Ups and downs..

The past week was not very successful. A combination of several factors contributed to no fish on the bank.. Although the weather has been sunny, the sea has been rough from swells and intense winds that in combination with my limited time didn't allow me to fish the most protected  (and hard to access) areas. Another major negative factor was that I managed to break my little travel rod (first and hope to be the last time) and thus was left with only my heavier setup which doesn't really lend itself to fishing light soft plastics..
Fortunately, I had ordered my new LRF rod (Golden Mean Symphonia 8'6'') a few days before the disaster and managed to get my hands on it very quickly. I tried the new rod only a couple times but the rough sea was a constant problem..
Things changed today though. The wind died down a bit and the sea was fishable. Getting an early break from work I moved hastily to my favourite mark and started fishing straight away.
The first impressions from the rod were good as the sensitive tip registered every move of the lure and due to being very light was a joy to use. I was fishing a deep gully that fish tend to stay under my feet and using an Ecogear Bug Ants with a 3.5g weight, started fishing directly beneath me. I was working the lure with small twitches and letting it touch bottom again and after a few casts got the first tentative bite. The fish didn't commit but I persisted in working the same area and after a second bite, I let the lure static with limited line tension and I observed the tip of the rod as the fish was taking the bait and starting to move. A quick strike and the fish was on! I felt a solid weight on the end of the line and the drag started singing, after a while the fish got me snagged... I released tension on the line and the fish was soon moving again. I got her on the surface and slipped the net under her. She was only about a pound but on the LRF rod she was a ton of fun! Cant imagine a fight with a 4 pounder!

R.I.P

New toy.

After the first fish the bites dried up even though I tried other baits and retrieves. But considering the unlucky events lately, I was happy to have caught a fish and test my new rod!

Tight Lines!


Gear used.
Rod: Golden Mean Symphonia, 0.6-8g, 8'6''
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon, 3lbs
Rig: Texas, 3.5g bullet weight
lure: Ecogear Bug Ants, 3'', 252 colour on a N1 Lunker city texposer hook.

Finally some action!

After three weeks on the island and a few blanks I really missed catching some fish! The bad weather and cold waters seem to have kept the fish away from the shore this year.
 The weather has been getting better though and after three continuous sunny days (still cold) I thought to give it another go today, as the sun may have stirred things up a bit. I was mainly targeting wrasse on stepped up LRF gear and thus I selected a mark near my house with deep waters, rocky bottom and sheltered from the cold easterly wind we had today. I arrived approximately one hour after high tide and got fishing straight away.
 I wasn't expecting much but thought that I could improve my chances if I used 'searcher' type presentations so that I could cover a lot of water, fast. I prepared a carolina rig, with a 5gr cone weight and an orange bead, followed by a small swivel, 35cm of 15lbs fluorocarbon and a size 2 Nogales Monster Class ultra wide gape offset hook. The lure was a 4" Curly Curly softie by Reins, in Chartreuse silver glitter colour. I begun by casting close-in, as there are two deep gullies but got nothing there...
I moved to fish the head of the rocky outcrop and after a long cast, I waited for the lure to touch bottom on a tight line and started a steady retrieve. I had mostly done stop and go retrieves allowing the lure to stay in one place and move with the flow, but I decided to speed things up this time hoping to tempt a pollock if they were any around. I could feel the lure dragging bottom and as soon as I speed it up I felt something big, fighting in the end of my line.. There was no nibbling and no biting just straight on weight!
The drag was singing and the rod was curved to the limit with the fish giving me a hard fight near the bottom, but slowly I started to gain on it and after a couple minutes I managed to hand-land a beautiful wrasse. I was over the moon as this was my first ballan wrasse and was a decent size as well (more than 2lbs).



The mark.



What a beautie!

After releasing the fish I persisted to cast in the same area and by keeping the same pace of retrieve, I managed to get another one. This fish again took the lure in one go and after a good fight where it refused to get far from the rocks throughout the fight (it hugged the rocks surely looking for a snag) I managed to hand-land it as well. It was smaller than the first (about 700g) but really pretty with vivid colours.

I continued to fish but the tide was getting low and the fish became more finicky, as I had a dropped take and a fish follow to my feet without taking. So I decided to call it a day as I was more than happy with my first couple of fish from the Isle of Sark.
 I was surprised at the fast presentation that these fish preferred as I thought that they would go for a slower one, something I had read many times over the Internet, but that's why its always good to experiment in order to match the type of presentation the fish want at a particular day...
Moreover the determined manner of attack at the lure without nibbles/bites was very surprising as well and indicates a higher predatory/aggressive nature of these fish than I thought before.
To sum up, it was a very enjoyable short session and hopefully, weather permitting I will get more of them soon!

Thanks for reading and tight lines!

Gear used:
Rod: Shimano Exage BX STC Mini Tele Spin, 3-14g 2.40m
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon, 3lbs
Rig: carolina, 5g bullet
lure: Reins Curly Curly, Chartreuse silver glitter, 4"


New mainline tested...

Lately the weather has not been the best, with rain, occasional snow and even sun at times in the same day! Also considering that fish are on spawning mode, the fishing was bound to suffer with a couple blanks and a session saved by little perch. There are signs that spring is close though, as fish activity has increased and some fry has been seen in shallow areas. The perch have done a disappearing act on most spots and even pike are harder to locate/tempt.
I have decided to spool some new fluorocarbon line on my Mitchel Mag Pro 1000, after a year of using my favourite Toray Bawo Superhard Upgrade, due to the continuous cutting and tying new dropshot rigs. I think I was left with like 25m on the reel before reaching the backing! Wanting to try something new I settled for the YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon at 3lbs. Spooling was easy as the line comes in a special compartment that you can easily hold between the toes and the line spool revolves inside it. As soon as I finished getting it on the reel I noticed the expected loose coils that fluorocarbon makes as it has less memory and is so limp. I tried the line the next day and was quite impressed with its behaviour. It casts and ties well (improved clinch knot, trilene and palomar) and is typically low -stretch. One important characteristic that I haven’t seen in other fluorocarbons and surprised me, is that this line is not as sinking as the others. This can be positive or negative according to the technique and presentation, but for dropshot I would tend to class it as a negative. As when fishing I had line sitting on the surface and in tough days or long distance casts this could lead to missed bites. On that day I got two bites and landed the two fish so I'll need further sessions to form a better opinion.

I'm really looking forward to some stable weather and also to some sea fishing since I'm moving to the Channel Islands very soon.
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: dropshot
lure: various