29/08/2023 - Last chance saloon

Was pleased when the lad expressed an interest in coming out fishing with me on the last morning of the holiday. He's off to Lithuania shortly after we get back home to start a PhD in eagle ecology at a research centre in Vilnius, so thought it would be good to get some "lad and dad" time in given that our plans to go surfing and paddleboarding earlier in the week had been kiboshed by the weather. 

He didn't even flinch when I said that we'd be leaving at 6 am to catch high tide up on the north coast, it being an hour later than  down on the south. Was a bit gloomy when we set off, but it had only just gone sunrise. However, as we climbed up towards Maenclochog we could see that the Prescelli Hills were shrouded in grey cloud and we were soon enveloped in drizzle. Said that I was sure it would clear when we dropped down the other side.....but it didn't and when we arrived at Fishguard and looked out over the bay we were in two minds whether to even get out the car! 

However, nothing ventured, nothing gained and we had some prime rag to use up, so we got our waterproofs on and made our way out to the end of the inner breakwater. Whilst we'd arrived just after high the small tide meant that the water level was well down the rock apron but, to be on the safe side, we stayed up on top of the breakwater rather than risk venturing down the steep, slippy sides. Set the lad up with a lightweight outfit consisting of my lure rod with a simple two hook flapper. Baited up the size 4 Aberdeens with sections of ragworm and swung it out so it came to rest as close to the base of the rocks as possible. The lead had literally been on the bottom for all of two seconds before the rod tip started banging away. 

However, the hasty strike didn't meet with anything and the rig came back with the rag on the bottom hook already a mangled mess. Got him to sit on his hands for the next one and wait for the rod tip to properly bend over. Again the response was almost instantaneous, but this time his strike resulted in the first of many pouting splashing to the surface. Actually quite a pretty fish with its shades of purple and bronze, but not the intended species, although there were obviously lots about as I struggled to get the other rod set up in between unhooking and re-baiting (laddo not wanting to get slime and "ragworm juice" on his hands!). Eventually there was enough of a lull to make up a pulley pennel and bait it with a mackerel and squid cocktail. 

This was lobbed out into the bay and left to fish by itself in the hope of at least a doggy. After a few more pouting on the rod down the side we eventually got what we were after in the shape of a nice male corkwing and a small ballan. 

I'd had wrasse in good numbers on previous trips and felt sure that there would be some decent ones about. However, it was back to the stripey bait shredders after that. About two hours later the relentless drizzle finally got the better of us, soaking into our clothes and the fishing gear and giving us wrinkly fingers. The bites had dried up anyway as the tide had dropped, so wound in the other rod to find that the bait had been completely stripped. We'd probably been fishing with bare hooks the majority of the time! Headed back to the ranch for a well deserved breakfast of bacon, egg, laverbread and lots of coffee. In summary, not the greatest few days sea fishing I've ever had in Pembs, but I'm down in Cornwall for a week in September, so fingers crossed for then.