Nearly didn't happen after I ran out of time to get bait. Well I say ran out - I DID get to the beach,out of the car,pump & bucket out,jacket on,new Vass wellies out, left foot on,left foot on.........DOH! 2 left feet So a trip back to Gerrys was in order to rectify the footwear issue and I was down to just minutes to spare as the wife had to be somewhere in the afternoon. I grabbed a few worm and was away home. It'd been 'no room at the inn' at the shops for bait,either none came in or it was already booked up on the back of all these Cod reports (can we have an emoticon with a guy shooting himself in the foot please),so I was forced into the frozen wastes of the bait freezer. It was a bit grim and yielded up blocks of ice that might or might not contain bait when thawed. I took some chunks of this permafrost ,the few pumped worms,2 peeler crabs found while pumping and some squid I thawed the day before. So the bait bucket was hefty enough ,albeit a bit low on quality.

One saving grace was the wife had been baking and I was met at the door by a wall of pie aroma.So we'd eat well at least We finally got away in good time,allowing for the stupid Lancaster traffic which DID materialise as always,meaning our 1 3/4 hour allowance to make a 1 hour journey only got us there 5 minutes before normal. It was a bit flat when we got out of the car,a few other lads were unloading too so we'd not got the jump on the masses Over the wall the tide was crashing on the beach about 200 yards out and it seemed a little more hopeful so we got the igloo set up and rigged a rod to get in the water straight away.

Folk were coming off the beach where they'd fished low water up so it soon thinned out a bit. We cracked the 1st of the pies open and waited

Kev P and Daley popped by ,nice to meet Daley who I've fished next to previously without making the connection!!!!


Just as the waves started to hit the shingle one rod tapped gently,just a gentle pull or 2 so Doggie sprung to mind. I thought Id get it off the hook and back in for some of those fabled Cod so went & picked the rod up & reeled into it. Felt a good weight as Dogs tend to,but after bringing it 80% of the way in it suddenly went violently left,not Dog behaviour. Negotiated the undertow and beached a tidy Bass with the help of Jess as I was backpedalling up the beach trying to keep the line tight as bloody great clods of weed/fibrous garbage were clogging the tip from the off

I don't keep a lot of Bass these days but at 44cm or so it was 'in the zone' for what I do occasionally take so it was swiftly dispatched and cleaned. Good start.
The rod next to it suddenly gave a sharp knock and the Cod run was underway!! This minty little fellow managed a 3/0 Manta,bad as Pin Whiting!.

Bit of a slack hour then another juddering bite,much more violent this time and had me on my feet instantly to reel in a decent Whiting just nudging 40cm

As good as I've had in a while and the best since the 80s if I only count the ones caught in Morecambe Bay! It weighed 1 lb 2 oz back at home when cleaned and provided a couple of respectable fillets.I do like Whiting,very underrated table fish

It was over in those few casts really, though I did catch quite a few more fish none met the same stamp. Jess hadn't been for a few weeks and was a bit ring rusty but managed a few pins

HW passed and it dropped off bar for this dog that raised hopes and dashed them as they do!

As the other anglers packed up one after another in the doldrums we decided about 11.30 that we'd give it one more cast. Kev wrapped up and popped in for a chat so thereafter we decided to get the gear in and away. As always you leave one rod in 'in hope' and for once it seemed to pay off as it pulled straight down before going slack. Sadly it was just another of these impressionists Nice plump one though,wouldn't be the least surprised if one wins the Fleetwood open next week

So that was it for another Fleetwood trip. Enjoyable as always and always provides more hope that the Bay these days which is a shame really. Must have a LW bash up there soon for a change.

Just for the record the fish were taken on Skellies and sweaty old black, not a touch on frozen or fresh peeler,macky or squid

I think the final Tally was 1 Bass,2 tiny Codling,17 Whiting and the 2 Dogs with Jess finding it a bit slow but still managing 5 or 6 Whiting. Mustn't grumble

nice bag of fish and a tidy bass but i would settle for that pie its a crumper

Cracking report and fishing blanko well done mate.

Pie or bass, give me that bass any day, well fished lads

Great report and pics nice few fish as well

A superb read Ian as per , I just pictured the expression on your face when you went to put the boots on .
Don't no which I'm more impressed with the bass or the size of that pie yummmmmmy.

Talking of boots I don't feel my feet from oct to april and the ones I've got by on have given up the ghost .

How do you find your new ones do you think they will be warm when it gets down below freezing ?
again

Theyre OK, hopefully better than the bloody awful neoprene hybrid guff I bought last year.They feel more flexible than most regular wellies,but tougher too if that makes any sense. Thickish soles and they come with a thermal sock-not the best fit on the sock but theyre still comfortable to wear. I think Rushy did a review of them, mine are the non-studded ones.

http://www.gerrysfishing.com/vass-evo-t ... r-boots.ir

Oddly enough I've never felt the cold ,at least not in the extremities,I'm always warm. I think I spent so many years out on marshes /beaches as a kid I became immune,grateful for it really but I guess I don't really factor it in when buying wellies,as long as they don't crack and split in 3 months they'll do nicely


PS-why does the spell checker correct my spelling of WELLIES to willies every time Some funny minds at work methinks

cheers Ian think I need something more than just a thermal sock something fur lined maybe north pole foot wear

Good report and pics Blanko plenty of fish and a great bass , pie looks like it was a decent bite too

Great report Ian, that looked superb quality and a good meal for you. Anyway, that's enough about the pie .... Cracking session, plenty of bites be it dogs bass or whatever, good to be kept busy eh ..?? Well done mate.