Well I’m hoping there is nobody at home while I upload this blog post because conditions seem almost to good to be true, a WSW wind, spring tides and high pressure, after a quick walk round a few local marks the water clarity has that gin clear colour we all wish for.. Check out this video I took at Portland Bill Late Thursday morning (I heard some guy apparently had a double earlier in the morning at the bill, not surprised with conditions this perfect! P.s. I also heard a well know angler caught some wrasse on SP as well… Well done that man!!)
Does it get any better?? Yup if only I didn’t have man flu! Like most anglers stuck at home, I have to do something fishing related be it service the reels, sharpen hooks or repaint some lures. But I decided to take a trip down the tackle shop an grab some new shads an hooks and show you guys some of my prep work before the season starts..
I’m rather pedantic an OTT over my preparations when lure fishing and everything has to be perfect from step 1, If I can afford to buy Hard lures for up to and over £20 then I can put that extra effort into rigging up my soft plastics an getting the best from them. I’m using here the Delalande 6 shad GT 9CM in Nacre Bleute with Decoy Ex Heavy Offset Rock Fish hooks size 1/0, when buying hooks and lures like these I like to pair them up in the tackle shop, Buying online can be a gamble unless you know from experience the tackle you are buying pair up nicely.
A few bits are missing in this photo… but you will need, hooks, shads, pen, sharp knife, Vaseline.
Firstly I like to sight up the hook with the shad, and mark up the curve of the hook length maintaining the bend of the hook is within the 1/3rd to ½ the length of the lure. Then mark a diagonal line back to the hook shank. Be sure not to take this cut to far forward as to leave plenty for the hook to pierce the nose of the lure.
Next take your sharp knife an make the cut, I like to use a scalpel as the blades are thin an a more accurate cut can be achieved. Try to keep the cut central and neat as an angular cut can cause the hook position to twist the lure body creating an uneven swimming pattern.
Next up thread your hook through the nose of the lure and back through the belly slice, again make sure your hook is central.. I’m a firm believer that the curve of the hook acts as a vane an assists casting distance and accuracy. I like to fill up the belly slice and coat the hook point with Vaseline ensuring that the hook can cleanly move through the lure when a fish bites, also if skinning the hook point in the lure will allow for a clean application. Also Vaseline comes in all colours and flavours, here I’m using the Rose Vaseline creating the impression of stomach in the lure. Plus the added flavour?? Who knows it might help catch a few fish. You will be surprised at how long Vaseline will remain inside the lure.. I’ve used the same lure for around 60 casts and that belly is still full..
When I’m feeling on top form again I shall show how I rig an weight this set up out on the water..
Just a quick update on the new Quantum EXOpt reel… I’ve had no problems what so ever with this reel, 3 months of heavy use and the reel is still dead smooth and the line lay fantastic, I haven’t had one wind knot with Nanofil or YGK PE braid. All was going well until this happened…
From what I can see looking at the replacement provided by Chesil Bait n Tackle there is a single snap ring holding the casing and bearings in place.. I have no idea what could have gone wrong, maybe the snap ring was a lose fit.. I would have reassembled the casing but all the internal parts ended up in the drink.. Doh!
Until the next time guys I got a bad case of man flu to nurse..
Just thought I’d put a link up for THE LUREFAIR 2012 at Derby University on the 28th of April. Britain really needs more shows like this especially in the South West. If you have the day off and are local then please come along and support the lure angling communities, all the information can be found on the home page (click here). Hope to see some of you guys there..
I went to the County Game show at Shepton Mallet last year and had a blast walking round the fly fishing stands, but I was frankly disappointed at the amount of stands representing the lure fishing market. You only need to scan the forums and online shops to see how bass fishing, HRF and LRF are taking off in the uk and abroad.
When I’m out on my travels along the coast, I keep coming across more and more anglers switching over from the mainstream Course fishing, Sea Bait fishing an Fly fishing and enduring the harsh terrain and challenges of Bass Fishing. Its these anglers I take my hat off to, to take a step out of the norm and setting them selves new challenges is inspiring in its self. When I first moved to Weymouth the ocean was like the ultimate challenge for me, I spent days sat behind rod rests chasing carp or watching a float on the harbour, but put a lure rod in my hands and let me walk miles of coast line and I am never more happier..
I Cant emphasize how much I get a kick out of fishing LRF, for a method so simple and adaptable, it doesn’t take much to learn a few tricks and bag a few fish. the fact that the air temperature has dropped below freezing this weekend and the wind has swung round bringing the cold air from the North East, LRF was in my opinion my best chance of a fish or two. I also had a chance to pass along the little knowledge I have of this style to an old school friend of mine and partner in crime Lauren. Who is more used to hauling up fish on a boat or using a tree trunk to find mackerel on chesil. I wasn’t sure she would like the concept of standing at the harbour side in -3 conditions. But she stuck at it until we both couldn’t feel our feet and fingers anymore. She’s a Trooper!
We decided we could get out of the harsh as nails winds by fishing the south side of the Weymouth pleasure pier and taking shelter on the small steps in front the condor. I’ve fished here many times fishing LRF and had plenty of Pollock on small hard lures and SP`s. One of my favourite lures to fish this mark is the Savage gear prey 69 lure for mackerel and school bass in the summer using light tackle.
I decided to make a few changes to my standard routine, keeping things as simple as I can not to make things to complex for Lauren to learn I decided to use 1g size 6 jig heads with a size BB split shot 2 inches up the 2LB fluorocarbon leader. The one last major change I made from the norm was to use ragworm instead of sp`s, reason being I didn’t want to waste time showing Lauren different retrieves and swapping and changing lures.. I wanted her to feel for shy bites in the dark and not to rely on watching a rod tip. It didn’t take her long before she pulled out her first ever LRF caught fish the humble Pollock. She played this fish like a pro, and it was a welcome sound to hear the spool spinning as this fish dived amongst the wooden pier stands.
A few things that we noticed as the night drew on was the different depths that different species were feeding. Pollock were feeding very high up in the water, deeper than 5ft an all we could catch where micro Pout, to trigger a bite from the pout we had to activate the rod tip with a 6 inch sink and draw letting out a little more line every few lifts of the rod tip.
After a few hours of Pollock and Pout I decided to fish the jig head on the bottom, I mention earlier that we used a BB split shot 2inches from the jig, reason for this was when fishing on the bottom, the heavier BB hits bottom first effectively letting your lure sink more naturally and to rest on top of any weed and snags..
After a few cast this stunning Rock goby rattled our rod tip. I haven’t ever seen a goby with such a bright dossal fin before, makes me think a little harder on what colour lures I might try using next time I go out with the HRF gear….
Well after a long week at work I thought I’d get out, get some fresh air and stretch my legs, obviously not forgetting my fishing gear. Thought I’d check out a mark that’s a short drive from Weymouth, had some luck here last year on high waters but never had a chance to check it out over low water. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the ledges and gullies running out to sea. Apart from the dropping air temperature and low tide, conditions seemed rather good. I haven’t just walked over a slippery boulder field not to have a cast or two. After a few dozen casts working my way up the bay in which the wind was pushing into I had a huge thump and run. I wouldn’t say I’m religious but I was praying this fish doesn’t jump the hook like the fish I lost on Chesil last week, But after a few short runs this healthy bass of 3.3LB came ashore. that’s my first ever January bass!!
Lure of choice was the IMASasuke SF-95 in rainbow pearl, for such a small lure the distance this lure will cover using 8 strand braid is outstanding. Currently though im giving the Berkleys new Nanofill line a good thrashing, so far.. I am casting just as far as braid an I haven’t had one wind knot, this stuff is super super thin, offers smooth accurate casting and comes at a price cheaper than most braids. Bargain! more to follow..
Hope you enjoyed the read, fingers crossed for the rest of the weekend.
