Conwy Tunnel / Llanfairfechan - Ford Focus vs Iveco Truck

Well, we left on time for our second Anglesey visit, got the bait on the way as usual from victoria Angling on Conwy Pier then this happened!

Going over the roundabout, westbound on the A55 at Llanfairfechan we got side-swiped by a Slovakian wagon that quite obviously didn't see us. As he went round the roundabout he pushed our car over the roundabout with his wheels. He just carried on! We sped off after him and eventually pulled him in to a parking place. Needless to say we called the police who were very helpful took down all his details - yes he was legal although he couldn't speak a word of english! He was abviously at fault as the man who stopped with us as a witness will no doubt tell the insurance company - thanks for stopping Brian!

Not a very good start but after a while we carried on to our cottage for the weekend. Luckily we were not injured and the car was still road worthy but it was one of the most frightening things that has ever happened to me. Currently the insurance company is in the process of sorting it out so we'll see how that goes.

Tags: car insurance, liability, llanfairfechan

Anglesey - The Return

Well we're going again! After the last bank holiday visit we're going to Anglesey again tomorrow (Friday) and staying over until Monday.

We hope to get quite a bit of fishing done although the weather doesn't look like it's going to be too kind but what the hell, if we waited for good weather in the UK before we did anything we'd all stay inside.

Everything is now packed and ready to be loaded into the car first thing tomorrow - I can't wait!

Tags: anglesey, sea fishing

LLeyn Peninsula, Trefor Pier 14th May: BLAS Match

After a full english breakfast at the B&B / pub in Pwllheli we motored over to the other side of the Lleyn Peninsula for the second fishing match of the weekend. We were fishing the tide down at Trefor pier, not ideal but its getting increasingly difficult to find piers that you are able to fish from and as BLAS have a pier cup it seemed a shame to waste a trip to the Lleyn without giving Trefor a go.

The venue is fantastic and although the weather was atrocious Dave, Shacky, Wendy and I had a great time although not many fish came out. The final tally was Dave with 4 dogfish, Shacky with 3 me with 2 and Wendy with an eel. As mentioned - not the best fishing but the company was great and seeing a porpoise just off the end of the pier and the baby Bass feeding among the piers legs more than made up for the weather.

Tags: dogfish, lleyn, pier, sea fishing, trefor

BLAS & WSF Match: LLeyn Peninsula, Pwllheli 13th May

We set of from Preston early enough so that we could pickup some bait from Victoria angling at Colwyn Bay Pier and have enough time to book into the B&B ( The Victoria hotel ) before meeting the lads from Blackpool and Leyton Angling Society and Wirral Sea Fishing for the customary natter before the match. Paddy had made a huge pot of Chilli which was very welcome and even tempted some of the guys out of the pub were they were watching the FA Cup!

At about 4.30pm we all moved down to the venue which was to be at the golf course end of Pwllheli South Beach. The weather was clear with only a few clouds in the sky but the lads from BLAS didn't believe me when I said it wouldn't rain so donned waterproofs and sweated out the afternoon and early evening in style.The water was crystal clear and although this concerned a few people I was the first in with a fish on my light rod - a dogfish, not very big but still a fish.

Time passed and neither Wendy or I could get another bite no matter what bait, distance or end tackle we used while up the beach from us Dave was getting into more doggies by blasting his bait out that little bit further than should be possible.

The tide got higher as the sun dipped lower and with the tide the weed became a problem until the only realistic way to fish was close in if you wanted to retrieve your gear without it getting covered. Shacky, fishing next to Dave also got into some fish and as the final call was made the results were Dave, Shacky and Big Kev - joint first to scoop the pool of £38 each. I came in joint fifth.

In all 23 anglers signed in, which for a match so far away from home on FA Cup day was a great turn out, 14 people caught fish, unfortunately Wendy wasn't one of them. Another great day out at a great venue that looks like it should produce some good fish but never has for us.

Tags: dogfish, pwllheli, sea fishing

Watering the Garden, Chipping, Preston

Last week saw my Mother and Father take a well earned holiday in Gozo, Malta, so I volunteered to go up to their place and water the conservatory and Dads vegetable patch.

While I was there I thought I'd try out the Nikon 2200's close up facility and as you can see by the results - it seems very good. This first picture is of the Apple blossom with the conservatory, blurred deliberately for effect, in the background.

Before watering I took a few photos inside the conservatory, this is a close up of a bourgonvilia which was beautiful in the evening sunlight. The conservatory got a good soaking as per Mum's instructions so I moved outside to check on Dad's veg.

This got the same treatment and I was pleased to see that the carrots had started to show through as well as the onions and leeks and other seedlings so I must have been doing something right.

Then came the bit I'd been looking forward too and putting off until I'd done all the bits and pieces I was really there for. Every year the Swallows come and nest in the garage so I slowly opened the door hoping to see one sat on a nest only to be greeted by this little fellow and a couple of his friends.

As well as the Swallows a Robin (I think) had build a nest within a stack of old seed boxes an this year had managed to fledge at least three young. This was probably a lot easier this year as while Mum and Dad were away their cat, Woody (along with Becky and Megan - two gorgeous black labrador retrievers), had gone to a friends for his own enforced vacation.

I made one last circuit of the garden to check on the Moorhen and her chicks and took a few final photographs of the cherry trees for Mum and Dad just in case the blossom had fallen by the time the got back then, very pleased about seeing the fledglings, left for home.

The weather that week was fantastic and reports from Mum and Dad after they got back confirm that I didn't manage to kill anything - in fact they say I did quite well, but it's not exactly a hardship when you get to visit such a beautiful place and see such wonderful things.

Tags: chipping, garden, moorhen, preston, robin, swallow

Anglesey, my Anglesey

Anglesey, my Anglesey Just found this blog by Keith Alexander. He's got the right idea - retiring to Anglesey - a dream both myself and Wendy share.... one day....

Tags: anglesey

Sunday 30th April - Cable Bay & Beaumaris Bass

After Saturdays exploration and chat with Gareth we mounted our expedition to Cable Bay with some heavy duty rock fishing gear and some lighter rods just in case we fancied a bit of float fishing. We arrived at the car park at about 10am and followed a path around to the left onto a rocky outcrop. The weather had closed in a bit over night and although it never rained, the sky stayed hazy throughout the session.

After numerous bait changes - squid, mackerel, sandeels neither Wendy or I had anything to show for our efforts and as the boats came in to moor up in the bay for some lunch we did the same.

I'm not entirely sure we were in the right place as we've never fished here before and although the lack of bites was disheartening the main problem was the snags and the unending loss of end tackle no matter how far we cast or in which direction. The rigs we were using were 'pulley rigs' but the lack of fish meant that the main function of the rig - which is to get the lead up out of the snags - never happened.

Wendy did get this rather 'natty' picture of me though. We called it "last cast" and made our way back to the cottage for a quick brew before the main event of the day.

As the next trip out was to be the last of this visit to Anglesey we emptied the fridge of bait and took everything with us; crabs, lug worm, mackeral and squid.

We headed south to ABC tackle to get some more sandeels where we spoke to Malcolm, the owner. We mentioned that we'd seen Gareth the previous day and Malcolm said he'd been in the wrong place and gave us directions to a mark a little closer to Beaumaris called the flagpole. We both took only our light rods and the minimum gear, it was still quite heavy by the time we'd walked from the car to the mark. We arrived about an hour before lo-water and set up the gear.

This was to be a challenge for both of us. I'd recently purchased "Hooked on Bass" by Alan Vaughan and Mike Ladle and it had made me re-think our approach to this magnificent fish. The tackle I was using consisted of a size 2/0 Varivas Big Mouth (from Veals Mail Order)hook tied onto about 3 foot of 20lb amnesia (it was a bit rocky and i didn't want the line to scuff too much) the other end of which was tied to a small swivel. A zip slider was threaded onto the mainline followed by a bead to protect the knot then this mainline was tied to the other end of the swivel. To complete the setup a 2oz lead was attached to the slider and a big juicy peeler crab whipped onto the hook. This was then cast about 20 feet out among the boulders and the wait began...

Wendy tried a bit of float fishing with the 'jif lemon floats' we'd made about a month ago - fishing a crab just above the rocks no result was forthcoming and it was soon too dark to see it. We'd been holding the rods rather than putting them in the tripod so that we could feel every little knock but as darkness fell the rain came down and we needed to put them down for a bit of a break. Then...

A small twitch of the rod tip, Wendy notices it at the same time - again and I strike! This fish is only about 20 feet out and is not happy at all. The rod arches over as I apply pressure. The fish fights back but the light rod takes the strain and a silver shape is brought to the beach! BASS! Wendy rushes forwards to help make sure it's out of the sea as I put the rod back in the tripod shaking as the adrenaline leaves my body.

I gather my prize and as Wendy fetches the camera the hook falls out - you just can't have too much luck! We'd previously decided to take one home for the table so I dispatched it as quickly as possible (it weighed in at 2lb 8oz although it looked a lot bigger), re-baited and cast back out. Wendy had changed over to a normal 2 hook flapper, baited with crab and flicked into the rocks.

Then Wendy's rod goes berserk. But the tell tale yellow eyes break the surface...A Dogfish. That was the only silver bar of the evening and the only fish for myself. Wendy had a whiting to go with the doggy but was not to get a Bass this night, but there's always next time...

What suprised me was the 'bite' the Bass gave, it was very timid and I'm sure if I'd not been using a long hook length on the running ledger I'd not have got the fish. It mentions in the "Hooked on Bass" book that Bass are very sensitive feeders but after the hit and run type of bites at "Dinas Dinlle" if I'd not experienced it myself I'd never have believed it. As for Wendy not getting onto a Bass that night, maybe it was the end rig, maybe luck or maybe there just weren't that many there that evening. We're back on the island in another month so perhaps then it will be her turn...

Tags: anglesey, bass, beaumaris, cable bay, sea fishing

Saturday 29th April - A 'Reccie' on Anglesey

After Friday nights adventures we got up for a late (very late!) breakfast and on opening the curtains were greeted with another fantastic day. Blazing sunshine and hardly any wind at all.

We decided that we were well overdue for a bit of a walk so got together a rucksack of light fishing gear and another of sandwiches and drinks and headed to the South East corner of the island to Llanddwyn Island. We payed the £2 to park near the sand dunes at Newborough and headed along a track onto the island. As we suspected we'd completely missed the tides and the sea was going out by the time we got there so we had a wander around then sat in the lee of the lighthouse for some lunch.

It was great just to sit and do nothing except watch the Rock Pipits darting around, trying to find every last bug in the area.

After making the decision not to do any fishing we slowly meandered our way back, stopping every so often to watch the Wheatears dart from rock to rock, arguing angrily about territory. Needless to say after carrying even the light tackle all the way from the car and back I was glad when we got to the car park which, is very well equipped with good toilets for all and an information point.

I don't think we'll be going to Llanddwyn to fish though - it was just too busy - we prefer 'out of the way angling' and anyone thinking to ave a 'good time' on the 'Island of Lovers' as Llanddwyn is known had best be prepared for some company!

Before coming to Anglesey we'd had an idea of a good looking spot to try some new tactics for Bass fishing so we headed through Beaumaris towards Penmon, the beach we were looking for needed to have a few large rocks at low water, plenty of cover for crabs but not enough to snag the tackle on every cast.

Anyway, we found a likely spot and had a wander around only to bump into Gareth from fishing4u doing the exact thing we were planning on doing tomorrow so after a quick chat about the following days plans and a couple of suggestions for the midday high tide fishing session we headed back to the cottage for some dinner and to get things ready for tomorrows midday session at Porth Trecastell or "Cable Bay".

Tags: anglesey, beaumaris, llanddwyn, penmon, rock pipit, sea fishing, wheatear

Anglesey - A Spring Arrival

After a leisurely journey from Preston we arrived on the island a little to early to get into the cottage so we stopped for a cup of tea and some cake at a cafe in Beaumaris - the weather was fantastic and the views across the Menai Straits of the mainland were beautiful.

We arrived at the cottage and as soon as we'd unpacked all the gears set out to "Porth Tywyn-mawr" or "Sandy Beach" to dig some lugworm for the first fishing session on Anglesey this year.

We'd already collected the rest of the bait; frozen sandeels, squid, peeler crab and mackerel, on the way from Victoria Angling so after a good feed and making up a couple of flasks of coffee away we went.

We arrived at the chosen venue, "Porth Nobla" or "Broad Beach" I think it's called, ready to do battle with the denizens of the deep. Wendy and I took almost identical gear, a normal surf casting rod - capable of blasting out a bait a very long way, and a lighter 'Bass' rod for closer in work. With 2 rods each - we weren't messing about. After a few practice cast I launched a frozen sandeel and squid bait out into the depths then quickly assembled my lighter rod, baited up with a big fat crab and plopped a bait just behind the surf line. Wendy had also set her traps up but had bating up her long distance rod with lugworm.

Darkness descended upon us like ink from heaven, stained only with the red afterglow of the sunset. We re-baited and waited.... ....

I noticed out of the corner of my eye Wendy shift her attention to rod tip. "Strike" - got one! But what manner of fish was it to be, the fabled silver bar of Summer - a Bass?

Unfortunately not, during the summer, after dark the coasts of Wales come alive with dogfish and that's what she'd snared. But, a fish is a fish and she was 1-0 up. I re-baited, this time with lugworm on the long rod and sandeel and the close one.

Waiting.... drank some coffee, more waiting. Not again! Got another came a delighted, and a bit smug, cry of victory. Only a whiting this time but now it was 2-0. I was beginning to think it was going to be another of those nights.

"We'll make this the last cast then" - it was after 1am and we wanted to be up early tomorrow for a scout round to find some new fishing spots in the daylight.

Did the tip move then? No, just wishful thinking, just the wind. There is no wind! Finally! "I'm in!!" Careful - i can't afford to loose this, the drive back to the cottage would be unbearable. I feel a head shake as I get the fish to about the 20 meter mark, could it be? Then, the tell tale yellow glowing eyes stare at me out of the waves. Yep, I know what this dogfish is thinking. I unhook him and return him to his home to fight another day. We call it a night with the scores a 2-1 to Wendy.

We'd been hoping for a late Thornback Ray or maybe an early Bass and got the usual dogfish and small whiting but at least we didn't blank on our first outing. We got back to the cottage put the unused bait in the fridge or freezer accordingly and got some rest. Tomorrow, there's always tomorrow......

Tags: anglesey, dogfish, porth nobla, sea fishing, whiting