BURIED TREASURE
A hidden gem for great summer fishing.
Portland’s eastern flank is largely forgotten by the majority of sea anglers, but for the adventurous there are some little gems tucked away just waiting to be explored. Church Ope Cove is a typical example. A small, boulder-strewn beach buried among the towering cliffs, it can provide plenty of surprises throughout the year. Some very big conger eels feature during the winter, while summer and autumn produce a wide variety of species, not forgetting plaice in early spring.
After hearing reports of lure anglers recording a few bass along this stretch, I headed west with my buddy Steve Lawrence, from Poole, to see whether we could get a taste of the action. Hands up, I am not the greatest lure angler, so we would also be taking some float and heavy ground tackle. Hopefully, going to ‘Church’ would answer my prayers.
FULL OF ENTHUSIASM
Selecting the tide with care, we would fish two hours either side of high water. This would give us some darkness for some general fishing, while the predicted northwest wind that would be coming from directly behind would also offer perfect conditions for both float and lure fishing.
On the way, we popped into Chesil Bait ‘n’ Tackle, where there are three walls packed with tempting lures. I was pointed in the direction of the Savage Gear Seeker, so it was out with the cash and I added a couple to my collection.
Armed with all the latest information, we were full of enthusiasm as we parked in the small, free car park that services the Portland museum situated at Church Ope. I couldn’t wait to get down on the beach and test out my new lure, but first there was the daunting prospect of negotiating the steep, winding flight of steps down to the cove.
Ten minutes later we were on the beach. The ground in the centre section is fairly clean and flanked by rocks at either end. Steve headed to the right and I went to the left so we could float or lure fish on the
clean ground, and cast one rod into the rough stuff just in case there was a ballan wrasse lurking in the kelp.
First flick out with the rod and wallop, fish on before I even had a chance to catch my breath. While only a relatively small bass, it still gave a spirited account of itself. It’s always great to catch the main target species first cast. It was quickly released, shooting off like a rocket, but it was the only bass of the session.
GARFISH TRICKS
While I was still showering myself in glory for landing a bass on my first cast, Steve took a slightly different approach and was soon landing a garfish while float-fishing.
Along my patch, big female garfish usually arrive in March or April and stay for six weeks or so. We get a lot of smaller males from August to October, sometimes even into November, which are readily caught on both lure and float tactics. Catches will be enhanced while float-fishing by those who opt for a more refined approach. The days of using a float resembling a mooring buoy and a large crude hook with thick mono are a distant memory.
When targeting garfish with a float, I generally use a light carp rod along with a small fixed-spool reel loaded with 10lb line. I normally opt for a Drennan Piker float, either a 35g or 40g version will suffice. I add a 2-3ft hooklength of 0.25mm fluorocarbon armed with a short-shank wide gape size 6 or 8 hook; both the Kamasan B983 or Yuki AX63 are perfect.
Keep your bait neat. A small strip of either mackerel or garfish about the size of your little finger nail is ideal, refining both tackle and your bait size will boost your catch rate.
Garfish are certainly not noted as being a culinary delight, but they double up as excellent bait for many autumn and winter species, often out-fishing mackerel, especially when targeting whiting. Unlike mackerel, their flesh is very firm, so they are very easy to freeze. Once thawed, the flesh stays firm for a long period of time, unlike a mackerel, which quickly deteriorates once thawed. Garfish can also be refrozen.
MORE SPECIES
With garfish keeping us occupied on both float and lure tactics, along with hopping around with the camera, I had almost forgotten that I had cast a large crab bait into the rough stuff, when suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of my rod dancing away in the stand.
As I rushed over to grab it, I was half expecting the culprit to have become firmly wedged into one of the kelp beds, but much to my surprise, on this occasion the wrasse swam straight towards the shoreline, missing all the snags. By Portland standards, this was no monster, but still a good fish, which certainly shook its head as it entered the shallows.
Not to be outdone, Steve also landed a ballan a few minutes later. We also had a number of smaller ballan and corkwing wrasse, Church
Ope was certainly producing the species.
As soon as the tide started to ebb, the garfish melted away and were replaced by some very big, bronze-coloured pouting. They were readily taking mackerel and crab baits presented on three hooks intended for dogfish, huss and strap congers. I even had a big scad snare itself on a size 3/0 baited with mackerel.
With the tide ebbing away, we decided to call it a day. Steve had already packed up and wandered over for a chat just as I was casting out my trace with a size 3/0 baited with a large peeler crab. For the next few minutes I was busying myself packing away my gear while chatting to Steve, only to see the line limp on the beach. My initial thoughts were that is was a strap conger, dogfish or bull huss, but the fight was far too lacklustre.
As it neared the water’s edge, I was amazed to see a small-eyed ray. I have caught spotted rays from this venue, but never a small-eyed. What a way to end a productive session.
While the fishing was a success, we still had the prospect of negotiating the flight of steps back to the car park. Much to my surprise, although we were certainly huffing and puffing, we completed the journey without stopping. It’s surprising how a good fishing session can put a spring in your step. My prayers had been answered. ■