an early night after a radox bath. He'd been up since early, fished three venues for a whiting and a star fish, you have to admire the blokes effort. I was still fish less when Nobby managed another schoolie, getting duffed up right and proper now. I got another text from Pete "rays are still here in daylight and Trev has just had a turbot around 5lbs", Jesus Christ on a bike, for a couple of hundred quid I could've gone with them. (£200 plus a divorce! - Mrs Aitch).
As the tide flooded and we made our way back to the concrete apron, me and Nobby decided to fish just to the left of the slipway where there was still a good chunk of beach. I lost a set of kit, there was quite a bit of tide but thankfully not much weed. It was about half nine when I noticed "weed" hitting my line. I'd been fishing since six and hadn't had a bite. I picked up to wind the rod in and deal with the offending "weed" when the weed pulled back! I've never been so pleased of a fish, its bad enough getting done by Nobby but blanking into the bargain would've been too much. A few seconds later and another of those 1.5lb codling is making its way back to sea. I wish I'd taken a photo now, it was a really pretty fish with deep red spots. That fish forced a couple more casts before we packed up at 22:15, knackered, sun burnt but happy enough after a big day out.
I might have a go locally on Friday night depending on the weather and permission from Mrs Aitch, failing that it'll be the back end of next week. I may even go down the river. Neap tides and settled weather, means it's going to be tough for the next week or so, still I've never had a bite sat here...
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