First Sole Of The Summer

[alun j.]

What a nice evening to get out [last night] after melting at work all day.

 

Thanks to Paul F., a tray of Poole's finest rag and several cool beers and we were off to the shallow [and warm] waters of Christchurch Bay to see if it was time for a sole......... and it wouldn't have mattered if it wasn't , as it was so nice to get out midweek!

 

With the sun going down, bait hardly had time to hit the bottom before being snatched by bream after bream; little ones, but kicking about on our freshwater tackle. Their activity died with the light but along came two sole , trying to fight like bream...... again, not big ones but a nice meal for two tonight!

 

Time really flew by , so something of a surprise to see it was after 12. 30 as the crescent moon came up. The wind also got up; first from the North , then round to the East........... but a warm wind , like a hairdryer.......just a bit bumpy. Was it this that slowed the fishing?, or the increasing amounts of weed in the water as the tide started to flood ???

 

Other nocturnal observations..........

 

......one very impressive meteor/ shooting star that streaked across the top of the cliff before burning up in sprinkling of orange sparks;

 

.......coming back in the 'channel' over the Bar........hundreds of fish leaping out the water !!! small sea trout?? do mullet jump??..... it reminded me of that video clip where the fish are jumping in the boat !, only they weren't that close.

 

Only a small catch but a smashing way of spending a summer's eve.

 

Alun.

[lady jane]

sounds great, glad you managed to catch a couple.

certainly looking forward to having another go, hopefully 4th august !

 

cheers andy

[BigMac]

Alun,

 

I,m almost sure that those fish would have been small bass. Sometimes the bass there number in their tens of thousands, alas, its almost impossible to catch one that is sizeable but it is good fun to have 30 or 40 bass follow your plug to the boat!!!

 

Al

[Bob F]

I was in Christchurch harbour on Sunday with a bunch of other Kayakers rounding up the swans (for the bi-anual count).

 

We paddled through huge shoals of bass in the shallows, some of which looked to be 4-5lbs. Mullet were there also. and yes, mullet do jump. Last year we rounded up the swans at Abbotsbury and the mullet were literally jumping into the boats as we pushed them into the shallows.

 

BF

[alun j.]

and all so eerie in the moonlight / lamplight.

 

Splastastic !!

 

Alun.

[Sinbad]

Thanks Alun for a great evening sortie....

 

After a few hours digging with the morning sun on my back I was literally 'boiling'.

I spent the rest of the day dodging the sun either inside or in the garage !!!

 

A really nice evening out and some promising sport with the bream- even though its the earliest Ive caught Sole, I'm sure your 2lber will show up soon.

 

Was a tad tired yesterday morning for the drive to work to say the least - but its amazing what you can endure when thoughts turn to fishing.

 

Let me know when you're next out... please....

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[Mike Fox]

Talking of jumping fish in Christchurch, I moored just above the Claypool a few years ago, and there was a dreadful smell in the area. Couldn't quite pinpoint it, but it was so overpowering we moved. Going ashore via dinghy later, we went back to try to find out the cause, and there was a fibreglass dinghy on a mooring with a rotting salmon of about 9lb lying in the bottom.

 

I guess it had jumped, landed in the boat and had been unable to get out.

 

I remember wondering what the bailiffs might have said had it been freshly dead, and the owner had just stepped aboard with fishing tackle...

 

Mike