The calm waters merged into the misty grey of the morning light. Archie cut Reel Deals engines and readied the shark rods as we began a long drift of expectation.
The five of us sent down jigs and feathers to catch fresh bait. Archie baited the circle hooks that were suspended beneath brightly coloured drinks bottles that would bob optimistically upon the ocean.
Mackerel, scad and pollock were swung on board as we drifted. We drew numbers, Peter Robinson drawing number one, Bruce Elston, number 2, Kieran (from Wales) number 3, I was number four so knew from the off that I would only do battle if we had a good day with the sharks. Toby was number five cementing the fact that it was not his day! A broken rod, lost sunglasses sealing that old comes in three saying! Fortunately Toby is a resilient sole who carries an infectious smile throughout.
Archie Porter was Skipper for the day as Reel Deal founder and owner Dan Hawkins was down South chasing tuna, skippering with Happy Days Adventure Fishing.
Archie has gained valuable experience working with Dan on Reel Deal and skippering Predator 2 before it was bought by Daniel Welch who is now embarking on his own journey with the boat.
With the rubby-dubby sending out a stream of particles and scent it was now time for a brew and to drift with wind and tide.
We were drifting over rocky reefs and we all used various jigs and lures to tempt hard fighting pollock from the clear water. Scad and the occasional jumbo sized mackerel were added to the bait stash with fresh baits added to the shark set ups from time to time.
I love the expectation of shark fishing the mystery of what lies beneath and what could be? Banter and chat flowed freely with tales of fish and the wider world. Topics from toxic politics, music, life and recipes.
Whilst the sea was mirror calm a rolling swell lifted the boat gently as the immense power of the Atlantic ocean stirred. As the mist lifted we glimpsed white water as the swells crashed into the wild and rugged North Cornish Coast.
Somewhere on the cliffs Hawkers Hut nestles high up overlooking this treacherous coastline. Robert Stephen Hawker was an eccentric clergyman who lived between 1803 and 1875. Hawker is said to have spent many hours in the hut writing poems and smoking opium. He is perhaps best remembered for his compassionate desire to provide Christian burials to shipwrecked seamen washed up on the shores. He also wrote the famous Cornish song, The Song of the Western Men” with its chorus line “ And Shall Trelawny die? / Here’s twenty thousand Cornish men / will know the reason why!’. A song that is sung by Cornish Male voice choirs with great passion. The hut is now preserved by the National Trust and is well worth a visit.
The day drifted past and after tempting several pollock I decided to change tactics. I baited two size 4 Sakuma Chinu hooks with slivers of fresh mackerel. Down into the clear water to be bounced along the rocky sea bed.
The rods sensitive tip jagged sharply and a small black bream was briefly admired before being released. Toby Bassett always keen to chase different species followed suit and soon caught three handsome bream two of which were keepers.
There was a moment of drama when a shark float bobbed and disappeared a large swirl preceding close by. The gulls and fulmars that had been bobbing in the rubby-dubby slick took off. Peter grabbed the rod apprehensively but nothing happened! Was it a wary shark, a tope or cuttle fish? The bait was damaged but the evidence inconclusive.
As the day drifted into afternoon a breeze came from the North West. We relished the blue sky and warm sunshine, the shark floats spread out perfectly in the slick and expectations grew, conditions were perfect.
Something large intercepted my tiny mackerel baits and put a serious bend in the rod before biting through the trace.
At the bow of the boat Bruce hooked a powerful tope as he bounced a large scad bait just off the seabed. A good tope of over thirty pounds appeared in the clear water and came off as Archie grabbed the leader.
A few minutes later Bruce was in action again this time bringing the tope to the boat where it was expertly netted by Archie. At 38lb it was a new personal best for Bruce.
In the mean time I hooked two more tope on my small hooks and inevitably suffered bite offs. I couldn’t resist the chance of a tope and tied on a short leader, a 150lb b.s trace a 6/0 Sakuma Kong hook and sent down a side of mackerel. A few minutes later I was locked in battle the spinning rod taking on an impressive battle curve. I piled on the pressure determined to get the tope to the boat without severing the hook-length or wrapping in the mainline. A tope of over twenty pounds was soon secured safely and its image secured.
The action packed flurry of tope sport brought the day to an end all too soon. Reel Deal bounced comfortably over the lively sea past Hartland, Baggy and Morte Point the wild cliffs and coast as always pleasing to the eye. The occasional gannet was circling searching for fish.
We pondered on the lack of porbeagle, earlier in the year there had been some good days with multiple catches of shark. September is often a prime month and it is likely that they will show in numbers later in the month if of course the bait fish are there. Last year tuna arrived off the coast in late September will they arrive again? The only way of answering these questions is of course to drift in expectation.
