Trying for something else... Wrasse again!

The past week, the weather has been stable and relatively nice with plenty of sunshine. Moreover I have been hearing reports about pollock and bass being caught around the Channel Islands and thus thought that its about time I got the heavier gear out and give it a go...
I only had time for a couple short sessions and adding that they were around low tide, didn't fill me up with high hopes. Nevertheless, I had a session at the north part of the Island, at a place that although seems promising, hasn't provided something special so far. I chose that mark because there are strong currents and mixed bottom as well as some reefs close in. I got my Shimano Beastmaster BX S.T.C (2.40-2.70m, 14-40g) and my bass/pollock lure boxes and started trying some lures that have been successful in the past. I was casting mainly metal jigs, large soft plastics and minnows for a good part of an hour, but with no touch or even a follow... Meanwhile I could see under the rock-ledges I was standing, some wrasse moving around.
 Getting fed up with the heavy stuff, I changed to a 3.5g Illex Texas jighead and mounted a 3'' Big Hammer swimbait and dropped it down near the base of the ledge.. Immediately after touching bottom, I got some taps and after striking lightly, I landed the first wrasse of the session. Not a monster (this area doesn't seem to hold big ones) but a blank-saver. Soon after, I was getting more bites and managed to miss a few of them, but the culprits were landed soon after, being greedy little wrasse!
I was having a lot of fun, but I had to stop and go back to work.

Today I had a chance for another short session, but this time I got my LRF gear and headed to my favourite mark. The spot is very deep with kelp, big gullies and semi submerged reef. It has provided the bigger fish so far. As it was low tide, even this area had low water levels, but I was sure the fish would be hanging out in amongst the kelp and boulder bases. One of my favourite methods and very suited to fishing for relatively passive fish holding near structure, is the dropshot. So I tied a size 1 Owner wide gape offset hook with a palomar, about 50cm from the lead (to be visible just above the kelp). I mounted a Berkley Gulp Bibi worm and casted near the edges of the gully I was facing. I managed to hook a fish second cast but after a short fight it managed to shed the hook.. After not seeing any action from the gully, I moved to another spot where a big rock is constricting the water flow with good depth and kelp. I tried to cast as close to the rock as I could and this paid off with a nice wrasse.

The bites dried up a bit and I changed lure to a Keitech live Impact. I got some interest with a fish taking the lure on the drop but failed to hook it. Soon after I got another wrasse that shed the hook while I was ready to net it! The hooks are too big for my little rod to set them properly me thinks...
 While I was bringing it in, I saw another one follow it from under my feet and immediately after loosing the first one, I let the lure drop. I got a bite but the fish wouldn't commit. At that point I saw some interesting shapes and shadows moving near the surface and thinking it could be bass, I changed lure to an Ecogear paramax on a 3.5g jighead. After a few casts, I got no interest and as the time was nearing to the end of my break, I tried to fool the same wrasse under my feet. I let the lure drop and with a couple twitches up and down got the fish to bite and managed to hook it! I landed it and although small it was really interesting seeing the fish take the lure so close..

Well, tomorrow is my day off and I hope to get some more 'quality time' on the rocks!

Thanks for reading

Dimitrios

Gear used.
Rod: Shimano Beastmaster BX STC, 4pc, 14-40g, 8'-9', Golden Mean Symphonia, 0.6-8g, 8'6''
Reel: Abu Garcia Soron STX 40, Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline:Berkley Nanofil, 0.12mm, YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon, 3lbs
Rig: Illex Texas Jighead and dropshot.
lure: 3'' Big Hammer Swimbait, 4'' Keitech Live impact, 7cm Berkley Gulp Bibi worm, 3'' Ecogear Paramax.

Red letter day!

Today was my day off and the weather was very agreeable, so without second thought I grabbed the gear and headed out with my brother. We walked towards Little Sark, at the south part of the island to do some exploring/fishing there. On reaching an area I already noted at google earth, I was really getting a good feeling as it seemed it could hold fish. There was a relatively deep and broad gully with some large boulders and plenty of kelp. A true wrasse-mark. The tide was coming in and there was a light breeze. I started by using the wacky rig as I wanted to test it on wrasse for a while and this place/conditions seemed ideal to do this.
I rigged a 4'' Keitech Live Impact on a 3.5g Molix Racing Guard jighead and casted in the middle of the gully. As soon as the lure touched bottom, the bites came and after waiting for a couple seconds so that the fish takes the lure better, I struck and following a short tussle, the first wrasse of the day was in the net. It was only a small one but very welcome.
Following this fish I recast and after some jiggling on the bottom the same thing happened, only this time the take was much more violent and after a hard run, I felt the line go limp as the fish managed to cut it on the rocks.
Big wrasse on LRF gear can mean some lost fish... I retied the same jighead (on doubled line) and kept fishing. I had fish biting everywhere and they were coming thick and fast, providing me with serious adrenaline doses! They weren't monsters, mostly 1-2lbs but on a 0.6-8g rod they gave good fights and even snagged me a couple times. Again I was just waiting and letting them on a loose line until they made a move, this worked most times.

The mark.

 

 

After having a few fish on the Live Impact I decided to change lure to something cheaper as they were on a feeding mood and tearing the soft plastics apart! I put on a 7cm Berkley Gulp Bibi worm, straight hooked on the jighead and worked it slowly with a few twitches and stops. The fish didn't seem to mind and kept coming to be netted by my brother..

 

Working my way along the rocks, I reached the head of the gully, where the water was much deeper.
The wind had also picked up and waves were crushing but it seemed fishable. I scrambled on a boulder and dropped the lure straight down. It took a while to reach bottom, and after some twitches, I felt some bites and then solid resistance with the drag screaming, but again the fish managed to bust me up. I pulled a little one later from that spot and then moved to the adjacent bay.
The water there was much more turbulent but I still managed a nice fish on a texas rigged Reins Curly Curly.

 

 

Overall, this has been the most successful day of fishing Ive had on the island so far. Most of the fish weren't big but since I was fishing with my LRF gear, I couldn't expect much.. A 3lbs line is not enough for the bigger fish in this environment. Moreover I was very impressed at the hook up ratio and general effectiveness of the wacky rig, as I only lost a couple fish (due to striking too early).
I hope I will get some more sessions like this one on my days off...

Thanks for reading and tight lines!


Gear used.
Rod: Golden Mean Symphonia, 0.6-8g, 8'6''
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon, 3lbs
Rig: mostly wacky with a 3.5g Molix racing guard jighead
lure: 4'' Keitech Live impact, 7cm Berkley Gulp Bibi worm, 4'' Reins Curly Curly.





 

Ups and downs..

The past week was not very successful. A combination of several factors contributed to no fish on the bank.. Although the weather has been sunny, the sea has been rough from swells and intense winds that in combination with my limited time didn't allow me to fish the most protected  (and hard to access) areas. Another major negative factor was that I managed to break my little travel rod (first and hope to be the last time) and thus was left with only my heavier setup which doesn't really lend itself to fishing light soft plastics..
Fortunately, I had ordered my new LRF rod (Golden Mean Symphonia 8'6'') a few days before the disaster and managed to get my hands on it very quickly. I tried the new rod only a couple times but the rough sea was a constant problem..
Things changed today though. The wind died down a bit and the sea was fishable. Getting an early break from work I moved hastily to my favourite mark and started fishing straight away.
The first impressions from the rod were good as the sensitive tip registered every move of the lure and due to being very light was a joy to use. I was fishing a deep gully that fish tend to stay under my feet and using an Ecogear Bug Ants with a 3.5g weight, started fishing directly beneath me. I was working the lure with small twitches and letting it touch bottom again and after a few casts got the first tentative bite. The fish didn't commit but I persisted in working the same area and after a second bite, I let the lure static with limited line tension and I observed the tip of the rod as the fish was taking the bait and starting to move. A quick strike and the fish was on! I felt a solid weight on the end of the line and the drag started singing, after a while the fish got me snagged... I released tension on the line and the fish was soon moving again. I got her on the surface and slipped the net under her. She was only about a pound but on the LRF rod she was a ton of fun! Cant imagine a fight with a 4 pounder!

R.I.P

New toy.

After the first fish the bites dried up even though I tried other baits and retrieves. But considering the unlucky events lately, I was happy to have caught a fish and test my new rod!

Tight Lines!


Gear used.
Rod: Golden Mean Symphonia, 0.6-8g, 8'6''
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon, 3lbs
Rig: Texas, 3.5g bullet weight
lure: Ecogear Bug Ants, 3'', 252 colour on a N1 Lunker city texposer hook.

If only I had more time...

Well the weather has been ok for the past week, but due to work, I had only enough time for very short sessions... Apart from that though, I saw action every time and really enjoyed the fishing.
On the first day I went to a hard to reach spot that seemed 'alive ' with wrasse as I could see them moving around at low tide. The access to the water was difficult as I could barely reach with my landing net but it was worth a shot.. Although I could see plenty of wrasse, they didn't show much interest in my offerings and I had to work hard to get one to bite.. I finally got a pounder on a 4.5" Big Bite Shaking Squirel on a Jobee weedless jighead that came relatively easy.

The next day I visited my usual mark near home that never fails to give some fish and managed to get a good fish of 1.7kg. I was fishing with a mate from work who was curious about my catches and the gear used and wanted to tag along. I got the fish on a very slow retrieve, using a carolina rig with a 3" Keitech live Impact. The fish took the bait shortly after the drop and put up a very good fight, albeit after halfway in the retrieve!  My mate got one wrasse follow his Berkley Gulp Sandeel all the way to his feet! The fish bit the lure but somehow didn't get hooked... I couldn't believe my eyes both because of the wrasse's aggression and that it didn't got caught.

Today we visited a new mark on the north side of the island where my mate told me there are strong currents and a deep rocky bottom. He had got good results fishing with bait but never got a wrasse there.. We arrived at the mark and it was truly as described... A wild place, with waves and foaming water, strong winds and rocks everywhere.. I decided to use a heavier sinker on my line but stick with the Carolina rig as its a fine searcher method... The lure used was a 3" Keitech Swing Impact that is becoming my go-to lure on new areas. I started fishing the more sheltered side of the mark but got no bites there, while I could see a reef  about 20m away on the rough side. The wind was making the cast very difficult (a downside of using braid) but I managed one right on the edge of the reef and after a couple turns of the handle felt a good fish on. After a hard fight where the fish got me snagged twice, I managed to land her. She was smaller than I thought about 3lbs but a really beautiful fish.

The fish have been really up for it lately and I have been trying other methods as well, but to be honest the carolina and texas rigs rule! I will hopefully have some nice weather on my day off so that I can do some proper sessions...

Thanks for reading and tight lines!


Gear used.
Rod: Shimano Exage BX STC Mini Tele Spin, 3-14g 2.40m
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: Spiderwire ultracast invisibraid, 0.10mm,
Leader: 2m Trilene fluorocarbon, 15lb connected by Peixet knot.
Rig: various
lure: various

Todays fish..

Just a couple photos from today's short session on the rocks. The weather was relatively warmer than the previous days and the wind had died down, it was also more overcast but quite pleasant. The fish was weighed at 1.8kg and it put up an impressive fight. It grabbed a Big Bite 4.5" Shaking Squirrel on a 7g Jobee weedless jighead near the base of the boulders I was standing on. I wanted to experiment with straight lures and obviously they work... Although I'm pretty sure that at this time of the year they will attack anything!

A perfect hookhold.

The wrasse season has trully started so I'm hoping we will see some nice fish this year. All the best to fellow rock anglers and tight lines!

Gear used.
Rod: Shimano Exage BX STC Mini Tele Spin, 3-14g 2.40m
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: Spiderwire ultracast invisibraid, 0.10mm,
Leader: 2m Trilene fluorocarbon, 15lb connected by Peixet knot.
Rig: 7g Jobee weedless Jighead
lure: 4.5" Big Bite Shaking Squirrel in Ayu colour.

Wrasse on fast retrieves.

Today was a beautiful day without strong winds, perfect for wrasse fishing but unfortunately I was working... I managed to get a break around 14:00 and I was off, heading for a new mark that I had scouted before and seemed feasibly accessible! After a tricky descent, I was left looking in awe the view in front of me.. Sheer drop offs, deep gullies and plenty of rocks.. The kind of place that you know there will be fish under your feet! And thus I flicked a texas rigged 3" Keitech Swing Impact with a 7g bullet weight, literally under my feet... As soon as the lure touched bottom  I got the first taps and tried to set the hook but missed.. I let the lure touch bottom again and after feeling another tap, I started a moderate retrieve (as if the lure was trying to flee) and got a solid hook up and a powerful run from a decent fish. After some determined lunges and runs I managed to net a nice wrasse that got the hook wedged so hard, I had to use the pliers to take it out..

The first spot

At my feet!

 

After that fish I kept working the same spot but got no more interest, so I moved to the other side of the headland where there was lots of huge boulders and again very deep water. I changed lure to a Megabass Dot Worm and started bumping the bottom. I got no bites and then tried a faster steady retrieve near the bottom, that resulted in a violent take and the second wrasse of the day, after a very energetic fight again (cant get enough of this!)..

 

 

For the second time the spot dried up after the fish, and I moved towards the end of the headland. I changed lure to a 3" Ecogear Paramax and started working it near the bottom with twitches and jerks. As this wasn't proving successful, I tried a faster steady retrieve again and after a few turns of the handle got straight into a fish. Another strong fight but with the same ending nonetheless resulting in a very happy angler! This must be the perfect break from work!

 

To sum up, today the fish were very aggressive something that is definitely caused by the sunny weather and the tide stage (1 hour either side of high tide) but maybe also because of the fish being in spawning mode and very territorial. This can be assumed as every fish caught came from a specific area and there were no more fish coming from the same spot. Moreover, the fish showed a preference for straight and relatively fast retrieves in contrast to the twitched/jerked, bottom bouncing presentations. The lure colour/type seemed insignificant as long as they were around 3" to 4" and retrieved in the way described.

As you can see from the photo, the way up was interesting..

Thanks for reading and tight lines!

 

Gear used:

Rod: Shimano Exage BX STC Mini Tele Spin, 3-14g 2.40m
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: Spiderwire ultracast invisibraid, 0.10mm,
Leader: 2m Trilene fluorocarbon, 15lb connected by Peixet knot.
Rig: Texas, 7g bullet, hook size 2 Nogales Monster Series Ultra wide gape
lure: Keitech Swing Impact, baby ayu, 3", Megabass Dot Worm, Golden shad, 4", Ecogear Paramax, pearl, 3".



 

 

Another one bites the dust...

I visited again today the yesterday's mark as we had some sunshine in the morning and it was nearing high tide. Expecting similar results, I stuck with the same setup and presentation with the only changes being a heavier weight at 7gr and a 3" Keitech Swing Impact at the business end. The reasons being that the current was a bit stronger today and the fish teared up the Reins Curly curly badly yesterday..
After a while without any bites I persisted and after some lure changes reverted back to the Swing Impact. The weather was cloudy at times but finally it opened up and soon I felt a sharp tap on my line. I thought it was the weight banging on the rocks but just to be sure, I twitched the rod and tightened the line, same tap and now I was getting suspicious.. I let the lure static and after a small twitch I felt a proper bite and weight. Fish on!
A good fight ensued and ended with me slipping the net under a nice wrasse. I got the fish on a shallow rockpool lined with seaweed and after a couple photos released her..

I continued fishing after that and I had again the same taps but the fish only bit the tail of the lure
off without hooking. I put on a new lure and had some tentative bites but by now the sun was gone and the fish seemed less willing to commit. Thus I called it a day and went back to the warmth of my house!
Today the fish were harder to catch and showed the taping behaviour that's been noted by other anglers over the Internet, I think the sun really gets them in an aggressive mood and today the lack of it at times seemed to have affected them.
I cant complain though as I managed to winkle one out!

Tight lines!

Gear used:
Rod: Shimano Exage BX STC Mini Tele Spin, 3-14g 2.40m
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: Spiderwire ultracast invisibraid, 0.10mm
Rig: carolina, 7g bullet,6mm orange bead, 35cm Trilene  Fluorocarbon, 15lbs
lure: Keitech Swing Impact, baby ayu, 3"

Finally some action!

After three weeks on the island and a few blanks I really missed catching some fish! The bad weather and cold waters seem to have kept the fish away from the shore this year.
 The weather has been getting better though and after three continuous sunny days (still cold) I thought to give it another go today, as the sun may have stirred things up a bit. I was mainly targeting wrasse on stepped up LRF gear and thus I selected a mark near my house with deep waters, rocky bottom and sheltered from the cold easterly wind we had today. I arrived approximately one hour after high tide and got fishing straight away.
 I wasn't expecting much but thought that I could improve my chances if I used 'searcher' type presentations so that I could cover a lot of water, fast. I prepared a carolina rig, with a 5gr cone weight and an orange bead, followed by a small swivel, 35cm of 15lbs fluorocarbon and a size 2 Nogales Monster Class ultra wide gape offset hook. The lure was a 4" Curly Curly softie by Reins, in Chartreuse silver glitter colour. I begun by casting close-in, as there are two deep gullies but got nothing there...
I moved to fish the head of the rocky outcrop and after a long cast, I waited for the lure to touch bottom on a tight line and started a steady retrieve. I had mostly done stop and go retrieves allowing the lure to stay in one place and move with the flow, but I decided to speed things up this time hoping to tempt a pollock if they were any around. I could feel the lure dragging bottom and as soon as I speed it up I felt something big, fighting in the end of my line.. There was no nibbling and no biting just straight on weight!
The drag was singing and the rod was curved to the limit with the fish giving me a hard fight near the bottom, but slowly I started to gain on it and after a couple minutes I managed to hand-land a beautiful wrasse. I was over the moon as this was my first ballan wrasse and was a decent size as well (more than 2lbs).



The mark.



What a beautie!

After releasing the fish I persisted to cast in the same area and by keeping the same pace of retrieve, I managed to get another one. This fish again took the lure in one go and after a good fight where it refused to get far from the rocks throughout the fight (it hugged the rocks surely looking for a snag) I managed to hand-land it as well. It was smaller than the first (about 700g) but really pretty with vivid colours.

I continued to fish but the tide was getting low and the fish became more finicky, as I had a dropped take and a fish follow to my feet without taking. So I decided to call it a day as I was more than happy with my first couple of fish from the Isle of Sark.
 I was surprised at the fast presentation that these fish preferred as I thought that they would go for a slower one, something I had read many times over the Internet, but that's why its always good to experiment in order to match the type of presentation the fish want at a particular day...
Moreover the determined manner of attack at the lure without nibbles/bites was very surprising as well and indicates a higher predatory/aggressive nature of these fish than I thought before.
To sum up, it was a very enjoyable short session and hopefully, weather permitting I will get more of them soon!

Thanks for reading and tight lines!

Gear used:
Rod: Shimano Exage BX STC Mini Tele Spin, 3-14g 2.40m
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon, 3lbs
Rig: carolina, 5g bullet
lure: Reins Curly Curly, Chartreuse silver glitter, 4"