MISSION CONGER!

CONGER BASHING: LLANBADRIG AREA 11/02/2012

After the previous nights disappointment at Porth Eilian it was time for a change of plan. Leaving at 3.45pm we had planned to fish a mark I've heard about for big congers but wanted to get there during daylight to be safe. Now usually I would only target congers on neap tides when it seems they are actively feeding for a much longer period. Last night though, I just had an urge and as Matty had never caught one before, it was time for me to try and get him off the mark. I didn't really plan the walk there very well at all and having parked in the layby for Porth Wen, we set off on what would prove to be an hour long trek. Up and down ravines and sets of stairs we went and by the time we reached what seemed to be a semi-accessible ledge it was getting dark. Finally down on the ledge and realising just how unfit we were it was a quick breather before the rods were set up and ready to go. The bait as you can see pictured top

left is a favourite of mine for congers. The basics are to feed either a squid head or cut up body onto the hooks to make a kind of squid muppet for the main macky bait. This seems to add a nice bit of movement to the bait and has proven deadly in the past. Anyway, baited up and cast out at about 40yards range, it was time to sit back and wait. It took all of ten minutes for something to start having a nibble on my bait and this continued for a good twenty minutes with a small sharp knock every so often. Now I don't know whether this happens to others alot, but when I fish it always seems as one rod knocks away and the other remains lifeless, it's always the lifeless rod that suddenly goes berserk and true to form, having watched mine knock away for so long, it was matty who would get the first real take. A nice knock followed by a short run and he struck. I could tell from the bend in the rod he had something on and as Matty played the fish into the side it was blatantly obvious that it was a strappy. Success! All of a sudden the mission of a walk to the mark seemed worth it and he had landed his prize. Well done Matty! Tipping the scales at just over 3lb's the fish was no leviathan but he was over the moon with his new species. Not to be outdone, I reeled in and re-baited and had a little walk left to cast out onto some new ground. Back to the rest it was and again the wait started. This time it was role reversal and as Matty was starting to get little knocks my rod started arching over. After feeling for the tell tale head-shakes for a minute or so the line suddenly went very slack so I wound down and hit it. It felt a nice fish at first and it gave a very good account for itself in the early stages but after wenching it from the bottom it suddenly started to come in like a heavy log. Matty did the job of grabbing the leader and the fish was mine. This one was a little bigger and weighed 7lb 6oz but still a tadpole in comparison to the fish I know are down there. Happy with our nights work and having achieved

our goals we stuck it out until round 9.30ish adding a couple of big doggies and a nice lobster pictured top right to my tally in the proccess. The walk back we decided to try and find the main road to avoid the ravines again. Taking a path that seemed to lead to a few houses was our best option and after another good 45 minute walk we were back at the car. Feeling exhausted and having had a lack of food I went home feeling a bit nauseous, reminding me next time to pack up with some carbs etc just incase. On the whole though a very successful trip and one I would do again now that I know you can park a good 1.5miles closer :s

Hope you enjoyed the read!

Tight Lines, Ross