The elusive Scomber scombrus

When I was a youngster I was very privileged to have parents that owned a boat. Of course when I was a youngster I had no real appreciation of how lucky I was to have parents who owned a boat. The boat in question was a 29ft Westerley Konsort called Reefknot.

Not Reefknot but very much like herWe sailed from her home port on the Sussex coast to places as far away as Devon, Cornwall, Normandy, the Channel Islands and Brittany. 
Often when on a long sail to keep us youngsters interested and to give us something to do out went the mackerel line. This consisted of a fishing line with feather lures attached that simulated the small prey fish of the mackerel, Scomber scombrus.  


The line was trolled behind the boat with an excited finger hanging on to it feeling for the tell-tale vibration which indicated that a fish had taken the bait. The line would be pulled in and the mackerel would be unceremoniously dumped into a bowl in the cockpit. Incidentally this bowl also had another use as the receptacle for nauseous sailors on particularly rough journeys. Upon reaching the safety of the next port the fish would be gutted, cooked and devoured by the hungry crewmates. 

30 odd years later I recall these memories as I have once again been fishing for these fabulous creatures. And once again they have eluded my best efforts. Perhaps the fact that I don’t have a boat is a major factor in my failure. Without a boat I was forced to cast off the beach and wind in using jerky motions to enable my feathers to mimic the movements of my quarry’s favourite food. Without luck. Many casts later and with an aching arm the excitement of having a fish on the hook did not materialise. However, standing on a Dorset beach in perfect weather with the stunning view of the Jurassic Coast on both sides with a clear view end to end of Lyme Bay definitely made up for the disappointment of an empty bag. 

There was also some satisfaction that the other anglers socially distanced along the beach came up empty handed as well. 

Oh well, as they say, ‘there are always more fish in the sea!’ and ‘tomorrow is another day’

Perhaps just one more cast...

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