Given that October was such a poor month, I was hoping November would also be like recent years and the fishing would improve. It was fun, but the hoped for big autumn fish never materialised. After coming home from our holiday in October, I brought a stomach bug back with me. That knocked me for the first week back and I just didn’t have the energy to go fishing. Fortunately I got over that just in time for a quarterly catch up with good mate Matt. These are always good fun and we try to get out in the fresh air and do something before invariably having several beers. We opted for a lake I’d never fished before that took us out on Dartmoor. The fishery is a small one comprising of three small lakes. The main attraction, for most at least, are the large carp that reside in two of the small lakes. Tempting as it was to have a go for a big carp, what Matt and I wanted was a bit of simple fishing where we could put the world to rights and what the float going under a few times. We therefore opted for the smallest of the three lakes which sounded like it had plenty of fish in and a good bit of variety.
We were greeted by owner Martin who was a really lovely bloke. A cracking Irish sense of humour, full of fishy tales and very proud of the fishery he’s created, and rightly so. The fishery is called, Serenity Lakes and in the remote location, it really was serene. I got lucky on two fronts, not only had I got over my stomach bug but we’d also got a window in the weather. When the sunshine broke through and the wind eased, it was very pleasant.
We got set up, simple float setups on both rods and fishing to the same baited area. A bed of ground bait and a regular trickle of maggots over the top soon got the floats dipping under. The strikes were met with a string of small Roach and a few Perch thrown in. Martin explained that the lake also held some good Perch. As the light started to fade, right on cue, my strike was met with some proper resistance. It instantly felt like a Perch with the tell-tale head shakes. The fish swirled and revealed the stripes. When you’ve been catching fish of around three ounces for a couple of hours, something approaching two pounds looks and feels like a monster! After a great little scrap we bundled the fish into the net after it found some brambles in the margins to my right. In the soft autumn evening light, it looked superb, a really proud specimen. Not big by today’s standards but a really welcome fish which had us happy as pigs in…
We fished on with expectations high. We caught a few more Perch of a decent size but nothing in the same league as that one large one. We kept fishing until the floats were hard to see and the promise of an open fire and a decent pint just up the road saw us winding in and heading off. A lovely little fishery and I’m sure I’ll return one day.
Towards the end of the month we spotted a window in the weather that looked like ti would be possible to get the boat out. Mike had seen the same window and very kindly offered for me to join him, well, I kind of invited myself on his boat but with a cuddy, his beautiful Warrior 165 is a much warmer and more comfortable ride than mine. We met on the slip at sensible o’clock and headed off into what was a much choppier sea than we had expected. A bit of east wind in the channel had pushed a short sea into the bay. I was really pleased we were on the Warrior as it’s a much more comfortable ride than my Orkney when it gets choppy.
It was a day when we did lots of searching, a bit of finding but not so much catching. The bay was fairly quiet with only a few dolphins visiting us and no sign of the whales that had been in the bay for several weeks previously. Later on we ventured inshore towards the Manacles, an area I don’t often fish but Mike knows it very well. Whenever you fish an area someone knows well, it’s often hard to keep up, and so it proved. Mike gave me a lesson in fishing the area as he latched into Pollack after Pollack on his very light setup. There we some really good fish for the inshore spot that had his spinning rod tip getting dragged back under the surface time and time again. I tried to follow suit but wasn’t getting my presentation quite right. Eventually, Mike sat back with a cup of tea, passed me his rod and talked a fish onto the hook for me. Honestly, I could have fished that mark and said there weren’t many fish about but Mike showed it was actually stacked with good fish. I’m always learning!
As the month drew to a close I was keen to get out one more time if I could. The weather had been lively so options were limited. In the end, I offered the boys a chance to going on Friday evening after school with the promise of fish and chips by the sea followed by a try for a squid. I very (very) rarely target squid. I don’t like the taste and they sort of fight but it’s no the same. But, it would be something the boys’ had never seen before and with the sun setting so early, we’d be fishing in the dark which is a great adventure for them. The fish and chips were good and with warm bellies we got dressed in the cold weather gear which itself takes about 15 minutes when it involves two little people.
Armed with a squid jig each on our little spinning rods we gave it a go. I’ve caught squid on the boat when I haven’t been trying for them and they generally are pretty easy to catch, or so I hoped. We cast our little jigs and then twitched, jigged, wobbled and wound them in not really sure what the best method would be. With no bites forthcoming, the boys’ interest did start to waiver, that plus the cold was setting in. I changed their rods so they fished a small hook and a little strip of bait down the side of the harbour wall where I was sure they’d catch plenty of little lots things like bennies, scorpion fish, whiting, pollack and who knows what. Soon after setting them up I finally snagged a squid on the jig. I really wanted them to see it so I guided it carefully to some steps where I could get down to the water to lift it out gently. They are the most spectacular creatures and the boys were as fascinated as me. The skin colour changed and flashed as we took a couple of photos before slipping it back. That galvanised some enthusiasm so we fished on a little longer trying to catch something small down the edge of the wall but it wasn’t to be. We packed up happy but tired and unsurprisingly, just as I used to do, they feel asleep in the car on the way home with the heaters on.
Whilst November wasn’t a big fish, the occasions when I did get out to fish were really enjoyable, and isn’t that exactly what fishing should be? Let’s see if December has anything to offer. As I right there is a weather warning about to come into force for gales and rain. Let’s hope there is a chance to get out there again for some more fun.
Good luck!
