Lure fishing – Page 4 – Hooks, Lines & Sinkers

I ‘Cod’ Not Believe It!

Long-time no blog and to be honest there has not been a lot for me to blog about. Yes, I’ve managed the odd foray to the coast with mixed results but fishing has very much had to play second fiddle to house renovation work over the past 12 months. That said I just had to write about what was a first for me yesterday…. no your eyes do not deceive you that is an August, south coast, Megabass Zonk caught codling in the photo above!

I’d started fishing just as the light was coming up, pretty flat seas, second or third cast and “thump, thump” – couldn’t work out what I’d hooked to start with – it didn’t feel like a bass but I certainly was not expecting a prime codling to surface! If I looked weirdly pleased but perplexed then that was nothing compared to the head scratching from a couple of the bait lads who witnessed it! They were fishing lug and hadn’t had a sniff! It made much more sense though when I left them and walked on along the shore and saw literally thousands of sprats washed up where they’d been herded in by the plague of small mackerel that were working the beach…. the codling that were there, fairly obviously, were also gorging themselves on the sprats and the Zonk obviously looked the part for one to take it.

As soon as the light came up it was mackies all the way, lost count the amount but they were having a go at pretty much every lure I was throwing out there. Certainly couldn’t get past them to get to the bass. At least with the codling there was a fish supper to be had… filleting it showed just how many sprats it had gorged itself on – it was completely rammed full of them!

Anyhow, should be a bit more from me over the autumn including an Ireland trip in October….. really can’t wait!

Until next time….

Bass at last…

I don’t mind admitting I’ve found it frustrating on the fishing front this year with commitments in other areas and what have you. Even when I have been able to get out conditions have not been right with weed a particular issue at some of the places I’d usually like to fish. All in all a bit frustrating.

So, it was refreshing on Sunday to get out with my mate Nobby and actually catch…. we only had one bass each, of no particular size, and both within a couple of minutes of each other as a shoal must have passed through. It was nice to get the hits as we did – Nobby’s was on his trusty Tacklehouse Feedshallow and mine took a Fiiish Black Minnow. Strangely, conditions seemed to improve with a nice bit of white water developing after our brief flirtations at bass catching but we couldn’t tempt anything for toffee whether that be off the top, mid water or softs bounced along the bottom.

Still, hopefully this heralds the start of better things this summer and autumn as from the shore reports I’ve seen I don’t think many have fared that well with lures to date in my neck off the woods.

One foot note, if you’ll excuse the pun, my new wading boots arrived from the US recently – took the plunge and went for some Korkers Devil’s Canyon boots after a good steer on them….. first impressions from yesterday are they are light and extremely comfy. I should have worn the felt studded sole yesterday given the terrain but nonetheless the cling-on studded were grippy enough. Will have to remember to post thoughts after several wears to see how they are holding up.

Until next time…

It’s been a while…

For one reason or another yesterday was the first chance this year I’ve had to blow the fishing cobwebs away and chuck a lure in the water so I headed down to Dorset for a late afternoon/early evening session. Conditions were forecast to be pretty benign for any decent chance of a bass, and so it turned out, but it’s been a fair few months since I’ve been…. I was just looking forward to shaking off my fishing ‘rustiness’, being out there again and checking my kit out after a few months stored up.

Walking round to a favoured area and bumped into a familiar face on this bit of coast – Bill with his dog Poppy – had a chin wag for a few minutes… Bill’s had a decent early season on the bass which was encouraging though he’d had no success today. Anyhow, we went our separate ways and I headed on round to where I wanted to start. Noticeable that the coast has changed a bit following the winter storms with some hefty landslides with rocks and boulders where they previously weren’t. Also, there was still patchy sediment in the water where it was running off the land so in places it was too coloured up but that said there were still some nice patches to fish. The picture below shows some of the land slippage…

As for the fishing I couldn’t tempt a bass out despite my hard and soft lure offerings – all it turn out to be was a wrasse-fest with them hitting both hard and soft lures with equal gusto. If nothing else they’re colourful and put a bend in the rod to get me used to feeling a fish on the line after the winter break. Here’s the close up of the little critter caught in the green flavour…

Finished fishing around 8pm and started to head back along the coast when I had bizarre encounter of the day…..met a family coming towards me – obviously not been here before who asked me politely “is there a way back up to the coastal path if we head the direction you’ve come from?”.

“100% not, I know this area well, that’s why I’m heading this way!” I respond.

“Are you sure?” the father comes back with.

“Totally”, I confirm.

“Thanks, we’ll try anyway”, he replies.

…. I left them to it – there’s only so much you can help people with…. is it me????

Arrived back at the car to discover the sole coming off of one of my wading boots so it looks like not all my kit did so well over the winter months…. the age old problem of which wading boots to buy is before me again! Must say, I’m tempted to try the 5:10 Canyoneer SAR water boots that Henry Gilbey has been testing out (see his very informative article here), not a traditional fishing wading boot but must admit when I had the kayak I was tempted to get these so maybe they could be a good option? Food for thought for sure.

Anyhow, I’ll finish up with a couple more scenic pictures from the day for you to enjoy…

Until next time…

All in the dark!

Last minute decision yesterday evening to go for a quick session in Dorset this morning….. it had to be an early start so I could get back for my son’s football – probably a 3 hour fishing window at best! So with the alarm set for some un-Godly hour and kit by the door I was set and thankfully I managed to drag myself out of my pit as planned.

Arrived and was fishing by 5:30am – a good hour and a half before the sun was up and it proved to be a good move as all the fish I had today were taken in the dark. I find it best to use a familiar lure in the dark so I have confidence in it’s action…. this meant it was on with the Feed Shallow. As if to prove a point first cast I connected with a small pollack.

Two casts later and another hit – this time from a small bass that cleverly unhooked itself when landed and flipped itself back in the water! Damn – no photo!! Not to worry as ten minutes later an ever so slightly bigger fish was landed and snapped!

Followed by another small pollack all within the first hour and under the cover of darkness…

There was not a lot of movement in the water and as the light came up with the rising tide it became very apparent the lack of movement there actually was – next to none….. and with clear water it didn’t look promising for the rest of this short session.

I was joined by another lure angler – Bill and his dog – for a few minutes and I was thankful of Bill’s presence as I had one of those ‘Doh!’ moments when I managed to crack off my lure when casting…. my complete brain failure! I had just changed to a Seaspin Pro-Q 90 surface lure too but luckily, Bill, with great skill, managed to cast to it and pulled it back in for me – cheers Bill if you ever read this!! It was nearly doubly lucky for me as minutes later there was a swirl behind that very lure from a fish that narrowly missed!

That was the last action I had though on the near bite front and with all the fish caught in the dark it has certainly given me food for thought for future sessions especially where conditions are fairly benign.

So, I headed back home for a bacon sandwich before taking my son to his football match… he lost 2-1! Doh!

Before I finish here are a few other pictures from my early morning Dorset jaunt…

Until next time…

Tough going but pleasant afternoon

Spent a few hours on the water yesterday afternoon with my mate Nobby but it was tough going with just the three fish between us – the biggest of which went to 4.5lbs. Whilst the water and light conditions were OK the easterly airflow was not and it was testing at times.

Tides weren’t big and we started fishing as they were on their way up. For the first hour or so we didn’t get a look in but then out of nowhere Nobby had a decent take almost under his rod tip which resulted in the beautifully conditioned 4.5lber….. the good old Zonk doing the trick

Shortly after he picked up his second fish which was 2.5lb again on the Zonk. As quickly as things looked like getting started they switched off again and with tide and the strengthening easterly pushing in it became quite challenging throwing lures into the head wind.

We started to fish our way back and with yours truly starting to contemplate a blank I was pleased when a silver flash hurtled up from the depths and nailed my Feed Shallow again at very close quarters.

Not a big fish by any stretch of the imagination but it saved the walk back with a blank against my name!

That was pretty much it for the session and despite the tough conditions it was a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon, with good company as always, and a few more lessons learnt.

Until next time…

A Bit Hit and Miss…

Had another go at it for a few hours yesterday but it was a bit hit and miss with only a couple of bass and a handful of mackerel. I couldn’t get an early enough start which may have had something to do with it?!

That said, I was encouraged when I first got there with overcast skies, a bit of drizzle in the air, a decent swell coming in and nice water colour – it looked promising, especially off the back of a couple of days of a strong westerly airflow.

The one thing that possibly didn’t help at this venue was the big tides – I’ve noticed I’ve never done that great here when there is a big tidal range and so it proved.

Tried surface lures, divers and soft plastics to entice a bass but the only one the bass went for was the faithful Zonk – both taking the one pictured. The mackerel on the other hand had a go at anything…

Maybe the bass were preoccupied with the mackerel or had gorged themselves after the bigger seas during the week? Either way it was not the most productive session.

Anyhow, here’s a few more pictures I snapped…

It’s been a bit disappointing on the bass front this year so far but maybe that will change in the coming weeks – here’s hoping!

Until next time…

A Bit Better…

Managed to work myself an opening today for a few hours so, with all bases covered, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands! The weather forecast looked okay with some cloud cover and, with the westerly air flow of the last couple of days continuing, I was hopeful of something resembling fair conditions. The venue was the same spot as my previous trip last week when I picked up mackies and garfish.

It wasn’t an early start as on previous trips… I didn’t arrive until mid morning. Conditions were okay but not quite as good as I had hoped – it was bright overhead, the sea state had only a slight chop and was still very clear. I met a couple of fellow lure anglers on their way back – one had caught, one hadn’t! I was surprised there were not more people about to be honest what with it being a weekend but make no mistake I was delighted to have a good stretch of the shore all to myself!

I was fishing the ebbing tide and it was pretty slow for the first couple of hours with nothing to show for it apart from a couple of knocks which seemed typical of mackerel – certainly nothing connected.

My luck was about to change though and on reflection I think there might have been a bit of ‘good karma’ about it! I was looking along the shore and noticed something in the tide line… when I reached it, it was a decent sized ballan wrasse that had some how beached itself but was still alive! It must have been there a while because it took me a quarter of an hour or so to reach it from when I first spotted it! I picked it up and took it to the waters edge and gradually revived it…. I’m not a fan of wrasse but it was satisfying to see it swim off strongly! This is where the ‘good karma’ bit comes in as the very next cast, right at low water, I had a take on the Megabass Zonk and my first bass of the day was safely landed!

A beautifully conditioned, if small, fish but it fought well in the improving conditions…. the wind had picked up and there was a lot more white water now.

I thought where there was one there might be more in the vicinity…… however, if they were there they weren’t showing so I kept on the move and about half an hour later it paid off with two in quick succession.

You could be forgiven if you thought it was the same fish in these pictures above as they were almost identical! Nothing big but good takes by both fish once again.

That was as good as it got on the fish front despite my best efforts and so it was time to head back to the car and home. Nice to be connecting with the bass and certainly better than my last outing!

Here are a few more pictures from the day…

A storm a brewing….

Bass no.1…

Improving conditions…

Close up…

Beach art??

So, a bit of an improvement than of late – I have my fingers crossed for a decent Autumn on the lures… just need to manufacturer some more time to get out there!

Until next time…

Mackies & Gars

Managed a quick morning session yesterday but conditions were not great with clear, flat water and bright conditions to contend with. Nevertheless, it was the end of a two week holiday period for me so I had to fish given the opportunity!

All in all it was tough going with not a sniff in the first couple of hours but then a few mackies started to hit the lures. Managed to shake the couple off that I did connect with thus avoiding actually handling them. No sign of the bass though at this stage which I guess wasn’t surprising given the benign conditions.

I then must of hit a shoal of garfish as I had four in quick succession all on the good old Megabass Zonk. The biggest of which was nearly 70cm in length….

Would have been nice to have landed a bass that length but they were not playing ball although I did have two follows later on from schoolies which unfortunately seemed to get spooked in the clear calm water and made off.

Typically, as I was leaving the wind swung round and there was a nice chop starting to develop but alas my time was done.

To finish, here a couple more photos from yesterday…

Another of the biggest garfish with the Zonk lure

Benign conditions

Looking forward to the autumn bass fishing now – hopefully we’ll get some nice south westerly blows here on the South Coast to stir things up a bit and make for a good end to the year.

Until next time…

Bass at last!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted and indeed a long while since I’ve actually been fishing but yesterday I managed the first trip in what seems an age! My enforced lay off was my own fault… a 40+ year old man should know his limits on the football pitch and a torn calf muscle is testament to that! He should also know not to push the recovery too quickly but alas it was another mistake I made and it all added up to a whole lot of fishing being missed!

So, it was really really good to blow a few cobwebs away yesterday morning although on arrival at the venue you could be forgiven if nothing would be blown away – there was not a breath of wind and the sea state calm and clear… these were not good signs for a bit of bass fishing and early results as the sun came up seemed to support that theory. Before I really got going I met another lure angler, a nice old boy, and spent a few minutes having a chin wag with him about his fishing trip to the Azores which was a smashing tale! He was on his way back and hadn’t had a sniff so I feared the worse.

That said, I could see there were mackerel around and it was soon after I moved along the shore a bit that the Zonk lure began to get hit by the mackies. I managed to shake half a dozen off the end treble in quick succession on the way out. Mackerel weren’t the intended quarry but the bass were just not showing… until a change of Zonk colour paid a small dividend when out of nowhere, and close in, this schoolie decided to go for it!

With the bass blank avoided and with renewed hope I continued to plug away but this solitary bass was all I had to show on the way out aside from the mackerel. I chopped and changed lures from those suitable for surface to those right through the water column but it was hard going in the bright conditions. In the end I settled on the Zonk I had caught the bass on earlier and on the way back it bagged me another schoolie – again taken close in.

That was the end of it on the bass front….I had just the two small fish to show for my morning’s work which wasn’t great but probably not unexpected given the conditions.

There was still the odd mackerel showing and the one below, which I caught as I left the beach, had pretty much engulfed the Zonk so he came home for tea!

Despite the lack of anything decent it was nice to get out and finally fish after a frustrating few months for me one way and another. Off to Cornwall with the family this weekend so will pack the rod in the hope I can wet a line but failing that will be eager to get out again on my return and I am certainly looking forward to the autumn fishing!

To finish, here are a few more pictures taken yesterday…

Early doors

Megabass Zonk

Bright, clear and relatively calm – not ideal!

The second small bass

Dinner!

I’ve missed fishing!!!

Until next time!

Well, it was nice to see a bass at least!

A late start to work on Friday meant a small window of opportunity to fish and with Nobby free as well we thought we’d chance our arm early doors. Conditions didn’t look ideal with northerly winds but nothing ventured, nothing gained and with reports of a few fish starting to show we headed off to Dorset.

Arrived a bit later than hoped with the light already upon us so we rigged up and marched off at military pace! Soon enough we were at the shore and keeping an eye on the water for signs of fish we headed west – it was calm and very clear though there were patches of water that had a bit of colour to them which was more encouraging than the aquarium like clarity I’ve experienced on my last couple of trips. It was currently low water and there were plenty of exposed rocks to fish from on the way but alas there were no takers for our early offerings of Komomo’s, Sammy’s or Salt Skimmers. On we trudged and eventually found some nice colour in fairly shallow water and after switching to his trusty Feed Shallow Nobby was in! A nice hit and scrap resulting in the biggest fish of the day around the 3.5lb mark.

I moved on round the coast to look at some ground I’d never reached before but with low water it was even shallower – literally ankle deep for way, way out. Took a couple of pictures for reference though as I’m sure on the flood it would produce…. picture shows how benign the conditions were as well.

I headed back round the corner to where Nobby was fishing – he’d only gone and had another one on the Feed Shallow! This one was only a small fish though. Next cast for him disaster struck when this trusty Feed Shallow snagged and with a ping and much cursing it was consigned to Davy Jones Locker. Unperturbed, a new Feed Shallow was deployed and he was fishing again….. only for five minutes later that one to get snagged as well with the same inevitable ping and more profanities from Nobby! That was the end of that…. or so we thought as within a couple of casts yours truly fishing a Maria Fake Bait NL got his lure snagged and this time it was my turn to be snapped off….. but I noticed the lure pop up to the surface very quickly so waders were put to good use and I managed to walk out and pick it up and in the process, by complete fluke, also found one of Nobby’s Feed Shallows as well!

We started our move back along the shore and fished a nice channel of deeper, cloudier water. We were both fishing Zonk’s now but my offerings were definitely giving out bad vibes as Nobby picked up a further three small fish with no reply from myself! That’s how it goes some days I guess?!

Time ticked on and despite fishing our way all the way back there was nothing further to report. The long trudge up the hill saw us back on top of the cliffs looking down… I’m probably fitter this year than last but those climbs don’t get any easier – whole lot of hurt by the time you reach the top!

So, a big fat blank for me and I’m still to break my bass duck for the year while Nobby bagged the lot on this trip out…. but as the title of the post says it was nice to see a bass at least and as always with great company and banter!

Until next time…