The other day on my day off I had a break in the weather and decided to fish mostly topwaters for pollock! I was intending to wake up at first light but the tide state was unfavourable for the mark intended and thus I got a few more hours sleep and went fishing later...!😀
Now I knew this wasn't ideal time for topwater work but the tide was right and I thought it still worthwhile..
On the first spot I had to wait a bit for the tide to ebb and I witnessed as the gullies were slowly emptying and water trickling out just at the lip of the kelpy ledge. ideal ambush conditions... I clipped on a Dam Effzet stickwalker (a sort of pencil-popper) and made the first cast near the edge of the ledge... I had a fish boil at it straight away and on the second cast a fish went airborne and slapped the lure hard with its head, catapulting it a few meters away!!
This repeated itself a good few times before I finally managed to catch a fish..
Lure rotation was very important as the fish would soon get 'tired' of the same lure passing overhead and would require a change. Nevertheless after a good number of attacks, the surface action died down (usually when fish get pricked by the hooks they wise-up) and it was time to move to a different area.
I then fished with the LRF gear for a while and this saw me catch my first Skye whiting and a couple mackerel along with the usual 'interference' of pollock...
In late afternoon I drove to my last mark for the day where its a shallow bay with access to deeper water nearby and plenty of rocks and kelp. Perfect topwater fishing ground..
From the off it was clear that the fish were spread out in a wide area and were very aggressive towards the lures as they were hitting them constantly! Again though this didn't translate to hooked fish and I speculate that the fish weren't really feeding but just going for reaction bites out of aggression. Some of the hits on the WTD's were brutal! I suspect that in similar conditions early in the morning or around dusk (or even with some cloud cover as it was broad daylight) the hook ups would have been more...
Moreover as the water was slightly choppy at times, the more stable lures seemed to 'stick' better to the fish and the ones with narrower actions. Wide swaying lures would incite a lot of interest but the fish wouldnt stick..! Food for thought..
Of course this is where a good selection of various topwaters will make the difference.
Regarding the type/speed of retrieve, short burts of 'thrashing' the lure at the surface seemed to drive them wild and also when the lure was approaching drifting bits of kelp or seaweed etc, it was taken even static!
I hooked a couple fish and had one cut the line just infront of me (and taking my lure) but just seeing those violent strikes and the pollock going airborne was really enough for me!
Towards the end of the session I moved to a sheltered rock-wall that the fish tend to hold very close to and it was there that I had some fish leaping out of the water mere meters away from me! Absolutely heart-racing stuff! And many of these fish weren't the usual couple pounders but actually pretty decent fish..
Soon after I hooked up close in to a decent one on my trusty Ima Salt Skimmer and as I tried to land it on the rocks (left the net in the car 😞) it thrashed and managed to break the leader and take my Skimmer with it!
Gutted but filled with sights of leaping pollock, I decided to call it a day..
Below the video of the day... There were many more strikes during the day but it would be tiring to include them all in this...!
Thanks for reading and Tight Lines!
Gear used.
Rod: APIA Foojin'R Best Bower 96 MLX
Reel: Shimano Stradic FK C3000
Mainline: Unitika Shore Game X8 PE 1.2
Leader: Daiwa Tournament FC fluorocarbon 18lbs
Lures: Ima Salt Skimmer. Tacklehouse Vulture, Dam Effzet stickwalker, Duel Silver dog, Lucky Craft Gunfish, Zara saltwater Spook
Now I knew this wasn't ideal time for topwater work but the tide was right and I thought it still worthwhile..
On the first spot I had to wait a bit for the tide to ebb and I witnessed as the gullies were slowly emptying and water trickling out just at the lip of the kelpy ledge. ideal ambush conditions... I clipped on a Dam Effzet stickwalker (a sort of pencil-popper) and made the first cast near the edge of the ledge... I had a fish boil at it straight away and on the second cast a fish went airborne and slapped the lure hard with its head, catapulting it a few meters away!!
This repeated itself a good few times before I finally managed to catch a fish..
Lure rotation was very important as the fish would soon get 'tired' of the same lure passing overhead and would require a change. Nevertheless after a good number of attacks, the surface action died down (usually when fish get pricked by the hooks they wise-up) and it was time to move to a different area.
I then fished with the LRF gear for a while and this saw me catch my first Skye whiting and a couple mackerel along with the usual 'interference' of pollock...
In late afternoon I drove to my last mark for the day where its a shallow bay with access to deeper water nearby and plenty of rocks and kelp. Perfect topwater fishing ground..
From the off it was clear that the fish were spread out in a wide area and were very aggressive towards the lures as they were hitting them constantly! Again though this didn't translate to hooked fish and I speculate that the fish weren't really feeding but just going for reaction bites out of aggression. Some of the hits on the WTD's were brutal! I suspect that in similar conditions early in the morning or around dusk (or even with some cloud cover as it was broad daylight) the hook ups would have been more...
Moreover as the water was slightly choppy at times, the more stable lures seemed to 'stick' better to the fish and the ones with narrower actions. Wide swaying lures would incite a lot of interest but the fish wouldnt stick..! Food for thought..
Of course this is where a good selection of various topwaters will make the difference.
Regarding the type/speed of retrieve, short burts of 'thrashing' the lure at the surface seemed to drive them wild and also when the lure was approaching drifting bits of kelp or seaweed etc, it was taken even static!
I hooked a couple fish and had one cut the line just infront of me (and taking my lure) but just seeing those violent strikes and the pollock going airborne was really enough for me!
 |
| A wee whiting... |
Soon after I hooked up close in to a decent one on my trusty Ima Salt Skimmer and as I tried to land it on the rocks (left the net in the car 😞) it thrashed and managed to break the leader and take my Skimmer with it!
Gutted but filled with sights of leaping pollock, I decided to call it a day..
Below the video of the day... There were many more strikes during the day but it would be tiring to include them all in this...!
Thanks for reading and Tight Lines!
Gear used.
Rod: APIA Foojin'R Best Bower 96 MLX
Reel: Shimano Stradic FK C3000
Mainline: Unitika Shore Game X8 PE 1.2
Leader: Daiwa Tournament FC fluorocarbon 18lbs
Lures: Ima Salt Skimmer. Tacklehouse Vulture, Dam Effzet stickwalker, Duel Silver dog, Lucky Craft Gunfish, Zara saltwater Spook
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