Summer Tactics In The Winter

With unseasonably warm weather hanging on right into December, Scott ‘Pippen’ Moore decides to stick with summer tactics…

With the unseasonable weather we were having this winter, my fishing buddy Wayne Leason and I wondered if the summer species of fish had left our coastline, or had the warmer climate allowed them to stay around?

With things having been good all week we decided to head to the beaches of the Holderness coast in search of winter thorn back rays.

High water was due at 2am and the wind was westerly with no swell, and with the tides being relatively small this allowed us to fish the southern half of the beaches.

We arrived at our chosen mark and instantly we both commented on just how warm it was for the time of the year, it being 10ºC in the middle of winter. Having little to no wind was a very big bonus too.

We unpacked our equipment and headed to our spots. The conditions were great and we were soon ready for our first casts. We both opted to fish two rods, as reports during the week had seen quite a few cod around, so with that in mind one rod was fished with the customary fish baits, and one to target cod with fresh black lug and squid. There was no change for me with the tackle I had chosen. I opted for my 16ft Greys Triplex rods and Penn fixed spool reels with 65lb braid. Wayne, on the other hand, got out his summer equipment, fishing two Continental rods, one being the Tronixpro Cobra and the other a Sonik Gravity Surf, which he won at the EOBC earlier in the year. Both his reels were Shimano fixed spools with 20lb braid and a 60lb leader.

We both had Pennel pulley rigs. Mine was built with 70lb rig body and 60lb hook length with 5/0 Sakuma Manta main hooks and 3/0 Sakuma Circle hooks, all clipped down with a Breakaway Imp. I really do rate these Imps as they never seem to let me down during the cast or on splashdown.