Close but no cigar! Opening 2020 account.

On Thursday I had an opening in the weather and decided to open my 2020 account.
In light of the previous sessions surface action, I was keen to try and get a topwater pollock in January, something that I've not managed before.
I picked a lighter setup for the day (Akilas Mobile 80H - Stradic Ci4 2500f) and went out on my Honwave T32 sib.
The area is a favourite of mine near Staffin with depths of 8-16m.
Conditions were looking good with an overcast sky and light wind. The tide was almost all out and in retrospect, I should have set off a bit earlier...
I started straight away with the Mechanic Lures Autowalker 115s in lemon back. It didn't take many casts and I had fish blowing up on it! Unreal stuff for January!
Most of the strikes were so violent that they would propel the lure several meters away without getting hooked! I changed to another auto walker rigged with trebles but lost that lure on a wind-knot after a few casts...
I tried with a pink-back patchinko imitation but it appeared that they wanted the lemon-back autowalker in the end.
I interspersed the topwaters with various softplastics just so I could catch some fish but after anchoring on a new spot Id start with the topwater as this was my goal for the day.
Amazingly, one of the fish on softplastics came up with a long leader sticking out from its mouth and I'm wondering if its a fish that I or my friends have lost in the past couple months!! I tried to check out the lure but it had it all swallowed up. The fish seemed fine though, so I just trimmed the protruding line some, and let it go.
I've only managed to get a few of the topwater strikes on camera than the ones I had throughout the day but even though I fished hard till sundown, I just didn't manage to get fish in the boat! On several occasions I hooked up, only for the fish to shed the hook on the way in... So frustrating but also exhilarating seeing them hit like that in the middle of winter.
I blame the softer rod but also my rusty hands for this and I feel that I've had my last chance on the topwaters...

Nevertheless, it was a great first day out and I have high hopes for this year. And what a year its meant to be with the expected arrival of my first baby in a few weeks! I know that this will affect my ability to go out and fish but priorities are priorities!
Heres a video of some fish and blowups of the day.

Tight lines everyone!













                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Gear talk.

I don't usually elaborate too much on my gear as I prefer to make any comments on it after its seen plenty of use but this past season has seen me use quite a few bits of kit (more to come as well) and I'd like to say a few things about them.

Rods and reels.
In the beginning of the season last year I acquired my first Daiwa reel after a long time since I last used one... It was a Daiwa Freams 2500 and the first impressions were very positive.  The reel had a very smooth drag and effortless winding. Long casting and light, it matched very well with my ML rods. A few months in though and after plenty of good fish it started loosing that smooth feeling. that didn't bother me much as I kinda expected it to happen. Where the reel disappointed me though was in the line lay. It may have looked very tight and symmetric on the spool but especially when I put on a fine 8-strand braid (YGK WX8) the problems started... I lost the first spool (30£) in only a few outings as I was having unexpected wind-knots way after the cast... I bought an other spool and also upgraded the line roller by adding an rbb thinking that this would help but unfortunately it didn't. I need to mention that I didn't experience similar problems with 4-strand braids on that reel although I didn't have more than a couple outings with 4-strand. In any case I sold the reel and decided to add a Light Shore Jigging Setup in my collection as I thought it could help me with the bigger fish here and also when fishing over thick kelp.
I chose the inexpensive Major Craft Solpara SPS-1002LSJ max 50g along with a Shimano Biomaster 4000SW and I have to say that this setup has done even more than I asked... I think there were only a handful of fish that cut me off on this setup and only in the roughest marks. The Biomaster though powerful, could've done with some more attention in assembly as I had to get a replacement handle knob cap and I now need 2 small screws as well (all got loose and fell off)...

 From my older reels (Stradic 1000fc and Stradic 2500F Ci4) both are going strong with the Ci4 having had a service and a new RBB. Recently though I started to notice (by a friend's comment as well) that the drags on both the reels were slipping and generally getting inconsistent. The smaller one wasn't great to begin with and thus I thought that an upgrade may be in line...
After googling around for info, I realised its an easy process to do and duly bought two Carbontex drag washer kits, each kit fitting to the according reel, for less than 10£ each. In addition I got some Cal's drag grease for lubing the washers.
The process went like this: I took apart the drag systems, removed the worn out felt washers, lightly lubed the Carbontex washers, polished the metal washers and put them in the original order they came out. From initial tests there is a marked difference (positive) to the feel of the drag although I'm told it will take some good runs to get them in optimal working order.

The original drag assembly on the Ci4.

Notice the muck...

Worn out felt washers..

Shreds of felt were stuck inside...

The 3 Carbontex washers in the bottom.

Braid and Line.
 Have been very happy with the Duel Hardcore X4 for a while now and I still consider it very good value for money. Tried the YGK G soul WX8 and was quite happy with knot strength, abrasion resistance etc though I'm not entirely sure that the wind knots were the reel's fault entirely. Regarding 8-strands, Ive had the Duel Xwire X8 on the Biomaster for a while now and it has proved to be a very good choice. Easy knotting, smooth and strong.
For my fluorocarbon leaders Ive mostly used Duel Hardcore Powerleader FC and the YGK Nitlon DFC. Both lines very dependable. I had high expectations for the Seaguar Ace fluorocarbon but it did not fare well with my knots. Good abrasion resistance though and a 'harder' feel to it than the others.

Offset Hooks.
I'm not gonna make this a full review of my tackle as it would be tedious but hooks (offset ones in this case) are very important especially at this time of year. Cant fault the Gamakatsu and Owners plus some of the newer VMC ones are holding up well (e.g 1x Strong) . Most of the Decoy ones like the 13 Salt and the RS worm hook worked well too. Wasn't very happy with the Crazy Fish ones, Mustad and Matzuo as they're either not sharp enough or too soft.

I have sold quite a bit of gear as well and making do with only (😆) 4 reels and 6 rods at the moment, covering from LRF (tub tip and solid) to finesse (solid tip), ML and Light Shore, not including the travel rods... My main aim for this season is to finally match a good Medium - Medium Heavy setup. Something in the lines of 9ft, 10-30g. I have already got the reel (3000 StradicFK) as I'm incapable of resisting a bargain and will be looking for a new rod soon!
Moreover I hope to get a quality long net for some of the high marks where access to the water level is tricky.

Recent fish average stamp.

Fishing wise the past week has seen rain and wind return to us but I've still had enjoyable and productive sessions even though I had to visit different marks to get out of the wind.
Seemed to be catching mostly smaller fish though and I'm considering that this may mean the bigger (adult) fish started moving to spawn. Will be out the first chance I get for some more!
Below some videos from recent sessions. Yes I can talk!

Tight Lines!

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)