Following my session last week where I witnessed coalies smashing baitfish at the surface, naturally I went again the next day bringing my LRF setup along... Of course this being Skye, the weather changed slightly the next day and there was some swell coming in now. I had my MH gear as well but in truth LRF was in my mind..
Thus I fished with the MH gear at first while waiting for low tide thinking that the conditions will improve. I caught the usual pollock and a ballan from my favourite spot and as the time passed conditions did improve markedly..
While retrieving my sp's I saw some pollock shooting out from the ledge under my feet and coming practically out of the water trying to hit the lure! I changed position and picked up the LRF setup, clipped on a little topwater lure from Aliexpress and cast towards the ledge.. It didn't take long and the pollock hit my topwater! A short but intense fight ensued and I soon had the fish up on the rocks for a couple pics before the release.
I managed to raise a couple more fish but they didn't stick so I went back to the MH gear and the softplastics.
At some point about an hour before low tide the coalies thankfully started blitzing and I immediately dropped the heavy gear again and picked up the light rod. Got on the rock closest to the action and cast out... Within the first few twitches I had a fish on!
This was repeated plenty more times along with fish getting unhooked and loads of attacks on the surface!
Here's the video of most of the action.
It soon became evident that the baitfish were actually sprats and as it happens perfectly matched the size of my lure. I tried other topwaters as well and they all did pretty good.
The action as well didn't really matter as long as the lure was moving erratically. Even when the front treble got tangled to the leader they'd still hit it!
Most of the action was happening in front of a point where the current was faster, I have actually witnessed similar situations in other places as well. I still remember a February session in loch Fyne when the coalies did just that. It was near low tide back then too and at a similar spot, something that convinces me that they chose the place and time to hit the baitfish when it would be most efficient to do so... Unfortunately knowing when there are baitfish at a given mark is harder to predict and as I went to the mark again a few days later, I saw that the sprat shoals kept their distance throughout the day.
Ideally calm overcast conditions with probably mild temperatures are the most conducive for this to happen. Still its great to have such fun surface fishing with the temps not passing 5C and when I thought I wouldn't get a topwater wet till summer!
Some more pics below.
This session really brightened up my fishing of late and I'm hoping to encounter a similar one again.
I just don't understand how more LRF'ers aren't giving topwaters a go while stagnating on the sp/artificial bait techniques all the time. Although I do realise that for some reason most UK tackleshops (e-shops as well) don't really stock LRF-topwaters anymore... This wasn't the case some years ago when tiny hardbaits were easier to acquire from the same sources.
Anyway, I hope Ill get the chance at some point to do a summer trip down South and target those garfish, scad, bass etc OTT on the LRF gear...
Tight Lines!
Gear used
Rod: MajorCraft Crostage CRK-T782AJI
Reel: Shimano Stradic 1000Fc
Mainline: Duel Hardcore x4 PE0.6
Leader: Toray Excellent fluorocarbon 6.8lbs
Lures: Jerry's topwater lures from Aliexpress, Ima Pugachev's cobra 60
Thus I fished with the MH gear at first while waiting for low tide thinking that the conditions will improve. I caught the usual pollock and a ballan from my favourite spot and as the time passed conditions did improve markedly..
 |
| Pretty ballan. |
 |
| Taken from under the ledge I was standing! |
I managed to raise a couple more fish but they didn't stick so I went back to the MH gear and the softplastics.
At some point about an hour before low tide the coalies thankfully started blitzing and I immediately dropped the heavy gear again and picked up the light rod. Got on the rock closest to the action and cast out... Within the first few twitches I had a fish on!
This was repeated plenty more times along with fish getting unhooked and loads of attacks on the surface!
Here's the video of most of the action.
It soon became evident that the baitfish were actually sprats and as it happens perfectly matched the size of my lure. I tried other topwaters as well and they all did pretty good.
 |
| Match the hatch... |
The action as well didn't really matter as long as the lure was moving erratically. Even when the front treble got tangled to the leader they'd still hit it!
Most of the action was happening in front of a point where the current was faster, I have actually witnessed similar situations in other places as well. I still remember a February session in loch Fyne when the coalies did just that. It was near low tide back then too and at a similar spot, something that convinces me that they chose the place and time to hit the baitfish when it would be most efficient to do so... Unfortunately knowing when there are baitfish at a given mark is harder to predict and as I went to the mark again a few days later, I saw that the sprat shoals kept their distance throughout the day.
Ideally calm overcast conditions with probably mild temperatures are the most conducive for this to happen. Still its great to have such fun surface fishing with the temps not passing 5C and when I thought I wouldn't get a topwater wet till summer!
Some more pics below.
 |
| Surface predators! |
 |
| They didn't hold back.. |
 |
| On the Ima Pugachevs cobra as well. |
I just don't understand how more LRF'ers aren't giving topwaters a go while stagnating on the sp/artificial bait techniques all the time. Although I do realise that for some reason most UK tackleshops (e-shops as well) don't really stock LRF-topwaters anymore... This wasn't the case some years ago when tiny hardbaits were easier to acquire from the same sources.
Anyway, I hope Ill get the chance at some point to do a summer trip down South and target those garfish, scad, bass etc OTT on the LRF gear...
Tight Lines!
Gear used
Rod: MajorCraft Crostage CRK-T782AJI
Reel: Shimano Stradic 1000Fc
Mainline: Duel Hardcore x4 PE0.6
Leader: Toray Excellent fluorocarbon 6.8lbs
Lures: Jerry's topwater lures from Aliexpress, Ima Pugachev's cobra 60
