Cloud Nine.

Lots of the fishing I've been doing recently can be filed under "casual", "mobile" or "dicking about" and I've loved it, but the last couple of days I've been focussed on something that's a bit more of a challenge.

Indulge an old man will you ?

Those thick lipped mullet in the shallow bay of the estuary.  I failed yesterday but wasn't down hearted, they were taking bits of bread, just not mine, so as you might have guessed, I went back for another go.

These fish are so unpredictable, they disappear for weeks sometimes, don't like certain weather and wind directions and are generally difficult to get to grips with.

Today there were a fraction of the numbers there were yesterday, but the good news is that again, they were occasionally taking bits of bread. Cautiously again and certainly not "having it". I did have a proper bite which I of course missed, but then they seemed to drift off and as the tide advanced I retreated to where my gear was in the trees in about a foot of water.

I chucked a bit more bread in, the wind had changed direction and pushed the bread in amongst the trees and snags where I was standing. I peered along the shoreline, not much activity until I noticed a fish swimming around my legs ! Taking bread too.

I didn't dare move until it moved away, then baited the hook and lowered it in. It looked at it, nosed it and swam off, eating all the other freebies. Bastard. I had an idea. I slid a big bit of crust a couple of inches up the line and put a small pinch of flake on the hook, so it would be suspended just under the surface and again lowered it in.

Believe it or not, the fecker engulfed the big bit of crust confidently. Yes the bit on the line not the hook ! I couldn't bloody believe it.

I thought my chance had gone, but the fish didn't seem to be spooked so again I pinched some bread on and ever so gently lowered it in. It stared at it for a minute or more, motionless, then nosed it and engulfed it.

I struck with two foot of line out and the fish bolted off round a sunken log. All that bloody time and now I'm going to lose it ! I pointed the rod at the fish and wound the float hard against the rod tip and pulled the fish back. Unbelievably the fish came back  under the log and shot thirty yards out into clear water ! Very very lucky.

It fought long and hard but once I'd found my net ( long storey ) it went in first time.

A real lump of a thick lip which went exactly 5lb on the scales. I haven't been so chuffed with a fish for ages. I was shaking again, after forty eight years fishing it still gets to me.

I sat down on the tree trunk for several minutes taking it in before packing up and walking back " buzzing" as da yoof say.

I'm off in the camper Friday but I might squeeze another trip in tomorrow. The hunger never dies.