Getting out of the Elements

So last night (Saturday) me and Paul had planned a big session, again tope would be the main target but there would always be a chance of huss and conger if they didn't turn up. Due to the weather we ended up at an area near Point Lynas that I had fished a last week and caught those nice pollack from.

After finding the way down to the first ledge a bit too sketchy we found a more suitable outcrop a made tracks towards it. Unfortunately this is where things started to go a bit wrong as I had forgotten to charge my main head torch, and Paul's decided it wasn't going to work at all so we were both down to our dimmer back up lights. As this is an area that is probably not fished at all we had to blaze a trail through waist high ferns and gorse bushes at times so by the time we made it onto the rocks I was already wet through. Still we had got a long way down just to turn around so we got fishing.

The tide was high, but we were sheltered from the worst of the weather and the swell was none existent. Big half mackerel baits went out in an effort to lure some monsters from the deep. The water wasn't as deep as I was expecting but it wasn't long before a little ring from the ratchet signalled the first bite. I left it in the hope there would be more movement while I carried on getting comfortable on the rocks. Mean while a solid take developed on me other rod so I struck into this one and could feel a bit of a fight, unfortunately the fish dropped the bait just before it was in sight, a promising start though. Upon reeling the first rod in I found a small strap conger had managed to devour the half mackerel.

This pattern continued through the night, with some good bites being missed and some fish dropping off halfway in. The next fish landed was a tiny huss of a couple of pound, followed quickly by another slightly bigger. At this point the rain made a return and I went from having almost dried out completely, to being wet through again in a matter of minutes. It didn't put the fish off though as in between a couple of missed bites I managed a slightly bigger conger, and not long after dropped a bigger huss as it hit the now exposed ledge below us. Unfortunately Paul had a nightmare, having problems with his rod after getting stuck and being unable to see anything with such a dim light. Eventually he managed to get into some fish, albeit just a few doggies and one tiny huss. The best was saved for last however as I used the last mackerel for the last casts resulting in a bouncing take and I had another better huss at the surface. With a better hook hold this one was on the rocks and despite being a bit feisty it obliged for a photo.

Once packed up it was time to tackle the long walk back to the car, and it was all uphill back through the jungle. We got back to the car exhausted after such an adventure but this is definitely a mark worth revisiting. Unfortunately the pictures aren't great but with the sporadic rain it was a case of making sure it stayed as dry as possible.