I just had one trip planned for last week and it had to be Sunday night. Small neap tides, a cold easterly wind coming off the land and clear skies were forecast, so I wasn’t overly optimistic in what would be a very flat and cold sea. It was a case of just catching some fish, so I opted for a mark south of Caernarfon in North Wales.

During the week I’d kept pace with the forecasts and out in the Atlantic was a massive warm low pressure system with a lot of wind around it. It desperately wanted to come in over Britain but the cold high pressure system to the east, and just taking in the UK, was stopping it. What I really wanted was some surf, so I deliberately went for a mark facing directly in to the Irish Sea where some of the carried swell emanating from that low way out in the Atlantic would put at least some surf on to the beach I had in mind.

When we got there it proved a sensible choice with a steady line of three short breakers rolling up the sand. Not perfect, but at least there would be some movement in the water. I’d also chosen to fish the three hours of the ebb and the first two hours back figuring the fish would be closest to the low water line and not keen on venturing too far in the bitterly cold seas.

Readers e-mails tell me that you like to know what gear I’ve been using, so just for you I set up with two MTI300’s and the reels were prototype casting reels you’ll see on the market come late summer time, sorry no more details allowed just yet.

It was obvious anything out there would be relatively small, so the rigs I started with were a simple three-hook flapper cast in close, and my favourite two-hook clipped up rig, both with size 2 Kamasan B940’s. I’d a hunch mackerel and bluey would be the main baits due to their high oil factor for maximum scent in the intensely cold sea, but also had frozen black lug and squid.

I was putting the two-hook rig out to maximum range and the three-hook rig maybe 50yds. I took a small coalie on the mackerel at range first cast, then a couple of 5 B rockies on the close rig. The action was steady right down the ebb, but it was just small coalies at range, the odd one making maybe a half pound and the rockling.

As the tide turned to flood I changed the three-hook rig for a three-boom rig with size 6 hooks on a dropped in tight between the second and third breaker. I’d also added a small luminous green bead as I’ve also found this can increase catches of shore coalies. Within 15 minutes of the tide change I was hitting coalie after coalie, plus the odd slug, but at range I got just two pin whiting for the next two hours. Pretty much every fish was on the mackerel and bluey. Lug, as expected, was useless, even when tipped with squid and the squid on it’s own I don’t think touched a fish. As the tide picked up I was hitting coalies less than 10yds out fishing right on the edge of the tide line with my close rod set low in the rest and turned parallel with the sea for maximum bite detection.

Fishing buddy Clive was finding much the same as I was, but he also took a ¾lb codling right in amongst the surf breakers, you guessed it, on mackerel.

It was like fishing in an aquarium and we lost count of the numbers of fish we caught but with nothing near a pound in weight and we both knew it was hopeless fishing big baits as there was nothing of size out there. It was a case of targeting what’s there and a tiddler bashing session can be just as much fun and keeps your confidence up during this tough time.

Looks like we’re due some more cold weather this week, even a tad more snow for some, so wherever you are I’d expect the fishing to be hard, yet still great fun, but be prepared to fish in close as often that’s where the fish will be if you can find a hint of surf.