Sunny Rhyl Sea Fishing Diary
Raven's Point and Holyhead Breakwater - 09/07/2007
Venue - Raven's Point + Holyhead Breakwater
Tide - Low
Time - Day
Bait: Fresh Rag, Fresh Crab, Frozen Sandeel, Feathers, Jellyworm
I'd had a longstanding invitation from Squidward and Headwyn to join them for days rock fishing.
Used as I am, to fishing flat, featureless sandy beaches, today was going to be interesting :)
Having no experience of this form of fishing, I was going to have to listen carefully and observe intently.
On advice, yesterday, I'd been to Geoff's armed with a shopping list. Small hooks and rotten bottoms were to be the order of the day.
We set off from Sunny Rhyl and made our way to Ynys Mon.
The improvements to the A55 makes this trip a breeze these days.
'The Road of Hope' is an apt title and highly appropriate for todays adventure!
With my usual wellies swapped for a more practical pair of sturdy walking boots, we approached the mark.
Nervously, I made my way down onto the lower ledge.
I was a bit unsure at first, but my confidence grew as the day progressed.
My guides had been fishing a match the previous day and had managed to blag the leftover bait. Consequently, they came armed with the biggest stock of fresh bait that I had ever seen!
4lb of Fresh Rag and a bucket of Fresh Crab made my lone pack of Lug and packet of frozen Sandeel look silly :)
We tackled up. Size 2 hooks and a rotten bottom 4oz lead, both tied to a 3 way swivel. With 15lb mainline and 10lb snoods.
It was action from the off!
Headwyn lead the way with a nice Ballan Wrasse.
No blanking for me today! A Scorpion Fish made a nice addition to my species tally.
The weather was being kind to us. Light winds and bright sunshine mean't that Headwyn was able to top up his sunburn!
Headwyn with a nicely marked Ballan Wrasse.
After having lost loads of fish to the snaggy ground, Headwyn was off the mark with a Wrasse(can't remember the name of this one though :) ).
I'd been told that Wrasse give a good account of themselves. Happily now I could verify that those fellas can pull like there's no tomorrow!
This Ballan weighed in at 2lb 3oz.
The ragworm was going the trick.
Another entry in the 2007 species list.
A small and petite Corkwing.
Headwyn decided to try spinning for Pollock.
Despite all the action, I was able to set up another rod.
This one was fished at distance. A Dogfish took a shine to my Frozen Sandeel.
With many years of match fishing experience, Squidward was now ramping up his tally.
A decent Ballan fell to a Crab offering.
Next up, Squidward had another cracking Ballan.
This one weighed in at just over 3lb.
Whilst unhooking, his other rod was going.
A beautifully marked Cuckoo Wrasse was landed.
Unfortunately for us, the weather took a turn for the worse.
The wind got up and mean't that we were getting soaked from the spray. It got slippy underfoot so the decision was made to make a sharp exit and continue our species hunt down the road on Holyhead Breakwater.
Another first for me.
The Breakwater made an interesting contrast to the picturesque rock mark.
With loads of sea traffic, it was an interesting experience.
In search of the mini species, we had swapped our size 2 hooks for size 8's.
Again, Ragworm was the bait of choice.
Headwyn was straight into a Corkwing.
Fishing right against the wall was paying dividends for Headwyn.
The Wrasse were coming cast after cast.
Another target species.
A Tompot Blenny.
Squidward was matching Headwyn fish for fish.
Another Tompot.
The fish just kept coming!
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!
Having not had a minute all day to catch a breath, I still wanted more!!!!!
Unfortunately, with the rain now upon us and the wind kicking up a fuss, it was time to head back home.
For me, today had been a total revelation. The variety of fishing and species available had really opened my eyes.
From the exhilaration of Raven's Point to the sure fire fish machine that is Holyhead Breakwater(well it was today!).
It was a truly fantastic day!
Many thanks to Squidward and Headwyn for giving the benefit of there vast knowledge.
Apologies if I have mis-identified any of the Wrasse. It was a long day and my brain is set to explode with all the new information I've had to take in :)
Happy Days!!!