I had a session down on the east arm of Brighton Marina (yeah I know, same old habits) last night from about 9 pm through until daybreak in bay 45. Considering what a still day we’d had, I was surprised that there was a bit of South Easterly breeze blowing along the wall; not bad, just unexpected. This was enough just to put a bit of a surface chop on an otherwise flat sea. Had pretty much the place to myself too, along that stretch, just a few to my left in the 20’s and what looked a few in the spot I really wanted, up by the rocks on bay 60.

Set up one rod with a long link running ledger, ending in a size 5/0 hook baited with frozen joey mackerel head and chucked that out a few yards. Rod number two had a size 4 two hook sole rig baited with lugworm. I then set about trying to get some fresh mackerel and had a few chucks until it was too dark, before giving it up with zilch results.

It wasn’t until about an hour and half  after the 9.20pm low water that I had the first hit on the bass rod while I was re-baiting the other one. The rod pulled down hard and the reel screamed as line peeled off it but just as I got to it, the reel stopped; I picked it up and then felt another savage pull before all went dead – bugger! I left it a couple of minutes – just in case – before retrieving, only to find the head just hanging on by the skin of it’s teeth (literally).

I put on another head, lobbed it out a few yards and stood by the rod for a while before leaving it to have a coffee. The next run was just as savage and came at nearly three hours after low water. I was ready this time and took hold of the rod as the line was stripping off, followed by the lull before the fish took off again. I struck and lifted into what  felt like a good fish, only for it to go right and run tight up beside the wall. It was only a matter of seconds and then the inevitable twang as the line parted, being no match against concrete and barnacles. I was gutted – two lost fish in the session, disastrous. It was the hook length that had parted, although I had to strip a few yards of main line off too, as it was so badly chaffed.

I carried on fishing but knew deep down that there wasn’t going to be another chance. Anyway, the other rod produced a schoolie bass, a small thornback ray, few Pout and one slip sole. I stayed on until daybreak and tried for some mackerel for bait, ahead of the ‘Paddle round the Pier’ charity fishing competition in aid of the charities: Oopsadaisy, RNLI and Surfaid International being held on Saturday. Even those normally obliging buggers wouldn’t play and so eventually left empty handed.

As an angler there is nothing more disappointing than losing a decent fish, it just makes you wonder where you went wrong and what could have been.

2 Responses to “Marina Bass Dramas”

1. dannyc says:

   2 July, 2010 at 14:44

   unlucky m8 , i`m sure it wont be long til the next one comes along

2. Tweets that mention Vic Fisher's sea angling journal » Marina Bass Dramas -- Topsy.com says:

   2 July, 2010 at 16:58

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