Those long-suffering readers of this diary will have
realised that I like catching as many different species of fish as I am able in
varying techniques.
It was a fabulous evening and checking the tide was out, I
fancied stalking a mullet from the River Torridge. I really enjoy the
difficulty of this fishing which I stumbled upon when a friend called Brian bet
me I couldn’t catch one from a river rather than an estuary (they ARE much
harder to catch here).
So armed with a fresh loaf, Sandy and I went down to the river. I fed in a
small amount of bread mash initially and gradually saw mullet in the vicinity
drifting up and down the bank so cast out a paternoster rig as I had done in
previous years but to no avail. I has several twitches, and I could see the
mullet, but no bite. After an hour or so
I switched to freelined breadflake and noticed that I hadn’t cut the knot on my
hook very well (forgot my glasses again!). So everything was tidied up and I
waited, not moving, as mullet drifted past again, except this time I had a bite
and after a good fight, I landed a nice mullet.
Mullet are one of the hardest fighting freshwater fish and
with their soft mouths, have to be played very gently and I use coarse tackle
for this with a supple rod tip to prevent a pull out.
After the commotion of catching the fish, the rest dispersed
not to be seen again, and as the tide was about to forge upstream, it was time
to pack up and savour a special evening.
Now, where do I get a tench?