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Mullet Down West: Review of 2023

After a nightmare year in 2022, I hoped this year would be kinder to me. I got myself into a bit of a rut with a run of blanks which extended right through, what should have been, the best period. It got to the point that I could not imagine myself catching a fish and began to find reasons not to go in order avoid yet another blank. Finally coming to my senses, I decided that it was a very negative approach to focus on blanks and set about restoring the faith.

The key objective for the new year was to catch a fish in every month (preferably of at least 3lbs). Although I have had runs of more than 12 consecutive months, I have never achieved this within one calendar year. A dream start with a fish of 3/04 on January 1st set things on the right course and the misery of the previous year began to fade away. This trend continued through the year with fish coming steadily up to mid November when the weather did its best to rain on my parade. A procession of named storms looked as though they would cause me to fall at the final hurdle. However, thanks to my good friend Percy (verance), a boxing day session produced 2 fish to complete the challenge. I had to settle for 2/15 but it was close enough, for a December fish.

Highs and Lows

Fortunately, there were far more of the former with some lovely fish coming to the net. Four fish over 4lbs with 2 on consecutive sessions from a previously unproductive location. The second of those looked like being something really special and required some careful playing as it fought like a demon in a strong current. Sadly, the fish turned out be rather lean when it finally lay in the net. Although you could never be disappointed with a fish weighing 4/03, had it been in better condition it probably would have been nearer 5lbs.

Fish were caught from a total of 11 different locations, which is the most ever, including 2 new ones. This was very encouraging as some of the poor-performing locations from last year have rallied a little, although some still continue to be quite challenging. Some new approaches at old locations also brought success, so the learning process is still continuing. The quest for new opportunities is still ongoing and I believe that, in some cases, it is simply a matter of finding a way to 'unlock' those already identified.

The second highest annual total was achieved, bettered only by the exceptional year of 2019, and also the highest ever monthly total was recorded in September.

A total of almost 340 hours spread over 80 days with a success rate of 42.5% compares favourably with previous years. Also, 75.41% of hooked fish made it to the net so, mentally speaking, I'm in a much happier place than I was last year. The average size remained at 2/11, the same as the previous year. One new thing I have monitored this year has been the sizes of fish caught on float and leger. Initially, it appeared there was a large difference in average sizes, but by the end of the season this difference had diminished. Float-caught fish averaged 2/09 and leger 2/15

The distribution of sizes was similar to 2019 with the largest proportion of fish falling in the 2-3lb band. A total of 16 fish over 3lbs ranked this year 2nd just behind 2019

Top 5 weight was the best ever and the best individual fish matched the 2021 result at 4/06 arriving on 05/11/2023

The only low point of the year was not being able to get together with MarkB. The accommodation situation at mine is still a no-no and Mark had been struggling to get a consistent run of form, so we just never got it together this year. We definitely must sort something out next year.

Tackle Tweaks

My old Sentient float rod was beginning to show signs of age, so I took the decision to give it a bit of an overhaul. This would require it to be removed from service for some time so I decided to treat myself to a replacement thus allowing time to make the necessary reparations without the pressure of time constraints.

It appears that 13ft float rods are no longer de rigueur and the choice of available alternatives was somewhat limited. However, after some considerable amount of research, I finally settled upon a Drennan Vertex. This has a slightly different action to the Sentient but, having used it for the last 3 months or so, I have grown rather fond of it. It has performed very well and accounted for the best fish of the year with no dramas.

The main problem with the Sentient is that it has a piece missing from the middle section which is the result of a break that was repaired some time ago. Although this does not seem to significantly affect the action, it means that the spacing of the rings is compromised. Also, the rings on the top section were out of alignment and the tip ring itself was damaged.

In order to rectify this, all of the rings were removed from the top section. These were then re-spaced, re-whipped, sealed with resin and a new tip ring added. I used a 2-part epoxy resin to give a finish that would match the rest of the rod. Such resins have a setting time of about 3 hours, so it was necessary to keep the rod turning continuously during the whole process. To do this, I had to make a motorised rod turner. The finished result was very pleasing and the rod is now ready to go back into service.

Another tackle change this year has come about because one of my reels suffered a failure when part of the bail arm mechanism snapped. It was a cheap reel, not really worthy of effort or expense, so it was consigned to the bin and replaced. The replacement is a Shimano Sahara 2500 DH-R which is similar to my other reels and is working well.

Overview

Overall, the fishing has been better and extremely enjoyable this year when compared to recent years, but still by no means easy. Each fish has been worked for with multiple captures at a premium. In fact, no more than 2 fish were caught in any one session. This speaks volumes about the numbers of fish present at the venues I am fishing.

The spread of catches throughout the year looks fairly typical, peaking in August and September with a slight dip in July, which I think may have been attributed to bad weather (rain). Some useful advances in understanding and refinements have been made, whether or not these translate into improved success in the coming seasons remains to be seen. Knowing the fickle nature of the species, the position of the goal posts may continue to be somewhat transient. Well, it would be no fun it was too easy.

No thin-lips again this year and I have noticed that there have been far fewer numbers of these in the places I usually see them. I did actually invest in some of Colin Macleod's flies, but I am always distracted by the prospect of a thick-lip and haven't had a chance to give them a try. I did manage one small golden-grey not recorded in the stats as it was only 14oz.

Despite the fact that the larger fish have eluded me once again, I am looking to the next year with renewed hope and enthusiasm.

Last updated 30.12.23