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The headline and photos however tell only half the story.
We'd left Amble marina at 09.30, having left it to the last minute whether to go or not. The winds were certainly easterly, which is usually a no-no, but were very light. It was more the swell that was the concern. Once clear of Coquet and heading north, we were forced to slow down. Off Alnmouth, we stopped to admire 3 different pods of dolphins converging, seemingly working a shoal of what smelled like herring. At Seaton Point, it was very bumpy with the tide running fast. We spent a couple of hours here, and along the stretch in front of Boulmer Haven, but were just not getting any bites. In that time, all we'd had between us was 1 mackerel and 1 small coalie. The area is usually very productive, and this was a big tide. The water was still badly discoloured from earlier in the week, so we would have to find clearer water, either further north, or out on the wrecks.
The problem was fuel. We had set off with the tank about 3/4 full and in these conditions we could use a lot getting to where we wanted to be. The fuel gauge was swinging wildly so was difficult to judge how much was left. Having suffered the fate of running out of diesel 200 yards short of Amble pier 2 years ago, and having to be towed back to the marina by a good Samaritan really made me edgy. Steve from SDS had removed the tank and a whole load of sludge mid-way through last year, so now I should be able to trust the gauge, but since we'd only used the boat a couple of times since Steve did the work, and then the boat was out of action because of the damage from Storm Arwen I really didn't want to take a chance. We decided to go back to the marina, refuel and head either to a wreck or go south, depending upon conditions.
As it turned out, the tank was only half empty, so Steve's good work was paying off and we could henceforth rely on the gauge. So we cast off again, went south of Coquet and bumped into the rollers again. It would be a slog to a wreck so we motored down to Bondicarr. It was immediately apparent that the water was much clearer south of Coquet and we were straight into fish. Lots of mackerel and small coalies to begin with, but the bigger stuff was taking advantage of their presence. Using his home-made lures, Oli hooked a beautiful cod that we weighed at 9.5lb in just 40 feet of water, and very close to the shore. He had several more of around 3-4lb, and another larger one, and then he caught a superb pollock that we weighed at 8.5lb, a decent specimen for this area, and even closer inshore.
Meanwhile, I was hooking loads of small stuff, mackerel, coalies, codling. I tried almost everything in my arsenal, but couldn't match Oli's home-made lures. I even tried sabiki's to see what baitfish they were taking, as there were loads on the screens all day. In the end, Oli lent me one of his, but by then the tide had dropped to almost nothing. We tried the various headlands to find a better tidal race, but it was just not to be. So I was outfished yet again. Oli does nag me about not experimenting enough, and I have to admit he's right. I must have had close to 40 fish in those few hours, but all small. So next time, I'll use what he's using and see if I can improve.
We'd left Amble marina at 09.30, having left it to the last minute whether to go or not. The winds were certainly easterly, which is usually a no-no, but were very light. It was more the swell that was the concern. Once clear of Coquet and heading north, we were forced to slow down. Off Alnmouth, we stopped to admire 3 different pods of dolphins converging, seemingly working a shoal of what smelled like herring. At Seaton Point, it was very bumpy with the tide running fast. We spent a couple of hours here, and along the stretch in front of Boulmer Haven, but were just not getting any bites. In that time, all we'd had between us was 1 mackerel and 1 small coalie. The area is usually very productive, and this was a big tide. The water was still badly discoloured from earlier in the week, so we would have to find clearer water, either further north, or out on the wrecks.
The problem was fuel. We had set off with the tank about 3/4 full and in these conditions we could use a lot getting to where we wanted to be. The fuel gauge was swinging wildly so was difficult to judge how much was left. Having suffered the fate of running out of diesel 200 yards short of Amble pier 2 years ago, and having to be towed back to the marina by a good Samaritan really made me edgy. Steve from SDS had removed the tank and a whole load of sludge mid-way through last year, so now I should be able to trust the gauge, but since we'd only used the boat a couple of times since Steve did the work, and then the boat was out of action because of the damage from Storm Arwen I really didn't want to take a chance. We decided to go back to the marina, refuel and head either to a wreck or go south, depending upon conditions.
As it turned out, the tank was only half empty, so Steve's good work was paying off and we could henceforth rely on the gauge. So we cast off again, went south of Coquet and bumped into the rollers again. It would be a slog to a wreck so we motored down to Bondicarr. It was immediately apparent that the water was much clearer south of Coquet and we were straight into fish. Lots of mackerel and small coalies to begin with, but the bigger stuff was taking advantage of their presence. Using his home-made lures, Oli hooked a beautiful cod that we weighed at 9.5lb in just 40 feet of water, and very close to the shore. He had several more of around 3-4lb, and another larger one, and then he caught a superb pollock that we weighed at 8.5lb, a decent specimen for this area, and even closer inshore.
Meanwhile, I was hooking loads of small stuff, mackerel, coalies, codling. I tried almost everything in my arsenal, but couldn't match Oli's home-made lures. I even tried sabiki's to see what baitfish they were taking, as there were loads on the screens all day. In the end, Oli lent me one of his, but by then the tide had dropped to almost nothing. We tried the various headlands to find a better tidal race, but it was just not to be. So I was outfished yet again. Oli does nag me about not experimenting enough, and I have to admit he's right. I must have had close to 40 fish in those few hours, but all small. So next time, I'll use what he's using and see if I can improve.
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