Fantastic day

Set off down the A140 in light drizzle with a target in mind, a pike and a bass. But most importantly drinking lots of tea and eating a few sausages with the Loafer, freshly back from impersonating trigger fish on Chesil Beach. Unusually I beat him to it and had three rods out and the kettle on before he deigned to make an appearance. It being October the pike would no longer be wolfing down down deadbaits so no keyboard warrior pike police abuse expected.

The Loafer had bought two travel rods to use later in the nearby estuary so it wasn't easy to recreate the traditional casting shot this time round. 

Not one for matt black or olive green the Loafer.

Several teas and a ritual disemboweling of May, Mourhino and Rees-Mogg to name a few later the drop-off on my middle rod was away. As usual the Loafer hadn't bought a net or mat so had to find the ones I had hidden away in a vain attempt to keep them dry and the car stink free later. He then struggled for an hour to identify the viewfinder as opposed to the LCD display which was just as well as the pike that had taken my little joey really had an aversion to the net  and wasn't coming in any time soon. Even with aeon's of time and induced tail walking an action shot wasn't forthcoming from the Loafer so in the onion bag it went. Nicely hooked and a twist of the long handled forceps was all that was required and the first double of the autumn was soon immortalised on the camera sensor. We wondered just how many pike have been unhooked on that mat of reeds.

No looking at the tail, it's not a mud pig. Unusual pink tinge to the fins

Time to wash the Derri boots. Next time it will be Billy Big Balls in Vass chesties. Or £700 neoprenes.

Time for sausages we thought. Very tasty too.

One or two too many close passes by the windsurfers had us packing away for the estuary just over that tree line. Not sure if any Tijskie cans have found  their way in to my holdall courtesy of the Loafer. Don't cross him when he is hungry.

After a brisk walk down to the estuary the Loafer had built up a fine sweat and stench of contained flatus in his not quite £700 chesties. The plan was to float fish along the colour line as the flood tide and the massive bay eddy caught up  at a spit. I'd been given the bludgeon float as I only had  wellies on  and the Loafer had a more refined waggler style with no weight down set up as he could get much further out on the flats.

I did get  a little further out than that.

Well, just a little.

Not long in and the Loafer was in to a bass which did go rather well on the end of his braid and as I can distinguish a viewfinder  I did get a few action shots.

An absolute belter of a fish. Despite the new season one a day quota it did go back. Only because I had no bag to for him to hide it in for me to sherpa it back to the Merc for him. One a day rod caught. For half a year. How many tonnes a month do the commercials get? With discard? By the way Mick Rouse types. Move over. The new features photographer has just ridden into town.

Estuaries are not always muddy creeks and saltings. A lot clearer than the Colne.

I did get one positive indication and two nipped rag but it was the Loafer all the way.

Mullet were behind us at one point. An impressive egret roost too.

 An absolute corker of a day. Target achieved between us. Let's do some more.