With rain due this afternoon and the tides in the right direction, I headed for the local beach.

A steady sou' westerly was driving quite a surf and being a newbie at this sea fishing lark, I don't yet know if the cold-water fish come as near to the shore as the summer bass do. Anyway, I cast as far as the wind and my poor technique would allow into the meaty waves. At least with the tide coming in, the bait (a two-hook flapper rog, one holding a sandeel, the other a bit of squid) would effectively be left it in less turbulent water.

After half an hour the rain started early with the force of the wind making it uncomfortable to stand in. After a couple of hours I'd had no bites and (as I would find out when I got home) even my pants were wet. With the tide now going out, I felt that my hooks would be left in shallower and shallower rough water and decided to go and wrap some Christmas presents instead.