Fish and molluscs from my holidays in Greece!

As in last year I managed to spend almost a month back home in Greece! I went along with my girlfriend at the end of December and returned yesterday night. Similarly to last year my fishing time was greatly overestimated (girlfriend and too many friends and relatives 😁) but the variety of species was pretty good.
First off I had some LRF sessions in the local harbours and rockmarks of N. Iraklitsa, N. Peramos and Kavala. The weather was fantastic for the duration of my stay, in stark contrast with the polar-like conditions of the year before...
I was surprised to find many 'summer' species still around and large shoals of baitfish close in.
Unfortunately on my flight to Greece, my LRF case was stolen (!) and I had only very basic gear left... Thankfully that included a small bag of cheburashkas and some jigheads. I had some soft plastics and of course Isome and Gulp sanworms, with the latter proving the most successful bait...

A good fighter on the LRF...

Beautiful striped seabream

Weevers over sandy bottom...

Hungry goby.

The ubiquitous painted comber!

like a mirror...

This winter weather was fantastic!

While LRFing over a rocky point I noticed baitfish shoals moving about and fishing boats close to shore trolling. I wasn't sure what they were fishing for and started casting some metals on the heavier gear I had with me... I then decided to put on a topwater and picked a Lucky Craft Gunfish 95 as dusk was approaching. After a few casts I started seeing splashes and hits on the topwater from multiple fish and with a few more casts and missed strikes I managed to connect with a fish! It jumped a couple times but was soon brought on the rocks and it was a small bluefish!

Been a long while since I caught one of them and was gutted that the Gopro had no battery!

Baby bluefish were close in.

My next fishing outings took place in Southern Greece at the lovely town of Ermioni with my fishing buddy Stelios. We chose Ermioni as it offers a good variety of targets and also because my friend's contacts reported meagre results in Poros (our first choice). 

We mainly night fished and concentrated on squid and cuttlefish and also false scad.

The mollusks were more forthcoming and again it was a while since I had done any 'eging' to target them. Thankfully Stelios had an endless variety of squid-jigs and we had a lot to play with!

Most of the squid were small but my friend got one of over 800g while I got half kilo one as my largest. Moreover I managed to catch my smallest ever mollusk, a tiny musky octopus (μοσχιός)! Some cuttlefish and an octopus raised the species count for mollusks to 4...

Later in the night it was time for scad and we used 6-10g darting and Gamakatsu range swimmer jigheads with 3" Sluggos and Tiny Xlayers. The fish were not tightly grouped (possibly as there wasn't much fry in the harbour) and after covering the area with the softplastics we thought to try small metals to try deeper. Metals are not a lure I tend to use much at night but for such aggressive fish they can actually be very effective, especially if they have some 'fluo' on them. The only drawback to the metals was that they came with too small a treble and I had no assist hooks with me. This in combination with my rod having a stiff tip meant that I lost a couple fish. 

It was interesting to note the size of these false scad with all of them being descent fish...

Squidlet...

Cuttlefish...

A tiny musk octopus!

Octopus..

Plenty of them around..

Lovely colour..

They put up a good scrap when bigger..

False scad.

Predators of the night..

At dawn we would move at a nearby rocky point and target barracudas with jerkbaits. A pattern that seems to get results very often as the cudas target passing fish high up in the water column at that time. To be honest the results weren't that good and I only managed to get a couple small fish but they're such a cool fish even small! 

After the sunrise I fished softplastics and metals near the bottom and this resulted in a few small golden groupers.

Cuda at dawn on Duo Tide Minnow Slim.

A small cuda..

Love groupers!

On our way back from Ermioni we got a text from Stelio's friend in Poros only to find out that he went and smashed the barracudas there! We cant be lucky all the time...

After my return from Athens I started targeting some local harbours and coastal lagoons for bass but unfortunately just when I started finding the fish my time was up!

Used 3"-4" slim paddletails on 10-14g jigheads on medium fast retrieves near sundown for them and would switch to 4" soft jerkbaits on the same jigheads but worked near the bottom when it got dark. Successful lures were 4" Pontoon 21 Attira, 4" Reins Rockvibe shad and Megabass Xlayer.

The presence of bait was always necessary for the bass to be in numbers in the harbour...

Local bass from the lagoons..

...and from the harbour.

Well that was it for my fishing adventures in Greece and I'm now back in Scotland!

Time to see how them pollock are doing...

Tight Lines and best wishes for a productive season!

Gear used.

Rod: Gamakatsu Akilas mobile 80MH, Snowbee Kuroshio 4pc travel LRF rod (05g-7g)
Reel: Shimano Stradic Ci4 2500f, Shimano Stradic 1000fc
Mainline: YGK P.E Line Frontier WX8 Shore Casting Line 150m P.E 0.8 , 14lb,
Duel Hardcore x4 PE0.6
Leader: Daiwa Tournament FC fluorocarbon 18lbs, Toray Excellent fluorocarbon 6.8lbs
Lures: various

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

New reel christened..

For some time now I have been wanting to get a proper sized reel for my medium rockfishing tactics and rod. So far I couldn't justify buying a new one as the little Mitchell has done very well for years.. Lately though it started to show signs of strain and since I'm going on holidays soon, I didn't want to risk being left without a reel. Thus I bought myself a Shimano Stradic Ci4 2500f that really makes a nice combo with my Major Craft KG Evolution.
Wanting to try it as soon as possible, I decided on an early session for bass the next day.  The braid I filled it with, was the Spiderwire fluorobraid at 10lbs test,
I headed to my spot at around 06:00 and started out with a Sakura Magikeel shad tail on a 10g Delalande articulated leadhead. After getting some strikes without hookups I was getting a bit frustrated but persisted as the tide and time were still good.
 At some point I casted over very shallow water and speeding the lure up in order not to get snagged I saw a bass accelerating behind the lure and smash it in front of my feet!
 After a short fight I got the fish out and was really pleased managing to christen my new toy in the best way..

Later I got a smaller one on a Lunker City Swimming Ribster and a nice wrasse.

In the evening I went down to the harbour and after a few casts I got some nice squid and the usual night suspects.

Overall the reel seems very good  with a really even line lay, smooth drag and no wind knots on strong casts. Of course only time will tell if it was a good purchase but first impressions are good..
The fishing is really improving lately with most species being very active and obliging, The larger wrasse have become harder to catch as they seem to be definitely affected by the high temperatures and prefer to feed early in the day now, but I hope to get a good one before leaving the island. Moreover I have heard reports of black bream catches and I would really like to have a go at them with lures in the following weeks.

Tight lines!


Gear Used.
Rod: Major Craft KG Evolution KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g
Reel: Shimano Stradic Ci4 2500f
Mainline: Spiderwire Ultracast Fluorobraid 10lbs, YGK nitlon DFC fluoro leader 10lb
Lures: 4" Lunker City Swimming Ribster, 12cm Sakura Majikeel Shad Tail (soft)