VENI; VIDI; VICI (Well almost)

WE CAME; WE SAW; WE CONGERED

 

Late on the evening of Friday, 2nd August, I was at the Paignton S.A. clubhouse, when I was asked if I would like to join several other pals on a charter trip seeking Conger Eels, the following morning, aboard Lloyd Saunder's "Saltwind of Dart", out of Dartmouth.

I took virtually no persuasion, downed my pint and headed home to sort out some suitable tackle.

Saturday morning dawned clear and calm.  Conditions were ideal for a deep water expedition, but first I had to row out to my own boat, "Smokin Bloata" to collect some large lead weights, between 12 ozs and 2 lbs, capable of holding my 50 lb braid line firmly on the sea bed in up to 300 feet of water.  So at 6.00 am, I was afloat and rowing out in my own dinghy - just to collect tackle from my boat - not to catch conger there and then!

At 8.00 am, having made my way across the river Dart to Kingswear, I joined 6 good pals aboard "Saltwind".  Lloyd headed out to sea where, about 7 miles off Dartmouth we stopped to feather up Mackerel and Scad for use as bait.  It took us about 20 minutes to stock two fish boxes with sufficient for our foray, or so we thought.

Bait secured, Lloyd pointed "Saltwind" out to sea, heading south south east, and asked us if we would like a cup of tea.  We took no persuasion.

"Saltwind" travelled easily across a flat sea, until we reached our destination, a large wreck lying in approximately 280 feet of water, about 27 miles off Salcombe.

Lloyd made a couple of preliminary drifts, to establish the tidal flow in relation to a light north easterly breeze, which was pushing us off the mark.  That done, he dropped anchor and by clever use of a "shear" rope, attached to the anchor rope, he controlled the angle of his boat, until we were properly positioned on the mark, just uptide of the wreck.

Excited banter gave way to activity as we laid out baits of Mackerel Flapper; Mackerel and Scad fillet; and Frozen "Calamari" squid.

We agreed to contribute £1 each to the guy who landed the best specimen and baited rigs were lowered to the sea bed.

Almost immediately, we started to catch good sized Whiting and Pouting, which seized our large baits on huge 7/0, 8/0, or 9/0 hooks.  We were pleased to catch such good fish, though they were not our intended quarry.

Alan Bavester
hooked into a
Conger Eel

Within a few minutes Alan "Bavi" Bavester was into a Conger eel.  He used his rod, in conjunction with a butt pad, to pump the eel to the surface, where Lloyd released a nice fish of about 30 lbs, using his "J Bar" disgorger, ensuring the Conger was able to return unharmed to the depths, ready to fight again another day.

J Bar Disgorger
Every Conger caught
was returned alive
to fight again
another day.

Within just a few minutes, I was into a nice Eel, which fought its way gamely to the surface.

MIke Concannon
bends his 20-40lb "Star" Rod
& Penn 245 Multiplier Reel
with 50 lb b.s. Braid Line
into a feisty Conger

I huffed and puffed as I pumped it up from 280 feet of water.

First thing is to ensure you keep a good tight line until the Conger is clear of the wreck.  This is the stage at when many good fish are lost.  They either swim backwards - yes- Conger can seemingly swim as efficiently in reverse as they can forwards - into their hole in the debris on the bottom, snagging the angler's tackle, or they bounce on your line; at this vital time when you are restricted in the use of the clutch on your reel; snapping it cleanly.

After several minutes, a nice Conger was brought to the surface alongside "Saltwind", where it continued to thrash and "spin" angrily on my 200 lb monofilament trace.

Lloyd seized it firmly for weighing, before returning it to the deep.  It was a fish of 42 lbs, which qualified me for membership of the British Conger Club.  I was very pleased.

Conger Eel
thrashing and "spinning"
on trace alongside boat

So, you may ask, what do you mean, "Spinning"?  Conger can revolve at high speed in the water around their own axis.  This unique gymnastic exercise enables them to break inadequate lines and traces traces with consummate ease.  It is essential to make your rigs with strong line and heavy duty but freely rotating swivels to counter this quirk.

As the tidal flow increased, Lloyd decided to lift the anchor and then re-anchor "Saltwind" in a slightly different position, to keep us in the right place above the wreck.  This showed what a dedicated and responsible Skipper Lloyd is.  It would have been only too easy for a lesser man to pretend the fish had gone off the feed!  He really does work hard for his clients.

Repositioned, we dropped our lines straight down, close to the wreck and immediately, the bites increased.

Keith was soon into a good Eel.  It easily bent his 50 lb class rod as he fought it to the surface.

Keith
with a serious bend
in his 50 lb class rod

Sometimes, it was all you could do to hold your rod off the gunwhale of the boat.

Steve Underwood
demonstrates how to
"Lift your rod, then wind
as you lower it again."

Conger are vicious predators and worthy adversaries.  You only have to see what their teeth can do to a 2½ lb dead Pouting bait to respect their fearsome jaws and teeth.

Conger with
2½ lb Pouting
dead bait in its jaws

And so it continued.  Chris hooked into a good Conger.

Chris
leans into a
big Eel

Next it was Stewart Jay's turn, but not to be outdone, Tony Deeks hooked into a big fish at the same time.  Tony's Conger proved to be the best of the day, tipping the scales at 43 lbs and qualifying him for membership of the B.C.C.

At one stage, five of the party of seven were into good fish at the same time.

Stewart Jay
bends into a big eel
while Lloyd Saunders
watches Tony Deeks
fighting an even
bigger specimen

There were bonus fish too, like the 23 lb Cod which took a 2 lb dead Pouting bait on Steve Underwood’s rod; the 15 lb Cod which seized Keith’s bait; or the big Ling, but that’s another story!

Steve Underwood
with Cod 23lbs

That was a day to remember and I can’t wait to do it again.

 

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