Mullet Fishing 2022: Fishing Days

Latest:  19/11/22:  2/04 golden-grey - after a veritable misery of bass in the 3lb bracket having thrashed about and disrupted the swim, it was refreshing and unexpected to enjoy a lively encounter with 'Mr Extra-Slippery'.

14/10/22:  3/00, 2/00 - the '3' was totally and unreasonably uncompromising, and gave me some seriously anxious moments - excellent.

12/10/22:  4/02 - after the usual drama, it was proving extremely difficult getting the fish anywhere near the net, in some very muddied water. Finally it was in range, although I still couldn't actually see it; I began to lift the net, but thinking the fish wasn't actually in there, I held back... only to then see it then surge out over the lip, and back out into open water... If it had come off then, I might have had to give myself a bit of a bruising.

03/10/22:  1/15 - an exercise, today, to see what I could do, not what I could catch, so the fish, although modest in size, came as a huge bonus.

14/08/22:  3/00 - Phil Watters' long-awaited visit, and with only two days to cram in as much mullet effort as possible, we certainly crammed. Hampered by the hottest weekend of... ever... I finally managed this one, late in the second day. A great few days, despite getting totally fried, but far too brief.

13/07/22:  1/08 - another hookup just past 'A-O', when it was starting to seem very stupid still to be stood where I was standing. The first bite of the day occurred just as I was starting to feel quite anxious about the rapidly rising water level, so I had one more cast... what happened then was inevitable, and I was again partly thankful it wasn't a larger fish.

11/07/22:  2/13 - and yet another 'just sub 3lb' - a definite pattern, and a strong indication of the decrease in expected weight of individual fish within the general population, compared to a few years back.

16/06/22:  2/14 - and another in this size bracket, just under the 3lb mark again, but still entirely welcome.

13/06/22:  4/04 - in amongst the annoying and ubiquitous bass, there seemed to be a few more sensible and cautious feeders. Suspecting mullet activity, I decided to persevere, and eventually hooked into something much more better, the best of the year so far.

01/06/22:  2/10 - a really dogged scrapper, strong and determined, which fought like a much younger fish, holding nothing back.

29/05/22:  2/14, 1/14 thinlip - after the enjoyable capture of the thicklip, things went a bit quiet, apart from the thins, so it seemed only sensible to throw a spinner at them.... repeatedly. As usual, it was amazing how they totally ignored it, until one suddenly got itself hooked, and then after the photo and release, another hookup immediately followed, albeit an unsuccessful one.

27/05/22:  2/01 - another great day to be on the river, and a lively fish graced the net. All in all, this is most definitely what we want.

24/05/22:  1/08 - just couldn't resist a nice piece of Hovis, eh? Well done, future river monster.

12/05/22:  2/14 - continuing the trend of fish in this size bracket, which have come to be the norm in the past few years, at quite a number of south coast venues.

08/05/22:  2/11 - another venue revisited, having been a poor choice in recent years, despite having at one time being quite productive. Finally pulled out a stripey one, after enduring the Misery of Large Basses.

03/05/22:  3/09 - a return to a venue too often neglected, and there were a few encouraging signs further out from the weedline. As the tide rose, so did the 'weed coefficient', and so it came as no surprise that when the fish was hooked, I was soon 'playing' 10lbs of the stuff... There was clearly a strong fish in there somewhere, although as the line extended outwards, perpendicular to the bank, the fish was in some more weed, somewhere over to the left. Despite the impossibility of maintaining a tight line to the mullet, it miraculously didn't fall off, and eventually acquiesced to a photo.

21/04/22:  2/04 - first of the year, and very welcome. No signs of any fish, and I was starting to get distracted, but when I looked back at the float, there was suddenly a bit of 'Uncle Ernie' going on. I waited... the dodgy behaviour continued, until the float tip was just below the surface, at which time I decided to have at it. A spirited fight ensued, and a lively and determined fish was soon determinedly avoiding the net. I hadn't had a proper look at it, but it was clearly a mullet, and 'first fish' nerves demanded that it was played carefully. After a happy conclusion, I was ready for a moderate celebration... something both big and tasty, maybe... I wrestled with that conundrum for a while, but sadly, inspiration came there none. On the way home, it was Ron who came to the rescue, inevitably ;)