Back to reality...

This weekend was my first days off after Skye and having my brothers car in my possession, I thought of doing a bit of driving around to assess how some new areas might fare.  Moreover I was expecting some good fishing as the weather seems to be holding up pretty well still.
A while back I had seen a video on YouTube by a fellow lure angler on the East coast at a very interesting rocky mark there. What surprised me was the good number of codling he caught there and after a bit of googling I learned more about the mark. The mark is near Fast castle and after asking my friend Scott about it, he told me that the descent was tricky but that only made it more attractive to me!
Thus on Saturday morning I made the drive to Fast castle and after a really hairy descent I arrived at the mark. The East coast really has some imposing rock marks! Almost vertical cliffs forming sharp fingers and deep gullies with kelp and some sparse reef further out. The bottom was usually sandy/clear  further out and harder close in. Half awake from the early wake up and drowsy from the long road I couldn't bother to retie a new snap, using the one that I had since Skye and just put on a 12g cheburashka with a 10cm Sakura Slit shad. After the first few 'exploratory' short casts, I made a long one, aiming for a buoy of some lobster/crab pots (good fish attractors). I let the lure sink and as soon as it touched down I had a fish on! I felt it thumping and thrashing while taking slow drag (typical cod fight) and then it all went slack! As I retrieved the line it became apparent that the knot had weakened and gave way... I hate those moments when it feels like I never learn! lol
The fish felt really good and was gutted not to land it as I'm really hoping to get my first proper cod (over 5lbs) this year.
I kept casting and working various paddletails but the bites were sparse and the fish wouldn't commit. It seems that this prolonged good weather period did more bad than good...
I then tried with a more finesse approach using a 4" stickbait mounted on a 3/0 offset EWG hook and connected to a 5g Crazyg lead head that I found lying in the bottom of my bag. These lead heads are in essence the Japanese take on cheburashkas and because of their shape they give a nice, tight, side to side wobble to the lure. Thus I could get extra distance on the cast and also have an attractive movement to the lure. This seemed to work somewhat better and I managed two average pollock before getting hit by a much better fish. This one made a screeching run and cut me off fair and square on some sharp rocks! It seemed that this wasn't my day..

Beautiful scenery..

Not much of a castle really..

Cliffs..

I love the rocks!

Presentation of the day.

A most welcome pollock.

After the lost fish, the bites stopped and it was time to make my ascent as I was going to meet up with a fellow Greek angler and fish the Torness power station outflow. The way up was much trickier and tiring than the way down (definitely getting a rope next time) and I reached the car being out of breath.
I drove down to the power station where I met up with my friend and after trying our luck with the lrf gear (having a few knocks but no fish) we decided to move to the rocks of Eyemouth. Another good looking mark with the negative of being very close to a populated area and thus pressured. I was confident that my friend would get his first pollock or codling, but other than a possible  pollock that reefed my friend we just couldnt get any fish from the bottom. It was a different story near the surface as big shoals of mackerel were pushing fry up. Getting fed up with the bottom fishing and since I haven't had a proper mackerel fry since the start of the season, I switched to my MC Solpara and the lrf gear and targeted the mackerel instead. I ended up keeping 6 fish and releasing some more but I could easily have spent the whole day catching mackerel there... So much fun! My friend only managed 2 mackerel but lost them both at his feet. I told him not to worry though as in the end we split the fish and I promised to show him my western marks soon where he will definitely catch his first pollock and codling. Moreover he was really impressed with the lrf gear and he is even thinking of 'converting'. How can anyone not like LRF?

Torness outflow..

Did a bit of blenny bashing too..

Airborne!

On the next day I wasn't feeling very well but still decided to visit a sea-loch that I have been postponing  fishing there for a long time. Loch Long is the closest sea-loch to me and I would be delighted if it turned out to be a worthwhile destination.
After the short drive I stopped at some well known dive sites where there are supposedly plenty of fish and admittedly the marks looked very fishy. I was hoping to get some wrasse and started by using small creatures on a jika rig. This started getting bites, some wrassy but more from small codling and also poor cod from the deeper areas but no decent fish would commit. I then switched to a 2.5" Keitech Live Impact on the same rig and finally got a positive bite and a fish on.
Straight on from the fight I new it was a wrasse and after a bit of coaxing out of some weeds I got a lovely ballan up. I kept fishing the same area but the bites dried up and had to move. I walked to another mark close by and managed a codling on a cheburashka with the same lure but not much else. It could have been the day but in all it felt as if the loch should hold more life than it does. Moreover I wanted to check the amount of life by throwing the guts from the previous days mackerel and I only saw a couple wrasse and smaller fish whereas in Loch Fyne I the whole place was teeming with fish.. Definitely too early for making any assumptions and I will have to try and fish some harder-to-reach marks as the fishing pressure is evident from all the discarded fishing line and anglers-related garbage...

Loch Long

Looks promising but need to find less pressured marks.

Lovely ballan on jika rig.

Loch Long codling..

On Monday the weather turned and the winds picked up. Not really feeling up for a wet and miserable session or a long drive, I decided to head to the Forth and Clyde canal to play with the little jacks..
Ever willing they obliged and I got a few on weedless softplastics and a minnow, after loosing some fish on the weedless presentation.

Aggressive little jack.

They really liked the minnow.

Definitely an anticlimax from my Skye trip but only to be expected.. Not all bad though as I believe the new marks (especially on the East coast) have good potential and weather permitting I will visit them again next week. At least Ill get some more mackies to play with and eat!

Thanks for reading and Tight lines

Gear used
Various.

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.





 

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