I planned to hit two of my favourite marks fishing the first one for a couple of hours up to high tide, then retreating to a more sheltered venue before it all got a bit too gnarly for me and my LRF gear.
Upon reaching my first mark things seemed settled enough and knowing how quickly things can change there I eagerly got about setting up my texas rig and began fishing. I was instantly getting a few tell-tale nibbles and before long had landed a couple of pound-size fish. It was great to be fishing with the Sakura setup again and it was bringing back fond memories of my introduction to saltwater-lure fishing around 11 months ago. Happily sifting through my thoughts I carried on twitching and resting my lure around the rocks and kelp enjoying the beautiful scenery and soaking up the afternoon sunshine. Interrupting the tranquillity for a brief moment I noticed a knock on the line and laid my lure to rest. Unlike the aggressive takes I have become accustomed to with wrasse, this felt as if it had just picked up my lure and was gently sucking on it for size. Slowly lifting my rod and feeling it nibble again I decided to strike and boy was I in for a surprise. Momentarily thinking I was snagged, the Shinjin bent double and then came a run from something on the other end instantly stripping line from my reel in sharp bursts. Knowing it was a decent fish I kept on as much strain as I could to prevent it from returning to its lair, it refused to come up off the bottom and all I could do was hang on and try to keep it from running me aground. After several runs along the ledge below trying to chafe my leader I had managed to guide the fish up off the bottom and towards the surface. Fully fuelled on adrenalin I almost had a heart attack when I saw the huge orange head of a wrasse break the surface, I knew it was unlike any other I had caught before and with my LRF setup at full strain I didn't hesitate in jumping into the water on the ledge below in order to retrieve the fish.
In full-on panic mode I managed to find the self-timer setting on my camera for the first time and captured the moment before another quick photo and back onto the ledge to return this beautiful specimen of around 3lb. I need some practice with the timer mode as you can see, probably best not to have the sun behind you James but who wants to see your head anyway!!
My two hours at the deep water mark were up and as predicted conditions changed for the worse and it was time to head for my next location. Absolutely buzzing and soaked through from the knee down I managed to ascend my escape route in record timing and jumped in the car for a quick drive.
On arrival conditions again were perfect and feeling rather pleased with myself to say the least, I quickly got about finding a rock to perch on and set up my gear. First cast and nip-nip, then bang straight into another good fish. This time smaller but nonetheless a great scrap on my LRF gear.
Carrying on down the beach it was fish after fish with wrasse jumping out from the kelp and nailing my lures on almost every cast. Mostly smaller fish but as my photography needs all the help it can get I was happy to carry on snapping a few of these colourful creatures.
Most fish fell to my favourite soft-lure of the moment, The Sawamura One' Up shad available from www.mrfishjersey.com. An awesome service and an amazing selection of lures and tackle that you'll find hard to beat anywhere.
All in all a fantastic way to spend the afternoon and with soggy trainers intact I headed home for a well earned cup of tea and some dinner. Unfortunately my usual partner in crime Stu was unable to attend due to family commitments. On chatting later I found out he had managed to get out briefly and nail his first 3 bass of the year, and drop a hungry plaice that had smashed his lure on a very slow retrieve. Safe to say we were both pretty pleased with our efforts!
That's all for now anyway so thanks for reading. I'd like to say I'll attempt to get onto some different species in the near future but for now I'm well and truly preoccupied with the wrasse. They're such good fun and on light gear can really get your heart racing. I am planning to get back onto the rivers this season and try out my new techniques on species such as perch and pike. It's been years since I migrated from course to sea fishing and with so many amazing places around me to fish I don't think it will be long before I give it a go so watch this space!! Bye bye for now!!
On arrival conditions again were perfect and feeling rather pleased with myself to say the least, I quickly got about finding a rock to perch on and set up my gear. First cast and nip-nip, then bang straight into another good fish. This time smaller but nonetheless a great scrap on my LRF gear.
Carrying on down the beach it was fish after fish with wrasse jumping out from the kelp and nailing my lures on almost every cast. Mostly smaller fish but as my photography needs all the help it can get I was happy to carry on snapping a few of these colourful creatures.
All in all a fantastic way to spend the afternoon and with soggy trainers intact I headed home for a well earned cup of tea and some dinner. Unfortunately my usual partner in crime Stu was unable to attend due to family commitments. On chatting later I found out he had managed to get out briefly and nail his first 3 bass of the year, and drop a hungry plaice that had smashed his lure on a very slow retrieve. Safe to say we were both pretty pleased with our efforts!
That's all for now anyway so thanks for reading. I'd like to say I'll attempt to get onto some different species in the near future but for now I'm well and truly preoccupied with the wrasse. They're such good fun and on light gear can really get your heart racing. I am planning to get back onto the rivers this season and try out my new techniques on species such as perch and pike. It's been years since I migrated from course to sea fishing and with so many amazing places around me to fish I don't think it will be long before I give it a go so watch this space!! Bye bye for now!!
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