A little bit of spirit back

So I didn't think about fishing again till Tuesday. I had a few beers and tried my hand at windsurfing. I was staying at Dakhla Spirit basically a windsurfing hotel. Over a dropping tide the shallow lagoon started to reveal a few features that caught my eye. It was maybe 5/6ft deep at high tide with a sand spit with what looked like deeper water on both sides. I took walk down that evening with low tide just before dusk. There were still a few windsurfers speeding past, so rather than getting involved in that I went back to the hotel, read my book and drank a bottle of wine.

I was ready not long after dawn the next morning and the walk to the spot was maybe 500/600 yards. I thought it looked pretty fishy, much like an estuary without a river at the head of it. On the outside edge there was some light flow with tide emptying from the bay. Casting the 28g jig around I was counting to 15 on the outside and about 12 on the inside before touchdown so it had a some depth. I had been getting a lot of hits and put it down to Garfish as they're usually the culprits. Sure enough I picked one up after about 20 mins.

Following on from this I sussed out the main culprits were cuttlefish. I was cursing I didn't have a jig for them with me as I've never caught one. I'm also pretty sure with some bait here you could score with a multitude of species.

After about 30 mins I had a couple of hits when things went solid and something went off on a tidy run, hunkered down, and went off again. It certainly had some weight to it and I soon realised it was a ray of some description. After nice scrap I could see some colour and it looked bigger than I was expecting it to be. I've been here before with a nasty big southern stingray so I fumbled in my bag for pliers, getting done with a stinger was all I needed. I had realised it was hooked it in the wing, what I didn't appreciate was that it was a pair of rays with the other one following it. As I edged it into the shallows its mate pegged it. After careful inspection it seemed not to have a stinger. I managed to get the hook out and encourage it back out to sea with the butt of my rod through the shallows. After that I had a couple of garfish and moved to the end of the sand spit.If anyone finds themselves here take some salt as the beach is jammed full of razor fish, these would be a great bait here I would think.

Cow Nose Ray, probably 5/6kg's

                      

After that I had a couple of gars and moved to the end of the sand spit

 This looked a cracking spot for a predator hunting. I caught site of a decent fish that turned away just as the lure came over the edge and I'm pretty sure it was a big bream of some description. I adjusted my position so that I was bringing the lure along the edge more at the end of the retrieve, giving any fish following the lure more of a decision to make. And that's exactly what happened with this little fella, he came up over the edge and at the last minute smacked the lure.

A meagre example of a Leerfish given my expectations. But for 3 days and a morning fishing, for 4 rods, the fact is ,it was the only one that was  seen caught.

I then took a walk to the outside shoulder of the spit and did a spot of jigging. I only had one hit here but it was another new species for me. It's jack of some sort or maybe a scad  ? Scott will be along to tell me at some point( probably a False Scad). I did find an identical picture of the fish online but on further inspection I'm sure the anglers ID is wrong.

I tried again the next morning and did have a few gars. I hooked something that I played for a couple of minutes but never got to see before the hooks pulled. It was fast and had weight but I'll never know what it was. What was interesting were the pairs of cow nose rays cruising the surface. This kind of explained how I had foul hooked one as I was working the lure pretty shallow at the time.

One final note on the first part of the trip. I sent Ali a link to the first post. He pointed out that I had lost patience and some of my kit was wrong, namely my rod. I agree with both points in fairness . But I stand by what I've written.

I wont travel to another continent and accept anything less than 100% commitment, organisation and planning for my money. A guide can't put fish on the beach for an angler to catch and I'm not expecting anyone to wipe my arse. I'm fine with that. I've occasionally used the services of a guide abroad and once in Wales I know what I should expect. This wasn't it. You see Ali, I've been at this game a few years myself.