Jump to content

12-15 October Eastern Meet report


Mark Crame

Recommended Posts

Day 3.

 

Getting out of bed was a bit easier this time and as most of the gear was ready to go I had a relaxing coffee before trolleying-up the Prowler 15 and heading down to the beach. Mb had taken the Trident the night before and would be using that while Gavstick was asleep somewhere in the vicinity with his brand new Elite. I soon located him and we awaited Mike’s arrival. While I went back home to get the bait I’d left behind. Between the three of us we had two C-Tugs and one anchor (my replacement spare still not arriving from the chandler) so we weren’t the best prepared for a days fishing, especially as it was unlikely we would find any buoys to anchor up to – instead relying on borrowing spare anchors off the others when they arrived.

 

Mike headed out first and we followed on when we were ready – Gavstick staying dry on his first ever launch

 

PA141491.jpg

 

I think he would have liked a more gentle start as we then headed straight out for a mile and a half. Mike anchored up and we both tied off to him and started fishing. The 1.5kg anchor wasn’t beefy enough for three yaks in that current and swell even with 50 metres of line out and so we parted and hauled it up. The bouncing around had been a tad uncomfortable and after a while Mike headed back in while Gavstick and I headed back to the buoy which with the current was now at least a mile away. It was a bugger of a paddle against the tide and after getting there and dropping anchor to await the others (who we’d told we were at the buoy) I dropped a line down again, getting a bite when Richi arrived (against the current) to give me bait (I’d got some this time, can’t catch me out twice!!) and said he, Starvin and Tratty were heading further out and further south.

 

I up-anchored and started out in their general direction but Gavstick fancied a drift so we did that instead, paddling hard through one broken patch of water, and heading slightly inshore.

 

And then it started…

 

PA141493.jpg

 

my first dab from the yak

 

PA141494.jpg

 

possibly sizeable but not really worth killing it went back again

 

and then a whiting came aboard

 

PA141495.jpg

 

Gavstick got one next, first trip and first yak fish, and then I was into them regularly,

 

PA141496.jpg

 

one after another

 

PA141497.jpg

 

I tried my sail out but the wind was not very strong – hopefully the French could see me though as we’d beaten them in the rugby the night before

 

PA141502.jpg

 

Paddling in a bit closer, to around 6-8 metres, we drifted a bit more around Pakefield and Kessingland which are both popular marks for Cod from the shore and Gavstick went in for a kip, coming back out again a while later while I continued to hammer the whiting

 

PA141503.jpg

 

I think he looks good in an Elite

 

PA141505.jpg

 

of course, we weren’t alone on the water

Edited by Mark Crame

Wetter than an otter's pocket.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 21
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

PA141506.jpg

 

it was the first time I’d seen seals when I’d been afloat so I was quite pleased

 

PA141507.jpg

 

and it didn’t seem to have eaten all the fish either

 

PA141510.jpg

 

this was my best of the day and the first keeper – I plan to do Merlan en Colere with it, where you curl it up and put it’s tail in its mouth before cooking

 

PA141511.jpg

 

Next species up was Starvin’s favourite, the humble pouting

 

PA141513.jpg

 

followed by a crab

 

PA141515.jpg

 

a few whiting later and after the current had turned I spotted the others coming in from the outer mark and we joined them on the run in to the beach, all five yaks landing around the same time to a crowded esplanade and a beach that had a very high population for mid October, including my wife and children

 

h.jpg

 

news soon spread that the fleet ahd returned and Lowestoft was once more a great fishing town

 

g.jpg

 

and we got stuck into the cleaning of the fish and posed for OKReally’s camera – he really should get a new one

 

b.jpg

 

Starvin and Richi then headed off to darkest Norfolk and Tratty, Gavstick and I went and had a coffee before heading back to the shelter of the Broad

 

f.jpg

 

The fat lady had not yet sung, so Tratty grabbed a demo Trident and I a demo Elite and we went off for a paddle to try them out and lift my nets from the harbour. Down through the Broad we then scrambled carefully down the sides of Mutford Lock and onto Lake Lothing

 

e.jpg

 

lifting the nets (Tratty has the pics) I pulled out 4 lobsters, one of which was a PB, 5 edible crabs that were sizeable and a load each of velvet swimmers and prawns. These all went into the capacious hold of the demo Trident – stinking it up to match the filth that lay on the deck of the Elite – and we rounded the head into open sea.

 

PA141518.jpg

 

The difference between the calm in the harbour and the swell outside was quite marked and with the rebounding waves from the harbour wall it was pretty uncomfortable (but still fun!). I landed first and Tratty milled around in the waves trying to catch a decent one to surf in – sadly there weren’t any

 

PA141521.jpg

 

And that, as they say, was that.

 

PA141527.jpg

 

Yaks back to the holiday village, dinner and a natter and then I went home. Next morning we weer all fished out and once we had emptied and cleaned the caravan (I turned up to help and deposited 3 litres of oil over worktop and floor so that we had more to do) we departed.

 

I was expecting to have a good time and learn from the others and I did. The weekend was far better than I would have thought, the weather on Sunday especially being exceptional, and a great time was had by all – I want to thank each and every one of you for coming and making it what it was, a real pleasure.

 

Roll on the next one!

Wetter than an otter's pocket.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We and our partners use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences, repeat visits and to show you personalised advertisements. By clicking “I Agree”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.