Cyprus Expedition 2: Saltwater.

After the first few days and the disappointments in the freshwater, I was in need of a morale boost. We had planned to fish with my friends Aggelos and Soulis in their local marks and they informed me that Cornetfish (Fistularia commersonii) and the silver cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus scelaratus) had recently appeared in the area and in good numbers. I didn't get too excited though as I'm aware that the sea around most of Cyprus is relatively poor and didn't expect large numbers of fish. Thus we met up with the guys early in the morning of Sunday and headed straight for the mark in Soulis car.
The mark is near a power station and there is strong current generated by the station's outflow. This attracts bait fish and the predators follow... We picked the most favourable spots and started casting. I was using slim soft plastics of 2"-3" on 1.5-3.5g jigheads. From the first casts we all started getting bites and fish on our lures! It was madness and exactly what I needed after the previous hard days. We were on the right spot on the right time and the fish were feeding like crazy! I caught my first Cornet fish and was amazed by the alien look of this fish.. I was even more amazed by the amount of slime that covers them! Something that my friends forgot to mention... But I couldn't care less as I was catching fish! The Cornet fish is a good fighter and at times resembles garfish during the fight although it can move in all directions like an eel! What Ive noticed about them though, is that they would painstakingly observe the lure at times before committing, especially the larger ones. At first light they were relatively easy to catch but as the sun got higher they became more fussy and cautious. They have very good eyesight and I suspect the increased light levels made them more wary to our lures. Moreover after a few fish were caught on a given lure/presentation the rest would soon wise up to it and a change in presentation would have to take place for the bites to resume. This again is explained as they hunt in loose packs and observe the lure all together. Thus as the sun got higher I had to use more realistic colours and lighter jigheads (slower fall rate) to get more bites. Moreover a change to darting jigheads and or cheburashka with the respective change in rod movements/cadence brought more bites. They would generally hit near the bottom but especially later on they could be caught even on minnows worked with plenty of jerks near the surface. They are meant to take metals as well but my friends told me that it might be a bit early in the season for such fast presentations. They would hit one type of metal lures though, blades, and some of the biggest fish were caught on the ecogear ZX30 and 35. Another interesting thing about this fish is that its almost impossible to take a good photo! The camera just couldn't zoom in them properly. 

What a fish!

Eye of the predator..

They can even change colours..

Impossible to zoom on!

Pampos with a good one on the jerkbait.

After catching my fair share of Cornetfish, I noticed my friend Pampos started catching large toad fish on his jerkbaits. Seeing that they would hit so high in the water column and on such flashy lures with erratic retrieves I tied on an lipless cranckbait (that I bought for bass!) and started working it near the surface with lifts of the rod tip. I got a bite and after a few more turns of the handle, a solid take. This was a big fish and definitely not a cornet fish as it was not thrashing about, instead I could feel it thumping its head and moving slowly. I pumped the fish in with the rod bent in an unreal curve and soon a large toad was in the net! The lure popped out of its mouth straight away and in close inspection I could see that the trebles were ruined by the toadfish dentistry! We caught some more toad fish and lost even more from bent hooks, cut lines and ripped softplastics...
The toad fish would hunt in groups in all the water column and they preferred slow but intense actions in the presentation. It was very surprising that some fish would come in like bricks yet others would make sizzling runs on even tight drags! It became apparent that if you allow them some time to turn away from the shore and even more so when the pack is following the caught fish, they would then start to run!
What an unusual bunch of fish!
At some point I got hit OTD on a cheburashka rigged with a 7.5cm ribster and with the rod bent whole I felt that the fish was getting in a snag.. Perplexed as to what it was, I pressed the rod even harder and soon started gaining on the fish. A last attempt to hide in the rocks under my feet failed and I hoisted up a beautiful dusky grouper! It was my biggest ever and after a few pics was returned in the sea.

A pig in the net!

 

Trebles destroyed!

A stunning fish!

In the following days we made more forays in various harbours and we managed to find the smaller cousin of the toad fish with the beautiful green eyes. Some scorpion fish and unbelievable amounts of gobies completed the picture. 2-5g Cheburashkas, #10 longshank hooks and Isome along with tiny paddletails did the business.

Poser goby..

A new lrfer!

Green eyed piggy!

I love scorpion fish!

Aggressive goby.

Baby toad..

Goby central...

The tiniest grouper Ive ever caught!

So all in all another wonderful experience in Cyprus. The fishing was tough but considering the conditions I believe we found the best action we could! Many thanks yet again to my Cypriot friends and especially Pampos, Aggelos and Soulis as without them this trip would've been impossible.. I'm already planning for my next visit there and hopefully the bass will play ball then..
I will post some action packed videos soon!

Tight lines!

Gear used.
Rod: Spro Mobile stick 80 UL
Reel: Shimano Stradic 1000 fc
Mainline: YGK G-soul x3 PE 0.4
leader: Sunline FC guide special fluorocarbon, 6lbs
lure: various