Old favourites..

I hadn't been out since the weed plucking session at the end of August, for Christs sake that's over a week! A hasty session was arranged before I turned into a Jeremy Kyle watching, Richard and Judy type couch spud..

I picked a 100 worms up from Lee, he asked where I was going and I told him Pakefield. I love Pakefield I've probably mentioned that before, it's one of my ultra favourite beaches. Lee told me there were a lot of cod just offshore, the crabbers were getting plenty in the pots, some good ones too, so the coming season looks promising. Last year I reckon the weather spoiled the winter season, last October was glorious, the trees full of leaves into November and unseasonably warm seas. I can't remember a frost before Christmas. This year is very different, leaves already brown and dropping and the sea temperature way down on the same time last year. For any saddo's (like me) you can monitor the sea surface temperatures here: http://www.getaforecast.com/weatherpix-seatemp.htm the chart at the bottom is the easiest to interpret, monitor it over a few weeks and you can watch the colder water making its way southwards.

Smudge and PK were on days, Nobby on nights and Johnny's carp fishing so I arranged with Karl to go and fish the ebb at Pakefield. We did consider going further southwards for a sole bash, Pedro and a few other lads have been slaying them at Southwold, recent catches of 10 to 20 fish not unusual and quite a few up to and just over 1lb. We opted for the closer venue as Genocide was "tired from all the work". The boy has me worried. I got to his just before 18:00 to find him laid on the settee. I loaded my gear into his motor and we set off. I'm glad we only had the 45 minute drive to Pakefield, I couldn't have stood much more of him moaning and groaning on about work! On and on like an old washer woman before HRT, for the love of god we were going fishing, I was almost in tears when I stumbled out of the car at Pakefield. I'm lucky I don't get stressed too much at work and he's big enough and ugly enough to deal with his issues and here we were for a few hours fishing on a superb evening, that'll take his mind off it.

A lovely evening, no sea on but plenty of colour, not thick but nicely coloured, who cares we were out and at least Geno wasn't at work.

There were a few on the beach when we got there, I should think the last few holiday makers enjoying the Indian summer. High water was around 20:00 and I'd usually expect the ebb to be the best when the tide started to run, probably around 21:30. We didn't walk far, setting up at the bottom of the steps I set two rods up, belted one out as far as I could and fished the other in. Genocide just fished short with his bass rod. First put in with the long bait and I fluke a nice dab, the first dab I've had in ages and easily sizeable and obviously full of roe. A quick photo messed up by the oaf and I slip it back. Can you believe my first dab in ages and the bloke that's usually so good with the camera fluffs it, fecking muppet.

Geno manages a double of baby pout on his old boy boom rigs second chuck and a steady stream of small fish follow for us both. I took the photographs so apologies in advance, he's usually so much better than me, but given his current form I thought it best I did it. The downside to that is that my handsome face and Adonis like body doesn't appear in any of the pics and you have to put up with Genocide and his scowl.

He can curdle milk from 50 yards, its like a gift, poor little pouts.

A little over an hour into the ebb and Karl's rod nearly takes off. You can get some real aggressive bites fishing close, double that up with braid and the bites can be heart stopping. The muppet missed that bite, and I lost a set of gear on my out rod. I couldn't be bothered to retie a leader so I went down to one rod and just fished it close after having seen Geno's go barmy the previous cast. Geno beat me to it, his rod took off again and a couple of seconds later and a double of codling find themselves face to face with the scowling lump.

You can see the biggest one is sizeable on the measure but not really a meal. Please put them back, if you do they'll be 2 or 3lb by winter and a decent meal.

My next put in and within seconds my rod is bouncing around and another chunky little 1lb codling soon finds itself swimming off after a brief visit. Bites came fast and furious between about 21:30 and 23:00 and a steady stream of 1lb codling with the odd better one around 1.5lb (weighed). I'm guessing we had around 6 apiece and with the bits they all went back. Hopefully they'll show again in a few months after a bit of fattening up. Cracking little session and I've made my mind up I won't leave it a week before I fish somewhere again. I'll also make sure "Jack" gets some play so he doesn't become a really dull boy.

It's been a different story up my neck of the woods this week. My old mates Hinge and Bracket had been to Trimingham and struggled all day, I think one of them fluked a weaver. Its the way it is here, the ground at places like Pakefield seems to hold a few fish while up here we have some decent ground but without that holding power for the fish. We seem to need the conditions to be right, a good blow and a coloured rolling sea and I'm sure fish of a similar stamp would've shown for H & B.

I'm still trawling through video and it may take me a while before I can get some film into shape to be uploaded. I'll also ask PK to write something for here, get his take on things at the minute. I'm conscious of the fact that my mates don't get a right to reply to my occasional character assassination, they can take it out on me on the beach if they don't want to write.

There's a couple of matches coming up this autumn, there's the return leg of the Anglo - Taff challenge with the Anglo's hoping to overturn the Taff's narrow lead from the first leg, hopefully Pakefield will provide all of the lads with a few fish and I think I'm OK to fish that one. There's the ICCM looming too, I'll put a link up to registration over the next week or two. I want to fish it but need to get two night shifts covered, it's a cracking meet / match that's very well run. It was rumoured that the Hopton Open wouldn't be taking place this year, then I heard that Sharmo might be running it. I hope he does as I was looking forward to it, as I hear anything I'll post it here as well as on www.leader-lines.com and the other forums.