THE LATE SHOW
Stewart Herd tells how perseverence will bring results…
How perseverance paid off for rays.
“Everything was happening so quickly that we were having to put the fish in a deep rockpool to prevent our second rods being lost to another strong bite”
While it’s fair to say anglers should never flog a dead horse when sport is poor, there are occasions when it pays to keep the faith. I wanted to enjoy a final session before departing on a four-month tour in Africa with the British Army, so, along with my pal Matty Robson, had been watching the weather for a chance to visit south-west Scotland. Thankfully, the forecast predicted a drop in the wind as well as a change of direction.
It was our cue to set off from our homes in Easington, County Durham, for our next fishing adventure. With a few other mates tagging along too, we hoped for a session to remember on the thornback rays.
Our first baits, fished on Pennell pulley rigs, were in the water four hours before high tide. With a big swell and strong headwind, we carried on in the knowledge the wind would eventually drop and change direction. Disappointingly, the fishing was slow, with the first bite coming two hours before high tide. The big swell made it hard to land the ray, and eventually the hooklength snapped and the ray was gone.
Not all hope was lost because we knew that where there was one ray, there should be another. Not long after that disappointment, my rod started bouncing in the stand. I picked it up, waited for another indication and then set the hooks. After a short fight the ray was landed and weighed 8lb 12oz. Following a few pictures, the fish was released.
ALL QUIET
Things went quiet until an hour after high tide, when suddenly my rod showed a cracking bite that very nearly put it on the floor. I ran over, picked up the Century T1000 rod and everything dropped slack. I wound in the slack on the Shimano Bullseye reel and felt
a knock; I was in again, this time with a ray weighing 9lb 14oz, which was a personal best. Being only 2oz from being a double, it was a bit frustrating, but I knew the big ones would be around.
As the sea began to flatten, we hoped the fish would come on as expected. Not long after, another member of our group had a positive bite and reeled in a 3lb codling.
Without a bite for an hour or so, the others decided to take the long walk back to the car to head for home. Matty and me stuck it out and, thankfully, things started to look more promising. The wind switched direction and was on our backs, and the sea had flattened considerably. With plenty of bait left, we persevered.
As the light faded, Matty finally got a decent bite, set the hooks and the fish was on. He reeled in a ray around 8lb. With darkness upon us, the fish came on the feed and in the next few hours we caught 14 thornbacks, including a first double of 10lb 8oz for Matty.
Everything was happening so quickly that we were having to put the fish in a deep rockpool to prevent our second rods being lost to another strong bite. There were numerous times when our rods were pulled from the tripod because we had forgotten to slacken off the drag on our reels.
It was an amazing session and a fitting one before hanging up my rods for four months before my next overseas tour of duty with the Army. ■