Misty Mornings and a Mystery Catch

A very early start saw my son, his friend and I head for a mark on the Salcombe/kingsbridge estuary; the target species being bass. After unloading the car we were faced with a 20 minute walk which took us to our mark. Reports from one of my local tackle shops, indicated that good numbers of bass ranging from schoolies up to a reported 6 1/2 lb had been caught at various marks along the estuary. Our chosen tackle was 11' light estuary style rods casting up to 3oz, and the chosen bait being lugworm. As usual my trusty Shimano spinning rod and a small box of plugs, spinners and soft plastics travelled with us too. As you can see from the photograph, which was taken at about 5.30 am it was one of those very misty and atmospheric mornings. I had decided it was best to use simple running leger rigs, with Gemini links to facilitate a quick change of leads if necessary.

Our baits weren't in the water too long, before a sharp nod on the rod tip indicated the first interest of the day and a school bass of around 1 1/2lb was quickly landed, photographed and returned to fight another day. We continued to fish up to, and over high water, with another four bass, all around the same size as the first one, and an eel being caught between us. It was great that we all caught, as that held the boys interest. At times during the session, I saw fish jumping and splashing further down the estuary and got out the spinning outfit, trying a "Sidewinder" sandeel lure in all the colours I had to no avail, and a swap to a "Storm jerking minnow" produced nothing also, not even a follow. I guess it was a rather optimistic attempt as the water was a bit coloured.

On the walk back to the car, the boys wanted to try some lure fishing, so I left them to continue at a safe spot while I carried the rest of the gear back to the car. On my return, I found the boys struggling to unhook this very handsome fish. As I approached, I initially thought they had managed to hook a bass but it became quickly apparent that this was not the case. The fish had large round scales which came off very easily. I still had my camera with me so took this photograph before returning it. It swam away eventually, and we really hope it survived the ordeal. I have been trying to identify the catch, and at first assumed it may have been a sea-trout, but have since discounted this, my efforts on the internet lead me to believe that it may in fact be a Shad, either a Twaite or Allis Shad. If anyone can identify or confirm my thoughts I would be very grateful.