I’m combining two months this time because we have had such a terrible run of poor weather particularly at weekends. In one of those storms, a cargo vessel lost a number of shipping containers near The Nab. Many of them broke open, releasing thousands of bananas and avocados which floated around for days before being washed ashore. The containers either sank, floated or ended up on the beaches and were a major worry to boats in the area. They aren’t easy to see and a collision would be catastrophic.
Apart from that diversion, when anglers have managed to get afloat there were plenty of fish to be caught but not necessarily the species we had hoped for. Many reported high numbers of dogfish and in some areas, a nuisance level of small congers as well. For those that persevered there was the chance of some whiting, although in very low numbers compared to previous years. A few codling were also reported, most around 5lb and under which is a sign of the times. Those venturing further our found Spurdog on deeper marks. Good bass were also there and even a few late bream.
Moving on to January, if the weather settles at all we hope to find a few late codling but I’m not optimistic. We have also noticed big shoals of small fish midwater. This may be the reason why we are seeing the return of Bluefin Tuna, because despite their size they actually feed on quite small fish so there’s a logical connection between those two observations. Not that it helps us at all, because most don’t have a tuna licence and although I quite like sprats, I’m not intending to go after them with a rod and line just yet. However, I wonder if we are too fixated on winter fishing with rigs on the bottom. What if our target species are feeding on those small fish mid-water? It would certainly be worth a few experimental sessions because the way things are at the moment you would have to really like Rock Salmon to be satisfied with current catches. You can probably tell, I’m looking forward to Spring and some warmer weather!