Its slowly starting to wake up....

I ventured up to Bryher in the hope of getting amongst the pollack that should be feeding with this settled weather. They have been strangely absent for most of the year due to the storms and ghastly easterlies! Tides were perfect as was the weather with overcast conditions which we prefer for the pollack as it seems to favour the predatory nature of them. Maybe they feed more with the darker conditions making ambushing their prey easier?? This is proved many times as the action can come thick and fast at sunset and sunrise when the pollack really start feeding hard.  Neil was going to join up with me for the start of the flood, the prime time at this mark we have found! 

Shipman Head above can be an awesome spot, plenty of deep water and tide racing over the many pinnacles that are to be found within casting distance. We have both had many good fish from this spot, not to mention being smashed up on more than one occasion!!

I had brought along a new toy to play with, an 11ft Century Vectura and was keen to see how it would handle the deep water and hopefully some rod bending dives from a heavy weight pollack or two. Initial thoughts are that it is quite tippy but with it rated from 7g to 45g it could prove an interesting rod!! With its through action it loads effortlessly and recovers lightning fast meaning the 35g Fiish Minnow I was using was flying out!!

Action wasnt exactly frantic, as I expected with the back tide, but a few small pollack kept me going. Most were under 2lbs with a slightly better one around 3lbs taken just before low.

Bang on low, I hooked a cracking fish, slowly reeling the Fiish Minnow it was getting heavier, usually a sure sign that a pollack has taken the lure, and then all hell broke loose. With the Shimano Rareniums drag tight I could really see how the Vectura handled a better fish. I caught a glimpse of a stonking pollack just as it dived under the reef in front of me rubbing the 23lb fluorocarbon leader and snapping me off! After turning the air blue I set up again and was straight into some more pollack but none of the size that I had lost (typical anglers and the one that got away I know!!!!!!)

The best fish went 5lbs, not massive but very welcome. Neil joined me just as the tide was starting to pull and hopefully herald the better stamp of pollack to show. We threw every soft plastic that we had brought and apart from a few smaller fish up to 4lbs it just didnt happen.

A strange day, we really did think that we would bag up but maybe everything is still waiting to really kick off, its close maybe next time...................................