Saltwater Boat Angling — December 2017

30 Saltwater Boat Angling

easing down to low tide so I set the anchor a couple of

hundred yards off the ledge allowing the boat to swing

round as the tide started to flow and fish out baits into

the leading edge.

Who let the dogs out?

Slack water, away from the ledge meant dogfish and we

certainly had our fill before the tide began to flood.

After about 20 dogs our squid was getting well

depleted but as soon as the boat started to turn I had a

couple of small bull huss and Tim landed a small bass

while trying out a Red Gill. There was lots of gulls

working and we had a dolphin come close to the boat.

At this time of the year the bass and the mackerel are

migrating westwards while the herring and sprats are

moving east and the sea is filled with action. So, what

about the cod? With the tide now starting to flow my

rod gave a couple of nods and I lifted into what I

thought would be another dogfish but this one felt

heavier and gave the good old cod nod. At last a good

bend in the rod and our first cod of the winter, only

about 5lbs or 6lbs, but it was a start.

A double

I baited up my 6/0 pennel rig again using a side of a

large squid with several black lug and dropped it down.

It wasn’t long before my rod gave several good bites

and I found myself into another one and a bit heavier as

well. Tim was ready with the net to boat a fine cod of

around 10lbs. As I had only one last winter, I had

already doubled that with plenty of time before

Christmas to bag some more, if the weather allows.

While Tim was getting some pictures of the fish in the

net, his rod took a real bend and as the butt lifted and

the rod began to disappear over the side he grabbed it

and hung on. He had hooked something big, but not for

long, as it came off and he found his pennel rig ripped

off. Was probably a big conger as there are plenty on

the reef at this time of the year. That was the end of the

excitement for the day as the tide got too strong and

we headed for home. The sea had been flat calm, the

sun pleasantly warm, everything on the boat worked as

it should and we had two cod in the boat. To me that

was a perfect day.

Seeing Deep Blue was a good omen Editor Tim with one of the many dogfish

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