SunnyRhyl.com

Venue - Notbad Gully, Rhyl
Tide - Low
Time - Day
Bait - Frozen Lug, Fresh Lug

If you want to shake off a run of blanks, the Notbad Gully is for you!
Ok, it is possible to blank here too, but if you want to give yourself the best chance of a fish locally, this venue is high on the list.

I arrived dead on low water.

I was halfway through a biteless first cast when the Section Manager arrived!

We had just been discussing the merits of fishing regardless of time of year. With February not the most prolific, it was agreed that it mattered little.
Peaceful and fresh, this little piece of heaven is a joy at any time of the year.

A rattle a piece on the next cast broke up our philosophy session!
For the moment, it was, we concluded, all about the fish!

I missed my bite but Notbad was into his.

A nice little Flounder broke the surf.
Or so we thought!
On closer inspection it turned out that this legendary gully had rewarded our loyalty in the shape of the elusive 1lb Dab!

A belting fish and a PB to boot!

Next cast and he was in again. This time another Dab that on any other day would be classed a pretty decent.

After a few more missed bites, I finally landed one.

Again, a good stamp of fish!

Notbad was on a roll!

A great session!
What started as just a bit of R + R, turned into a PB at the NBG!
Just glad I was there to witness it!

Happy Days!!!

Venue - Notbad Gully, Rhyl
Tide - Low
Time - Dusk
Bait - Frozen Lug, Fresh Lug

The Castwatch C5 had been out on patrol.
Reports back into Sunnyrhyl HQ gave a familiar name setting up by his namesake gully.

Yes, Notbad was out and with this productive venue already firmly inked into modern day folklore, I thought it would be rude not to join him for an hour or so over dusk.

A few days of North Westerlies had dislodged a good amount of sea life.
A welcome addition to my frozen Lug.

A few casts in and we both had nothing to show.

In the distance, Wormy was steadily making his way in our direction.

With the addition of some donated fresh Lug, we tried again!
All was quiet however.
Dusk came and went without a knock.

With a ominous looking cloud heading our way, I left Notbad to discover whether it contained Rain, Sleet or Snow!

Happy Days!!!

Venue - Sun Centre, Rhyl
Tide - High
Time - Night
Bait - Frozen Lug

The Sun Centre car park was buzzing with crowds of excited teenage girls. The addition of travelling merchandise stalls and touts meant only one thing.
JLS were in town!

So armed with my new ‘JLS’ tip light and hand warmers, I headed onto the sand.

A fairly brisk NW wind welcomed me. The surf was crashing in!

First cast and 6oz’s were holding my Jensen clipped down 2 hook flapper out there nicely for a while.

The weed was patchy. When it did hit, it broke the gripper in an instant.

Several more casts and it was the same story each time. Clumps of weed made it impossible to keep my rig in place.

I called it a day after an hour or so.
I’d had a great night, but I suspect the JLS lads would be having a better one!

Happy Days!!!

Venue - Notbad Gully, Rhyl
Tide - Low
Time - Day
Bait - Frozen Lug, Frozen Mackerel, Fresh Lug, Fresh Mussel

A nice mild day with very slight wind. What there was, seemed to be coming from the West.
For ease, I had just the one rod.
I started dead on low with Frozen Lug and Frozen Mackerel loaded onto a Jensen Clipped Down 2 Hook Flapper cast out with a 4oz gripper.

I’d only managed a sip of coffee when the rod was twitching!
A couple of sips later, I reeled in a modest, but plump, Dab.

Another cast and another sip of coffee and it was the same story.
Twitching from the off.
Another Dab

A few more bites followed, with another Dab landed.
Things were going well!!!!

The Maestro, out on bait collection duty stopped by to say hello. Taking pity on my frozen offerings, he left me a few fresh worms to see the session out with.

As the tide pushed my back through the Notbad Gully, I headed East to fish it closer to the outflow.

With a few foraged Mussels to compliment the Fresh lug, I was in business!!!!!!

Sadly nobody told the fish!!!!!!!
The arrival of the fresh bait had coincided with the departure of the bites.

A pleasant hour followed but nothing else to report on the fish front.

Happy Days!!!

Reports just in of another double figure Mersey Cod!

Caught today, Saturday 23rd January, onboard Jensen II, this beauty weighed in at just under 12lb.

To book a trip onboard Jensen II, contact Tony on 07785 118135.

Venue - Talacre
Tide - 3hrs down to low
Time - Night
Bait - Frozen Lug, Frozen Mackerel

Headwyn and Squidward assured me that the long walk out to the Green Buoy this time of year would be worth the effort.

Frozen Lug was the bait of choice, with a fish tip to assist.
Dabs and Whiting were the target, with the chance of a Codling or 2.

Due to the topography and tidal flow, I was warned that bites may be hard to detect.
After 15 minutes, my first retrieve had a Dab hanging on.

Elsewhere, my guides were doing well from the off.
Double and Triple headers of Dab were coming in.

It was at least a fish a cast for us all.
Surprisingly, no Whiting were showing, but the Dabs were here in good numbers.

A few Codling made an appearance. No great size, with Headwyn having the best of the bunch.

I ended up with half a dozen Dabs. Headwyn and Squidward were well into double figures with a few Codling thrown in for good measure.

Many thanks for the invite!

Happy Days!!!!

Venue - Flash Point
Tide - High
Time - Day
Bait - Frash Lug, Frozen Lug

It was a good turnout at ‘Flash Point’ when I was passing on Castwatch duties.
With Tony, Mickfish and Phil the Bill already setup and Headwyn just arriving, I was persuaded to nip home and get my rod!

On my return, Tony had already had a couple. A Dab and a Codling I think.
Headwyn was getting some interest on his ‘close in’ rod.

A small Codling got him off the mark!

Using Tony’s rigs and Tony’s bait, Myself, Mick and Phil were all quiet.
Tony however, was into a steady trickle of fish as usual.

The bigger of these two Dabs weighed in at a pan sized 11oz.

Headwyn sneaked a Rockling for the species hunt.

Despite ended up with a blank, it was a thouroughly enjoyable session.
Tony’s ‘Flash Point’ annecdote was worth the money alone!

Happy Days!!!

Venue - Llandudno Pier
Tide - Up to High
Time - Night
Bait: Frozen Lug

No more frozen feet. The big thaw had arrived and the brought with it an old friend……
The Wind!

The Pier offered minimal shelter from the strong Southerly. The rain held off so I guess it could have been worse!

The fishing was slow.
Tony was doing better than most on the end platform with a Codling a cast, and the odd Whiting.

Gladiator and Joker were into Dabs, Whiting, Codling and Rockling.

Simon was losing a few rigs on the end and so relocated to the 3rd cabin down.
Small Codling were there in good numbers.
Headwyn, myself and Ian were by the bar and were fairly quiet.
Headwyn was probably the busiest with a selection of Dabs, Whiting and Codling.

I struggled and ended up with a couple of Codling and a Whiting.

The bait trap wasn’t doing any better.
A Rockling was keeping a small edible company for the duration.

Close to High, the wind really got up.
So much so that we all decided that discretion was the better part of valor.

Not the best session, but I can now at least claim to have caught a fish in 2010!!!

Happy Days!!!

Venue - Maestro Gully, Rhyl
Tide - High
Time - Night
Bait - Frozen Lug

Just a quickie tonight!!!!!

With some leftover Lug from the weekend, I had an hour fishing the Maestro Gully.

A small tide with a slight Easterly wind. The sea was flat calm.

I’d of noticed a line bite from a Snake Pipefish, but sadly I had no such luck!

No bites has left me ‘Floundering’ in the species hunt!

12 hours fishing without a sniff!

Things can only get better!

Happy Days!!!

Venue - River Mersey
Duration - 9 hrs
Bait: Frozen Lug, Frozen Squid
Boat - Suveran II
Skipper - Simon Parry

Our early morning start greated us with a rather pleasant -2C. With yesterday registering a scary -10C, we counted ourselves lucky!

Whilst in the lock, we cleared the decks of ice, as you do!

With sunrise iminent, The Three Graces were lit perfectly.

Then the main event!

We anchored up near C22.
Was it to be C for Cod?

Time to bait up and get it out there!

The waiting game began…………

and continued…………..

then some more……….

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, but was 5 hours to be precise, there was a bit of a commotion down the back of the boat.

The first fish of the day was landed.
Paul, ‘The Magician’, usually outfishes everyone on these Winter trips.
Today was no exception!
A undersize Codling got us off the mark.

4 more hours passed and the magical Codling proved to be the only fish of the day!

To be fair, we’d had half a dozen decent knocks, with a couple of fish that slipped the hook on the retrieve, so we could have been luckier.
Most of us stuck to the big baits gameplan but even the scratch rigs came back in untouched.
It was just one of those days!

C could have been for (the) Codling,
or Cold
or Catamarran
but probably, in my opinion,
C was for Curry!
A fantastic lunchtime treat from the Skipper that went a long way to raising the spirits.

Reports elsewhere had a similar feel to them.
With very few insize fish reported, it seems that it was just one of those days!

The trip back in gave us yet another ringside seat on what must be one of the finest waterfronts in the whole country.

Happy Days!!!!