Mullet Fishing 2024: Preparation

So, the last minute prep for the new season has now been concluded.

About a month ago, I tied some replacement flies and a couple of new variants, so I was already back to a ready state in that respect.

There had been new line put onto the reel very late in the last season, so that can be carried forward with some confidence. I restrung the rod this week after performing a couple of simple tests, just to make sure.

The reel itself was cleaned after the last trip in December, but on examination this week was found to be very tight to wind, and not in a good way at all. A full strip down and a lot of careful cleaning plus some lubrication has put it back into a serviceable state.

Both sets of scales have been checked using weights and were still found to be 100% accurate at 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10 pounds. The batteries seem to have a good level of charge remaining.

The 'top up' boxes have been checked for a suitable level of supplies of hooks, swivels, float stops, rig putty and other bits and pieces.

The camera support was given a good clean and all of the small rust specks were removed. The remote was found to have a dead battery, and a replacement should arrive within a matter of days... it was unlikely that I would get this small item apart without breaking it, but on this occasion, things progressed much better than would normally be expected.

I checked the batteries for the starlights, and one of those was ok, but the other was ready for landfill (oops... recycling, of course), so I've ordered a pack of those, too.

I wasn't entirely happy with a couple of the gull quill floats... these are important because they are the most suited to long distance casting, but even a relatively small curvature has a serious impact upon their flight characteristics. Anyway, a few minutes spent gently straightening each one over the steam from the kettle, and they are good to go.

There was an issue with the screw threads on the landing net handle, which only come into play when it is in its compressed state. One of the sets of threads was slipping and wouldn't lock, meaning that the handle would be prone to sudden unwanted extension in transit. I partly rebuilt the threads using some steel wire to the point where at least I could get them to lock in place; it's what I would call a pragmatic fix - there's no point replacing what is otherwise a working piece of equipment.

I tried out a couple of 'new' types of fluorocarbon, of a lower diameter than the type that I have always used. One was a bit of a retry, a type that I had discounted previously due to poor 'knot shock' performance, and it was still underwhelming, not surprisingly. The other type was more 'knot fussy' than my go-to line, but if set up carefully, survived some fairly savage treatment in testing. I can envisage some circumstances where this may be a worthwhile option, so I will just have to take extra care with the knots when using that, and be sure to test each one fairly brutally.

I picked up some bread earlier, to whizz up for groundbait, at 45p for each 800g loaf, whether brown or white. This compares favourably to the 75p for Sainsbury's 800g economy white - we're only going to chuck it in the river, anyway. I'm sticking with the Hovis for hook bait - no room for messing about, there.

With the news today from a 100% reliable source of fish being sighted in Hampshire, a recce has got to be on the cards in the next few days... and of course, it would be just amateurish not to take the rods...