Mica Rose The Maiden Voyage.

[thedogs]

Mica Rose The Maiden Voyage.

 

To say I was excited is a bit like saying Dawn French is big boned. I wasn’t going to get any sleep Saturday night that’s for sure.

 

Mica Rose is a 23 foot Aquafish that my angling pal and good mate Matt Lee has been fitting out to his own custom spec for the last year.

 

She was launched about two weeks ago and although Matt had taken her up-river for a short session this was to be the first proper offshore serious tope bash.

 

We had arranged to meet up at the marina at 04.00, but 03.00 saw me call Matt to see if he to was awake. He was so we arranged to leave half hour early.

 

We left Bradwell marina in the half-light of early dawn and headed out of the creek at a leisurely pace. With the creek and the marina well behind us Matt opened up the Volvo 190 turbo charged engine and Mica Rose woke up with one hell of a start. 35 knotts in what seemed like a blink of any eye.

 

In no time at all we were at the East Barrow feathering our bait for the day. The mackerel were a tad patchy but in an hour or so we had plenty for our days fishing.

 

The engine was started and it was off the tope mark, enthusiasm was high as was the dawn sun that was gently warm up the new day.

 

No sooner had we admired the sunrise when Matt was throttling back the engine ready to sling the anchor in.

 

To be honest the fishing was slow, with the only fish being a very greedy dab that wouldn’t let go of a mackerel strip intended for bass. In a way I was glad of the leisurely pace as I was starting to feel tiered.

 

After a few hours of no action Matt got his head down for a while. It was during this time that one of my tope rods sprang into action. The result a few minutes later was a wide-awake Matt and a tope of around thirty pounds throwing our chairs around the deck.

 

The photo sessions was fun, although the fish only went around 30lb she felt like a fish of one hundred pounds to me a fatigue had really set in by now. Some of the pics Matt took really show this point much to my embarrassment.

 

After a medicinal Red Bull and an inactive 45 minutes Matt made the decision to try another mark that was only a short distance away.

 

Again fresh baits were cast and the trap set; we just sat back and enjoyed our surroundings.

 

Then it was Mats turn, with his rod taking a satisfying curve I braced myself for tailing a lively tope with sharp teeth.

 

A few moments later a modest tope of around thirty five pounder was being photographed. Mat is known to his close friends as Golden Balls. Although he has been angling all his life he has only been sea angling for about five years. He is sweeping up quality fish with four bass now over 8lb three of which were doubles. He has had twenty tope over thirty with five over forty. So it was with no great surprise that his fish was larger than mine.

 

For the next few hours we messed about at a few other marks trying to get a bass and playing with Mats new electronics. Every trip is a learning curve so the maiden voyage was even more so.

 

Back to the time when I was playing my tope. There was a very large gravel abstraction ship named The Sand Fulmar heading on a collision course for us. Matt had the knife ready to cut the anchor rope she was so close. She then proceeded to circle us three time abstracting gravel and sand as she went.

 

To my mind this does more damage to out marine life than any over fishing by commercials!

 

All in all a fantastic day out.

 

 

 

Pics to follow soonz.

[thedogs]

[thedogs]

[thedogs]

[Elton]

 

'kin 'ell, Sam....that looks bigger than 23 foot!!!!!!

 

Seriously, though - nice pics.

 

Tight lines,

 

Elton

[Elton]

What made Matt choose the name 'Mica Rose'? Was it one she came with, or did he name her?

[thedogs]

What made Matt choose the name 'Mica Rose'? Was it one she came with, or did he name her?

Mica is his daughters name and his Mum is May Rose.. Hisv last boat was Mica Lou, after his daughter and wife.

[n4lly]

Nice, very nice.

[thedogs]

Thanks mate..

 

Elton, when can I take you out fishing then?

Got some decent auterm bassing minutes from my moreing.