Winters grasp

Can this cold front hold Britain in its grasp for much longer? reading the reports on Sky News this March has been the coldest in over 50 years, now as much as a lot of people me included are concerned that our central heating has been on full blast now for what seems like forever, my thoughts tend to wonder about what damaged this cold grasp is having else where except on our bank accounts,  I remember reading "Hooked On Bass" by Alan Vaughan & Mike Ladle where they briefly mention effects weather and climate can have on future bass stocks, how a good breeding year where natures chemistry is perfect can produce a heavy stock of fish and completely revive stocks, now things may have changed a little since this book was written as commercial pressure has probably double since the book was published, but their points are still valid which brings me to my concerns, and not just for bass stocks but for most if not all fish that breed inshore around the UK.. reading the countless sea fishing related blogs especially lure related that are filling the internet shelves its very apparent that peoples salt water catches have dropped off so much so that a lot of those anglers are now spear heading new methods in the UK fresh water scene, so what could we be expecting in the future years from our sport as a result of this winter? A couple small things I have noticed already is the abundance of small young  flounder in our local harbors and not just Weymouth, could this be because the larger predators are staying out in deeper waters and not venturing into feed? I understand that  now is the time for them to start leaving our estuaries and harbors but over the last five years of fishing many different style of bait and lure tactics I haven't seen them in such an abundance as now... 

This time last year both myself and partner in crime lolly were hitting half decent wrasse and bass regularly and with somewhat ease from such marks as Portland Bill and local Weymouth marks, but this year seems like the fishing gods aren't  ready to pull the starting gun trigger to this years season, as much as I get a kick out of fishing for anything big or small, there are only so many Gobies and Sea Scorpians we can catch before the thirst for something bigger takes hold, so to fill my time as I watch the sea temp slowly rise and in some cases fall (crazy I know) I have embarked on a few new ideas and embracing my passion for photography and filming, I`m no expert at neither but my basic understanding that serves me well, and my camera guru Rob Mears filing in the blanks for me, I should now be able to learn and answer a few questions that roll around in my head when I`m fishing, for example: what is at the bottom of that dark deep gully? why can I only catch a Spotted Gobie from a couple locations, whats holding them there? why do I snag on every cast in the same place? I have dozens of questions I want answers to.. 

Something that has always stuck with me was after a visit to Jersey to fish with pro angler Keith White, sitting round a coffee table before fishing he asked me what I thought was a simple question.. "what sort of ground are you fishing Will?" well my obvious answer was "big rocks and boulders the size of small cars" his reply was the key to me not losing half the tackle as I did before that visit; "what sort of boulders what are they made of, granite, sand stone, flint etc etc etc." the more I fished over the last two years that not so simple questions has ran through my mind at every location I fish as every location is different, from stone type and boulder size to weed type and height, they all have a impact on what rig, bait or lure I should be using, fishing a certain pattern of jig head may work wonders over a soft sandstone ledges and drop offs, but work that same set up over a harder porous more jagged terrain and you could be asking for trouble.

So to help me answer some of these questions for myself and you guys reading this i have acquired Gopro and made a few home made parts to attach it to a telescopic landing net pole, I can now capture some under water footage, before you watch this video bare in mind this is basic test footage and is nothing special,  for those that fish this mark, keep an eye on the blog as me and a couple friends are going to be exploring a lot of the popular local marks like this one.. look for those under water features and snags like ropes etc. 

Fingers crossed, when this season picks up and the weather sorts its self out there will be a lot more footage, like lures and techniques from an under water perspective, I`ve had a few attempts now at trying to capture a fish hitting a lure and its like capturing lighting in a bottle, near to impossible with the current fishing conditions, trying to hold the camera still in swell, finding crystal clear waters, knowing what depth your fishing and filming at.. these are all problems I am learning to overcome one by one. 

So over the last few weeks whats been caught, apart from a stinking cold and something close to hypothermia not a great deal to sing home about, its tough out there and conditions have been the toughest I`ve seen them in years, I managed to get out for a quick session with Iain Turner and Simon Harris which proved very fruit full, I don't know what Simon was using because he racked up a score count with in 3 casts and 3 species, Goby, Pollock and Sea Scorpion while both me and Iain had to settle for a few tiny flounder between us, cant complain at least we were catching, and these fish saved us from a cold blank on a bloody cold night.

Perfect way to finish the evening!

Contradicting myself here a little, I had a couple hours play around some old lakes I used to fish as a nipper, taking just the LRF rods I was shocked at how small the lakes look now I`m a little taller and a lot wider, I used to carp fish these lakes day in day out on my school holidays as my folks used to be busy running a farm, dropping me off at the lakes and picking me up before dark was a easy way to get me out the way, I never used to complain tho. 

It felt very surreal having Lolly there and showing her different tactics like basic float fishing while watching the sun set, made me start feeling like a young kid again, it was a shame  it was super super cold and the fishing again was tough, but we did manage a few roach between us, next time we head there I`m dusting off the bite alarms and carp rods, those fish must have put some weight on in the years I haven't fished for them, I`m also sure Lolly enjoyed her self as she has gone and renewed her license before I have!!! 

Hope you enjoyed the read guys, fingers crossed the fishing picks up and I can get busy again, I have so many ideas for this summer that I`m hoping I have time to make them all happen.

Tight Lines!!

Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained

First of all big apology for the lack of blog posts over the last few weeks, January was one of those months that life and work had to take a stand over fishing, this doesn't happen often, but when it does its normally for good reason, and it has been, to add to the strain the weather hasn't been able to make its mind up and trying to plan a successful trip has been a nightmare, we have had snow, rain, floods and gales that have broken a lot of the met office records for this time of year. On the plus side I've managed to spend a lot more quality time with my folks who live near Cerne Abbas where when they get snow.. Its proper snow! Check out these snaps from one of the walks me and lolly had one weekend, when we took a trip to the pub. 

I have managed a few trips out, one of which saw me Lolly, Iain Turner and Simon Harris head out to Portland bill for a quick LRF Pollock bash , right on queue the Pollock showed up and gave us some sporting fun, nothing to big to sing home about but when fishing has been this poor anything that pulls our string is a bonus.

It also gave me the opportunity to try out a hook presentation I put together a few weeks back, I have to thank Mr Paul Burridge, as after a long conversation about his bait fishing days and giving me tip after tip that certainly got my grey matter sparking,  I  would love to say more about what I learnt but he would properly kill me for giving up his secrets… but I’m in the clear to let you guys see this simple trick.. Honestly since I've used this I've saved a packet on ragworm and imitation lures, they take five minutes to make and cost next to nothing, its not a new idea as the course fishing guys have been using this tip for paste based baits for years, and I've heard of guys also using this tip for mullet when using bread flake. 

Simple and highly effective, even when using  EWG weedless hooks using the spring to lock lures in place that would normally slide off the eye of the hook, especially the likes of Isome and Burkleys Gulp sand worms, which can be a nightmare to fish with standard weedless hooks and Carolina rigs.

Today I managed to do a recon mission with Iain, I've had my eye on this place for a little while now, but never took the time to adventure and cast a line to see what’s out there, and damn how I regret doing so, I've properly driven past this place hundreds of times each year while out on fishing adventures, within my first few casts along a steep drop off that must have a good 12 feet of water at the base, I got the tell tale nibble and bites from a wrasse, striking into the fish saw the Yamaga rod bend double, FISH ON!

After a surprising long scrap this stunner was in my hands, I couldn't drag this fish in as I was only using a 6LB mainline braid with a 10LB leader, check out the missing section of this dudes dorsal fin. Poor guy must have picked a fight with the wrong fish in his earlier years.

We couldn't stay any longer than we did due to a flooding tide that would have cut us off big time, neither of us had  waders on due to thinking our recon mission was going to be more hiking rather than fishing but next time.. Waders will be a must, also i would just like to note.. the above picture makes me look a lot larger than before Xmas, this isn't because of my Xmas dinner but the fact i`m wearing a flotation vest.. just saying.. also please ignore the double chin. 

Hope you enjoyed the read guys, fingers crossed ill get out and fish more in the coming weeks, but I’m sure we have a lot more snow on  the way according to the recent forecast.

Tight lines.

Reminiscing

Boom! World didn’t end, but it certainly got me thinking, what if the world was confirmed it was about to end, have I fulfilled all my dreams? Have I done my best to fulfil the days I’ve had on this planet? Now these sort of questions brew up all sorts of emotions and memories, some good some not so but everyone has a little regret right? I started looking back over the last year and how things have changed for me and what I have learnt about myself and others, as this is a fishing blog I shall keep this as fishing orientated as I can.  

 

This whole Weymouth LRF thing has been a buzz, a lot of people have said that it started because of myself putting in a little effort locally to show a few folk and then all of sudden like a stack of cards it was out of control, which don’t get me wrong is a good thing in the grand scale of the sports future, or is it? Each day that goes by now I’m walking along the harbour bumping into the odd chap here and there fishing and I see all sorts of crazy things, some cool some not so, it’s not in my heart to point out face to face what’s a smart idea and what’s asking for a broken rod, I’m not afraid to admit I annihilated my first LRF rod which was a modest priced tubular carbostar rod, but after that one breakage I leant that these rods require respect, I’ve seen guys running what looks like 10LB braid strait through to the hook on rods weighted .5-5 grams, casting out a ragworm and balancing there rods up against the hand railings of the harbour while they role a cigarette, I wouldn’t even do that even with a soft plastic lure! I know what cruises round in that harbour,  I’ve had carp rods jump off tripods before because I didn’t set the bait runner and it isn’t funny seeing your £*** rod float across the lake.. Or harbour, well it’s funny now I look back but that’s beside the point.

 

 

These rods require respect, a balanced line and leader combo, a smooth reel that can work in unison with the rod delivering line smoothly on the clutch, leader knots can be a headache at the best of times when using light game PE, but practice makes perfect, I used to stand at a CNC machine for hours practicing my knots until I had it perfect to the point I could almost tie it blind folded, I saw this knot pop up on Henry Gilbey`s  FaceBook page and it may look complex but has proven over the last month to be a beast of a knot with the light Game PE lines.

 

 

So going back to reminiscing.. as much I am concerned with the approach some people are taking to using these light rods, I have also looked into my own fishing and “profile” as they like to call it in the trade, things changed when I jumped onboard with Ecogear/Marukyu, not necessarily in a bad way, just a side step in a direction that was a little against my grain, and after a short time working with them I have decided to part company, not for any other reasons but personal reasons, the Ecogear product range is fantastic, it’s been a great ride and I thank them for the opportunities they gave me, I made some good friends and it was great to be given an insight into what goes on behind the scenes. I feel looking back now that the bubble of profile building can become obsessive and more about your exposure to the market and how good you look rather than your skill as an angler, photographer or writer, now I don’t consider myself a pro at any of these aspects of modern day angling but I can hand on my heart tell you that getting to caught up in the mills mess of it all takes the passion away from your angling.

 

 

 

 

So to prove there was no ill feelings or anything between me and Ecogear/Marukyu team, I was joined by one of Marukyu reps John Hall for a few hours fishing in Weymouth harbour, it was fantastic to realise that not everyone you meet in the bubble of the industry doesnt looks at you as a money spinner, I have actually made a good friend in John, as much as he’s a fantastic angler he’s a top guy and great laugh.

 

 

Check out John here with his first ever Flounder and Whiting, I’m sure he was made up with this catch as this was our number one target as the conditions were so poor to fish anywhere else.

 

 

So between the flounder and the whiting we had a number of micro species from scorpion fish to black gobys, after a little research I found out this was a sand goby, one of those species we normally put back thinking it’s just another gody, for anyone in the Weymouth LRF species League this counts as one point so being able to identify each species is a must. Know your fish!

 

 

We have also had our first Weymouth LRF post from Mr Iain Turner about his outing with Simon Harris, I’m really hoping this website takes off and the guys that make the LRF scene what it is have some input.. Like I said at the beginning of the post the Weymouth LRF thing is out of control now and there are people out there catching fish left right and centre and making the scene what it is... This is the place for anyone who wants to tell their story to the world.

Click HERE and check it out.

 

Anyone that wants to post a report or any pictures please just email me HERE.

Today I was meant to head out to some lakes I haven’t fished in over ten years, all these pictures of anglers holding perch has made me start thinking about fresh water again, long lost are my days of carp fishing and float fishing for roach... but why didn’t I make it to the lakes?? Because my mummy promised me this, the best farm house roast dinner a son could ever wish for, puts Matt Jones`s cooking to shame.. Over an out guys.

 

 

Make Hay While The Sun Shines

What a mixed week of weather we are having, torrential rain, sub zero temperatures and high winds, could it get any worse...? Well they are saying that the world is going to end on the 21^st of this month, be it a giant asteroid, solar flare, the beginning of a new ice age or some other apocalyptic event like Facebook crashing or Macdonalds running out of double cheese burgers, the one I’m looking forward to the most is the zombie apocalypse, yes Call Of Duty has been preparing us for this event for years now, and right now I’m watching a program on TV about preppers..  I’ve got my bug out bag sorted, worm weights check, hooks check, soft lures check, hard lures check, can of Redbull check, sorted! Right enough rambling or I might start sounding like Matt Jones, so how’s the fishing been...

Times have been tough the past week with the poor weather,  the shorter days mean I only get weekends to fish day light hours due to working Monday to Friday 7 till 4, which can see me forced to fish the sheltered harbours and beaches with the lighter gear rather than hunting down the winter wrasse which are still showing in good numberS. Fingers crossed for some decent weather over the xmas break, where I will be making good use of having 10 days off work! my last proper outing on the Portland rocks marks saw me give the Major Craft KGLights rod (rated 1-10g) an absolute spanking, the first few hours of fishing round Portland bill saw me land a handful of smaller wrasse on Marukyu Isome and small Grass Minnows.

 

It was only when I used a good old fashioned ragworm head hooked on a size 16 hook did the bigger fish show their faces, first few casts saw me bend the KGLights double, seriously this rod has a backbone and can put the pressure on a decent fish, watching the solid tip slowly bend with little resistance to the point you know the fish has the lure/bait in its mouth, but doesn’t realise its hooked is something I’ve never experienced with a tubular rod.

 

 

I was joined by Mr Craig Allington just in time before the fishing cooled down, we must have had four or five fish each, with a couple of decent sized 2-3LB wrasse, I had one fish that felt and ran like it was easily 4LB plus, but handed my back side to me on a plate. Both me an Craig were absolutely gutted that we didn’t get to see this fish because the 20 second or more fight it put up was epic.

I was lucky enough this past week to be invited to the Portland Sea Angling Group`s annual group meet as I have been asked by Mr Paul Burridge to help out with some LRF, HRF & plugging teach and show days for the club, which for the progression of the sport I’m happy to do so, the club has already been given so much support for Lure fishing by Chesil Bait n Tackle and major suppliers Tronix and Ecogear, there are plans ahead to get schools and youth clubs onboard and charity events throughout the year,  the one thing that stood out big time at this meet was the awareness of catch and release which is something I’m a firm believer in, yes there is a lot of politics revolving around scoring for comps and leagues etc, but for the future  of our sport, it`s a positive move that we may not see the benefits from but our children and grandchildren will.

The New Year will see me putting up a few different styles of blog posts, with guest writers and interviews with some of the top anglers who you hear about, so to kick things off I would like to introduce my partner in crime Lauryn AKA Lolly Pop.

 

Now looking back over this year, we have had our ups and down with health and life, but this girl has proven herself as an angler and has put more time in on the water than most of the guys I know, taking all the harsh conditions, slips and falls in her stride, there has been blood sweet and tears... literally! Having to deal with my style of teaching isn’t always the preferred style of many, but she has listened and learnt, picked up the books I’ve shown her, read the websites and links that I would email her and sourced much of her own reading material to learn from. Being a mother of 2 and holding down a fulltime job she makes me proud to fish alongside her... so here is Lollys story of her first Flounder which I am glad to say was caught on Lure.

 

You know sometimes you just get that 'fishy feeling' ? Well Sunday evening was a day for that feeling. I'd been determined not to end 2012 having not caught a lovely wonky faced flounder and with less than 3 weeks left of the year I was cutting it fine!

We headed down to weymouth harbour to a stretch of sand/mud bottomed sea where a good few flounder have been caught over the last few months.

 

 

Using my MajorCraft Solpara I set up with a size 10 hook on 3lb fluorocarbon and half an XL red Marukyu Isome with 2 AAA splitshot weights: one on the 'nose' of the lure and one 2/3 inches further up the line.

I fished the water within 20ft of where I was stood as if there is one thing i’ve learnt from watching others catch flounder its that they usually hang out within a few feet of the harbour wall.

 

 

Bopping the lure on the bottom in a similar way to wrasse fishing with the occasional more pronounced 'lift' to bring the lure a few feet off the sea bed seems a favoured method for catching the attention of flounder... presumably because of their upside down faces and because of their bottom dwelling nature they like to see their food swim above their heads!. Before long I felt the most bizarre bite ever... A strong distinct pull in place of the usual 'tap tap tap' I’ve become used to feeling. This initial pull was followed by further firm 'pulls'

 Bringing the fish gently to the surface and catching the first glimpse of what this ‘pulling’ thing was i was so excited when i saw it was the elusive flounder that i’d been chasing for what seemed like an eternity: and just in the nick of time!  I'd done it!! Nearly... Just had to land it now!

 As it came up to the surface, as seems characteristic of flat fish it shied from the street light and headed back down! Loosening my drag off in an attempt to prevent the hook from pulling or the light line from breaking I let the fish take line and eventually with a little coaxing i got it over to Will who was waiting with a net. This now leaves my species count for 2012 at a nice round 20 :-D Phew! Mission accomplished! Next please :-P

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed that guys, something a little different than me waffling on, this last Tuesdays LRF meet saw us have some visitors from as far as Bath, Adam Venn, Steve Spencer, Tim Evans and this guy Jim who I bumped into a few months back and spoke about LRF and all things lure related.

 

 

Fishing was extremely tough, according to the weather man it was the coldest night of the year, I managed a few gobys on bait and lure and a few others on the LRF meet caught a couple Pollock and whiting using isome, fingers crossed these guys come back for another visit in the spring when conditions are a little warmer and the fishing is a darn sight better!

 

Hope you enjoyed the read folks, I’m hoping I shall be able to write another blog post between now and Xmas, but if I don’t I wish you all a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!

 

P.S. Here are a few gift ideas for anyone who hasn’t got me a present yet....