Megawrasse One Up' Xlayer Shad

As cold, uninviting and dark as our winter afternoons become there's always some light at the end of the tunnel making the most of what's left of our sport-fishing year. Yes, fingers get cold, the bites begin to slow and more than ever you find yourself hunting around in the bag for that special lure that's going to be the game-changer of the day. My last couple of sessions on the salt have found me doing exactly that and it feels great when you finally tie on that winner and the action starts to happen. One soft plastic that had worked its way to the bottom of my box of 3-4" lures was one which was only dismissed partly due to its Frankenstein method of creation following a surgical evening  involving some expensive shredded soft plastics that had met their demise during some midsummer wrassing sessions. The lures in question were two of my favourite softies, the Sawamura One Up' Shad and the awesome Megabass X-layer with the magic ayu-green belly, both of which had had weedless hooks ripped from their bodies, chunks bitten from their tails and rattles ripped from within as hungry wrasse had set about their attempted disembowelment. As the year developed and the pocket dwindled I learnt my lesson and cheaper or more robust lures were set aside to fulfil the job in hand. Reluctant to part with my expensive wrassing leftovers I had trimmed and set them aside and when sorting through a box one evening I had decided to experiment with some melting together of random sections to create some new recycled soft plastics. One of my experiments looked like this..

The Megawrasse One Up' X-layer Shad

Anyway, perched on an outcrop and after working my way through a handful of 3" softies to no avail I finally rigged one up on a 7g Decoy Bachi jig head. After no bites for an hour my tasty little creation instantly provoked a response when two hungry garfish, one after another decided they were making it their lunch. Too much of a mouthful for either of them they both managed to shake the hook but nonetheless my One Up' Slayer had heated things up. Shortly after, I had another take; this time much more fierce and after a serious tug-of-war my jig head was spat back with the X layer half still intact and the One Up' tail presumably still in the mouth of a rather large and angry wrasse. The soft tail and join was obviously a downfall of my creation but after all they were leftovers, and luckily I had made 2. At these points during a day's lure fishing I'm still uncertain if it's my game-changing lure that has suddenly made the difference or if, the more likely scenario in my opinion; feeding time has commenced and the fish decide to go nuts. Anyway, after a few more knocks on the Mega One Up' Mk 2 I managed to land a few fish including pollock and this lovely Ballan.

As the tide began to push and conditions changed for the worse I was pushed back along the ledge and scaled down to have some last minute fun with the LRF gear and some Power Isome.

Another following session was less productive with a couple of wrasse favouring the awesome 2" Fin-S Fish in black glitter and a solitary but determined young pollock.

Finally and as things seemed to be slowing down on the salt I had a few hours roaming the riverbank yesterday in hope that the clarity had improved after the awful conditions in the past few weeks. The water was still on the muddy side and after my attempts at the perch and chub on small soft plastics proved fruitless, I was again flicking through my bag in hope of finding a lure that would provoke a response. After a good couple of hours with only a chubby or trouty knock on a small grub I decided to have a go for a pike and got about cuing up a Wave 4" Tiki Paddletail Shad in rainbow trout on a size 3/0 5g jig head. Not having used these lures before I was instantly impressed with the action and combined with the jighead it made a pretty good job of imitating a distressed or injured roach or trout which was exactly what I needed in the conditions at hand. I managed 3 jack pike on my walk back along the ground I had just covered all of which nailed the Wave paddletail with intent and didn't want to let go. This was the largest which put up a great scrap on light gear.

Wave Tiki Paddletail Shads were from AGM which I think were end of the line jobs. The Big Bite 4" Shad looks identical if you're up for giving them a try. 

I'm hoping to get out in the coming week so fingers crossed there'll be another report to come soon.. In the mean time, thanks for reading and good luck if you're getting out there too..

  

Lightweight chubbing..

Chub, the species responsible for my lifelong obsession with angling, has once again worked its way back into my life and is rapidly becoming my favourite fish to hunt down with lightweight soft plastics.

With the extreme weather along the south coast this month, my last sessions on the rocks have been slightly insane to say the least and for that reason the rod license has been coming into play again. My inner coarse angler is starting to re-emerge and becoming an increasingly dominant part of my fishing life.

After staring out of my window for a few days at the wind and rain, it was time to get out and brave the conditions. I love it when I’m out there, but actually getting out when it’s cold and wet can sometimes prove a little bit difficult. As the rivers were increasing in depth and visibility was low I had planned to commence my attack testing out a few new plugs hoping to tempt a pike, perch or a larger chub. When that didn’t produce I changed to sp’s opting for a 3” white paddletail which resulted in a small jack and a couple of perch. I then got down to wading a small stretch of the river where I know the chub like to hang out. I began flicking a few different small grubs on a 1g#8 jighead, which was instantly getting some attention as I drew the chub out from their cover. With the low visibility I changed over to a red Berkley Power Honey Worm and after a slightly more aggressive take I was happily playing in my first chub.

They really do smash a moving lure like no other fish and even a small chub will make a pretty good account for itself all the way to the bank. I managed to tempt a few more from the same swim including a couple of greedy gudgeon.

After losing a better chub around 2lb, the swim went quiet and I decided to wade upstream where I had seen a larger fish jumping that I thought was taking fly-life. As I mentioned in my previous post my smaller sp’s had been producing plenty of small pike but the larger ones seemed to want something slightly more substantial. On this occasion I was proved totally wrong as I flicked my Power Honey Worm on a size 8 jighead in the direction of another big splash on the edge of the main current. As I lifted up to twitch the lure to life I was met by some resistance followed by a slow heavy run from what I instantly knew was a fairly large pike. After a slightly tricky few minutes trying to guide the lump in, I finally managed to get the head up and get hold of the fish. Fully adrenaline-fuelled, my shaky hands didn’t do a great job with the photos but here is one of the better ones.

Fairly ill equipped as I was wading (no scales, unhooking mat or net) I calmed it down in the water, then lead it on the bank for a photo before returning it unharmed. I'm guessing about 8lb. I'm continuing to be amazed at what can be done with a 7g spinning outfit, I'm not going to try and do it again but I’ll definitely be more prepared for that eventuality next time if it occurs.

Apart from that I’ve been continuing to try and find a decent perch from my local lake. It’s still throwing up some of the tiniest pike I’ve ever seen and a few small perch. I’m starting to think that something larger is eating anything that reaches the pound mark and that would explain the lack of decent fish. Stuart has joined me and we’ve been carrying on the hunt regardless. I’ve introduced him to the world of micro piking and I’m sure if there’s any decent perch in there he’s probably going to be the first to nail one.

He’s been catching some cracking perch from one of his local marks and I’m looking forward to him showing me around in the next couple of weeks.

Until then, thanks for reading and good luck if you’re getting out there in the coming weeks.

Mixing it up

With another year coming ever closer to its conclusion, it’s been time to tackle up and set about making the most of what’s left of the warmer weather and the marine species that come with it.

Last week I made a trip down to Portsmouth to meet my old mate Dylan Floyd, a talented artist and also a keen lure fisherman. As we had both spent time as students in Portsmouth it was nice to meet up and reminisce over old times; even though, as we recollected moments, the both of us agreed that most memories were at the very least, rather hazy! Faded memories aside, we got down to exploring a few marks which with the very windy conditions, proved to be fruitless. A last ditch effort as the day came to an end saw me resort to twitching a small jighead and piece of XL Power Isome in front of some feeding mullet. Surprisingly this resulted in a fairly instant hook up and then having to lead a decent fish back along a pier and to a promenade where I was able to reach down and grab it. Realising that neither of us had a camera it was returned quickly as I ran back to the car to retrieve my phone hoping I could catch another mullet for a photo; then realising half way that my phone was actually in my jacket pocket! Doh! Anyhow back in position, the mullet were still feeding and again I managed to tempt one with the Isome, this time much bigger and seemingly the leader of the group as all the other fish fled at the sight its struggle. Again the fight lead me back down the pier, passing my MC Crostage around lamp posts, then down some stairs and onto the prom again. Overly excited I reached down for the fish and after grabbing the leader, a firm shake came from the fishes head and off he went! In all honesty I had no business attempting to land such a monster on light gear, from a pier and without a landing net but as we were exploring new ground and had caught little else, the tantalising sight of them feeding proved too much and I walked away having learnt a valuable lesson. Always be prepared!!

Back to my home ground and in preparation for the coming months I have been busy exploring some freshwater marks in hope of some winter sport on the local rivers. Having met up with Stuart we decided to try some of the free stretches on the local River Stour and we were far from disappointed. On the first occasion we found ourselves wading down a lovely stretch targeting perch from some of the deeper eddies and even the odd trout from the shallower runs. (My first wild brown trout on light SP's!)

On another trip we headed to a different stretch again having some great fun on the perch, chub and pike with Stu landing fish of the day from right beneath his feet on a 3” Ecogear minnow.

 My attempts to better it with a pike after nailing a few on a previous evening session resulted in more, smaller perch.

I am gradually learning with the pike, never having really targeted them before that they really do prefer bigger lures. Plenty have followed my 3” lures right to the bank before turning their noses up as if to say “you expect me to chase that!?” They definitely think about how their energy used will convert to a decent enough meal. Smaller lures just seem to attract small pike and I’ll be trying some bigger plastics to see if that does the trick in some forthcoming sessions.

Finally I've been hitting the salt and with some needed encouragement from good friend James Hearn we got stuck into what turned out to be a rather wet, but extremely eventful day on a local rock mark. I met James last year and whilst being a successful top-water fanatic he has also recently been experimenting with all things LRF. After a couple of hours throwing various softies, metals and hard lures to no avail, it was time for James to shine and by fishing small pieces of Berkley Gulp Sandworm he proceeded to hand me my dignity on a plate as he began to nail wrasse, after wrasse, after wrasse.. After about half an hour I had to admit that the scented stuff was doing the damage and when he kindly offered me a piece, I rigged it up and was instantly able to break my duck and land my first few fish.

After a well-needed confidence booster from the Gulps I got back to searching around in the deeper water in hope of some mackerel for my tea and maybe a bonus bass. James - who by now was having so much fun with the Gulp worms, was beginning to experiment with his rigging and presentation, continuing to catch fish after fish, he was starting to get the odd decent one mixed in too.

Fair play to him, I think we lost count of how many he caught on the Gulp's but there were a fair few and to be honest I was feeling well and truly beaten. Not that it’s a competition; well we all know it is, and that’s what drives us to try harder and out-fish our peers.

Luckily my endless chucking of metals began to pay off and as the pollack turned up for their evening feed so too did the garfish and mackerel giving me a few well earned scraps and just as importantly, something tasty for supper and dinner the following night.

Until next time, thanks for reading as always! 

Going lighter for mullet.. and pike, perch, chub, trout and barbel??!!

The more I get my head around this modern lure fishing business, the more I am beginning to understand about its vast number of applications. Since a young age I have learnt much of what I know through reading books and of course through getting out there and fishing, much of which I have done with specialist equipment targeting specific species with the appropriate bait and tackle. With the current revolution we have on our hands it seems now I am able to grab a couple of little lure boxes, a rod, reel and a small bag of essentials and off I go to see what's about and what's likely to smash a lure up on that given day. I am continuing to be surprised by the results and part of my growing love for lure fishing has a lot to do with its versatility. Certain species I would never have associated with lures all seem to have their moments and with the vast array of soft plastics available today there's always something in the box that's likely to unleash the predatory side of some of the most unlikely of candidates.

With all that in mind, myself and Stuart have been venturing back onto the rivers and streams where we both began our obsessions with all things fishy and have been applying our new skills to any willing freshwater species. This has been a real pleasure as it has been so many years since I have partaken in any coarse fishing; the feeling of anticipation whilst trekking through a misty field in the morning has certainly brought back some memories and whilst there's no comparison to navigating the local coastline those feelings of nostalgia have reminded me where my love for fishing originated.

We had initially decided to get back on the rivers to target some perch as we had both loved doing so as youngsters usually with a trotted juicy worm or a small spinner or plug. Almost thirty years later I was approaching my quarry with a Bass Assassin 2" Curly Shad mounted on a #6 2g jighead (all available from AGM Products). Almost straight away our plans had changed after spotting a few chub following our lures and after not too many casts I managed to hook myself one. Far from a monster but perfectly matched to my LRF gear.

Carrying on in the same fashion we managed a couple more and after remembering what we had come for we then started to nail a few perch. In the following week any spare moments were spent on the local rivers and lakes with one spot very close to home that just kept throwing up pike whenever I chucked a lure out there.. Unfortunately they got smaller and smaller each time which was strangely interesting being able to study these creatures in their infant state.

Stuart had also carried on his campaign and continuing to exploit the versatility of the lightweight lure he e-mailed me earlier today with these pictures of a nice little brownie and, low and behold his first lure-caught barbel!! Well done Sir!! It'll be interesting playing catch up with that one!

And finally to round things off of course I've been keeping an eye in on the salt. I have been meaning to try my lightweight kit out on the mullet this year and last week I managed to get down to a spot and get the job done. I wasn't sure how things would go but I wanted to use my 2-7g Sakura Shinjin with my 6lb braid and see if I could redeem myself after letting a cracker get the better of me last year. Marukyu Power Isome trailed behind an adapted Mepps spinner with a short trace was used at the business end and after changing from a pink to green Isome I had this little beauty dive in for the grab and then power off resulting an epic fight lasting for several minutes.

Phew..!! There's been plenty caught anyway and I hope to continue in the same fashion throughout the rest of the year. I'm hoping to get a waterproof camera at some point as the screen on my windows phone has cracked and my old camera has died meaning missed opportunities photographing some decent pollock and wrasse sessions.

That's all for now anyway and thanks for reading as always!!

Mackerel on metals amongst other stuff!

It’s been an awesome few weeks and being the summer holidays I've been catching up with friends and family that have come to Dorset for a break. As always I've found the odd spare moment to go and chuck a lure or two, being if I have a willing guest or not; This was me and my good friend Dan Edwards giving him a taste of the action, I'm hoping he caught the buzz - my pursuits are not always for the faint hearted.

Lots of my favourite places to fish are now covered in beach towels and tourists so that’s meant on occasion having to go a bit AWOL in order to get away from the crowds. Some long hikes have been involved but we've been well rewarded as a result. I've also had a new companion to join me on my travels for the past week, meet my brothers dog Monte. I wasn't sure what he was going to make of his stay in Dorset but it turns out he’s a true rock fisherman through and through. He’s been great company and I think he approves of his holiday with Uncle James; I’ll be looking forward to him coming out with me again in the next week.

With most sessions being a bit more opportunistic than usual, it’s generally the case that we take time at the start trying a few things to see what fish are about and what lure they’re going to hit. The one saviour of my arsenal every time is something metal, it doesn't matter about you’re level of capability or what the conditions are like, cast out some metal at this time of year and sooner or later you will catch fish. When friends have come to visit that want to have a bash on the salt it’s always been the metals that are easy for them to pick up and get instant results with regardless of their capability. They’re an awesome way to catch a variety of species. Mackerel are especially great fun; this one in particular made a pretty good account for itself earlier in the week putting a powerful bend in my Major Craft and stripping line from my reel in an epic scrap. The biggest mackerel I've ever caught coming in at 39cm.

Metal casting lures are also pretty handy for the bass and pollock. We generally like to launch these out as far as possible into some deep running water, then sink and draw and twitch to ones heart’s content. Single hooks all the way and a good understanding of the terrain below the surface allows you to search around at all depths and quickly find out where the action is happening. Always remembering to retrieve right to your feet as you never know what’s lurking right below you.

A few of our favourites

Left to right;

• ·         Dexter wedge – I'm never without a few of these. Casts well and works every time
• ·         Quantum Mahi Jig – Quality value jigs, the glow-in-the-dark one is ace
• ·         Seaspin Leppa – Cast well and look great but finishing coat could be harder-wearing.
• ·         IMA Gun – Crème de- la crème of metal lures – looks casts and swims like dream! Beauties!

Of course the plastics were in use when possible and I'm still getting side tracked by the odd wrassing session or two.

That's all for now anyway, thanks for reading!!

Time for some bassin!

With my massive preoccupation this year regarding battling wrasse on light tackle I have forfeited many a chance of pursuing everyone’s favourite quarry, the European Seabass. Hunting out a decent wrasse on the rocks has lead me away from my home turf this year and with increasing reports of some decent bass caught in my local area I was beginning to feel a little left-out and rather inferior to say the least.

With all that in mind and with some big spring tides coinciding with sun-down it seemed fairly appropriate to put down the wrassing gear and see if I still had what it takes to hunt out a lure-caught bass. On the intended evening everything looked perfect, slightly overcast and with a swift south-westerly breeze pushing across the harbour. I arrived at my intended mark only to take one quick look and turn straight around and get back in the car. The seabed had been churned up to such an extent that the silt and clay bottom had now turned the sea to something more like chocolate milk and with doubt in my mind I opted for a quick move to a slightly cleaner mark. My decision turned out to be a good one and on arrival with the wind in my face I could see the water was cloudy with sand but still with a level of visibility. I hoped this would make it easier for a bass to search out my lure and with a confident attitude I set up my rod and equipped myself with an ever-trusty, weedless-rigged X-layer.

With the wind in my face, punching my lure into the surf I instantly remembered why and how much I loved these lures. Twitching away I became instantly at one with my surroundings and as the tide pushed in around me I felt confident that I had done the right thing by moving location. Having had only a couple of casts to settle in I was instantly woken by some resistance and in a flash I had remembered the feeling of a bass hoovering in your lure and was quick to strike hoping to fully set my weedless hook. Next came the familiar rush as a decent bass surged on a run trying to get the better of me. With my regular bullying of wrasse more recently I reacted in a similar manner and instantly remembered how different it was with a bass on the other end. Getting it to the surface with its bucket mouth in view I was looking to get hold of the fish when it decided to turn and power off below the surface ripping back the yards of line from my reel I had just gained and refusing to give up. After a spirited battle I managed to get down and grab the lovely bass of around 3lb. (No scales or camera due to them both being broken so camera phone and guesstimate weight it was!). 

Pretty chuffed that it had all worked out so well I carried on into the last hour of light missing one other take but still happy with my first real attempt on the bass this year. That’s definitely re-lit the fire for me and it’s safe to say that my dreams have become a little less wrassy and a bit more bassy! I’m still keen to improve on my PB wrasse but might try and focus on the bass for the next few months when the conditions are right.
That's all for now anyway, thanks for reading as always!!

Better late than never

Yes that's right the mackerel have arrived! Unfortunately as predicted not in the numbers that we would usually expect. The water temperatures are still a few degrees below our average for this time of year but nonetheless this 'too-tasty for its own-good' fish has most certainly been thin on the ground in comparison to previous years.

Not that it has much impact on the grand scheme of things but personally I don’t buy into commercial fishing and that means at some point in the season I'm going to kill fish in order for me to eat something tasty. 

Mackerel with sauté potatoes, chorizo and cherry tomatoes

I've also been back out targeting the wrasse which are rapidly becoming my favourite sport-fish. With a new-found love for my 2-7 gram rod I am continuing to hone my skills and feel much more confident with the set-up than I did last year. I think now that I have become accustomed to the rough environments we frequent and know what to expect from our intended quarry, I have become more willing, and able to push my tackle to its limits. 

I still have to nail a lot of smaller fish to get the odd specimen but that to me is where the fun is at. I'm glad to have come full-circle and am back in line with my early days as a young course-angler fishing for various species such as roach and chub on light-float tackle. I think that's always been my thing and although beach-fishing was an integral part of my transition to salt-water, I'm pretty sure the tripod and multipliers are now relegated for the foreseeable future. 

Short and sweet this time, thanks for reading as always.. I'm off to make the most of our British summer.., it'll be gone again before we know it!!