Match the hatch...

The past few nights and especially on Tuesday (full moon), there has been increased feeding activity during night time at the harbour. I have fished every night and tried to suss out a pattern and/or a successful presentation.
At first I tried the usual metals and spinners and only managed to catch some mackerel just before dark. Then I tried small paddletail shads and grubs that got me a few fish and some bumps but not much else. I then tried what I had in mind, meaning a slim, straight softbait, to imitate the sandeels that have lately made an appearance in the shallows. The results were instant.. Pollock were hitting like there was no tomorrow! I managed to catch on the first night, approximately 20 of them in the span of a couple hours fishing. Not really large but fish of 1-2lbs gave a good account of themselves as I was using 3lbs flouro straight through.
The other nights were not so impressive but fish still showed a clear preference of straight slim softbaits mounted on a 5g Sakura fishhead jighead. The retrieve was slow-medium with jerks and twitches as well as pauses. Fish would mostly hit near the surface, but when it got windy, at midwater and bottom as well.
The most effective lures were the: 10cm Savagear sandeel slug and the 4.5" Big Bite Shaking squirrel although I'm sure that anything slim and about 10cm in length would 've done the job..

Its really satisfying to manage and get it right as it doesn't happen very often! I'm still surprised by the increased aggression of the fish during the full moon as although conditions were pretty similar on the following nights and fish were still there, they didn't commit as much.
Anyway I'll be soon trying to target some better fish if they are there with bigger lures and heavier gear.

Thanks for reading.

Gear used.
Rod: Major Craft KG Evolution KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon 3lbs,
 Spiderwire invisibraid 0.10mm with YGK nitlon DFC fluoro leader 10lbs
Rig: Sakura fishhead jigheads, 5g
Lures: 4.5" Big Bite Shaking Squirrels, Savagear sandeel slugs
 

Finally some silver!

The past couple of weeks I have been playing around with different techniques and presentations in order to manage and target the main predators of the island with one gear/presentation. I ended up with using soft jerkbaits and slug-type lures on weighted offset hooks as the most effective way of doing this. It is also quite reasonable as my main target species (wrasse, bass, pollock) all prey on slim species like sandeels that have finally found their way in numbers near the coast.
 I have had very good results on wrasse with some very enjoyable sessions and even got the odd follow from bass, that convinced me that soft jerkbaits are the way to go.

I used slim softbaits from various manufacturers, but the most effective have been the: Big Bite Shaking squirrels, Hogy Sandeels, Savagear sandeel slugs, Lunker City Ribsters and Dichoso Umiushi worms. The hooks I use are weighted Camo Offset hooks, Big Bite weighted EWG hooks and AGM wide gape jigheads.

Today having the whole day to my self I visited a mark that holds big fish and can be fished throughout most states of the tide. I arrived a bit late with the tide ebbing fast but thought it worthwhile to stay on. I fished trying to cover as much area possible but had no bites for about an hour. After changing many lures, I put on a Lunker city Ribster on a 5g Camo weighted offset hook and started working a kelp-ridden area next  to a big boulder. Midway on the retrieve I felt a light tap and immediately stopped the retrieve waiting for the usual following taps as the wrasse bites the lure. Only this time there were no following taps just some gentle nips. Unable to wait any longer, I decided to set the hook and I felt some good weight on the line straight on. The fish took some line but then came close very easily something rare for wrasse as they dive and thrash all over the place... Getting it closer it became obvious that it wasn't a wrasse but instead I had a nice bass on my line! As soon as the fish saw me it started thrashing violently but I managed to get it swiftly on the rocks. My first bass on Sark was lying in front of me, a nice and healthy fish of about 3-4 lbs that went straight back after a couple of photos. After this fish I persisted with the soft slims and got a few nice wrasse. There were no small fish around surprisingly, with all the fish being of decent size. Moreover I had never before caught wrasse so close to the ebb and at such shallow water. The last fish was caught no further than 5m away from me and at about 1m depth...

 

 

I think that better results will come if I stick with this approach as it will allow me to target more efficiently and effectively the main predators here without the need for different gear and further purchases! Although simple looking and not fancy or high tech, these lures used in the right way can be extremely effective.

Tight lines and thanks for reading!


Gear used.
Rod: Major Craft KG Evolution KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: Spiderwire invisibraid 0.10mm, YGK nitlon DFC fluoro leader 10lbs
Rig: weighted offset hooks and wide gape jigheads, sizes 2/0-4/0, weight 3.5-5g
Lures: 4.5" Big Bite Shaking Squirrels, 4.5" Hogy Sandeels, 10cm Savagear Sandeel slugs, 5" Dichoso Umiushi worms, 4.5" Lunker City Ribsters.  

Quick post.

I have recently tried the Savage gear sandeel slugs and got some nice fish. The lures look really nice in the water and attract fish even static on the bottom. I prefer to hook them on weighted extra wide gape hooks (ewg) rather than weighted swimbait hooks as they destroy them.

 

 

A really good product with the only negative being that wrasse rip them quite easily..

Tight lines

Fresh marks and more wrasse.

Even though I have been on the island for a good few months now, what amazes me is that there are still marks that I haven't tried out and have a lot of potential as well. Thus on my day off yesterday I visited a mark on the west point of the Island. There is a narrow channel formed as a small island lies a stones throw from Sark. The waters are quite deep and the currents are more similar to a river than the sea. As expected reaching the mark takes a bit of walking and rock-climbing but its definitely worth it as it turns out.
On reaching the mark I opted to fish right at the corner of the rock wall overlooking the channel. I started with a texas rigged Reins Rockvibe shad on a N2 Maruto Worm19 hooks and a 7g bullet weight. It was hard holding bottom in the current but instead of adding weight to the rig, I preferred to let it drift and cover more area. There was a crevice where the water seemed to circulate and I expected most fish to hide there waiting for food to come to them. As my lure drifted in the crevice I got a bite and a wrasse. I managed a few more there but decided to move as the fish were mainly small.

The narrow channel.

I moved to a nearby gully that seemed very promising and got plenty of wrasse in quick succession.

After the gully 'dried up' I moved to a more open spot with vertical rock walls and caves. I changed to a carolina rig and tried many lures with the most effective being the Rockvibe shad, Bubbling shad and the Curly Curly. The fish got better here averaging a couple pounds.

Late in the afternoon I decided to go to the southern marks of the island as the wind was coming from the north and I would get easier fishing. As I managed to drop my fluorocarbon leader spool, I had to fish with the LRF fluoro mainline. This was kind of risky as I haven't got my new net yet (broke the previous one!) but with a bit of finesse there were no major problems.
The wrasse tend to move very close to the shore-rocks at this time with most fish coming from short casts. I started getting a steady stream of wrasse on the sp's and was really impressed with the Maruto worm19 hooks as they hooked the fish perfectly every time. They are of the extra wide gap style and I think that it suits wrasse better.
I then changed to hard baits for a bit of variety and put on a Daiwa DC shad, this lure dives deep and being a suspender (slow floater actually) gives enough time for the wrasse to attack it. I was casting the lure parallel to the rocks and with the rod tip down I was retrieving fast to get  the lure at the base of the rocks. As soon as the lure hit structure I would let it float a bit and then give it a sharp twitch. I could see it coming closer and letting it static I saw some movement behind it. It was a large wrasse that after observing the lure for a millisecond, pounced on it! It run straight for the deep peeling drag and the all went solid. The fish snagged me up and even though I gave it time it wouldn't move, so in the end I had to pull for the snap. I felt terrible leaving the fish with the lure in its mouth but hopefully it will manage to get rid of it as the barbs were crushed.

After the lost fish I called it a day and went home knackered of a full days fishing. I think I get more tired fishing on my days off than at work!

Thanks for reading and tight lines!



Gear used.
Rod: Major Craft KG Evolution KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: Spiderwire invisibraid 0.10mm, Trilene fluorocarbon leader 10lbs and YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon 3lbs
Rig: mainly Carolina and Texas with a 7g bullet weight and Matzuo or Maruto worm19 offset hooks sizes 1-3/0
Lure: various