Desalination Plant 5th Aug 2006

Map Ref: 559,477
Tide: HW 2.30pm (8m) / LW 9.12pm (4m):
Weather Forecast: Sunny Periods 21^oC. Wind NNW 7mph with gusts to 12mph

We decided to do something different other than go after mullet, and settled for a recon and plugging evening down at the desalination plant at the south western tip of the island.

Collected Chris and drove down arriving around 4pm or so… parked the car next to the plant and then walked down to the outlet area, next to what I guess was an old WWII gun emplacement with a small gauge rail track…. The rock platform it's built on seemed to offer good prospects with deep water and reefs all around it…

Set up and started fishing around 4.45pm. I decided to use a silver bar to start with, whilst Chris was trying out a selection of plugs and swim baits that he had with him.

Almost from the off we had action….. Chris hit into a fish, but it got off very quickly, and he soon had garfish jumping out of the water in front of him…

5.05pm… just retrieving the silver bar, and I saw a bass of around 2 or 3lb chasing behind it…. Despite a number of recasts, I couldn't connect or repeat the event…

We kept moving around on the platform, so we could cast left or right, or indeed straight out… I'd just moved to the eastern edge at around 5.20pm, when I had a take on the silver bar….. not a large fish, and it came up fairly easily.. a small Pollack around 10” or so… took a picture, and popped him back…

Couldn't get any more hits, so I swapped to an orange and silver 28g Toby to see if I could get one of the larger Pollack to play….

5.45pm.. in fact it was Chris using one of his orangey brown plugs that had a larger Pollack follow to right under his feet….. but it failed to hit home…

5.50pm… suddenly got a thump on the Toby… I was in, but not a Pollack this time, but a battling garfish….. managed to get it in, lifted it clear…. And that's when it dropped off, a couple of feet in mid air, and about the same distance from my waiting hand… oh well saved me unhooking it, but we could have done with it as bait for next week…

6.10pm I'd switched back to the silver bar in the hope of another garfish (smaller hooks than the Toby)…. Had a take, but failed to hold on….

6.30pm Chris had a couple of knocks on one of his swim bait lures… unfortunately the line parted company ….. subsequent investigation put the blame down to Mr Ball's knot tying abilities!!!!! Worse still, was that when he went back to his tackle bag, he found he'd not tightened the top of his flask properly, and his bag (and its contents) were now swimming in coffee…. I think we can safely say Chris was having a bad time!!!!

6.35pm… Chris had regained his composure, retackled and cast out in double quick time…. And had a fish chasing first cast… the fish was too deep / water ruffle to be sure what it was, but Chris's first instinct was Pollack, although it could easily have been a bass or mullet….

6.40pm …. Had a couple of bumps on a Slither (brown and white)…. But again failed to hook-up….

Towards 7pm I started using a blue and white J13, but soon swapped over to a Dexter Wedge ….. just seemed the right thing to do, as Chris was now only using plugs….

7.45pm.. casting out front I had a very solid take, and a fish on the end… it started to take my braid close to my left hand-side, where there were protruding rocks from the edge of the platform…. But I managed to steer it clear, before it became a problem…. Very soon up popped another Pollack of 16”, so probably a shade under 2lb I would guess…. Took a couple of pictures and put it back, but not until it had leapt suddenly out of my hands, but it swam off OK once I'd got it back in the water.

By 8pm it was getting dark, and I was going to be getting up early the next morning, so we decided to call time…

I think Chris really wants to go back there again, but this time with all his float tackle…. I have to agree with him, looks like a lovely spot for the garfish and Pollack, but I'm sure there are a few bass waiting to be hooked as well….

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