30/07/2022 - The Usual Suspects

Got to Wales late last night after a delayed departure and a diversion to find some sustenance after discovering that the food hall at Monmouth services had shut just before our arrival, much to the annoyance of the daughter who had been salivating for the previous half an hour at the thought of a Booger King. 

An 0600 hrs alarm this morning was therefore less well received in some quarters than others, but that's what the tide times at Milford Haven dictated if I wanted to get in a couple of hours either side of high water. Was a bit gloomy when I set off and when I arrived at the stone pier at Hakin half an hour later it had turned to drizzle, blown straight up the estuary by a freshening breeze  - a nice Pembrokeshire "wet wind" that creeps into your nooks and crannies! Was also a bit of a chop on as a result. 

Still, it looked reasonably calm in the lee of the pier, which had a brand new set of railings installed since last visit. Luckily they had been set back a good metre from the edge, so it was possible to fish in front of them. Had salted down my leftover rag from our last trip down and it was this I was using for bait on a scaled down flapper rig. 

Unfortunately, salt, drizzle and wet hands don't mix and I soon had it everywhere, causing me to rinse everything thoroughly when I got home! I was also having a job keeping the rag on the hook as it was being stripped off as soon as my rig hit the bottom. Partially remedied that by cutting longer sections, doubling them over and then squeezing them flat to put the hook through. 

Kept it on fractionally longer and enough to start getting hook ups, but I was still having to re-bait every cast. Set about converting the rattles and pulls on the tip of my Rock Rover into fish and wasn't surprised that Mr and Mrs Corkwing were the first two up - the place being absolutely snided with them last time. 

Several more followed, interspersed with the odd ballan and small pollack. When the tide started ebbing and pushing along the the side of the pier I moved to the end, dropping my rig into the triangle of slack water between the outgoing current and the wall. The fish had followed suit as I continued to catch yet more "corkies", with a few shannies and rock gobies thrown in for a bit of variety. Had been rattling through the rag, so the session naturally came to an end when it was completely depleted. Therefore stopped off at Anglers Corner for some fresh bait and a chat, although the proprietor confessed to not knowing much about mini-species and pointed me to venues I already knew about. Then fancied a coffee and something to eat before heading home so pulled into the local Costa. Conversation at the order point went:

Me - "A latte and a bacon cob please."

Them - "Any sauce on your cob?"

Me - "Ketchup please."

At the pick up point:

Them - "No sauce with that?"

Me - "Yes. Ketchup please" (acknowledged by a nod and a smile).

Drove up to the viewpoint over the Haven to enjoy my coffee and cob......with no ketchup on it.