Instow Schminstow

Fishable at low and high tides, Instow, or so I'd heard. So I went there on two evenings this week, as it's relatively close to home and involves neither scrambling over rocks nor losing loads of tackle on rocks.
I didn't lose any tackle, that much is true. Nor did I have to do anything in the way of scrambling.
But then again I'd have had as little scrambling to do, have lost as little tackle and actually have caught as many fish had I simply gone a hundred yards up the road and cast my line in an empty field on the outskirts of my village. Bleeding useless is what my two evening sorties to Instow were last week.
For bait I tried mackerel and I tried mussels, both of which should be relatively attractive to fish in the estuary. I tried size 4/0 hooks and size 2 hooks. I tried different weights and lengths of cast. I tried near the rocks by the cricket ground and I tried right into the Torridge estuary on the other side of the beach.
It's all very well, and I quite enjoyed my evening on the beach and didn't mind the fact I didn't get home until 1.30am on Saturday. But I would really like to catch something soon. I'm in half a mind to start praying for fish. And I'm an athiest...
Any suggestions on a postcard, in an email, as a comment please...

F's for feather

You'd have thought I could at least manage to catch a bleeding mackerel. In fact you'd think I'd be able to catch a mackerel of some kind, bleeding or not.
But no, it would appear I could not.
My plan was to go to Westward Ho! for high tide and just use the feathers and my beachcaster. But, as can happen with a mid-morning weekend fishing trip, it turned into a family outing; Westward Ho! turned into Instow; and beachcaster turned into spinning rod.
I wasn't as hopeful about fishing in the estuary, but nevertheless I was undeterred. It was a beautiful day and high tide after all, so surely something would go for one of the lures. I used a set of three feathers and then looped on a set of four silver things supposed to look like shrimps...
I spend a good hour up to my waist in it, figuring that although it was the estuary if I could cast far enough out it would be OK.
But of course it wasn't.
Total equipment failure. The handle dropped off my reel. Fortunately I managed to locate it on the seabed and took it home, where I managed to fix it back on with the help of some thick copper wire.
Getting an ice cream was about as near as I was going to come to catching a fish. You're right - it is not even close.

The Boathouse, Instow

We had been down on Instow Beach for a 'blow' (as my wife calls it with charming naivety!) and decided to grab a bite to eat. I'd liked the look of the Wayfarer last time I was in there for a quick pint, but that was packed. So Fiona ran into the Boathouse (which I'd assumed would have been packed) and they were happy to have children, had a high chair and had space. Excellent. I parked up while they went in, and then joined them, grabbing myself a pint of Sharp's Doom Bar on the way. Why anyone would buy beers like Adnams while in the Westcountry is beyond me. I'll always try to go for a south west beer, it somehow feels more supportive of local business... Anyway, enough of the sermon.
We ordered our food. I had the baked Lundy crab with prawns and salad while Fiona had the prawn and avocado bake. We just asked for another plate and a teaspoon for Hannah, which they were happy to bring us.
The food was nothing short of outstanding. My crab was gorgeous - it had a cheese and herb crust and was slightly peppery. It came with a good portion of new potatoes and peas, and a good salad of tomato and various leaves with a good portion of small peeled prawns - so despite the fact it was a salad (which I'll shy away from in lots of places because they will often be too small to act as a main meal for a gutbucket like me) it was really filling. Fiona also really enjoyed her food, although I didn't taste it.
Hannah turned up her nose at the prawns, crab and salad options, settling instead for a few of her mother's chips and practically all of the peas which came as a side dish with my meal... Eight months ago we'd have felt embarrassed by our daughter eating nothing but chips and peas in public. Now we're just grateful that she didn't have a screeching fit when we were being unreasonable and unkind - refusing to let her play with the salt and pepper, for example.
Anyway, full marks for the Boathouse. We'll certainly go there more often. The staff were really friendly and the food was fantastic. We were also lucky in that we arrived shortly before the place filled right up, so not only did we get a seat easily we also had virtually no wait for our food. It's the sort of pub food that you would really expect to get so close to the sea - but in reality is almost a holy grail...