Better out than in?

I have again been going stir crazy lately, you know what they say about all work and no play!

Well indeed I've been a miserable sod since I last got out. Online activity and the stuff on Facebook has just been making me a bit cynical and a little agitated lately and I was really getting sick of this side of fishing.

Nothing for it then, day off and I really needed to go fishing!

I must admit I was in two minds whether or not to go out today, it's really cold and the tides are lame.

The way I figured it though, if I don't go out, I will be sitting at home frustrated about what might have been.

So with that I decided to fish the deep water at the end of the peninsula in search of Pollock, Wrasse and whatever else might turn up

Upon arrival at my mark it became clear that it was going to be a cold session. The wind was whipping around the coast and it was biting, the water clarity was not quite as good as I had hoped but not to bad as to quit.

I therefore tackled up my recently purchased Savagegear Salt rod rated 25-85g with a 160mm Savagegear slug rigged on a 30g Cannelle  articulated jig head and 3/0 weedless hook. In total the lure  weighed about 42g and is just over the minimum needed to get down at this mark.

Fanning out my casts I soon realised this was going to be a difficult day, as I was getting no bites at all. I did get one follow off a Razorbill which was pretty cool to see, they are amazingly hydrodynamic! But a Razorbill would have done nothing to my species count if hooked. 

I changed to a 30g Jika rig with a Wave Grass Craw and slowly bumped the bottom. This method seems to suit deep marks very well and caught me my first fish of the day.

There's a quite common theme to my reports and that is; I never seem to catch the size of fish I would like! This small offering was no exception, though better than a blank I guess.

Hoping it had now switched on I released the fish pronto and carried on, yet I had no more bites. I lost my Jika rig to the snaggy bottom and therefore I decided to have a little rest and warm up my hands. 

The wind was getting unbearable and made tying another leader very hard, I had barely any sensation left in my finger tips. 

After a wee rest I tied on my 30g jig head and decided on a smaller lure (a 2.8" Illex Method Shad) as it seemed the Pollock down there were probably going to be small, I was right too.

After this fish I decided on a move as my hands could not take anymore. I took shelter in a cove where I do ok in the summer and upped the sizes of my lures in hope of a better fish, but despite a few more bites I caught nothing else.

I can't say it was the best session I have ever had and I was unsure I should have bothered. I'm still a miserable fart, but I guess better out than in.

Maybe I should be thankful I caught anything at all, given the time of year and conditions? I don't know,  I do know that I can't friggin' wait for everything to heat up and for other species to arrive.