Cornish LRF Wrasse Mission

With little swell predicted, decided to fish an exposed  deep water, rough ground mark, for the chance to target some Wrasse on the LRF tackle. The fishing would be done almost vertical, in the deep gullies that line this particular bit of the West Cornwall coastline. A brisk walk along the cliff tops, and then scrambling down to the granite lumps, started out by fishing small 2″ BugAnts weedless, Texas style.

The water was very clear, but the surface was chopped up from the strengthening wind. With the tide just starting to push from low, the first knock resulted in a good hook up, and my first Wrasse landed. With this particular gully going quiet, made the move to a spot which has thrown up good fish in the past, a deceptively deep trench, which is fed at one end by a fresh water stream, from up high above. Casting out, and with what seems an age for the the lure to reach the bottom, the Wrasse were hungry, and I was soon into some action. Had four Wrasse in this quick session, the fish all fighting well on the light tackle, great fun and looking forward to more soon!

09-02-2012 – Fresh

Fished for a few hours on Thursday, at Cornwall’s Porth Reservoir. When I met Paul bright and early, I was feeling super confident; as it happens, this place is turning to be something of a curse for me and the fishing was about as tough as it gets! Paul managed to snag a few Brown Trout and a micro Perch from the stream where I also managed to lure out a blank saving Trout and also lost a small Perch. To rub salt in the wound, Ben turned up late (as always), carrying his lures in a carrier bag like a hobo fisherman. He had the last laugh though, when he managed to snag a couple Jacks in the hour or so he was there. Jammy ***!

Fresh ‘n Salt

Had a great day out today with my good fishing buddy Shaun Scipio aka “sluggo”. We had formed a plan to hit a reservoir to target Pike in the morning and then go for some Wrasse in the afternoon.

The weather was stunning and the water clarity was great at the reservoir but we walked the whole of one side and 1/3 of the other side casting all the way before I managed to get hit. The fish felt good and it put up a good fight before I landed it. It went 6.5lb and is my best Pike in the last year.

6.5lb Pike

Close up

Next it was Shauns turn to get hit. While fishing in a shallow bay he spotted a fish careering towards hit lure that took him and tail walked across the water, while doing this it shook the hook. No matter as on his second cast the same fish nailed the lure. A feisty Jack Pike of around 2lb. We then covered the rest of the reservoir with no more fish showing so we grabbed some lunch and planned the afternoon ahead.

The drive from the reservoir to the coast is a very short one and we were on the Wrasse mark very quickly. The tides were not in our favour for the next couple of hours but we knew when the tide did eventually turn from low slack water the fishing would improve. As soon as I noticed the tide had turned I got nailed by a good Wrasse that took me to ground and snagged me up. The fish came off and I managed to get my gear back but it wasn’t too long before I was In again. This one stuck and I managed to keep it from the kelp and snags. The next few hours were a fairly constant stream of fish up to just over 3lb. Shaun and I took 15 fish between us on various stick baits rigged on weighted weedless jigheads. We were really pleased with the results as both fish targets were taken for the both of us and the weather was stunning for a late January day.

First Foray Into Freshwater

I have never fished a fresh water venue before, so I jumped at the chance to meet up with Matt N at a Cornish Reservoir, and spend a day hunting for new species. Getting my one-day license online the night before, paying the day visitors pass for the Reservoir, selection of small plugs and light fishing kit in hand, it was off to check the water conditions and cast a few lures.

The wind was blowing, a lot harder than predicted, but I was assured the water clarity was good, so confidence was high. Few words of wisdom from Matt on where to search out the fish, and it was game on, walking the path, fanning out the casts at each peg. We had it covered with me using various small plugs, and Matt fishing spinner baits and soft lures.

It was a while till we found the first fish of the day, casting short near the bank, I had a take. Excited to see what my first fresh water catch would be, as it came to the surface, a small Jack of around 2lb, and Matt netted it, for the unhooking and photo. We fished on, both sides of the Reservoir, trying different things, but no more fish. So Matt grabbed his light gear, and we fished for Perch in a weir pool, lots of knocks, but difficult to keep a fish on. Managed to land just one small Perch myself, really stoked to catch such a cool looking fish. A small run off stream nearby had Matt’s interest, and he floated a small plug downstream, and on his first retrieval, was hit by a Brown Trout. He went onto repeat this twice more further down, with the fish  bigger each time.

Heading home in the car, reflecting on the session, was happy to have caught my first fresh water fish, extremely happy that it was a Pike and Perch, the fish I really wanted to target. Big thanks to Matt  for the heads up on the day, and looking forward to bigger and better fish in the future.

The sun is shining…

And the weather is sweat… Not sure what sort of Winter you guys are experiencing, but around these parts right now, it’s positively balmy. A stark contrast to last years snow, ice and generally low temperatures. The fish seem to be enjoying it too! Last night while fishing an LRF session, I had 4 Mackerel in relatively shallow water. Totally out of sync with last Winters lure fishing. My fingers and toes are all crossed, in the vain hope that we avoid any sudden crashes in temperatures. I don’t like the cold and neither do the fish!

Post Christmas Pike Hunt

I’ve been meaning to get round to targeting Pike for some time now, I guess that living on the coast sometimes makes it hard to tear yourself away from the usual salt water targets available on your doorstep. When the opportunity arose to head up to Somerset with Jim O’Donnell and predator guru Danny Parkins, I jumped straight at it. Danny’s knowledge of his local waters is immense and he put us on the fish at each venue we visited. I enjoyed a great day of laid back fishing and banter, with the bonus of landing my first Pike(s). Danny stole the show though with a nice double! Great fun for sure and I’ll definitely be setting more time aside for these beats in the future. Thanks for a great day out guys!

Pre-festive fun – Falmouth & Fowey, December 2011

A very last minute day out on the shoreline with Luke and Shaun (the voodoo fish whisperer!) turned out to be up there with some of the best sessions this year. When your day goes: bacon and eggs, brutish virgin wrasse, Rick Stein’s fish and chips, mental amounts of fish in the dark, beer – you know it has been special! Continue reading »

LRF Photoshoot – Plymouth, November 2011

A few weeks back a group of us met with angling journalist/ photographer, Jim O’Donnell. The aim of the day was to try and showcase the ever growing UK LRF/ Light Game/ Ultralight lure fishing scene, with view to make a feature in Total Sea Fishing magazine. The fishing was consistent throughout the day, with plenty of mini species keeping us (and Jim) entertained. Though I was keen to fish for the day, I also wanted to capture some video along the way (see below).

Gastronomy, gobies and glory!……….

When you get an email from someone asking if you’d like to make a skirmish across the channel and enter a lure fishing competition in France, the very last thing you expect is for them to inform you that this will in fact be happening in less than two weeks time. This is exactly what happened though. Even more surprising was the fact that only 4 days in advance of our journey, the ferry and accommodation had only just been confirmed(at least we know what to expect for future trips when Ben is at the helm). Our destination; Benodet, France for the No Stress Fishing, Ecogear/ Pescanautic Trophée Rockfishing.

Continue reading »

Kernow Expedition

Despite my massive hangover, I made the journey to the south Cornwall coast yesterday to meet up with Luke Fox, Matt Jones, John Barriball and John’s daughter. The target; Wrasse. The weather was great(though the bright sunshine didn’t do my raging headache any favours) and conditions looked perfect to haul a few of these brutes out of the reefs. There is some truly awesome ground down that way, though the access leaves much to be desired for a lazy git like me- forcing yourself down through non-existent gorse bush paths and then tip toeing down some rather precarious foot holds that seem to be entirely constructed of soft moss or something – hence the title ‘Kernow Expedition’. The Wrasse were obliging and plenty of fish were caught, with best fish(4lb+) going to Luke and Matt J(3lb). Catch of the day though had to go to John’s 9 year old daughter, who skillfully played and landed a nice Wrasse. Well done! A great day out in great company. That’s what its all about.

Back from France…

After our France trip, Matt N and I were keen to try some local waters with lessons learned across the channel.  I did learn a lot while we were away as the way of fishing was much more focused on the shorter range stuff. As a result Plymouth took a bit of a close range beating. Multiple Goby species, Blennies, Goldsinney Wrasse, Pouting and Pollack all made land. Great fun passing the chilled out bars at night. Made me want to stop for a french style coffee. Next time.