Light Rock Fishing in the snags..

Lately I have been steering away from the harbours for my fishing and more towards the rocky shores and breakwaters as they offer more fish without the restrictions and the usual 'hustle and bustle' of the harbour..
Of course the rocky and snag-ridden bottom claims many of my rigs and lures but one presentation/rig has shined through to be most effective. This is the Carolina rig, albeit in its micro form.. I use a single SSG shot or smaller followed by a slim offset hook (narrow gape) #8-#12 or a similar sized long shank hook . I tend to peg the sinker 15cm away from the hook
The main reason behind the narrow gaped hooks is that many species here have small mouths (although large appetites) and its difficult to hook them with wide gape hooks (even small ones). More over as i mentioned, even these small fish seem to like slim but relatively long lures. Thus I tend to thread the hook so that the point is very close to the 'tail' of the lure.

The rig.

Works well with paddletails too.

Productive but costly...

LRF heaven.

I haven't fished 'seriously' so far, as the family and friend get-togethers don't leave me much time, but I'm going to Cyprus for a fishing adventure soon and hope to get some good fish there. Moreover I intend to focus more on fishing when I return as the season is meant to be the best for lure fishing here.
I will finish with some pics from recent lrf sessions.

Beautiful painted combers.

A vegetarian salpa.. Strong fighters!

More bream (two-banded and annular) 

Baby scad

My first brown comber!

Garfish everywhere..

Damselfish. Very hard to hook!

Scorpion fish.. The main night-target.

A bogue.

Bogue on a small squid tube.

Night goby.

Thanks for reading and tight lines!

Gear used.
Rod:Major craft Solpara SPS-S792M (7'9", 0.5g-5g)
Reel: Tica Libra 2500fd
Mainline: Toray Bawo Upgrade Fluorocarbon, 3.9lbs
rigs: Carolina.
Lures: various mainly straight and paddletails.

Isle of Sark, a rock fishing paradise.

This will be the last post from Sark as I'm leaving tomorrow for Greece. Ive managed a night session in Thursday as the tide was favourable and was thinking of catching some squid to eat before I go as I love them. Also I wanted to catch some of the night predators and generally have an enjoyable last night session. The weather was perfect for fishing with a slight wind and fog but not cold at all.
I started with the squid jig after adding a sinker to it as its a slow sinker and I wanted to work near the bottom. I let the squid jig sink and after pausing a few seconds for it to settle, I gave some twitches and jerks on a sink-and-draw retrieve. The squid started coming fast even though the water was still low and I lost a couple good ones trying to pull them up the wall. I wasn't too bothered though as they seemed very positive on attacking and was getting more every cast. On one occasion I felt the usual 'touch' of the squid but not much of pulling back, just weight on the line. After bringing it to the surface I was greeted by a cuttlefish! I knew they are found in the Channel islands at around this time of year, but I didn't think I would get any as I'm leaving.

Unexpected guest!

After getting the cuttlefish I managed another much larger specimen, but lost it on the way up the wall. A few casts later I lost my only squid jig to a snag.. Not disappointed as I had all I needed, I switched to soft lures for scad and pollock fishing. I put a 4.5" Big Bite Shaking Squirrel on a 5g Sakura fishead jighead (a combo that has given me very good results) and started casting around. The fish didn't take long to respond and I was getting a steady stream of scad with the occasional pollock. The latter have started to come in numbers again and the size is getting bigger as well, as I hooked a nice one but again lost it on the way up.
I was starting to get many squid attacks and they destroyed my lures, so after a few more fish I called it a night.

Carnage!

 Today was my last day at work and I finished around 14:30. After saying goodbye to my colleagues, I headed down the harbour to say goodbye to the fish as well!
The weather has turned bad  with gale force winds, but in the harbour I would have the wind on my back so I didn't mind. I was mainly expecting garfish but secretly hoping for a black bream.
I started with 2.5 and 3g jigheads with 2" Berkley Fish fry and 3" Mebaru Bushi. I was letting the lure reach bottom and working it slowly hoping it or dragging along the bottom. A couple casts in and got a garfish on the drop that put up the usual entertaining fight. Another one followed a bit later and then the Guernsey ferry arrived and moored in the harbour. The engine was on and creating a lot of current and commotion in the water. I switched to a 7g Yoshikawa metal jig, armed with two extra assist hooks and casted near the current. I got some bites and then managed to hook another nice garfish. I was getting more bites but even with two assist hooks, its tricky to hook these fish and I got some unhooked close in.

Rigged for Garfish.

After the ferry went I started casting on the inner side of the harbour. I was working the jig on the bottom opening the bail and letting line out every few turns of the handle. And soon I got a sharp tap and an erratic aggressive fight. I thought it might be a scad but the fish was fighting near the bottom. a few moments later I saw silver but not in the shape I was expecting.. It was a small black bream and it made me really happy as I managed to get all the species I wanted from the Island!

Feisty even small

The squid started coming thick and fast and were getting hooked on the jig even better than the squid jig! And so after a few I decided to head home as I was soaked wet by that point..

No need for squid jigs!

I don't think I have ever fished in a place so prolific with fish and of different species.. Although the island is not a place for a potential record fish (except maybe wrasse), the fishing is varied and with a bit of effort, very rewarding. I hope to come back one day again as I cant get enough of the fishing here.
All in all I have enjoyed the fishing for all species , but there is one that has a special place in my heart and is the reason I came here in the first place.. It is not the bass but the beautiful and obliging Ballan wrasse! A fish that I will really miss in the Mediterranean but I'm gonna target Its cousins down there!

An awsome species.

Angler's paradise?

Thanks for reading and more to follow soon!

Gear Used.

Rod: Major Craft KG Evolution KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g and Golden Mean Symphonia, 8.6", 0.6-8g
Reel: Shimano Stradic Ci4 2500f and Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: Spiderwire Ultracast Fluorobraid 10lbs, YGK nitlon DFC fluoro leader 10lb and Toray Bottom Attacker Fluorocarbon, 3lbs
Lures: various

The articulated jighead.

One type of rigging/presentation that Ive been using more and more lately is the articulated jighead combined with an offset hook and slim paddle tail lure. I have come to realise that along with weighted hooks for slim sluggo/ribster lures, these two presentations are very suitable for targeting both wrasse and bass successfully without having to specialise the presentation too much according to species. As this would be impractical in the short amount of time I have available along with the gear at hand...
Thus Ive had some really nice wrasse lately, in the early morning sessions while targeting bass. When the bass don't play ball I just start working the lure slower and near the bottom and big wrasse are usually up for it.. At times I had really aggressive takes when the fish attacked near vertically taking the lure subsurface! The jigheads Ive been using the most are from the company Delalande at 10gr and the lures have been the Sakura Majikeel Shadtail and modified Savagear Sandeels.

As I had some large Savagear Sandeels spare since I don't use the heavy gear as much, I decided to modify them so that I could use them with articulated jigheads, albeit in smaller weights. To achieve this I just make lots of incisions to the lure (makes it loose) as shown in the pics and also cut a small part off the front part, to make it a bit smaller and closer to the profile of the sandeels Ive seen here. (around 12cm).

The cuts.

The finished lure.

The weather has started to get more unstable and it seems to have affected the bass, as I haven't encountered them on the last two sessions. Moreover the fry has also moved from my usual mark and I'm thinking to try a couple different marks in the coming week as it is going to be my last week on this Island and I want to go with a bang! I don't think I will manage to target any bream as the time is short and I intent to focus on wrasse and bass even more.
 The night fishing shows no sign of slowing thankfully, with Scad coming in ridiculous numbers. Again, when the right pattern is found the results are instant. I have noticed that around high tide the fish push sandeels up to the surface under the harbour lights, while as the tide ebbs, they prefer to hunt near the bottom. I have used a 1.8g Tict Dart jighead combined with a 2" Sakura AJ Worm to great effect, working it near the bottom with a medium-slow retrieve and jerks letting the lure flutter down and pause it. I usually get hit as the lure falls or when I move it again. Moreover 3" Gary Yamamoto swimming senkos have worked well, especially with a heavier jighead when fish were active near the surface.

 

The following week I will try and devote as much time as possible to fishing but even if I don't catch  any big ones I think it wont matter as Ive had a very good season this summer and thoroughly enjoyed the fishing here. More over I'm really looking forward to fishing on my holidays for different species and back in freshwater too!

Tight lines and thanks for reading! 

Gear used.

Rod: Major Craft KG Evolution KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g and Golden Mean Symphonia, 8.6", 0.6-8g
Reel: Shimano Stradic Ci4 2500f and Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: Spiderwire Ultracast Fluorobraid 10lbs, YGK nitlon DFC fluoro leader 10lb and Toray Bottom Attacker Fluorocarbon, 3lbs
Lures: various