Mullet Fishing 2023: Fishing Days

Latest:  12/10/23:  1/10 golden-grey, 2/09 - a large tail with the rest of a relatively small golden-grey attached, which certainly brightened the day, and then a solid thicklip; not a monster, but it thought it was, and fought accordingly. These were the last of the season that decided to 'hang on' for the duration, but on balance, not a bad day to look back on as the last productive day of 2023.

22/09/23:  Just a small but perfect golden-grey.

15/09/23:  2/06, 3/04 - hoping to continue very much in the positive, following on from the previous successful and highly enjoyable session. Another two fish, not bad at all, and the 3/04 really 'gave it some'. Absolutely magic.

11/09/23:  2/12, 3/09, 3/05, 4/01 - so, here we were again, a month on, and now in September, at the venue that had delivered up a thrilling five-fish session in August. Hoping that the day number '11' still had a bit of magic in it, while not believing in the slightest in any superstitious nonsense, I set at it with more than the usual degree of anticipation. I couldn't really have expected what happened next, when after just 10 minutes, I was already getting some grief from a moderately-sized but determined mullet. As is more often the norm, it went quiet after that, until about an hour later, and it was 'round 2', this time with a larger fish. All going very well here, I was thinking, but then, it suddenly seemed devoid of mullet. I waited a while longer, but then made a short move, now fishing at the limits of my casting distance up against some pontoons. There was a brief flurry of activity, which suggested that a surface bait might be called for - always a bit of a problem when casting that distance. Anyway, the bread stayed on, and to cut to the chase, so did the next mullet. The second high tide peak came and went, and as the water started to drop, I had been throwing a feeder towards the pontoons. A bit of bravado on my part, and miraculously, I managed to land the next cast actually underneath the gap between two pontoon floats. No sooner than the rod was in the rest with the line tightened, the tip pulled round alarmingly, and we were into number four, which turned out to be... er... a 'four'. An attritional fight once I got it into open water, and the strong fish gave me one of the most memorable 'five minutes' of the whole season. Not too shabby - another great day.

01/09/23:  0/12 - just a nipper, but uncomfortably, right on 'AO', as usual, absolutely standard for the venue. Thankfully, no water in the waders on this occasion, but it was close-run thing.

24/08/23:  2/05, 3/07 - another day that started out bright and warm (shirt), and ended prematurely, colder and wet (coat). No complaints, with two mullet in the net.

22/08/23:  Three golden-greys - 1/14, 2/07, 2/05 - unprecedented, again. Not a species I can usually actively target - they either appear or they don't, and rarely do so, in fact. I had watched a few feeding fish, and their raised pectorals and the definite suggestion of a gold spot, even from 'afar', suggested 'goldens'. Some frantically feeding (small-ish?) fish evaded the hook for some time, but then one made the inevitable mistake of allowing its greed to overcome its usual caution, and that was the first one in the net. The second one was an even rarer event, taking a shrimp-pattern fly, and tearing off a ridiculous amount of line against the 'overcooked spaghetti' rod - magical. Buoyed by success, I continued as the tide continued to rise, and when it seemed that the day had delivered up all it had to offer, it delivered up some more, with yet another golden. You just can't write this stuff...

18/08/23:  3/07 - another nice mullet in the net, then events took a truly bizarre turn, bankside, while I was taking this photo, hence the 'Biggus Dickus' moment which may be apparent in the picture...

16/08/23:  4/04 - best weight of the season, or so it was to remain. A brutal fight which eventually turned my grimace into a grin, although the mandatory concentration on the process meant that there was only the hint of a smirk during the photo. Very pleased with this one.

11/08/23:  3/07, 3/05, 2/14, 2/02 golden-grey, 2/05 - an unprecedented session, in terms of activity. A few fish had clearly parked themselves in what they thought was a good spot to feed, and totally ignored all disturbances, including a family fishing with cast nets. The first fish was onto the hookbait very quickly, and was soon posing for a photograph, while the collection of onlookers looked on. Despite the commotion, the second fish soon followed, and I was soon politely refusing entreaties to borrow my rod for a while (unbelievable). I had to wait an hour for the third mullet to make its biggest mistake of the day, but it was rapidly turning into the most enjoyable and productive session for quite a long time. The fish were getting smaller, but I wasn't bothered - this was great. Almost another hour passed, and I noticed something going on in open water, where some bread scraps had drifted. I was soon into a lively and skittish fish, and it came as no surprise when I saw the gold spot. It was now nearly low tide, with very little water left, and so the activity inevitably subsided. It was such a good day to be out, I stuck at it through low tide, and as the water level began to rise again. There were very few encouraging signs until almost three hours later, and then an unexpected bite, and the fifth of the day was testing my nerves, always a little too close to the pontoons for comfort.

07/08/23:  3/12- the comedy highlight of the year, and I'm not even sure if I actually deserved this one, unless stupidity and idiotic persistence are a virtue, where mullet fishing is involved. After a short initial tussle, this one soon dived behind the nearest pontoon, and it was a disaster from then on. Having charged forward into what can best be described as 'wading mud', I was able to keep the rod high enough to continue to play the fish, at which point I became very badly stuck, and fell over. Lying in the slop, there was nothing solid underneath to push up from, so I focused on the fish, for the moment. A chap in the marina came over to help, and took up the net. I still couldn't get up, so I stuck the rod butt into the mud, with the rod vertical and the fish still pulling at the other end. After an ungainly rolling manoeuvre, pretty much akin to coating a fishfinger in custard, I finally got myself up, and stuff me if the fish wasn't still attached. After that, it was not long before it was in the net, pristine up to that point, with me, not so much, absolutely covered in mud. At least the waders helped keep it off the lower part of the trousers.

Footnote to the above... after the fish was embarrassed with the traditional photograph, then weighed and released, it took me about an hour and a half to clean the mud off everything, including all the now-hardening slop that had made its way into the reel and all over the rod. Anything that could be laid out to dry was left in the sun, for the duration.

19/07/23:  1/15 - not a monster, but took some 'getting', having been feeding on loose scraps of bread for some time, and with the guile of a much larger fish, judiciously ignoring the hookbait. In the end, just got greedy, I guess (and we can all McRelate to that).

17/07/23:  3/06 - having lost a fish earlier in the day, at the optimal time of the tide, I was resigned to a fairly un-special drive home, but the weather was great, so the session meandered into the afternoon. On the droptide, there was a commotion on the surface at distance, which had to be investigated... and I was soon sincerely regretting hooking a bass of about 3½ pounds. A similar ruckus a little later on, which I almost ignored (no-one wants to risk enduring two bass in a session), but appearances can be deceiving... The float hit the spot, settled and then wasn't there... a solid thump, and the game was afoot. There was a real power to the fish, which the previous bass just hadn't had, so I allowed myself to start thinking 'mullet'... and it was. Big tail, streamlined body, recipe for disaster, but none ensued - disproportionately chuffed, again.

05/07/23:  3/00 - a venue that seems to have become a one-bite wonder. After the usual prolonged period of 'not happening at all', there was a bite, and the fish was already on its way under the pontoons as I connected. Large enough to make a nuisance of itself, and didn't appreciate having the net waved ineffectively towards it. Ultimately, a very good result.

25/05/23:  2/01 - not sure I deserved that... for switching off. The float was drifting into a 'no win' situation, and I was about to reel in, and there was a distraction. As is always the way, I looked back, and the float was gone. Some very uncomfortable heaving, to avoid being cut off, but thankfully, the fish was of a modest size and could be persuaded.

16/05/23:  2/10 - two weeks on from the previous fish, and it was definitely about time that another one was in the net. Needed the slider again, and it was reassuring to catch this one in almost identical circumstances and tidal state to the last. Hoping this will become a regular 'thing'...

03/05/23:  2/15 - later in the calendar than usual, but very good to have one on the bank, briefly, after all the 'days of no mullet'. The fish must have been lying deep, as the slider was required, and did the job admirably.