The beginning of August carried on the theme of June & July with the fishing being pretty slow for me.
Typically in August I will fish the first couple of weeks and then have a breather before the open at the end of the month.
First session of the month after the mullet comp was to see if any Triggerfish were around. You would think with the summer we have had they would be there but it doesn’t seem to be the case. This session just produced a few small Black Bream which seem to be everywhere at the moment.
Next was a beach session for Mullet as I try and get my head around ledgering for them. It’s seems I’ve not picked the best year to try this and apart from a few small Bass and a small Golden Grey when I switched to worm for the last 20 minutes it was a blank.
Then it was another session for a Trigger, this time a different mark but the same outcome with Black Bream although I did miss a spectacular bite that nearly had the rod in. At the time I was convinced I had missed a Trigger but having returned since and had the same thing happen I think it’s more likely it was just a bigger Bream.
Then back to the beach ledgering for Mullet and another blank, it’s fair to say things were not looking great for the upcoming open!
Another Trigger session, more Black Bream and then a harbour session with Dad on float where we had a few Snipe and Scad.
That left time for one more session before the open so another bash for a Trigger which produced yet more Black Bream but at least this time there was a decent one amongst them at 1-14, just a week too early.
Then after a weeks breather it was time for the open. For anyone not familiar with the comp this is a week long event split into 9 species sections with the objective being to weigh in to as many sections as possible. In the event of a tie the angler who got to that number first wins. In order to weigh in you have to meet the minimum qualifying weight and also beat the 5th placed on the board. The qualifying weights are really tough and at the end of the week only 3 of the 9 sections were full.
I actually got off to a great start, first session was a low water wading session trying for a Bass. It was far too windy for a tripod so it was going to be one rod with your gear and bait strapped to you, not the easiest fishing. I was pretty disappointed when I got there as despite the wind the sea was really clear.
I decided to have a go anyway and the session started really slow, it was difficult to feel the bites with the wind but there were only a few schoolie rattles. About an hour after low I had a decent pull round and hooked what felt like a decent fish. I picked some weed up on the way in so couldn’t really feel the fish to much but as I got closer in it started going mad, then it suddenly appeared in front of me, a fish about 2lb foul hooked in the stomach! Had me going for a while. I baited up again, cast out and walked back about 100 yards. I tried to tighten up but every time I did it went slack again. I either had weed that was getting pushed up the beach with the tide or it was a fish. I wound down and struck and felt a definite kick of a fish. It felt pretty decent but again I picked up weed and couldn’t really feel the fish. Gradually I wound it all back to me, I saw the weed hit the surface and could make out a decent looking fish underneath. Suddenly the fish came up and a big head came out the water, definitely looked a weigher. At this point I’m slowly walking backwards to keep pressure on while trying to unclip my net from my drybag, eventually I get the net off and breathe a sigh of relief when it’s finally in the net. A long walk back to dry land against the wind, a quick video measure at just under 67cm and back it went. First fish on the board, great result.
A long walk back to the van, home for some different gear and a quick drive up to the north coast to assess the conditions which were way beyond fishable so it was a short mullet session on the south coast to end the day which was a blank.
Sunday and the weather hasn’t improved so it’s an early morning Mullet session that was plagued by small fish. I had 2 but one of them was on the ledger gear which was progress. Home for lunch before heading out for a Wrasse session in the hope of finding somewhere fishable over the low water. A very long climb and a bit hairy at the end but I got to a mark I hadn’t fished for quite a few years. First drop I had 2 wrasse both about a pound and a half which I thought looked promising. I had bites for about an hour before they dried up but nothing decent with the biggest 2-14, not even quite big enough for a club weigher. Due to the climb I had travelled light and when the heavens opened and we had a massive thunderstorm I got absolutely drenched making the climb back up pretty sketchy and the long walk miserable.
Monday and the weather was still pretty restrictive but I went and tried for a bream on float using heavy gear. It was barely fishable and I only had a few small bream but I did see a decent mullet in the chervy so noted that for a return when the conditions improve. Home for a bit of lunch and then off again for another low water Wrasse session. When I arrived the swell was nasty and there was a lot of loose Kelp washing around, catching the line and dragging your gear into the snags. It was super tough but I hoped as the tide pushed in and it got a little deeper the swell would ease a little and it might just be fishable. About an hour and a half after low I had a few small fish rattles on limpet so switched to crab. I had a perfectly timed brief lull in the swell, had my first proper bite and lifted into a decent Wrasse. It was super shallow so was on the surface in seconds. It was too risky to try and net so it was a wind down and hope and luckily everything held firm. It looked a possible, and on the ruler it went just over the 50cm minimum. Interestingly I am positive I had this same fish from this mark in both 2023 & 2024, looked identical and was pretty much the same size. I haven’t fished the mark in between these sessions so if I am correct that’s 3 consecutive sessions I have caught the same Wrasse, showing the benefit of a catch and release policy. Hopefully I will catch it again in next years comp 😀. There a lovely big rock pool to give it plenty of time to recover before safely putting it back. Great stuff, 2 fish on the board.
A quick dash home to grab some other gear and have an hour on the Bream but the sea was still way to rough and I had just 1 small one.
Tuesday I was up at first light as the weather had finally settled down a bit although conditions were far from perfect. Black Bream and possible Mullet were the target. I got to the mark and it was still pretty lumpy but I felt I could fish. It was a pretty slow start but eventually the Bream moved in and I was catching plenty but the average size was smaller than usual and I was losing confidence. I saw a few Mullet show up, they didn’t look big but I had a go anyway and soon hooked one about a pound and a half. Back on the Bream and they kept coming finishing with about 3 dozen with the best only about 1-4. One small bonus was a club weigher Scad of 12 ozs.
The afternoon I decided to go and try for a Mackerel. There were anglers at my first choice mark so it was plan B which was slow going finishing with 10 Mackerel but only upto 12ozs.
Wednesday was another dawn start this time back to try for the Mullet I had seen earlier in the week and maybe a Bream. I was bothered by the fact I had forgotten my fluorocarbon hooklink material so had to go old school with the 6lb mono reel line straight through. First bite was a small Black Bream which did me a favour as when I went to lift it out my line snapped on the shot, I had clearly been a little too enthusiastic putting them on. I set up again a bit more carefully, dropped the float back in deep and kept scanning for fish. The float dipped and I was in and this didn’t have the telltale rattle of a Bream. It made a great first run but when I saw it I thought it was only about 2lb but it just wouldn’t give up. Eventually it tired and when I slid it into the net the 2lb looked more like 4lb. This fish wasn’t coming off, the hook was right through the top lip nailed perfectly. A quick measure to check it was big enough and it went 54.5cm, my third fish of the week and just 10 minutes before the weigh-in cut off time. This left me as the first angler to 3 meaning anyone else would need 4 but the last 2 years the winner has had 5 so a long way to go.
I fished on, no more signs of Mullet but I had quite a few Black Bream but again not big enough, the best about 1-6 as well as Garfish to 13ozs.
It was time to start doing some night fishing, something I tend to leave until I have a couple of daytime fish on the board. I am the first to admit I don’t have the stamina of the younger generation to fish every day and every night so I concentrate on the daytime fish at the start which I think are slightly easier than the night time species.
I was so surprised to be Conger fishing I actually had to make some traces up! I did a short trip Wednesday night, just a few small eels and no decent bites.
Thursday morning, another rockmark but the same approach for a Black Bream. Again lots of fish 20+ but no size and for the first time in quite a few years I felt I wasn’t going to find a weigher Bream.
Thursday night was another rockmark for a Conger or maybe a Huss. It was a strange session, unbelievably quiet at a mark that’s normally non stop with small eels and dogfish if nothing else. Either it had already been fished once or twice in the week which is always a risk this week or just maybe there was a Tope around but whatever the reason I blanked.
Friday morning was back on the Bream but this time I opted for the bottom rods. The wind was really strong making fishing difficult and I also had Lobster pots in the way. The few Bream I caught were tiny but the session was memorable for 2 reasons. Firstly I twice saw a big BF Tuna jump about 50 yards in front of my and secondly I caught my first ever Comber, in fact I caught 2 of them. It’s pretty rare I catch a new species there days, technically a PB I guess and I believe my 59th Jersey shore species although that may actually be 60 because I’m pretty sure I caught Dab locally as a kid but I have no definitive record of it.
Friday night and another Conger session. Result was the same, small eels to maybe 10lb, so I decided to call it a night pretty early to get up and have one last bash for a Bream in the morning.
At this point last years winner Sam Bennie had moved onto 3 fish with a whole host of other anglers on 2 so I really felt I needed a 4th fish.
Saturday morning and feeling a little jaded I headed out for yet another Bream session. When I got to the mark it was a lot rougher than I was expecting and I didn’t really fancy it. I started getting bites from small Bream, but not much else. I went to have a bait check and got hit on the way in giving me hopes of a last minute jumbo Mackerel but it turned out to be a Bass about 2 and a half pound. I finished on seven or eight Bream, all small and it was time to pack up and wait and see if anyone had managed to get to 4. A couple of late fish from the legend that is Steve Mullins that included a cracking 4lb + Gilthead meant myself, Steve and Sam all finished on 3 with me taking the win for being the first to get there. I also had the most points but the winning numbers this year were fairly modest compared to the last couple of years. It’s been a slow summer and the conditions of the week made it tough which I think is reflected in the final board.
So at the presentation I finished first overall, my 7th win which I’m pretty pleased with. 1st in the best Jersey Angler which is the most accumulated points, 1st in the Bass, 2nd in the Wrasse and 5th in the Mullet. I was particularly pleased to win the Bass as I hadn’t won that section previously meaning over the years I have won 6 of the 9 sections with just Conger and the 2 Mullet sections to go so that won’t happen anytime soon.
In all seriousness it was super tight margins this year, other anglers had bad luck with lost fish and it could easily of gone a different way.
A massive thank you to all the organising committee and the sponsors that make this week possible.
Congratulations to everyone who took part and fished hard all week, especially those who managed to weigh in.
Commiserations must go to Paul Le Neveu who for me caught the fish of the week, a super rare Marbled Electric Ray of over 8lb and forgot to put the tag in the weigh and release video. When you’re exhausted it’s so easy to make a simple mistake like that but as least you still caught the fish which is special.
To put the week in perspective I did 16 sessions, most involving a climb down a cliff. I generally fish twice a week so this is close to 2 months fishing in a week for me!
September sees me off on holiday again in a couple of weeks to Madeira, this time I am hoping to take a travel rod along and perhaps add a few new species. Locally I will likely try for a Thin Lipped if the weather plays ball.
Next up on the competition agenda is the shore conger festival the first weekend in October. Entry forms will be out for this one in the next week or so, format is the same as last year with big prizes available for both the overall and St Catherine’s sections as well as the Juniors.
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