Code name 'Cheburashka'.

Although LRF is a relatively new thing, the idea of fishing ultra light with lures has been around for a while... Especially in eastern Europe where anglers for a long time have utilised ice fishing jigs (eg mormyshka, pilkers) and small lures targeting various freshwater predators of smaller size. The perch in particular have a large following and gear specialised for their fishing such as micro and nano jigs (mikrodzhig). From YouTube videos I got interested in some of the gear used there and what caught my eye were those small simple articulated jigheads with the double 'ears' called cheburashka. It took me a while to find somewhere to buy them from, as I didn't know their name at first, but I finally managed to locate some on eBay and an e-shop in Latvia. After receiving them I started using them more and more in my fishing and to be honest they almost replaced normal jigheads at my bottom fishing! Their versatility where you can clip whatever hook you like in an instant and also use them quickly for pegged carolina rigs, the attractiveness of the combo with the soft bait moving more freely (sort of like a jika rig) and most important, their cheap price have made them indispensable for my fishing  especially when working the bottom.

Various types of cheburashka..

Productive combo for clear bottom.

Killer!

My favourite combo is a 4g cheburashka with a #8 Owner Slim Offset hook along with a slim soft plastic such as a Jackall Mebaru Bushi, Ecogear shirasu, Sakura AJ worm etc. A variety of fish will take and the combo is pretty weed/snagless although not as good as a standard texas rig.
Ive been using them for a couple months now and have only positive points for them. They come in various sizes and types, with the most simple one having two eyes where you can add a split ring and a hook although this would need plugging single type of hooks so that the hookpoint looks up (not that important I find). My way though, is to cut with pliers the top of the eye, pass the hook and close it with the pliers. Then again you can just buy the ones with the clips where adding the hook is easier. I have also used such variations of the articulated jighead form Japan by Ocean Ruler and although they are very good, the eastern European ones are just cheaper!
Some pics of fish caught on them in recent sessions and also a video from my day off in Loch Fyne. The weather was really crap but I still had a productive session!

Pretty wrasse!

The mainstay species...

Poor cod are an underrated beautiful fish..

Gurnard are always a pleasant surprise.

Thanks for reading!

Gear used.
Rod:  Majorcraft CRK-T782AJI
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro1000
Mainline: Sunline Siglon fluorocarbon, 3lbs
Rig: cheburashka
lure: Ecogear Shirasu worm, Tict brilliant, Mebaru bushi long, Sakura AJ worm, Ecogear grassminnow.

Fine fishing in Loch Fyne!

The past weekend saw me venturing a bit further away from my regular marks as I wanted to try somewhere new since my regular marks didn't produce more than the expected. Thus, in Sunday after spending the morning in the west side of loch Awe without much to show  for my efforts I decided to go to the opposite side and then drive down to Inveraray. I had read about some good fishing in the huge loch Fyne and especially about a mark that was described as 'terminal tackle graveyard'! I checked it out in Google earth and it did look very promising, being near a quarry , it was again a deep harbour with plenty of boulders and rocks in, as well as looking deeper than the surrounding water. I was secretly hoping for some wrasse action as I haven't located them near home so far and I really missed them since leaving Sark.
After some driving I finally reached the mark and it was looking really impressive..

Lots of rocks in the water..

The harbour..

 I was planning to fish with the lrf gear to see what was out there and mainly utilise the 'microjig' articulated jigheads for a different presentation that I wanted to try for a while. The microjig is mainly used in Eastern Europe for UL fishing bottom presentations and is really versatile as you can change hooks fast with a little ring/clip and/or add a trace for pegged carolina. Moreover it gives a nice wobble to the softbait as its dragged on the bottom. So I put on a #8 Owner spitshotter hook by breaking the top of the eye of the 4g microjig and locking it in place with the pliers. I prefer to do it this way so the hook is looking upwards but it can also be done with a double ring and a plugging single hook since the eye is looking accordingly.

The way I rigged the hook

With a shirasu worm..

I threaded a pearl white Ecogear power Shirasu worm  and started casting towards the middle of the harbour and working the lure back slowly on the bottom. I was simply retrieving and pausing without many jerks and that seemed to be working fine as I soon started getting bites and landing fish. Pollock, codling and shoaled poor cod were coming in numbers from the deeper areas. The fish were feeding hard even though it was low tide and an otter was diving about! The poor cod in particular surprised me with their sheer aggression... I made my way casting and getting fish around the harbour and I reached an area with big boulders and weed. I could see small wrasse species milling around and tried to catch them as they were probably a new species for me.. I had to change my presentation though as they had small mouths. I rigged a #12, 1g jighead with a piece of Jackall peke-peke and after a few tries I finally got one to hold on.. It was a goldsinny wrasse and a new species for me!

The first of many.. 

Many on this size.

The like the microjig.

Most poor cod I've ever caught in a session!

Codling of a decent size..

Love the variation in colour.

My first goldsinny wrasse!

 I changed back to the microjig/shirasu combo and kept casting and working the lure among the boulders on a sink and draw fashion as soon as the lure touched bottom. As I was retrieving the lure after a couple casts It came into view (since the water was pretty clear) and I saw a large figure moving towards it and attack.. i felt the bite and set the hook.. The fish woke up and it went on a mad run towards the deep. I could see clearly that it was a ballan wrasse and it was fighting hard on my lrf gear! After a few more frantic runs the fish started to tire and I manged to pull it up. It was a beauty and my first Scottish ballan wrasse!

Beautifull Scottish ballan wrasse..

I persevered on the spot and hooked another one although the hook pulled...
I wanted to see if there were any scorpions around the legs of a jetty and moved towards it as I didn't want to target the wrasse with such light gear. Working the legs of the jetty gave me more little pollock and poor cod but surprisingly no scorpion fish. The sun was setting and I decided to go home as I had enjoyed a very productive session although it was a pity I didn't have the action cam with me...

Doesn't that look fishy?!

Many smaller pollock were hitting anything falling in the water.

After all those fish!

I will definitely visit this mark again as it surely has more to offer but unfortunately yesterday I had to send my car for trash! This is a major setback and I wont be fishing for a while but I'm looking to get another one asap! The microjig presentation proved very effective and hopefully Ill be doing more of that when I'm out fishing again..

R.I.P

Thanks for reading!

Gear used.
Rod: Major Craft Solpara SPS-S792M (7'9", 0.5g-5g)
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro1000
Mainline: Sunline Siglon fluorocarbon, 3lbs
Rig: microjig, jighead
lure: Ecogear Shirasu worm, Tict brilliant

Loch Etive LRF.

Its been a week that Ive been here in Scotland now and although I haven't had much time for long sessions, I have been scouting both online and by car for the best looking marks in the area in preparation for the summer..
I have been for a couple short lrf sessions in Loch Etive at the spot I found as it has provided me with some action whereas most other areas look quiet. The spot as Ive mentioned is a small natural harbour with a good depth and steep rocky banks covered in kelp and seaweed. The bottom is mostly silty with good numbers of mussels, crabs etc, hence plenty of food for the fish.
What has been a revelation, is the number of species there as in only a few sessions Ive managed to get plenty of first time catches! These are: codling, poor cod, coalfish and gurnard. Cant wait for some more surprises!
The tactics I use are simple mini carolina with one or two ssg shots (depending on the wind intensity) pinched 5"-6" above a #8-#10 spit shotter hook and jighead when fishing almost vertically.
These fish seem very susceptible to lrf and are quite aggressive! The best lures have been so far: Ecogear Shirasu worm, Jackall Peke-Peke, Berkley gulps, isome and tiny creatures.
Tackle losses can be a problem as most fish relate to structure, and it would be better if I used slim offset hooks but Ive run out of them..
I have been fishing outside the 'harbour' as well but the fish seem to be concentrated in the basin for now.

Codling are good fun, usually in groups..

voracious feeders

A shiny poor cod.

Mini pollock.

My first gurnard.

My first coalfish.

A hungry little pollock!

After the first couple days here, the weather got beautiful with blue sky and no wind but now we are back to rain and strong winds that makes lrf very difficult. More over the fish have shown preference to more settled weather as the wind seems to push them deeper.
I cant figure out a pattern regarding tide times yet but the fish feed harder near dusk. I hope we get some better weather conditions soon and then who knows what else may come out from there!

Tight lines!

Gear used.
Rod: Awa Shima Qlite spin, 1-5g, 2.40m
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro1000
Mainline: Sunline Siglon Fluorocarbon, 4lbs
Rig: mini carolina, jighead
lure: Berkley gulp worms, Isome, Ecogear Power Shirasu, Jackall peke peke and tiny creatures.