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Thursday 27 June 2013

Match the hatch...

The past few nights and especially on Tuesday (full moon), there has been increased feeding activity during night time at the harbour. I have fished every night and tried to suss out a pattern and/or a successful presentation.
At first I tried the usual metals and spinners and only managed to catch some mackerel just before dark. Then I tried small paddletail shads and grubs that got me a few fish and some bumps but not much else. I then tried what I had in mind, meaning a slim, straight softbait, to imitate the sandeels that have lately made an appearance in the shallows. The results were instant.. Pollock were hitting like there was no tomorrow! I managed to catch on the first night, approximately 20 of them in the span of a couple hours fishing. Not really large but fish of 1-2lbs gave a good account of themselves as I was using 3lbs flouro straight through.
The other nights were not so impressive but fish still showed a clear preference of straight slim softbaits mounted on a 5g Sakura fishhead jighead. The retrieve was slow-medium with jerks and twitches as well as pauses. Fish would mostly hit near the surface, but when it got windy, at midwater and bottom as well.
The most effective lures were the: 10cm Savagear sandeel slug and the 4.5" Big Bite Shaking squirrel although I'm sure that anything slim and about 10cm in length would 've done the job..









Its really satisfying to manage and get it right as it doesn't happen very often! I'm still surprised by the increased aggression of the fish during the full moon as although conditions were pretty similar on the following nights and fish were still there, they didn't commit as much.
Anyway I'll be soon trying to target some better fish if they are there with bigger lures and heavier gear.

Thanks for reading.

Gear used.
Rod: Major Craft KG Evolution KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon 3lbs,
 Spiderwire invisibraid 0.10mm with YGK nitlon DFC fluoro leader 10lbs
Rig: Sakura fishhead jigheads, 5g
Lures: 4.5" Big Bite Shaking Squirrels, Savagear sandeel slugs
 

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