Eddystone and Beyond!

Well, it's the end of August and once again I am on holiday in South Devon and the weather is decidedly dodgy.  Our arrival day (22nd August) was glorious sunshine but the rest of the week had a deteriorating forecast so Pops and I took what we thought might be the only chance to get to sea in Pops boat.  The forecast for the 23rd was for light rain in the morning but winds of only force 3-4 "variable".  We arrived at the marina at around 9.30am and indeed it was spitting with rain, but this soon cleared up.  The even better news was that there was virtually no wind at all and we left the berth in a flat calm, oily smooth sea.

Because the conditions were so good we decided to head out to fish a wreck to the South-East of the Eddystone reef and then work our way back in, stopping on the reef itself, then an in shore wreck and finally, possibly a visit to a favourite Wrasse mark in Cawsand bay before we went home.

We had picked up fresh Ragworm and frozen Squid from Clive's Bait and tackle in the morning and Pops took us to another inshore wreck to pick up some Mackerel before we headed off-shore.  On reaching the wreck we started to lower our feathers.  Pops was instantly in to the fish and landed a string of four and had another two to the boat before I had even opened my camera bag!

Pops catches the bait

We managed enough Mackerel for our session in about 3 minutes so we were quickly on our way again for an eight mile blast to our first wreck.

When we arrived the tide was pretty slack and with very small tides anyway there was very little movement in the water.  This proved to be a hindrance as the Pollack we had hoped to find didn't come on to the feed at all. 

First drop however, and I was in to a fish.  It felt like a reasonable one to start with but then quickly gave up the fight.  The result was a large Pouting which had taken my 6" Redgill Evo.  As the water was slack I decided to switch tactics and attached a 6/0 strong hook with wire trace above which I placed a pink muppet.  I baited with a Mackerel flapper and lowered away, hoping I might find a Ling.  I was instantly receiving constant small bites from pesky Pouts.  My first flapper was destroyed without hooking a fish.  Another flapper cut and I was back to the bottom amongst the ironwork of the wreck.  A couple more plucks and then a bite.  I leant in to a heavier fish which was with me for a few moments and then let go.  Another reasonable bite came instantly and I wound in to what was a not very large but much livelier fish.  The result was a very nice Whiting (about 2lbs) which had taken the flapper whole!

I decided to change tactics again and try a 3" Purple Haze shad to see if I could find another good Whiting and be ready in case the Pollack came on the feed.  Pops was trying a variety of large sidewinders and whilst he was getting constant harassment from small fish he didn't manage to hook one.

The change worked for me with another good Whiting coming to the boat followed by this clonking Pouting of 2lb 6oz.

Monster Pouting!

As we didn't really want to spend the day catching Pouting and we planned to try for Whiting later in the day we decided on a move.  First we set off to a wreck just to the north west of the Eddystone which we had never tried before.  We found the mark with no problems but there was little or no super-structure showing.  The sounder indicated some fish but two drifts failed to entice a take on our soft plastic lures so we decided on another move.

Next stop were a couple of likely looking rock pinnacles on the outer edge of the reef.  I swapped my lure for a strong 1/0 hook on a shortened trace (about 4 feet) and baited with rag worm to try and find a big Ballan Wrasse.  I remember as a kid reading about the British record Wrasse being caught on the Eddystone before the record moved to Portland and wanted to see if I could emulate that feet (or get close to it!).  As I hit the bottom I had an instant bite.  Pops and I then became plagued by Cuckoo Wrasse (male and female).  Whilst these are beautiful looking fish they were not of the size we wanted and they don't cope well with coming up through the deep water and we didn't want to catch these delightful fish if we couldn't return them.  Pops suggested we move to shallower water closer to the lighthouse where there were several other boats all trying for Bass (some with live Mackerel, other trolling, others casting lures) - although we didn't see any caught.  The sounder showed amazingly rough ground with one pinnacle of rock after another, classic Wrasse ground.

I dropped to the bottom, allowing five seconds in touch with the rock before winding in a few turns and dropping back down again.  I was using my ultra-light 5lb class Awa-Shima Ugly Battler and was able to fish with just five ounces which helped avoid the snags I think.  After a couple of drops I had the slightest of bites.  I tried to let it develop but nothing came.  I turned the handle to take the terminal gear out of the danger zone (intending to reset) when WHAM!  I was hit by a ferocious bite.  The fish came up about 10 turns before stripping line from the reel and bending my rod double.  I though I would lose him in the kelp but then he stopped and I gained line.  I was not sure how big the fish would be but when it hit the surface I asked Pops for the net.  As I said the words the fish took another terrific run for the bottom and I was pleased that my light rod had forced me to set the drag very light or I think he would have broken me.  I pulled the fish back to the surface and pops flashed the net.  A smashing Ballan of 3lb 12oz was mine - not a record by any means but just what I had come for!

Beautiful Ballan!

Pops removed his lure and decided to join the hunt.  He repositioned the boat back towards the lighthouse and we started again.  I instantly caught a large female Cuckoo Wrasse and in this shallower water she went back fine, disappearing with one flick of the tail.  Then I had another good bite.  Not a fish as big as the first but a nice two pound Ballan coloured bright orange.

Another repositioning of the boat and it was Pops' turn.  He had a tremendous tussle from this nicely marked fish.

Pops, Wrasse & Eddystone Lighthouse

The next two drifts produced a plague of Cuckoo Wrasse and small Pollack (about 2lbs each) so we decided to quit whilst we were ahead and head back towards port to stop at a final wreck to try for large Whiting.  I continued to use my light rod and adorned the hook with a small blue and white muppet and a sliver of Mackerel.  Pops opted for baited feathers.  After the first drift Pops had three Whiting and a Mackerel to the boat - I had just lost my bait!

On the next drift I found the fish with three Whiting in the same drift with fish coming up to 1/4 mile from the wreck.  Pops already had a freezer full of Whiting and we decided we would call it a day as we needed no more and had enjoyed a very pleasurable and relaxed day's fishing.  We headed back to the marina after a day of constant sport and have agreed we will go back to the Eddystone to have a concerted crack at a bigger Wrasse one day as there must be hundreds of them waiting for us!

Contact - steve@madpolka.co.uk