Finding the culprit...

As I mentioned on my previous post, I had problems with fish cutting the thin fluorocarbon mainlines I use and at the time I thought they were bigger pollock.
Trying to get to the bottom of this I visited the loch again a couple days later for a session with my medium rock fishing gear and much stronger rigs. More over I was starting to doubt that these fish were pollock as Ive caught plenty of good sized ones after long fights with the lure lost in their mouths while the line held... Something else was going on and I had to find out what...
The day was horrible with strong wind and constant rain, quite heavy at times, but I knew the fish would be there. I started fishing with a 4" Berkley Sandeel on a texas jighead and on the first cast something picked it OTD and shoot off taking some drag.. Moments later it was off cutting the line.. I could not believe my bad luck and tied an articulated jighead with a 3" Berkley Gulp Baitfish (was using 7lbs line) after some more casts I got a poor cod, then a pollock and then lost another fish that bit the line clean.. I was clueless and really frustrated..
In addition to the lost fish the weather turned even more sour and I was already soaked through.. I persevered but after a small coalfish I had to go home as I was gonna get frostbite or something!
Back home I thought about all the fish I lost and their behaviour etc in order to get all the pieces together and figure out the best approach.

Plenty caught like this yet the line held..

The coalfish was no consolation...

The lost fish seemed quite large, prefer larger baits with strong smell and bite better when there is some wind. My thoughts were that I'm dealing either with some larger codling or Spurdogs (?!).
Knowing that both these species prefer to feed at night, I decided on a night session.
Yesterday I got the opportunity as I finished relatively early from work and headed up the loch. I reached my mark and the conditions seemed good with little wind and the tide slowly starting to ebb. I put on a light wire trace made from my favourite Knot 2 Kinky and a 5g articulated jighead with a 3" Ecogear Aqua Bug Ants as these lures have a particularly strong scent. I started making long casts and working the lure on the bottom with short flicks and twitches to mimic a fleeing prawn or crayfish. After some casts I got the first bite but I reacted too quickly and didn't hook the fish. This happened a couple more times before the bites drying up and then I changed to the Berkley Gulp Baitfish. The pack I had was fluorescent and with a charge from my head torch I cast it into the depths. A few casts later and I got a subtle bite. I let it develop and feeling weight on the rod tip I struck and set the hook. I got good resistance and the fish was taking drag but it wasn't like the crash dives of pollock, slower fight and with some head shakes. The fish came up and it proved to be a much better codling than the ones I get during the day. Around the 4lbs mark with a huge mouth! I thumb-held it to let it go back and then saw blood on my thumb from its teeth so I'm pretty sure that this is the culprit of the cut lines.. I continued fishing a bit longer and after losing what felt like another codling I got a small pollock and decided to call it a night..

The main rig used.

Fatty!

Big mouth!

What became apparent is that most of the little fish are not active at night ant the bigger ones come out. This makes for a more boring fishing without all the little bites but also more rewarding in terms of fish size. These fish seem to clearly prefer smelly lures and a slower presentation bumping the bottom. Both the Ecogear aqua and Berkley Gulp draw bites and the fish seem to be happy munching them for a while so I'll try and give them more time before strikes next time. Again a little glow in the lure draws the fish but scent seems more important at night.
I was quite pleased with the result of my first night session up here and I'm sure there will be many to follow with hopefully even more predators of the night.

Thanks for reading!


Gear used.
Rod: Major Craft KG Evolution KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g
Reel:Shimano Stradic ci4 2500f.
Mainline: Seaguar Kanzen braid 10lbs.
Rig: K2K trace articulated jighead
lure: Berkley gulps mostly.

A nice mixed bag.

Today I just wanted perch no matter what.. ! So I visited the Galgate marina where I had nice perch previously and the place seemed just right to throw a better one as well.. Arriving around 14:00 the weather was mild and overcast, and the water stained with about a foot of visibility.
I could already see the signs of spring as there was lots of bubbles and silverfish around, and knew that predators wouldn't be far behind.. Wanting to test again if the perch would react negatively to the light Knot2Kinky dropshot rig  (they do somewhat on less turbid parts of the canal) I tied it on with an 8cm DAM Power Devil Stick and started casting near the moored barges on the other side.. I was getting some tentative bites but fish didn't follow through.. After I had covered a wide area and thinking that the presentation may be too "loud", I tried my go-to lure, a 2.25" LFT live baby shad on a conventional dropshot rig with 2 SSG shots and after a nice cast between some boats, I got a sharp tug and the line came back loose...Damn pike! Straight away I reverted to the previous rig and put on the LFT shad.. I recasted at the same spot and got hit straight away. After a spirited fight I landed a pretty jack that I believe it could be the same fish!

greedy jack!

After the jack I got no more bites and decided to move back towards my starting point in order to see if it was the presentation or just the lure that put the fish off. I casted near some piling and got some perch-like bites and after setting the hook I got my first perch of the day.. A few more followed and I even managed to catch (and miss) a couple at my feet. Which is why I always work my lures until they get out of water.

I managed to snag my last K2K rig and tied another conventional rig, again using the LFT baby shad.. It was almost sunset and a nice cast shaw the lure land just next to a barge and within a few retrieves of the handle I was onto something better that fought hard near the bottom. It was a nice plumb perch that was promptly landed and even though I had no scales, in comparison with my shoe (size10.5)! she must have been pushing 700gr.. A very nice end to my fishing session...

Thanks for reading and tight lines!

Gear used:
Rod: Awa Shima Qlite spin, 1-5g, 2.40m
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: Toray BAWO Superhard Upgrade Fluorocarbon, 3.9lbs
Rig: various dropshot
Lure: 2.25" LFT Live Baby shad (pink)

A pleasant surprise...

Today the weather was somewhat milder and overcast, and I really wanted to fish Glasson Dock again... So we set off at around 14:00 and were on the spot soon after. There was a chilly wind but conditions seemed promising. I started with my UL Knot2Kinky Dropshot rig and a 3.5" LFT Live Magic shad in golden Shiner colour while I made an LRF style dropshot rig for my girlfriend with a 1.5" Big Bite Panfish minnow in pearl/chartreuse and a single SSG shot at the end. We got fishing and being impressed by the depth of the place, expected bites to come fast.. But they didn't...!
After a while we moved to a place where the canal enters the dock and found an angler there, he told me that he had a couple fish around 5lbs but the weed was a real problem and affected the presentation.. Fishing around there, we soon had the same problem and thus kept moving to find a clear patch. All this time we didn't get a single hit and it seemed unusual as the place was screaming fish. Deciding to change my presentation, first to a weedless dropshot and then to just simple dropshot tied to the mainline with a 2.25" LFT live baby shad (as I was thinking that the fish might prefer a scaled down/finer presentation and wanting to locate where/if there were any perch around) we kept moving towards a bridge and trying next to some moored barges.. Suddenly I felt a sharp tug on the line, then some weight and lifting the rod another tug and the line went light.. Pike... I reverted back to the 3.5" swimbait on the Knot2kinky rig, but nothing happened.
Reaching the bridge I was mostly trying out some retrieves than actually fishing and had almost forgotten about my girl until I heard her shout, and turning my head I saw her holding her rod bent in half! For a second we both thought it was a snag, until it started moving.. It was a nice fish that was taking line against the drag at an alarming rate, while I was trying to explain to her that reeling in continuously wont do any good! I quickly got the rod at my hands,
(I wanted that fish!) and tried to play it softly on the UL gear.. After a few runs it surfaced and it was a nice jack but I was almost sure that we would loose it any moment since my girl was just using 3lbs fluorocarbon and no trace.. I tried to get it in the net as fast as possible but the fish had other ideas and kept diving.. Three dives later I got it in the net and banked a lovely jack-pike that was definitely worth all the effort!



The hook at the lips!

A lucky angler!

Although it would seem very surprising for a fish of this size to be caught on a 1.5" lure, I have come to the conclusion that especially at this time of the year and at pressured waters, pike of good size can be taken (or even show preference) to smaller lures and finesse presentations. And it really is great fun fighting these fish on the UL gear! It should be noted though that if there are a lot of jacks the trace is indispensable, and even more so on lures with trebles.

Thanks for reading and tight lines!

Equipment used.

A)

Rod: Awa Shima Qlite spin, 1-5g, 2.40m
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: Toray BAWO Superhard Upgrade Fluorocarbon, 3.9lbs
Rig: various
Lure: various

B)
Rod: Daiwa Procyon, 6.6",1/32-1/8oz
Reel: Shimano Nexave 1000fd
Mainline: Berkley Nanofil 0.06mm and Sunline Siglon Fluorocarbon 3lbs leader
Rig: dropshot with one SSG
Hook: Size 6 Owner Mosquito
Lure: Big Bite Panfish minnow,1.5" Pearl/chartreuse.

Dropshotting for canal Pike at Carnforth marina.

Today was another beautiful day and after going to the gym, I drove to Carnforth in order to fish at the marina there. When I arrived, I found lots of people out walking the dogs, cycling and a few fishing. There was only one jack caught between all of them on deadbait and not much after that.
Unfazed I started rigging up my Ul rod using some knot 2 kinky wire (12lb) as I have been trying various components to manage catching perch and pike on the dropshot. The best results so far have been by using thick fluorocarbon (20lbs) but u still need to change it after every fish..

My dropshot rig using knot 2 kinky wire.

The marina.

 The marina has depths of around 2m and the water today was quite dirty.
 Still, as soon as I passed in front of the deadbaiters I made a far cast near a barge and after working the lure I felt a sharp tug, I set the hook and the fish was on. It took a while to come up from the depths as it was fighting extremely well on my Ul gear, when it surfaced I slipped the net and landed a lovely and plumb jack of about 4lbs. I persisted for a couple more hours and other than a jack to the bait boys I saw no other fish. A very surprising fact of this area is that I haven't caught a perch here and cant figure out the reason why..

The softbait used was the famous Panic minnow dropswim at 3.3" mounted on a VMV spinshot size 6 hook tied on 15cm of 12lb Knot2Kinky. I tied 30cm of 3lb fluoro to the sinker for the bottom end.  I cant tell for sure if the use of this rig will allow me to catch both perch and pike easily as it needs further testing. All in all it was a pleasant session in lovely weather that I hope it will last for a bit!

Thanks for reading and tight lines
Dimitrios