East Devon report continued
Despite a lot of small bass in the fishmongers in Lyme, did not see any down there. First half of the week the whole party had flu -- so very little done. However, I don't think we missed much -- the sea was rough & milky when we arrived & looked similar by the time we were well enough to check again.
The weather seemed to gradually improve all week (from a diving perspective). We visited several locations with different aspects on the off-chance that one might offer flatter conditions. Mainly E. Devon but also W. Dorset. We visited several gorgeous, out of the way, locations...definitely worth getting off the beaten track a little. [Sorry, I promised not to divulge specific locations]...but did not get to dive at most.
Thurs. looked promising (N/NE winds, sunny) & we visited a S. facing beach. Unfortunately although much flatter conditions were not great & the water stilla little milky. With time running out, I decided to give it a try anyway -- which involved a long-ish walk in. After going out a couple of hundred feet the water cleared with about 2m viz for about 3 minutes before closing in again. Swam around for a while trying to find clear water but eventually came out -- glad at least to be back in the water. Checkout another location that evening that seemed much calmer & clearer but too tired to dive again.
Following day visited the calmer location. The weather had turned distinctly grey & cold overnight but the water was still clear & relatively calm. I placed a cray trap before heading out spearing. The water was quite clear & viz opened up to perhaps as much as 10m on the way out -- perhaps the best viz I have experienced in the UK. The environment was rich with sea life, colour and changed the further out I went. I saw several star fish before turning around (often a sign that plaice are around an old fisherman later told me -- he also pointed out where they usually were). On the swim back I saw a large, familiar head poking out of the weed -- a Ballan Wrasse. It looked like it might be big, maybe 6lb, but I prodded the rock nearby & it shot off -- the body was very small relative to the head, perhaps only 2-3lb. The main fish sighting of the day. There were plenty of food sources (snails, moluscs, starfish, crab,...) & weed types & rocks -- seemed like ideal conditions for fish -- so I am thinking the cold weather has delayed the return.
The cray trap caught only 2 small crabs & a fish (Miller's thumb/gurnard?), so released those. I'd had an excellent snorkel despite the lack of fish. On the way back the local fisherman also pointed out a flattie area closeby. As the water looked so good, I decided to take a quick look around before leaving. The water was great & different in character to the stretch I had just dived. I saw no flatties but it was great fun looking anyway. Most enjoyable day's diving so far.
