The bit you should read.
This fishing blog details my angling adventures around the UK (although depending where I am in the country I also sea fish from both Boat and Shore, Carp, Pike and Fly fish). I will be giving a summary of 3 values considered by most anglers as well as the additional Disabled Access rating. Since being diagnosed with CIDP and regaining my motor function Disabled angling and Disabled access is now something I always consider when visiting venues. They will all be rated on a scale of 1* to 5*;
1. Fishability *****
2. Accessability *****
3. Value for Money *****
4. Disabled Access *****
I think these 4 points are the key issues which are readily identifiable with all anglers. Feel free to take a look and add your own comments along the way!
Sunday 14 February 2016
Trip #92 - Wetter than an Otter's Pocket
Just a short one this time. Following my last trip to Lyme
Regis, I dug my waders out of retirement and was keen to get back out there in
search of elusive bass. I check the tide times and it was going to be another
early one. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as Lyme Regis when busy is an
absolute nightmare to park. I was up, out the door and on the road to Lyme as
the sun was rising. Arrived at the Lyme Regis car park just after 6, only one
Council van for company. Fortunately parking before a certain time is free,
however after 8 it becomes very expensive very quickly. Looking through my
wallet I realised I had enough change to see me through until 10 a.m. before
needing sell all my worldly belongings to afford another hour. This was
hopefully going to be a short but productive trip.
I got into my waders, set up my lure rod with a 14 cm Savage
Gear panic prey and set off towards the ledges. Feeling rather smug wearing my
waders I confidently walked down the walkway and straight into the water. This
was my first mistake. Lesson 1 - If you're going to wear waders you haven't
worn in about 2 years check they don't leak first. I was about ankle deep in
water when I first felt my feet get cold. At that point it wasn't enough to
make me stop and think “hang on are these leaking?” and I strolled on into the
deeper water. By the time the water was up near my shins I was under no
illusion that these waders were definitely compromised.
I waded out to one of the ledges which meant I was standing up
off the gullies in the shallow water. I must have looked a bit daft, standing
there laughing as I watched the water seeping out of my boots. I bent down I
had a quick look at least state of the boot element of my waders. The seal
between the welly and neoprene had completely perished, there was also
additional splits along the sole of the welly and the bend of the foot. I was
taking on more water than the Titanic! Needless to say fishing was not going
well, and even the seagulls flying overhead seemed to be mocking me… Swines!
Standing on ledge, I cast the Panic Prey while trying to ignore
the puddle of water sloshing around in my waders. I fished for around 15
minutes and had 1 follow before my feet became incredibly uncomfortable. The
tide was on the turn, and a further 10 minutes meant I could feel my boots
refilling with the flood of the tide. Today was not going well. I stepped off
the ledge and down into a gully just below waist depth. There were several more
holes which I hadn’t seen. I gave up fishing at this point and slumped back to
the car . Unfortunately I had only fished for an hour and a half, but one
silver lining was that it was still too early for the ticket machines!
After peeling off my waders, I was pretty sure that I was
carrying more water than was in Lyme Bay. I got into the car and decided that I
would do away with my waders, sacrifice my trainers and wade through the bay at
Charmouth to try and pick up a stray schooly. A 10 minute drive and I was
parking up in Charmouth car park. Walking down the steps I swapped my lure to a
sub-surface Ryobi and cast out. I was casting around the point of what I knew
to be some submerged rock when I heard some splashing. I looked up and saw
swimmers front crawling towards where I was casting. Fantastic…
I called it a (soggy) day then and there. Broken waders. Broken
spirit. I turned back towards the shore and between me and the beach in no less
than 1ft of water I saw a school bass chasing some fry. I laughed headed out of
the surf and back to the car. What a couple of hours. I'll have to revisit
strategy before my next outing, as the water will be decidedly more cold over
the coming months. Maybe waders can go on my Christmas list… for 2016.
Not rating as it was a terrible morning, and one which could
have been avoided had i maintained my waders.
Labels:
Bass,
Charmouth,
Fishing,
Fishing in South West England,
Lures,
Lyme Regis,
Sea Fishing,
Spinning
Location:
Lyme Regis, Dorset, UK
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment