Our assault on Samphire Hoe did not go as well as previous trips, weather good, travel good, company good but fishing 2nd rate

Fishing between lifebuoys 14 and 15 where we were assured there were not too many snags, no one mentioned the lack of fish as well using tactics from a Mr Crabtree Christmas album of float, underwater float, small boom rigs dropped down the side and a few rotten bottoms lobbed out into clearer water we did our best to attract some attention from the fish who did not want to play ball or anything else for that matter. The largest activity was watching some eastern Europeans trying to reach France with their mackerel feathers when there was not a mackerel or garfish for miles but it did keep them occupied.

Only real highlights were the monster wrasse (40cm, about 2lb) caught by Chris and catching a few other species than Essex fish and not a whiting in sight. Nearly forgot the monster blenny that tried to take a bite out of Chris’s finger!

• 1^st Chris Leonard 203 points 7 Wrasse, 2 Pout, 2 Pollock (Wrasse 40cm)
• 2^nd Paul Drake 119 points 6 Wrasse, 4 Pout
• 3^rd Alan Porter 87 points 4 Wrasse, 3 pout