Nefyn catch report 21.07.20
Ok, this Nefyn catch report is not from the shore. I got myself a small 3.3m SIB (soft inflatable boat) with a 3.5hp outboard and it’s great! I’ve tested it a few times on Ullswater and Derwent Water but this was it’s first sea trial.
We set the boat up on Nefyn Beach and headed out to the area in front of Pystill Dock. Sea state was good and the wind was under 10mph so all within the boats capabilities.
2 adults and 2 children onboard didnt leave much room onboard so we opted for two 6 foot boat rods. One was a hand me down and a little heavy or so it feit in comparison to the new rod. I was pleasantly surprised with the Abu Garcia 20-30lb class rod. It’s light, sturdy and very well balanced, easily handling feathers full of Mackerel and multiple Pollock.
The engine was turned off and the boat allowed to drift with the now ebbing tide. Rather than drifting out the mild breeze help keep us heading inshore rather than out to sea. The water clarity was surprisingly clear given recent weather so i happy feathering would come up with the goods. With no fish finder it was a traditional fish hunt trying to find if and at what depth the fish were at.
One rod had your standard fair tinsel feathers and the other just small two Sabiki on. Tinsel did the business almost immediately with no takes for 20 minutes on the small sabiki. Multiple mackerel were coming out with some decent size fish among them, at time a full string of 4. Given the amount of line out the Mackerel were at a depth of around 16 to 20 .foot.
The Sabakis quickly swover in favour of white feathers with coloured bead. I bounced the 3 ounce lead off the bottom in search of something else. Raising the lead slightly of the bottom I let the movement of the boat in the slight chop do it’s thing. I was quickly rewarded with a nice bite and pulled up a decent fish. Unfortunately or maybe not it was a double header of Pollock at around 1lb each.
This was all in the first two hours of the ebb, as quickly as it started the fishing died off suddenly. I was happy enough as the boat performed great, the new Abu boat rod should be spot on for most fish. With plenty of Pollock coming up and the Mackerel making a good show it was a pleasant few hours. The option the chase the fish was there but I opted for a short boat site seeing journey over to Morfa Nefyn to test the boat further.
Fresh mackerel are always great when caught and cooked within a few hours, you just can’t beat it. 6 are for the plate and along with the Pollock the rest were released. Top tip, to avoid handling Mackerel you won’t be keeping just hold the hook upside down over the side and they will drop straight off.
A few guys fished Pistyll Dock over night and had a few decent fish including a nice Tope. It’s definitely a mark that fishes better on the flood going into darkness or at night.
That concludes my Nefyn catch report.
Tight lines
