Trip #90 - Early Morning Spin Class

Looking at the tides, prevailing weather and taking into account other weekend plans, this morning's fishing trip was going to be an early one. For a change I would be trying my hand had a spot of sea fishing - more specifically spinning. I had decided early on to split my trip between Eype and Lyme Regis, in the hope that if I struggled to pick up a bass, I may be more successful with mackerel. Only time would tell, and speaking of the time, even the dog didn't know what is going on being walked around at 4:30 in the morning. Breakfast consumed I was out of the door by 5 and on my way to the beach.

Not a soul on the beach... At half 5 in the morning.

First stop was Eype beach, and arriving just gone half 5 (after a long and windy road down a coastal path) I was not surprised to see that I was the only person around. The sea looked calm and looking out to the right the headland was just becoming exposed. I'm not going to lie it was an epic trudge to the headland. Eype beach has some of the typical Chesil Beach Shale only it's much smaller making walking all the more difficult. Still, I soldiered on and got to the rocky outcrop, and my jointed plug hit the water just as the sun was rising.

The tide going around the Headland was a lot stronger than that straight onto the beach, so rather than be plush aquamarine blue the water was more a slightly muddy brown. There was also an enormous amount of kelp growing off the headland which meant my first few casts were met with snags. There must have been fish close by as a small boat was working nets and pots along the shore around 200/300 meters out, but I didn't see any fish rising. 

You need to be part mountain goat to traverse some of these boulders.

Working my way further out to the point the rocks and that became more and more treacherous being covered with seaweed and mud meant that maintaining balance while casting and retrieving was very difficult, and despite my best efforts I definitely left that beach with wet feet. I cast a selection of lures and jellies around the headland for the best part of an hour, without so much as a touch. There was still plenty of the tide to be had so after a few “final casts” I retreated back towards the carpark to dry my feet and decided to give Lyme Regis a whirl. 

A last blast for any stray Mackerel on the way back to the car park.

To be honest the cost of parking in Lyme Regis is staggering so I was only going to fish an hour or two, and so would need to pick my area's wisely. On this occasion I opted for the Easterly beach and walked out along the stone ledges as the tide was dropping. Lesson 1. Get waders. Failing that old trainers and shorts. Fortunately I had an old pair of waders hanging in the shed, which I would definitely be bringing next time. 

I started my fishing casting around the stream that enters Lyme Bay, the water was a lot calmer here, so it was a lot clearer when I was amazed at the action of my lure when I retrieve it. My Ryobi Shallow Running Lure looked like a real fish. (Which is always a good thing when try to fool the real thing!) I think I underestimated how shallow this area was in comparison to Eype, as I kept bumping the bottom with my lure. I quickly changed to a Savage Gear Panic Prey and carried on my session fishing on the surface. After 10 or 15 minutes I decided to move around further east on the beach and walked out into the shallows, casting up and down any gullies I found. I think I may have had one follow, but before long I was contending with seagulls diving from my surface lure as the sun was definitely on the rise. The tide was also dropping further and further which meant more beach for dog walkers and especially curious spaniels. At one point I became petrified that the spaniel was actually trying to retrieve my lure, so I have to strip it back past him quicker than he could swim. 

Looks very fishy, and is apparently very productive. Will need to visit a lot more often.

I gave it in another half an hour before the beach started to fill up with more owners and their canine companions before returning to the car. So all in all, my first blank for a while all I have to admit this was more of a trial run than an actual fishing trip. I'm saying this purely to massage my wounded ego. Blanking isn't something that frequently happens to coarse anglers, so this change of pace and style was a lesson in humility, and a lesson I am sure that will be repeated many times in the future. Despite my blank I did manage to get some nice early morning pictures of the southwest coast. I was also back at home with a coffee and bacon sandwich before 10am, so it wasn't all bad after all! I would have  ought them from one of the cafe's along the front, but they charge more than the parking meters!

Hopefully I'll be able to get out a few more times before the season really slows down, the weather gets too cold and me and the wife's life changes forever... 

As a rating;

Fishability - it's quite difficult for me to write about these two Beaches as both look incredibly fishy also both  of them can be fished differently. Both can produce very well given this was my first attempt at both of these beaches I think I'll refrain from marking them until I got more experience at spin fishing in the sea.

Accessibility - **** - Eype, although easy to find, it involved driving down a windy single lane road right to the beachfront. Lyme Regis is very easy to find and if you arrive early enough you can park in almost any car park in the town centre. Also before a certain time it's actually FREE! However after the time specified on the metres make sure you have a LOT of change as parking charges are ridiculous.

Value for money - ***** - fishing in the sea is free of charge! However the lures you buy to go fishing in the sea quickly add up and can cost a lot of money!

Disabled access - Eype - 0 it would be nearly impossible to get a wheelchair across to the headland at Eype giving the coastal path down to the beach and size and shape of the gravel and how easily the ground moves.

Lyme Regis - *** ½ - Fishing from the new concrete promenade at Lyme Regis would be possible but only at high tide. There are large flat concrete areas with railings where a wheelchair could be easily wheeled.