Aside from getting out in the boat I still find time to indulge in an hours LRF a few evenings a week. As with most of the fishing in my part of the world it is still early for the host of mini-species available to the LRF angler at this time of the year but nevertheless I can’t help myself and with rod, reel and a small amount of lure I will wander around the harbours trying to add to my yearly species tally.
Notes
Wrasse Fishing Afloat
I am in limbo a bit at the moment. After some good Plaice fishing a few weeks ago I find April a funny month to fish on the boat so I often find myself fishing without any real aim or target. This is not a problem, provided I am fishing I am happy but a few very quiet sessions do knock the confidence a bit and no more so than when I am lure fishing. Not that it is all bad, we have seen a few fish on the boat and maybe more importantly we are fine tuning how to present certain lures in certain ways from a boat in readiness for some more productive fishing. Even so, its nice to get a take and put a bend in the rod so we have been fishing some inshore marks where there is always a variety of fish to catch.
One of the better Wrasse so far on the boat fell to Pete on an X-layer and gave a good account of itself on light tackle.
LRF Plymouth Style
During a recent visit to catch up with the good people at Art of Fishing in Plymouth we had to have a little dabble in the excellent LRF that Plymouth and the surrounding area has to offer. Not though before we had spent plenty of time and maybe a few pennies in the new lure only shop the Ben and Jo along with Matt have created. Now I have not been given cake in a tackle shop before but then I have not attended an opening day of a tackle shop before so it may be the etiquette, either way the cake/fishing tackle combo is one that works for me!
Mullet on LRF
What I love about LRF is just how versatile it can be, last summer I would often nip out of an evening with just a rod, reel and my shoulder bag and squeeze an hours fishing in and more often than not be rewarded with a couple of species for my efforts. So far this year I have not had so much luck, it has been a slow LRF year for me and the mini species I love to catch are taking way too much time to become active for my liking, so, out of desperation (and buzzed by a new LRF rod purchase!) I thought I would try for one of my long-term targets, an LRF Mullet.
Lure Fishing For Plaice
I admit to doing flatfish a disservice over the years, traditionally Plaice fishing in my part of the world was a wait and see affair. Yes I would decorate traces with beads and sequins and yes I would use huge spoons to attract a fish to my worm baits but I never considered them true predators, this as it turns out could not be further from the truth. Of course these were the thoughts of my pre-lure days and now soft plastics have turned sea angling on its head Plaice along with most other species are a very real target and this spring fresh from a very long winter we were ready for our first real assault on the red-spots.
Jigging For Bass
By Dan Sissons
Lure fishing in the UK is firmly associated with Bass and even though my fascination with using lures stems from HRF/LRF it was inevitable that I would be drawn to targeting Bass from the boat. Over the years I have fished for Bass with live baits and although it can produce terrific results, fishing a live sandeel on a 12ft plus trace with 6-8oz of lead on a 12-20lb class rod always seemed a bit clumsy. I wanted to catch Bass from a boat on similar tackle to which I catch them from the shore, a 6-7ft 10-30 gram rod teamed with a 3000 fixed spool and 6lb braid,the trouble we have in the boat is tide, and lots of it.
Coiled Spring
In some ways this time of year, just before spring is the best time of the year. Some of my favourite fishing is so close I can almost smell the sea air. After what seemed like the longest February ever I will finally be getting out on my boat or wandering the beaches as often as the weather (and the wife) allows!