31/07/2026 - Disappointing morning down Milford

Celebrated 33 years of marriage by sneaking off to Milford Haven for another quick morning session. To be fair, it was actually my anniversary "present" off the wife, subject to the condition that I got her a Lidl almond croissant on the way back home. 

In contrast to the previous morning it was bright and sunny with not a cloud in the sky. However, as a result it was a tad cooler at 10 degrees Centigrade and even briefly fell into single figures as I dropped down into the river valley at Gelli. Headed to the stone pier on the Hakin side of the marina entrance and found that I'd got the place to myself, although the port authority had put up some suitably grim posters to try and dissuade the local youth from tomb-stoning. 

Again, it was about half an hour before high and there was a stream of boats of various descriptions exiting the lock and heading off up the haven. Set up on the end, baited up my mini two hook flapper and dropped it down the wall. Didn't get anything in the first ten minutes, so tried a few different spots before finding a shoal of pollack that seemed to like a strip of mackerel belly. Had half a dozen in quick succession before they disappeared, so went back to the first spot which I'd "chummed" with a few broken mussels. Had a couple of small corkwing wrasse, but bites were unusually slow in coming. At one point I spotted a shoal of sand smelt swimming under my feet so quickly wound in and dangled the my rig mid-water for one to immediately oblige and snaffle the mackerel strip.

However, by the time I'd unhooked him and popped him back his mates had scarpered. The tide had turned now and the outgoing flow was bringing a stream of debris past the end of the pier, including clumps of weed and presumably what were discards from the fishing boats, including bits of crabs and a sizeable bull huss.  

Carried on moving about trying to chase bites, but could only manage a couple more corkwings and a rock goby. Briefly had a go off the main wall but it was a bit shallow and featureless, and after another ten minutes without a bite I was back on the pier. A few people had started to turn up now, including a couple of lady swimmers and a young family with some loud kids, so after a solitary shanny I called it a day. Had been a bit disappointing as the venue is usually far more prolific. Whether it was down to lack of ragworm for bait or something else, I don't know. Rounded off the morning dodging traffic and roads works to get the wife her croissant. Might need a rethink for the next two days.

28/05/2025 - Two venues and an unpleasant surprise

Decided that two days of standing up to my nads in freezing water whilst getting battered by the wind was probably enough, although there was the obvious benefit that I'd discovered a new, high water mark in the estuary, not only for the bass but also potentially for the mullet judging by the hundreds of lip scrapes in the exposed mud. 

Instead I decided to head over to Hakin point near Milford with the remnants of my salted rag and a bit of squid. Pulled up about 7 AM to find another angler already on the pier. Recognised him as a local chap called Graham that I'd previously met bass fishing, so went and had a chat. He was after the bass again and was using a very interesting rig with a home-made hook release system consisting of a rotten bottom clip, an elastic band and a Weeto - yes, the ring-shaped, chocolate breakfast cereal! Whilst there was a bit of colour and quite a lot of weed fragments in the water due to the wave action on the shore I decided to give it a go on the leeward side of the pier. Set up my usual two-hook, mini-flapper baited with a sliver of squid on the top hook and a piece of salted rag on the bottom. 

Dropped it down the side and felt for a clear patch with the lead. Started getting knocks straight away and it wasn't long before the rod tip properly bent over resulting in a female corkwing wrasse. Had a colourful male a couple of minutes later, after which it was just a procession of more corkies with a the odd, morose-looking shanny thrown in. Looked up at one stage to see Graham with his beachcaster well bent over, so paused to see what he'd got. 

Unfortunately, rather than the monster bass hewas after, it turned out to be a huge ball of seaweed with a small doggie in the middle of it! He took that as his cue to pack up, so took the opportunity to glean a bit more local information from him before he toddled off on his bike. I wasn't long after him as the ebbing tide had started pulling down the side of the pier and my braid was starting to look like a washing line, abeit covered in bits of weed. It was only 9 AM at this stage so after popping into Costa for a flat white and a bacon roll, I headed back towards Haverfordwest to "my" little, urban trout stream, having brought a few red worms scavenged from the in-laws' garden on the off chance. Swapped my two hook flapper for a 0.5 gram jig head, popped on the waders and scrambled down the bank to the first pool. 

Hidden down in the water and under the trees with just a dipper for company it was a world away from the busy road just a few yards away and I do wonder how many people even realise that it is here. Despite all the rain we'd had the day before the stream was low and clear and various bits of urban rubbish and detritus, including tyres, rebar, road signs and plastic could clearly be seen on the bottom. Flicked the worm-baited jig upstream and let it drift back towards me. Did this a couple of times before getting a positive rattle and after a spirited fight landed my first little wild Welsh brownie of the morning. Knacked the swim on the next cast by snagging up in aforementioned rubbish, so slogged downstream through the brambles and Himalyan balsam. 

Started working my way back upstream but was shocked when I came to the first riffle to find it covered in slimy, cotton wool-like growths of sewage fungus. Not actually a fungus, but colonies of naturally-occurring filamentous bacteria that thrive in the presence of organic material, smothering the substrate, displacing invertebrates and, in extreme cases, stripping oxygen from the water and killing fish. Carried on upstream to find several places where black, foul-smelling liquid was running down the far bank. Took a few pictures with the intention of reporting it when I got back home. Thankfully the brook was clear further upstream and I'd managed to land half a dozen more little brownies by the time I got back to the car, although I'd probably been mugged by as many again - the hook either coming back bare or the worm chopped up by tiny teeth. 

Got stuck in roadworks leaving Haverfordwest, but was on the phone to Natural Resources Wales as soon as I got throught the door. Was assured that my report would be passed to the local environment team for investigation. Hopefully the two prime candidates of a dairy and a sewage treatment works will be getting a visit soon! 

21/04/2025 - Treading water

Been in the doldrums ever since the river season finished. However, the Easter holidays gave me a chance to snap out of it, firstly with a trip to Exmouth for my godson's 18th birthday celebrations. Included in a packed agenda drawn up by his mum was a trip down to the marina with the LRF gear. 

Unfortunately, I had returned from Lanzarote in January having broken both tips of my much loved and abused Rock Rover - a combination of clumsiness and the unforgiving landscape! Contacted Tronix to find that they no longer carried spares, so I set about repairing them instead. The tubular tip was straightforward - a clean break that just required a spigot cut from the tip of an old float rod glueing between the two pieces and a bit of sanding and varnishing to finish. The solid tip had to be cut down to the tubular section so I could insert a Drennan quiver tip that I'd laboriously sanded down to fit. Fixed the eyes back on with shrink tube rather than trying to whip them on, then painted and varnished the whole thing. 

Was pleased with the end result - looked quite professional compared to my usual cack-handed efforts. However, the quiver tip I'd used was quite a bit softer than the original, so I was keen to see if this had made much difference to the action of the rod. After brunch we headed down to the esplanade and walked along the beach to the marina. The water that was flying out of the estuary was gin clear, but by the time we'd got to the slipway the flow had eased up and the water had taken on a distinctly muddy tinge. Set up a dropshot rig with a Decoy SG-3 baited with a small section of Gulp! isome. Started off by dropping this into any gaps between the rocks of the breakwater and into the pockets behind the pilings. 

Had a female corkwing, followed by a long-spined sea scorpion and a few shannies, some of which were full to bursting with spawn, before going to join the others on the slipway itself. They were amusing themselves by sight-fishing for shannies with lumps of prawn but after a bit I suggested we move and fish off the corner of the carpark, a spot that is usually full of tompots, wrasse and pollack. However, whether it was due to the clarity of the water or the level of the tide, we couldn't buy a bite between us. Tried one more spot, by which time the wind had started to pick up, but again failed to pick anything else up so headed back home. From Exmouth we headed across to Pembrokeshire to the in-laws for a few days. 

I had planned to do a bit of everything while I was there and had even dug out my fly-fishing gear. However, the weather had other ideas and it blew a gale and pissed down from Monday through to Wednesday, causing muddy water to pour off the fields and roads into the local rivers with the inevitable consequences and knocking any ideas of trout fishing on the head. Thursday in complete contrast was dry and sunny, although it was distinctly chilly when I headed off bright and early to Milford Haven for high tide. Got there to find that the water in the marina was the colour of coffee grounds and I could see that the lock gates were open onto the estuary, so feared the worst. However, just around the corner the clarity was thankfully much better. 

Had been and got some rag from County Sports in Haverfordwest the day before and it was small sections of this that I used on my mini-two hook flapper rig off the end of the pier. Didn't take long to start getting fast, pecking bites and I was soon busy wading through hordes of little corkwing wrasse, with a few miniature ballans and shannies thown in. The haven was equally busy with vessels, including the fire-fighting tug testing its jets, and at one stage the inshore lifeboat arrived to assist a small boat that was having engine difficulties. As the tide turned it started pulling a plume of dirty water out of the marina and past the end of the pier, so I decided to pack up and head home to make the best of the rest of the day, having had a total of thirty fish.

The forecast had indicated another, albeit brief, weather window the following morning. However, woke up to the rain hitting the bedroom window, so that was the end of that. Oh well, we're back in May. I'll see if I can be bothered to do something else in the interim!

04/08/2024 - Bass blanks and back to basics

Headed down to Pembrokeshire for a few days last week for the father in law's birthday - 83, increasingly cantankerous, deaf and with dodgy legs but otherwise still going strong. As usual I took my bass and LRF gear, although the priority was to try get another bass on the lures. 

Unfortunately the tides were a bit neither here nor there and I had to wait until the Friday morning before I could head off to the estuary at a reasonable time. Usually I fish the flood, but this time high tide was early doors so I would be fishing the ebb instead. Therefore had a look on the map at a couple of spots higher up the esturary, eventually settling on Picton Point where the Eastern and Western branches of the River Cleddau join together - on paper at least an ideal ambush point for fish travelling back down river on the outgoing tide. Got there an hour after high water and got togged up, trying not to disturb the inhabitants of a couple of vans that had been parked up for the night, and made my way along the shore to the point.

Didn't have the need to use the open air toilet facilities and took stock of my surroundings instead. In contrast to the warm, sunny conditions of the previous day, it was overcast, cool and quite breezy and the resulting wave action had muddied up the margins. I also had to wade out well over waist depth as well to clear the band of floating debris that was being dragged out to sea by the tide and I was beginning to regret my choice of venue.The next two and a half hours was spent punching various lures out into the flow. However, my efforts proved to be for nothing with not even a bump or a knock. 

Undaunted I returned to the estuary the following day, but this time I'd played it safe and headed to Lawrenny instead. The conditions had improved and the wind had dropped enough to try for one off the top. Unfortunately after a couple of casts with the Patchinko I found that there was far too much floating weed about, so it was back to bumping soft plastics around on the bottom the instead. Went through the lure box over the next couple of hours trying various different sizes and colours, but again I ended up fishless. Even the mullet seemed to be taking the mick - launching themselves out of the water without any warning and boshing back on the surface, scaring me witless in the process. 

The only saving grace was that Poseidon hadn't claimed any of my tackle, but it was still a tired and disappointed angler that went home that morning. Gave the bass a miss then next day as it obviously wasn't happening on that front and instead headed to Milford Haven with the LRF gear. Had intended to fish off the pier at Hakin, but as I dropped down the hill towards the marina I could see that there were some people already there. Pulled up a couple of minutes later to find three anglers with six rods spread out between them. Bugger! Contemplated fishing next to the marina entrance, but there was already a stiff breeze blowing straight across the Haven that would have made fishing down the high wall a bit tricky. 

Instead I jumped back in the car and made the 15 minute journey back out of Milford, over the Cleddau Bridge and down into Pembroke Dock to Hobb's Point just in time for high water. Made my way down the ramp to the water level and rigged up my usual mini-two hook flapper with size 16 Drennan widegapes. I hadn't had time to get any fresh bait, so was making do with the last of my salted rag and what I had stashed in the mother-in-law's freezer. Went with a sliver of squid on the top hook and alternated bits of worm and tiny cubes of mackerel belly on the bottom. Had a couple of small pollack and the inevitable rock goby but it was slow going and it wasn't long before the ebb tide started picking up. 

At that point I decided to move and made my way down the gang plank and onto the floating pontoon at the base of the wall. A change of spot, possibly combined with the increase in flow, seemed to make a difference straight away as I was immediately into the fish, a succession of pollack coming on the squid strip and the mackerel (I'd dispensed with the worm as it was just getting stripped off the hook) picking up corkwing and ballan wrasse, black gobies and yet more rock gobies. 

Even managed a little bass, which was a nice surprise. Was fishing away quite happily when a string of mackerel feathers came flying over my head. The culprit, a chap about the same age as me, then came stomping down the gangplank, winding furiously. Whether it was due to the look on my face but rather than apologise when he spotted me he immediately got a bit arsy saying "What's the matter? You in a mood 'cus I pinched your spot?". Decided not to get into it and said "No, carry on", but it just re-inforced the fact that there a lot of twats in this world. Carried on for a bit longer, but had to get back as we were heading off back to Nottingham at mid-day. Despite a slow start I'd had over 50 fish, half of which had been pollack. 

Hadn't been hampered by the lack of fresh bait and it was good to know that squid and mackerel are a decent standby. Doubt if we'll be back to Wales this summer, so that'll leave our October trip to Saunton for one last chance for a bass. 

31/10/2023 - Wild, wild West

This half-term the wife and I were meant to be going to see the lad and his girlfriend in Lithuania where he is about to start a PhD on sea eagles.

However, due to the long-winded process required to obtain his residency permit and the risk that he would run out of Shengen days before he got it, he had to come home for a bit. This left us at a bit of a loose end so, whilst the weather forecast was not exactly ideal, we decided to head down to Pembrokeshire instead. On the journey down the effects of Storm Babet were still much in evidence with virtually every river still out of their banks and fields full of flood water. Despite a last minute diversion over the Brecon Beacons to avoid a crash on the M4 we eventually arrived safely, albeit in the middle of the first of many torrential downpours we were to experience over the next few days! 

Managed to get a walk in down on the beach at Amroth on the Saturday during a brief break in the weather, before heading back to watch the rugby. In contrast Sunday looked like it was going to be a complete write off. However, rather than go mad watching the rain batter against the windows, we braved the water-logged lanes and went for a warming bowl of cawl (lamb stew to the non-Welsh) at our favourite cafe at Lawrenny Quay, overlooking a very wind-blown and grim-looking estuary. Persuaded the wife to pop into Pembroke Dock on the way back and got some ragworm from Roddy at JBM Marine. His overall summary of the local fishing prospects was a resounding "crap", the main issue being the amount of fresh, but dirty water being dumped into the sea by the river. 

Had a quick look at Hobbs Point, which only seemed to confirm his assessment as the estuary was the colour of mud, with water pouring in from the storm drains! The following morning I therefore headed up to Fishguard on the north coast instead hoping that the rain would have had less of an influence and that there would at least be some whiting about to pull the string. Walking out to the end of the breakwater at first light I was relieved to see that the water was relatively clear, so got set up on the top of the rock apron well out of the way of the swell. Had a selection of baits with me and started off with ragworm on a two hook flapper on one rod and a mackerel/squid cocktail on a pulley pennel rig on the other. 

Started getting rattles and pulls on both rods and was feeling pretty confident, but after two and a half hours I'd only had one small pouting to show for my efforts. With the wind picking up and the sky darkening yet again I therefore returned home with my tail between my legs! The next day I decided to gamble and headed towards Milford Haven with the light gear. It had actually been clear and calm overnight and the temperature was down to 5 degrees, the grass verges covered in heavy condensation, although it had warmed up a bit by the time I arrived. Whilst the water in the docks was the colour of my Costa coffee, parking up at Hakin Point I was again glad to see that clarity in the estuary itself was pretty good.

This was despite the debris on the high tide line indicating that the pier had only recently been under water due to the combination of big spring tides and floodwater.  Set up my usual two hook mini flapper made up with size 10 Tronixpro Sabpolo Wormers, baited the bottom hook with a scrap of ragworm but put a sliver of squid on the top hook just for a change. Slowly worked my way along the wall, dropping my rig down  every couple of metres or so, until I found the fish literally stacked up in one spot. As soon as the bait rig hit the bottom the ragworm was snaffled by a corkwing wrasse, although they weren't having it all their own way as the squid proved to be as popular with the pollack, who were snatching it on the drop. 

Whiled away the next hour and a half catching both species in equal numbers and adding a few, perpetually glum-looking shannies and the odd, uniquely coloured ballan. Had to tear myself away in the end as unfortunately we had to head back up the motorway for an appointment with the carpet fitter later in the afternoon, otherwise I would have happily carried on all morning. However, having caught one short of fifty fish in total I'd had a pretty busy session. On reflection it's been a strange couple of months as I've done very little coarse fishing recently. Will have to see what impact the storm Ciaran has in the next few days, but hopefully I will be able to get some short, "smash n grab" sessions in after work for the chub, perch and zander. That's the plan but I guess we'll have to see!

04/06/2023 - A couple of "mini" sessions

Opted for a trip over to Milford Haven on Saturday morning after some "minis". The tide necessitated another early start and the sun was only just climbing above the town as I arrived  just before high water. 

Whilst it promised to be another cracking day, it felt distinctly chilly out on the end of the pier due to the brisk north-easterly wind that was blowing down the estuary. The water again was gin clear and I could see balls of tiny, pin-head fry carrying out synchronised manoeuvres beneath my feet. Set up the usual scaled-down two hook flapper made up with size 16 Drennan widegapes and baited it up with chopped-up sections of prime, farmed ragworm purchased from J & M Tackle in Pembroke Dock the day before. Dropping it down the side of the wall I started getting rattles on the rod tip almost immediately. Took a while before I eventually started connecting with the culprits - hordes of tiny corkwings, with the occasional and equally tiny, emerald green ballan wrasse. 

Moving to a different part of the pier didn't help as they were everywhere, although I did have a single shanny, followed by a rock goby, dropping down the side of the steps. Was distracted momentarily by an eruption of the surface as a cormorant emerged in the middle of big shoal of smelt. Watched them as they fled back out into the main channel, moving far too quickly to be interested in my bait, hastily jigged through their midst. Carried on snagging little corkies in the hope that something bigger would turn up, but nothing did. The only further highlight was when I heard the call of a bird of prey and looked up to see a peregrine flying past the end of the pier with what looked to be an unfortunate pigeon clasped in its talons, possibly breakfast for a nest of chicks. 

Decided to go and get some sustenance myself at that point as I was pretty cold after a couple of hours stood out in the wind, despite being kept busy and catching nearly fifty fish up to that point. Stopped briefly at the head of the marina to see if there were any mullet cruising and then headed to Costa for the now customary coffee and bacon roll. Consumed them sat on a bench overlooking the haven with the sun on my back before heading back to see what the wife had planned for the rest of the day.

Was in two minds the following morning. Had thought about popping over to Fishguard and putting a rod down the side of the breakwater for the wrasse. However, ended up hedging my bets and headed for Hobbs Point instead. 

I knew that my time would be limited to fishing over slack water, but as we were heading back to Nottingham later I was only up for a short session anyway. Cleared up the remnants of somebody's takeaway from the previous night (apparently getting out of their car and walking a few feet to the bin was too difficult - knobs!) before making my way down the old car ferry ramp. Was just coming to the end of the flood, but in contrast to the clear conditions at Milford the day before the water was full of what looked like suspended snot. Dropped a two hook flapper baited with whole rag down the side to fish by itself, while I messed about trying to catch a few more minis. However, bites were slow in coming and it was while before I got some initial interest from, you guessed it, a small corkwing. 

This was followed by a few rock gobies, but it was a bit of a struggle with the bigger baits being completely ignored. When the tide started ebbing about 45 minutes later and ripping along the wall I moved onto the pontoon around the corner where the flow was a bit gentler.

 

First drop down I was surprised to get an instant take from a better male corkwing, which was followed almost immediately by an extremely fat female. The flamboyant males build ball-shaped nests of seaweed in crevices between rocks in the spring and then entice a female in to lay her eggs, so I had possibly rudely disturbed Mr & Mrs Corkwing during their nuptials!  Lost another one that snagged me in the weed and then had a couple more males. These were followed by a couple of small ballans, before my little hotspot dried up and I decided to call it a day. Overall the  lack of variety over the two sessions had been a bit disappointing, but I suppose it's been a bit of a funny year so far weather-wise and things have yet to properly warm up. 

Certainly seemed that way when we got back to Nottingham in the evening to find the temperature about ten degrees cooler! Oh well, not long before I can get the trotting rod out again.

07/04/2023 - Some welcome "minis" at Milford

Had the wind taken out of my sails by yet another disappointing end to the river season and as the unsettled weather continued through March I found that I had zero inclination to get out despite some having some vague plans for stillwater perch and canal zeds. Nearest I got to anything fishing-related was to make a hanging ceiling rack for my rods in the garage!

However, a few days down in Pembrokeshire at the in-laws gave me a chance to rediscover my mojo. With most of my sea fishing gear already down there I just had to throw a few extra bits in the car to cover all eventualities. The weather and the tides looked good for some early season species hunting, so Thursday morning saw me heading off to the Haven bright and early for high water. The sun had just started to paint the horizon in orange, reds and pinks and whilst I had to scrape a layer of ice off the car windows it looked as if it was going to be a glorious day. 

However, descending into the valley I was enveloped by thick fog that persisted all the way to Milford. Set up on the jetty in the gloom, the far side of the Haven obscured and the fog horn sounding off at regular intervals. Went with the usual scaled down two hook flapper with size 16 Drennan widegapes baited with last summer's salted rag. Started near the steps and slowly worked my way along the jetty, dropping my rig straight down the wall. Got to the end without a sniff, but then chanced upon some mini-species manna from heaven in the form of half a dozen large ragworm. 

Probably only discarded the previous evening otherwise the crows and gulls would have had them and barely alive but perfectly usable. The fish aren't fussy in these parts! Snipped them into small pieces, re-baited my rig and then dropped it down the far side of the jetty. 

Had a couple of rattles before the tip bent over properly and an indignant shanny dragged up to the surface. Seemed to have found the "honey hole" as several more followed, along with a few pollack, corkwings and ballan wrasse. 

A chap turned up with his two kids at this point. Discovered that he was a regular visiting angler from Kent, so we were able to share some intelligence about the various marks we fished over the years. On this occasion he was just after a couple of doggies to keep the kids happy, so left him to set up. By now the fog had been cleared away by the combination of the sun and a freshening breeze. Carried on until my supply of second-hand rag was exhausted, missing far more bites than were converted into fish but still ending up a a decent mixed bag. 

Packed up and then popped into Costa for a coffee that I drank overlooking the Haven, now bathed in bright sunshine. The number of buzzards and red kites spotted making use of the subsequent thermals was well into double figures by the time I got home. A quick bacon sarnie and all was well with the world!

16/08/2022 - On holiday again!

Haven't been out on the rivers lately - didn't seem right with them down to their bare bones. Even the mighty River Trent has been showing the strain with a fraction of the normal flow passing over the weir at Beeston. Therefore didn't come as a surprise when the Environment Agency announced drought status across 8 of its 14 areas, with only far the north-west being classed as under "normal" conditions.

This state of affairs happened to coincide with the start of our two week holiday in Wales where hosepipe bans had already been announced in Permbrokeshire and Camarthenshire due to reservoirs falling to critical levels - not that you would have known from the relatively lush, green grass in the fields on our way through to the in-laws. However, the most important job upon arrival was to get some bait so, after unloading the car, I headed off to J & M Tackle in Pembroke Dock for some rag and crab, although I had to wait patiently while the customer in front of me had a five minute rant about the current state of Man United - effing and jeffing away in front of his two young kids! 

As usual the rag were top drawer and as thick as my little finger. Seemed a shame to miss an opportunity while I there, so headed over to Hobbs Point. I'd accidentally on purpose timed my visit to coincide with low water. On the back of the recent springs, the day's tides was still big enough to expose the end of the old car ramp, not only allowing access to the weed-lined fringes but also to the siltier ground beyond. Chopped a couple of the smaller rag into bits and used them to bait up a mini two hook flapper made up with size 10 Sabpolo wormer hooks. 

Dropped straight down the side past the kelp the bait was immediately snaffled by the inevitable rock goby or small pollack. However, swinging the rig slightly further out over the silt allowed the black gobies to get a look in. 

Stood at the end of the ramp with the sun baking the backs of my legs for the next hour or so until the tide started properly flooding. Ended up with forty-odd gobies, a few pollack and a couple of corkwings. The following morning I had planned to go wrassing or bassing. However, disaster had struck overnight  - the mother-in-law's spare fridge that I'd been allowed to put my bait in had been turned up to max, so by morning my quality rag had frozen solid! Therefore hastily decided on another mini-species session, this time heading to Milford Haven in order to get some shelter from the brisk northerly wind. In contrast to the bright, sunny day at Hobbs it was dull and overcast and despite having the hill to my back it was still quite breezy out on the pier. 

The rag had thawed out by the time I got there with some of them miraculously showing signs of life. However, the mini-species don't seem to care whether they are alive or dead and it makes no difference when they're chopped into bits anyway! Dropped my baited rig down the side and started getting rattles straight away, which were soon converted into a procession of corkwings, small ballans and pollack. 

As soon as the tide started ebbing along the wall I moved to the area of slack water off the end of the pier. The corkwings must have been stacked in this small area like sardines as they were coming up two at a time, with only a solitary shanny to break their monopoly.  The northerly wind had really got to me by now to the extent that I was actually shivering so when a big group of kids turned up and started tombstoning off the steps it seemed a convenient time to call a halt, having had over 30 corkwings, 9 pollack, 4 ballans and that solitary blenny. Whilst I obviously enjoy catching fish whatever the variety I really need to find some new marks now as the old ones are becoming very predictable!