Going out for dinner.

I had a couple of hours down the coast last Thursday afternoon trying to catch a couple of mackerel to have for dinner that evening. Sadly my efforts to tempt them with light game metals proved unproductive but on my way home my mind turned to species hunting as I got close to Torness Power Station. There are a few species I can add to this year's saltwater species tally at both its inlet and outflow areas. It's not really a place I enjoy fishing at this time of the year as it is popular with some unsavoury characters who target bass, taking undersized fish, which they keep in Royal Mail style shoulder bags. Luckily most of them are one trick ponies, standing for hours with fairly heavy tackle casting out and slowly retrieving a large controller float and small Eddystone eel up through the outflow current. This method doesn't seem terribly productive unless the bass are feeding on sandeels near the surface. Anyway, I decided to go down to the outflow to see if there were any mullet around. I began fishing with a modified 00 Mepps whose treble I had cut off and replaced with a short piece of 4lb fluorocarbon and a #14 hook. Onto this I put a small section of white Isome. Casting it around and reeling it in very slowly I didn't have any follows but looking over to my left every now and then I didn't see any bass being caught either which was a bit of consolation. After a while I decided to fish at the top of the outflow in an area of slack water. It was nice and clear and I could see a few mullet grazing on the bottom amongst the sea lettuce. Trying to get them interested in my Isome proved difficult and after a while I clipped on a small metal. I had sand smelt in mind but after a few casts a small bass found the long sandeel like profile and colouration too appealing to resist.  

A very small bass but it's always quite satisfying pulling one out in front of the postie bag brigade. The look on their faces when you put bass back is even better. 

Returning to fishing with my modified Mepps I could still see mullet grazing amongst the sea lettuce on the rocks on the bottom and down the edge of the outflow. Letting my baited spinner sink before very slowly working it close to these areas had fairly predictable results. 

The area has even more blennies than it does bass or mullet. 

The spinner just didn't seem to attract the resident mullets' attention so I tried dead sticking a piece of Isome on a jighead. This just produced more blennies that snaffled it rather quickly. Admitting defeat at least it was good to see plenty of mullet around and I'll be heading back with some bread and a float rod at the next available opportunity.

Tight lines, Scott.