Another slow day in west Wales

Having booked four days off work this week it was welcome news to see the high pressure building, but not so welcome was the wind. Tuesday looked like one of the better days with 8mph rising to 10mph later in the day.
Arranged to meet up with Mike from Aber but the strong sunshine had me out of bed at 6.30am and sorting out the ducks and hens before heading over to the coast for an 8am early start on the water. Surf was low and everything looked good for another bash at the bass, pollack and mackeral. Loaded up two older spinning rods, an old spinning reel and a new baitrunner reel loaded with some 20lb braid. A new xrap lure one one rod and a large slug go sandeel on a 5/0 hook on the other, and I was off to the first mark after checking in on the vhf with Milford coastguard.



There was a bit of chop about on the first mark but nothing to worry about. Tried the sandeel lure and then the new sub surface lure for around an hour and a half with no success on the last of the flood.
I paddled back in to the launch point to look for Mike and to take a loo break. The water flattened out a lot so I relaunched and tried the same mark again, fishing the sandeel just above the bottom for pollack whilst plugging with the other rod. Freelined the sandeel imitator on the baitrunner reel and then changed over to a small weighted trace to get it back near the bottom.
Mike appeared around 1030 so I paddled in for a chat and then we both paddled out to a second mark on the very last of the flood tide. There was a fair bit of chop on the waves by now with an increasing breeze so we headed north of the mark and then started a long drift back on the ebb, using sandeels and plugs.
















Over the second mark I at last had a follow on a surface lure and then had two light hits over the same rough ground. Unfortunately no hook up on either hit and I took some shore rest to sort out a wind knot on the braid. Paddled back out to rejoin Mike in increasing choppy conditions and tried some more spinning and plugging at various distances from the shore. Nothing doing, so we paddled back down on the ebb and in to shore. No sign of mackeral close in, and the cloudy water and bright sunshine meant the bass didnt want to play either. Surprised that neither of us had a pollack, as in recent weeks it has been hard to get through the small pollack to the bass.


http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h225/moniar/?action=view&current=IMGP1563.mp4

We both managed to get back in without any surf trouble, so it turned out to be a fishless day but it was at least nice to be out for a paddle for most of it.