Lure fishing – Page 6 – Hooks, Lines & Sinkers

Cornwall Trip… Day Three – ‘Rattled’

Well, what can I say… it wasn’t quite the early start we’d talked about the night before over the few pints of Cornish Rattler that were consumed. In fact one of us (Cough! Nobby! Cough!) was in a particularly bad place as he had developed a cold and it was this of course which was making him feel rotten…. nothing to do with the cider consumption in the slightest you understand. As he was feeling slightly jaded and it was taking him a while to get going Mo kindly offered us a brew in his caravan to try and piece a plan together… this did nothing for Nobby’s poor state of health as Mo’s caravan has been decorated as what can only be described as a ‘Purple Pikey Palace’ which frankly just gave Nobby more of a headache!

Eventually, we had a plan to have a quick fish where we’d been the day before before taking a trip further along the coast. So, after a quick fry up to soak up the cider and a bucket of headache pills for Nobby we hit the road.

At the mark the wind had swung round to a north westerly and the swell coming in was bigger than the day before so we had a few fun and games dodging waves… this did nothing for Nobby’s state of health though he was first to catch here on his trusty Savage Gear sandeel – he looks happy about it though doesn’t he?!

We managed a few more small fish here before we decided to make the move further round the coast to an interesting looking cove which involved a fair trek down to the shore line. Mo and I tried to access a mark in shallower water whereas Nobby headed out round towards the headland. Mo and I were out of luck – you simply couldn’t get safe access to the ground we wanted to fish so we set off to catch up with Nobby… we were just on our way when we heard a few yelps – he was in with a better sized pollack and the biggest fish to date – again on his trusty Savage Gear sandeel.

We joined him on the outcrop in some increasingly emotional conditions with some big swells hitting the rocks. Luckily I managed to pluck another bass from the white water, again on a Savage Gear sandeel, but that was all we had at this location and by now it was getting too dangerous really.

In truth after day two’s exploits we were all feeling it and after a mere six or so hours fishing we called it a day and headed back to base camp for a cuppa in the ‘Purple Pikey Palace’. After that, pie and chips in the pub washed down with a couple of pints of Tribute and we were ready to get our heads down… well, Mo was anyway… Nobby and myself did the honourable thing and did our bit for the Cornish beer industry until closing time!

I for one slept like a baby and didn’t hear the overnight rain that had clearly fallen when I peered out of my tent on the morning of day four.

Until next time…

Cornwall Trip… Day Two – Dropped a pollack!

Despite the couple of ales and Mo arriving in the early hours of the morning we were all up and about reasonably early ready to fish the flooding tide. So after a hearty fry up we headed to our first mark which was fairly local to where we were staying and just off the coastal path. Conditions were good with a bit of a breeze, and at the first mark good colour to the water with a bit of white water swirling around the rocks for good measure. There was a shallow-ish channel in amongst this which looked very fishy but despite a single dropped hook up for Mo it failed to yield us anything at all on either hard lures or the soft plastics which was a bit disappointing.

We fished our way round to a prominent rock where the water looked a bit deeper with a decent sand bar clearly visible beneath the waves. At this point we were all fishing hard lures but I changed to a Megabass Xlayer and almost immediately it was slammed into by what felt a decent fish. I was hoping for a bass but the lurching to the rocks told me otherwise and I wasn’t too disappointed when a very decent pollack surfaced. The problem with where I was fishing was there was no easy point to land a decent fish so I needed to enlist Nobby’s help to grab the line and lift the fish up and over the rocks…… you can guess what’s coming next…. the braid caught on a razor sharp edge and in the blink of an eye the braid snapped and the fish was gone… still with the Xlayer in it’s mouth. I hate losing fish like that but it’s part and parcel with this type of fishing at times.

It was a good sign though and not long after, with a change to a Savage Gear sandeel, Nobby hooked a bass followed by a small pollack. In the next hour or so we all hit into school bass and pollack on the soft plastics but in particular the Savage Gear sandeel Nobby was fishing with was proving extremely deadly taking the majority of the fish – a recurring theme on the trip as it turned out!

A couple of mackerel joined the bass and pollack party before things slackened off again so we walked on round the coast but without any further joy until we returned to the original mark with the shallow channel where we started to hook up again. Nothing big but fish all the same including my one and only hard lure catch of the day – a very small pollack taken on a Rapala X-Rap… I was hardly in raptures about it!!

A few more bass and pollack and we were all done for the day. We trekked back up the coastal path to the car and headed back to the North Inn.

Surprisingly, we’d been on the go for nearly ten hours and despite the decent dropped pollack it had been a great start to proceedings catching a few and checking out the new ground. So, after cleaning up our kit we felt we deserved our pub grub and over a refreshing Cornish Rattler cider we reflected on the day and our plans for the following morning.

Day three was to prove a mixture of joy and pain for one of our party!!

Until next time…

Fishing at last…

It’s been a while but finally managed to get out for a lure session with my pal Nobby on Sunday. Headed down to Dorset early afternoon with plan to fish the flood with high water around 9pm. Finally got there after a bit of a marathon trek in the car and then the usual hike round the foreshore.

Conditions were quite bright but the water was pretty murky with plenty of weed washed up – on the face of it things looked good but to be honest it was a hard slog… neither of us having a sniff all afternoon despite trying just about every lure in our boxes.

As we hit the evening there was a distinct change in the weather with the water chopping up as the tide really started to flood towards high water and we were saved a blank when Nobby managed to land a small bass of maybe a couple of pounds. Despite my best efforts it wasn’t happening for me!

Here’s your man playing his fish…

…and here he is victorious with his bass!

So, not a huge amount of action on the fish front but still good to get out after a frustrating summer fishing-wise to date. Will be putting that right early September when off to Cornwall for a week trying to get amongst the fish!

Until next time…

Cornwall in June

Great family week in Cornwall but only managed to squeeze in a couple of short fishing sessions though to be fair the weather didn’t help at times. It never amazes me how one day the seas can be clear, blue and tranquil and the next the polar opposite… more of that later in this post.

As for the fishing it had to be about finding somewhere safe to go with my lad Billy who is certainly showing a keen interest, which I’m of course pleased about, and is something I want to actively encourage with him. It can be difficult with some activities, as like most kids his age these days he loves his electronic gadgets, but when it comes to fishing he does show a genuine interest which I shall duly nurture. It does help when he catches and in our two short sessions he was the only one to catch so it is he who has the bragging rights in our household at the moment… albeit was only a small pollack!

We were staying near Lamorna in the far west of Cornwall at a place called Burnt Toast Cottage which was located in a cracking spot above Lamorna Cove no more than ten minutes walk down to the coastal path. We were joined for a couple of days by my pal Nobby and his wife who coincidentally were visiting friends in Cornwall so we took the opportunity one of the days to take the rods and a few lures with us to have a go along the coast between Lamorna Cove and Penberth.

The coastline is pretty rugged and you do have to exercise some caution finding the right places to fish from but luckily the first place we tried was an easily accessible boulder strewn cove. It was a bright day with only a little movement in the water but a lot of weed – after about an hour of fishing hard lures and soft plastics around the cove we had nothing to show for it so made our way up the rocks and back to the main path. Here’s the view back across the cove from up high…

We headed back eastwards and found a decent safe spot for the three of us to fish nearer our start point. It was a fairly deep mark so in between keeping an eye on Billy I tried out the new Lucky Craft Slender Pointer lures I’d recently acquired… good action but no fish to show for my efforts! Neither Billy or Nobby were having much luck either but that changed when Billy, who was fishing with a Grass Minnow softie on a 5g jig head, gave a cry of “fish on Dad”! It was only a small pollack but he was chuffed to bits… and so were Nobby and I come to that! Here he is with the blank saving pollack…

That was as good as it got on this short sortie despite fishing our way back round to Lamorna Cove itself. Pleasant enough though and great to see my lad catch like that – happy days!

Later in the week, in between a couple of rainier days, Billy and I managed one more session on a trip to the north coast of the far west Cornish peninsula. While Rebs took the dogs on a walk round the coast we had an hour to wet a line. The spot was idyllic with beautiful clear water over rocks and sandy ground. I thought there might even be mackerel around but in the hour we had… not a sniff of a fish. Here’s Billy giving it his best though…

To give you some idea of the ground here is a shot of the coast from high up as we walked on round the coast…

And that was pretty much it on the fishing front as on the last two days of our break the storm hit which was spectacular in it’s own right. Here’s a view of Lamorna Cove the day before the wind and rain came lashing in…

… and here it is from down at the car park as the gales hit…

The photos don’t really do justice too how big the seas actually were but it certainly was a stark reminder of the awesome power of the sea and the respect it deserves.

So, a great week in Cornwall even though fishing was limited and one of the highlights was definitely Billy catching that small pollack just for the look on his face – magic moment.

It’s back on the work treadmill for me now for a few weeks though I’m hoping to get out fishing in the next week or so… weather permitting that is!

Until next time…

First bass of 2012…

Finally…. yes, the first lure caught bass of the year! No pictures of the fish I’m afraid but went for a local session with my pal Nobby and we both notched our first silver bars of the year!

We had intended to head down to Dorset but the weekend got away with us a bit so we ended up taking a punt locally in The Solent and eventually it paid dividends with around a dozen fish between us as the tide came up. Nothing big – up to 3lb maximum but great to get off the mark and get used to those hits again. It was quite a challenging mark in more ways than one with obstructions making it difficult in a running tide. It had been a slow start to be honest and we were almost thinking of calling it a day when I hit into the first fish. This was about an hour before high water with the tide running hard and from then on we hit them fairly regularly for the next hour and a half. The majority were taken at medium distance either lower down on Zonks or in the top water on Komomo II’s though I did take one on a Rapala X-Rap and one on an OSP Rudra. All good scrappers! Had a few that dropped off as well and a lure lost amongst the obstructions but pleasing to finally catch this year!

The main lures of choice for me yesterday (above)

Hopefully, a sign that things are picking up a bit after what seems to have been a slow start to the season in many areas. More encouraging signs offshore were terns and gulls working the surface which until yesterday I hadn’t seen much of this year in the Solent area – usually a good sign there are smaller fry around that predatory fish are stalking. Not sure on work commitments this week, or indeed the weather, but yesterday’s success might just prompt a mid week evening session!

Until next time…

More blanking…

Just another quick blank report!

Undeterred by a couple of these blanking sessions in Dorset of late I had the opportunity to try again yesterday for that elusive first lure caught bass of the year and made my way down to the Purbeck coast to try my luck for a few hours. Unfortunately, once again, the bass had other ideas and it’s another big fat blank to report for the year’s tally!

I arrived early and was fishing half an hour before sunrise I’d guess. As the light improved I could see the water conditions were better than of late with a bit of colour in the water without it being too dirty. There was little movement in the water though – conditions were very calm although there was evidence of the stormier weather we’d had the previous weekend with some fresh weed deposits on the shoreline.

I had fished this location recently but on that occasion had headed west along the coast where there was predominantly shallower water. This time I decided to trudge east where I knew there was much deeper water with the plan being to explore some areas I had never previously reached. In this respect I was successful – finding some very interesting ground and marks which were all logged in the GPS unit for future reference! The depth of water also gave me the chance to try out some of the deeper diving lures in my tackle box which I’d ‘accumulated’ over the winter and with still relatively clear water I was able to judge and tweak the action of the lures at different retrieval speeds which was useful.

Here’s some shots of the ground I was fishing…

By the time I had reached pretty much as far as I could it was more than clear the fish had won again so I about turned and headed back from whence I had came… it’s a bit of an epic making your way along this stretch of coast – not for the faint hearted at times that’s for sure and travelling light is definitely the key! A good decision to head back when you look at this picture of the storm heading east…

So, no fish of any shape or size to report but I will keep trying as it won’t be long now I’m sure!

Until next time…

Fishless but not useless…

Well, I managed another lure session yesterday down in the depths of Dorset but it was fruitless again in respect of fish caught and even bites come to that.

Arrival was before the crack of sparrows but the lack of any noise from the sea when I stepped out of the car gave me a hint it might be a slow day. Nevertheless, still in the dark, I threw on the waders grabbed my kit and began my trudge to the first mark. First lure on was the shallow running Komomo II which can be fished with a steady slow retrieve but after several minutes of casting the lure into the darkness I changed over to a good old redgill… nothing, so I moved on but as the light came up there was still little going on. A couple of other anglers came along the shore but having chatted with them not a lot seemed to have worked for them either.

Undeterred, I headed west in the direction of where some of the other anglers had been, and keeping an eye on the water as I tend to do, noticed some mullet lapping at the surface close in. I scuffed up the weed on the shore but couldn’t see the expected idotea maggots which I presumed the mullet must be gorging on as they washed into the sea on the rising tide. Bit of a mystery but maybe it was the microscopic eggs of the idotea which I couldn’t see that they were after? Pure speculation of course! I hung around here for a while hoping that there might be a bass amongst the mullet willing to take a lure but I couldn’t see any spiky friends amongst them save for one solitary fish… but what a beauty it was – easily the biggest bass I have seen down here. Even taking into account the magnifying effect of water I would estimate it was a 70cm fish at least and broad across the back too. However, this bass was not lapping at whatever was holding the mullet’s interest at the surface. Still, although no takers it was encouraging to know the fish were about!

Mullet…

I moved on to some slightly deeper water and plugged away with a couple of different Zonk’s for a bit but before I knew it the tide had turned and was ebbing away really quickly… so quick in fact that by the time I had started to head back along the shore the sea bed in the bays I had previously been fishing, and where I’d seen the mullet feeding, were now completely exposed. Coming off the back of spring tides the extremity of the the ebb was such that I was able to note some additional features, channels and gullies which I’d not noticed before. All useful information and the kind of places that bass like to hang out and ambush their prey when the tide is up. Hopefully, I can remember this and put to good use later in the year!

Gullies…

Low water…

Water clarity…

So no fish – a blank report! My next trip down to this spot won’t be until the water has had a chance to stir up a bit I think. It’s been too clear and calm my last two visits and whether it’s a coincidental or not I’m not sure but the fish just haven’t played ball when the conditions were as they were. Still, there was useful information gleaned and happy to see the mullet around in numbers – a good sign in my book that the bass population here will increase over the coming weeks.

Until next time…

Clear water frustrations

Managed to blag a day off work yesterday with full intentions of getting out on the kayak in the great weather of late but bad planning on my part meant I left things too late to get myself organised and so my plan was changed to try another lure session in The Purbecks again to see if any bass were showing.

With the Kimmeridge area out of bounds I decided to try a mark to the east which has produced for me in the past so the alarm was set for 4 a.m. in anticipation. This all went to plan and I was parked up and ready for the hike down to the mark by 5.30 a.m. and I was sending my first cast out about an hour before sunrise… it was eerily quiet with flat water barely lapping the shoreline.

First lure on was a Komomo II Joker Flashing Plate which I was fishing over a shallow area where a small stream ran into the bay and second cast – bang! – the lure was hit… but in a blink of an eye it was gone – frustrating but encouraging nonetheless. I worked the area hard for the next half hour but disappointingly there was not a hint of a fish around. As it got light I moved round the bay on to more rocky terrain and tried my luck from there – there was little movement in the water and it was ridiculously clear but I plugged away for another hour or so without a look in.

By now the tide was on it’s way in and the water was a little deeper in places so I’d switched to a Megabass Zonk working the fringes of gullies and out of the blue I got follow but no take… definitely a bass which followed right up to the point I couldn’t wind the lure any more before it got spooked and was gone. I cast out again in the direction the fish headed off in and again what looked like the same fish followed the Zonk in. I just couldn’t get it to take the lure in the clear water despite varying the speed of the retrieve. After several, more casts it was obvious that this fish was well and truly spooked and had made off. I carried on amongst the rocks and in a shallower mark tried the Komomo II Sardine and first cast, another follow but again no take – this was very frustrating! It really got me thinking though and I tried as many different retrieval speeds as I could, scaled down the lure size, tried surface lures, soft plastics but nothing could entice the fish to take.

I carried on around the coast with the sun starting to blaze down but it was so calm and clear I just knew it was one of those days where I could have been there until nightfall and not had a sniff. This picture doesn’t to the water clarity justice but it will give you an inkling of what it was like…

So, after a promising start and a few follows I was beaten for the day and headed back along the shore and up the steep climb to the car park.

I’ll have to read up on other’s idea’s for lure fishing in such clear and bright conditions to see if there is something I’m missing!! Still, it’s early for bass here and to see a few fish around was encouraging.

Lovely spot though and at least I managed to get some semi-decent photos…

Rocky marks…

Waterfall…

An impressive ammonite fossil on the walk back…

Blue sky, rocks and clear water…

No fishes but hopefully the coming weeks will prove a little more fruitful.

Until next time…

Early Dorset foray…

It’s been a while but I finally managed to get my first lure session of the year in today. Plan was to head down to Dorset and blow a few fishing cobwebs away along with trying some new bits of kit I’ve accumulated over the winter… if there was an early bass around, or anything else biting come to that, well, that would be a bonus.

Arrived just as dawn was thinking about making an appearance…

It was fairly chilly with a noticeable breeze coming off the cliffs but only a small swell coming into the bay. The walk round to my favoured starting point soon had me warmed up though. There was already two or three anglers dotted along the shore but it seemed eerily quiet with hardly any movement in the water. As it got light you could see the water was crystal clear which did little for my hopes of getting an early season bass especially as it was neap tides so little tidal range either to stir things up. I did kick into a few lumps of washed up seaweed and there were a few pockets of maggots which it’s well reported the fish will come in for if the weed get’s washed back into the water.

I started with shallow running plugs such as the Komomo II, Feed Shallow and Sasuke over the ledges but all was quiet so I gradually moved round the shoreline to find deeper water where I stopped for breakfast and a coffee – not a bad spot…

Over my coffee I decided to give some soft plastics on jig heads a go using a sink and retrieve method and within a couple of casts I had a fish on… not a bass though but a plump wrasse which was no real surprise I guess on the soft plastics…

It put up a scrap for all of about fifteen seconds but at least it meant I hadn’t blanked! The soft plastic was an orange Grass Minnow on a 5g jig head

I kept moving on along the coast and alternated between some deeper diving plugs and trying out a range of jig heads with different types and colours of soft plastics but it was very slow in the clear water. It was a beautiful day though and I used the time to explore further along this stretch of coast than I’ve hiked before…

The further you walked along the shore line the deeper the water became and with the visibility good you could see way down into the rocky depths – ideal for diving I would have thought!

I fished a couple of accessible marks but nothing was yielding until on the way back I managed a second wrasse again on the same variety orange Grass Minnow. This seemed to be the colour to use for the wrasse in this rocky location – I’d tried a couple of other colours without a sniff. This wrasse was equally as plump as the first, put up a better scrap and was a bit more colourful…

That was the end of my fish catching exploits for the day despite more plugs and plastics being cast out. I did spook a couple of bass in the shallower ground as I headed back to the car so they are there but just didn’t appear to be interested today. It is early season for them in this neck of the woods and probably need to wait until they’ve finished their spawning and water temperature creeps up a bit before they show in any numbers.

Before I finish, a couple of footnotes on new kit I tried out for the first time on this jaunt. Firstly, the new Greys Platinum breathable waders gave good first impressions though I probably need a few more outings in them to really test their durability. What I am disappointed in though are the Greys Platinum wading boots I bought last season – already they are showing signs of wear and tear and I’m not particularly hard on kit plus wash it down religiously after use – looks like I will be looking again at boot options in the not too distant future. Interested in what other’s opinions are on what a decent pair of wading boots might be?!

However, what I was really impressed with was the Overboard rucksack I got over Christmas and I mentioned in a previous article. I know it’s only a first outing but it feels strong, it’s cavernous inside, importantly it’s very comfortable for a long day hiking, and does exactly what it says on the tin in respect of it’s waterproof qualities – keeping all my kit bone dry despite me taking a two or three rogue waves. It would be an excellent bag to take out on the kayak as well – something I will try out and report back.

So, nice to get back in the swing of things fishing-wise, a good trek along beautiful coastline, pleased with new kit and already looking forward to the next opportunity to get out!

Until next time…

Happy Chrimbo!

Wind, rain and Christmas shopping…… if ever there were three things to kill off the fishing this time of year they’d be high up on the list…… Bah! Humbug!!

I shouldn’t complain as I have enjoyed a good season lure fishing from the shore but I need to make a bit more effort next year from the kayak as I didn’t get out as much as I would have liked. You never know though I might get out on the yak over Christmas if for nothing else but to get some exercise and work off the turkey and mince pies!

You’ll notice from the picture that the Christmas tree has been adorned with some alternative decorations… the Tackle House one pictured probably my most successful lure of the year! A good idea though for all those lures that weren’t so good?! Go on… the missus will love it!???

Anyhow, have a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year…… roll on 2012!

Until next time…