Idle Hands . . . . . .

In case some of you have been living under a rock for what feels like the longest winter in history: easterlies, gales and ground seas have pretty much ruined all hope/opportunity of fishing recently. So apart from sulking, swearing and wishing I lived somewhere warmer I decided to really think about my approach to HRF-i.e. wrassin with softies! 

I cut my teeth in lure fishing as a kid in South Africa, when I was introduced to bass fishing for fresh water large mouth black bass by watching friends, then "idols" on ESPN and various other satellite channels, I soon mimicked what they did, how and why. It didn't take long to work my way through a succession of outfits until settling on a baitcasting duo-pretty standard stuff given the style of fishing.

So...what the hells that got to do with this HRF lark? Well the similarities between freshwater largemouth bass and wrasse are undeniable! 

Behavior, aggression, territorial-ness(!), their love for structure and features to name but a few. Both can be forced to hit lures, both will definitely strike something to satisfy their inquisitive nature, and of course both engulf lures mistaking them for food. 

What then about the method...?

Jigs, soft plastics, carolina, texas...sound familiar...? All born out of freshwater bass fishing. Yes, this is no revelation I know. We are all familiar with some similarities in the rigging methods and the lures themselves, so what's my point? Why do we copy every aspect of a freshwater method of fishing for a fish which is so similar to FW bass, use the same techniques, but we use different rods and reels!?

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to use baitcasting gear! Better casting accuracy. Better sensitivity/feel(imho). Better choice of rods-albeit on the USA market mostly. So if it's Better-Better-Better, why aren't we all doing it? There is a common misconception that these little baitcasters are a 'mare to cast/control, and have no place in windy conditions, but that is far from reality. Most modern middle-of-the-road baitcasters come with centrifugal and magnetic brakes plus spool tensioning knob; so yes, that's three means of effectively taming these unruly little devils. With too much time on my hands due to crap conditions, I had to satisfy my fishing obsession online, with "important research" on the matter. And that's where it got tricky. Not much tackle or info available for this "niche" in the UK. With a little help and advice on various forums and Facebook groups (thank you Mike Sullivan!), I eventually bought an Abu Revo stx gen 3, a mouthful, but a masterpiece in engineering!

The other misapprehension is that baitcasters don't have the cranking power, drag or robustness as they are, after all, born out of the freshwater scene. This reel is not the best available by any stretch, rather a good mid-range example of what is available these days : 11 bearings, choice of 3 different gear ratios, a massive 20lb max drag and aluminium main (ct) frame. All suggest that they are more than capable of handling our beloved rock pigs. I still lust after my "perfect" baitcast rod, and the more  research I do the longer my shortlist gets, so when I came across a second hand option at a good price I snapped it up in the form of a  Majorcraft Days 7ft heavy BC rod. Not perfect, but will tide me over while the search continues!

Now, before this goes any further, I am not discounting spinning reels altogether saying that you must switch immediately or you will get lost in the constantly churning gears of this evolving machine that is HRF. Lets face it, this-like all forms of fishing- need only be as simple or as complicated as we choose to make it. But with too much fishing "down time" and a mind that's enslaved by tides, tackle, techniques and ways of improving, this seemed to me a very obvious move to make. I have only had one proper little session with this new set-up and two aborted sessions (one in 25mph SE-desperate times!) so maybe it's too soon to say that I am fully converted, although I can't see myself ever turning back. I am yet to have an over-wind that needed more than a yard of braid (yes I am using braid which supposedly is impossible) to clear. No issues with digging in, unless pulling for a break directly onto the spool-which you should never do with braid no matter what the reel. It just feels a far more natural and intuitive set-up than my dedicated HRF combo, and is far more enjoyable to use. Granted this may come from an extensive background with this type of gear, but, if YOU know someone who has a BC set-up- borrow it, crank the mags up, engage the centrifugal brakes and let her rip...you may never look back! 

Tightlines all, until next time - Neil

 

AT LAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God where do I start!!!!!!! This winter must have been my worst ever with regards to fishing, I simply havent been for months and apparently have been a total nitemare to be around (sorry)!! What with the strong easterlies then big southerly gales and the enevitable groundseas it has been impossible to get out with any hope of safety or actually believing that you will catch anything!!!! Slowly but surely things are a changing and it cant come soon enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With the water temperatures still way down on last year it has been noticeable from the distinct lack of sandeels and bait fish resulting in fewer sea birds around the islands and the numbers of pollack caught have been the lowest for years! Finally with our weather finally deciding to settle we should all see the catches improving day to day. Even the wrasse, our usually ever obliging soft plastic quarry have been almost non-existant and certainly far from their aggressive feeding best of last year but yesterday was the start of things as I actually managed to get out for a few hours (yes for those that had thought I had sold all my gear and started knitting, I havent but have been dormant).

I decided to head out under the airport to the marks that hadnt let me down all last year, water clarity was unbelievably good, best I have seen this year in fact and if I could remember how to fish I felt in with a chance!! Starting out with the Major Craft Crostage I rigged up a small crawfish pattern called Ghost Shrimp texas style and within a few casts and the odd missed bite (the expected rustiness from lack of fishing) I had the slamming over and the first of many wrasse was brought to the landing net.

Several small wrasse followed before I decided to move in the hope of finding some larger fish with the dropping tide.

A change to a new as yet un-named soft plastic from Jackslrf which certainly looked the business brought more success.

Notice the blue spots appearing on the fins and dorsal tail, a sure sign that the wrasse are starting to spawn.
This fish put up a decent scrap as it tried to find sanctuary in its rocky home. Now that I was back in the groove I changed over to my new toy, a Century 7'7'' Vectura-Ti. I got this rod purely for the big wrasse that Ive hooked and lost before. It will be put through its tests over the coming year but it certainly feels powerful, way more powerful than the Century HPR 7'3'' model that I have used before. This new range of rods are based on the exact same blanks as the HPR's just with the new 3M Powerlux™ resin system used and have the much improved Titanium SiC guides fitted as standard. I made several casts with the new rod and found it a joy to use and was certainly more than a match for many small wrasse up to 3lbs.

A final move back across the bay for the start of the flood saw the wrasse continue to snap up the lures being offered and were of a slightly better stamp with a couple of 4lb fish bending and testing the Vectura.

Things were starting to go quiet so I decided on having the last cast when I hooked the biggest fish of the session, not massive but at 5lbs it made the trip all the worth while.

All in all it was great to be back out on the rocks and even more pleasing was that I hadnt blanked. Now all I have to do is learn how to take photos again and everything will be ok!!!!!!!!!!

BLOWING AWAY THE COBWEBS

As with most if not everyone, this weather is really getting to me! When I look back on last winters diary it is frightning to see how little I have been out fishing this year due to gale after gale!!! I had to get out on sunday as cabin fever was setting in. Problem was it has been so bad around the islands this last week that I had to search the entire coastline to find some clear water, I honestly cant remember it ever being this stirred up and dirty!!!

I eventually found some shelter and clear water at the corner of Porthhellick, a spot that hasnt really been the same since it was netted by somebody for wrasse to freeze down for pot bait, but it was the only place to fish so I had to give it a go. I set up with the Century HPR 7'3'' and a texas rigged Jacks 4'' Hog in the Craw Swirl, (a lure that worked particularly well at this venue last winter) completed the set up. The sea was starting to discolour as the tide covered the boulder strewn brow so I wasnt going to get long before heading home.

With my polaroids on I could see afew fish starting to appear, moving over the boulders and after a couple of casts the wrasse came on  the feed.

Admitedly they werent the biggest wrasse that I have ever caught, but after an age of not fishing, they were very welcome indeed!!!!

I saw a better sized fish almost at my feet so cast to where I thought it was heading towards and bang, a much better sized wrasse was soon heading towards the landing net.

At 4.8lbs it certainly was worth braving the elements for and after recovering in a rock pool I took the opportunity to test out my new cameras underwater feature. Something that I will be trying a great deal more over the coming weeks.

By now the sea had come over the boulders and the water was too dirty to fish effectively so it was time to head home. At least I hadnt blanked and had finally managed to blow the cobwebs off the tackle-roll on the spring I say!!!!!!!!

LONG TERM TESTING OF CENTURY HPR LURE ROD

I have used and abused various beachcasters from the Century stable for years and years. Many years ago it was the Ignitor, then the Fireblade Sports for all my rough ground fishing for Huss and Rays, the Tip Tornados for lighter beach work and these days I have a pair of TTR's for all my tournament casting. No matter which rod, they have never let me down landing plenty of fish from all over the South West and around the Isles of Scilly and casting my leads on the field to new pbs!  

Nowadays, my fishing is mainly for wrasse and pollack around the islands using soft plastics and various techniques. It is all about catching fish using lighter tackle to get the most enjoyment out of the sport and of course, having fun!! When I heard that Century had designed a range of lure rods, specifically aimed at lure fishing for bass, pollack and wrasse I was eager to see one for myself and to try one!!  What was even better to hear was that the rod was developed with the help of Keith White, his brother Kevin and the rest of a band of serious lure anglers over in Jersey who had got on board with what Century wanted to do. This meant by the time us punters were getting the rod it had already been tested to the maximum and landed some serious fish!!! 

I had to try one and my old mate Andy Kendrick very generously lent me his prized rod to have a go with over the winter and to see how I got on with it, well mate I am afraid that you cant have it back!!! 

There are basically three rods in the Century HPR range, 7'3'', 7'7'' and a 9' and each one is rated to handle different weights. Question is what does HPR actually mean?? Well put simply, High Performance Resin. These rods are up to 35% stronger with this new resin, whilst still maintaining the desirable action and most importantly flex! Another bonus is that the new system is almost twice as hard as conventional resins meaning it resists scuffs and surface knocks much better - perfect for me and rock fishing!!

The rod I have been using is the 7'3'' model which is rated to cast 3.5-25g. Over the last few months, I have put the rod through its paces, admittedly it did take a little bit of getting used to as it is a very different rod to what I have been using. When I say different, I dont mean in a bad way, very far from it in fact!!! If you pick it up and wiggle, shake, whatever you would normally do when you first pick up a new rod, you may think its heavy and doesnt feel like many other Japanese lure rods do. BUT first impressions can sometimes be very confusing!!! It is heavy as it has a counter balance system in place, you dont have to use it though as the weights are screwed into the butt of the rod.

Attach a reel to the rod (I use a Shimano Rarenium 3000) and the rod is perfectly balanced.

As I fish with my rod in a 45 degree angle I find it makes it easier to twitch and fish soft plastics more effectively, this is where the counter weights comes into its own and feels so natural. It also gives me much more feel and sensitivity this way. The HPR registers bites amazingly well with its sensitive tip and in an instant you can strike and its fish on!

I have found the HPR to be a joy to cast with, a texas rigged soft plastic and 7g cone weight is never going to go extreme distances but then it isnt designed to. The rod loads really quickly and sends the rig out with ease. It is equally just as good with short range pitching and flipping between boulders and into holes.

But what does it fish like? Well the rod has a mental amount of power lower down in the mid section and into the butt and is coupled with a tip so you can feel everything going on with your lure as it bounces over boulders.  I have used the rod not just with texas rigs but carolina rigs and also drop shotting and it excels with each method and has landed me several wrasse over 5lbs and topped off by a pb lure caught wrasse of 6.2lbs.

I have lost count of the number of wrasse that I have landed with it. But should you hook into a real heavy weight kelp donkey that is hell bent on heading towards its hole then you have the rod to put the brakes on it - the tip will bend and then the real power comes in!

I cant rate the rod high enough, if you were looking for a rod to target wrasse, pollack and bass with soft lures I would have a serious look at this range of rods, just dont leave it to wiggle in the shop!! 
As I write, this already impressive range of rods has been ''upgraded'' with new graphics and a different set of Titanium SiC eyes to replace the K quides that were on the previous models. They have also been renamed and are now known as the Vectura-Ti range, thankfully they are the exact same blanks as the HPR though! The range though has a new member, an 11' model, that you just know is going to be a serious piece of kit!!  This new range is being released in February 2013 and according to reports, they have an even quicker response and feel and will be priced at the same points as the HPR's-I cant wait!!

 

NO PRESSURE INFRONT OF THE TV CAMERAS

Had a call from me old mate Henry Gilbey last week to see if I was able to take a couple of days off from work and go fishing with him - not needing a second invitation I obviously replied YES!  Along for the ride was a camera man John and director Alex to film a couple of short films for the Tight Lines programme on Sky Sports 2, to showcase how effective fishing soft plastics for wrasse and pollack can be. Henry was a bit nervous to say the least as its been quite a while since his last television work but he needn't have been as he is a natural! His excitement and enthusiasm manifest into great television!!

I was nervous myself as the fishing has been so good just recently but would it fire in front of the cameras??????????????????

Plans were drawn up that they would fly in from Newquay with the islands own airline, Skybus, on Tuesday afternoon and have an early night before hitting the wrasse marks all day Wednesday and then the pollack marks on the Thursday before they jumped on the plane back to Newquay late that afternoon. A good plan we thought and we had Neil down from Bryher to fish as well so we were all set. Or so we thought!!! The few days before they were to arrive it had, like the rest of the country, been raining continuously meaning all flights from Lands end were cancelled due to water logging and the seriously strong winds meant no flights from Newquay either - they were stuck!!! After a phone call from Henry they decided that they would try again the next day, weather permitting! Thankfully Thursday dawned and the wind had eased enough for them to fly over at lunch time meaning an already short period of time to film was cut in half again! Christ could we actually do it in that time Neil and I thought?? Seeing as we were running out of time, Neil and I decided to do a reccy around St. Mary's in order to find somewhere to fish meaning as soon as they landed we could go straight there no messing!! There was still too much swell under the airport where we had planned to take them so we stomped round to Peninnis to gauge the fishing. Half an hour later and we had managed eight wrasse and a small pollack on the back tide, this would make the flood tide even more productive. But there was still the North East wind to contend with so we both decided that we would fish under the Garrison at a spot I have caught plenty of tidy wrasse before. Picking up Henry and the crew we told them of the change of plan and headed straight out there. It looked perfect with flat calm sea, no swell and lots of boulders!!! We all rigged up with various soft plastics and cast out, bang bang bang we were all into fish straight away!!!! At times it was mental with all three of us into wrasse at the same time, it seemed like the place was literally carpeted with wrasse!!! Admittedly they weren't the massive kelp beasts that we were hoping for but it was as frantic as anyone had ever seen before!! It didn't matter what size, colour or shape of lure we tried, they just smashed into each and every one of them!! Considering the three of us only had two hours to fish and Henry had to do several pieces to camera we lost count of the exact number of wrasse caught but I bet it would have been 90 to 100 wrasse to 4lbs in various colours, I think the crew were shocked at the number!!!

With the wrasse film in the bag as it were, we decided to try under the airport the following day in the hope of getting a couple of bigger fish and some nice scenic shots to show the islands off in their true glory as the weather was stunning! Sadly the usual wrasse hole failed to live up to expectations, maybe due to there still being quite a bit of swell so it was off to target the pollack. 

After climbing down to the spot at low water all we had to do was set up and wait for the tide to push. Pollack love tide!! This spot you can fish until your arms fall off without even seeing a pollack but just like flicking a switch, as soon as the tide pulls hard then they come on the feed and today was no exception!! Neil whispered in my ear jokingly that I had taken us to a dud mark then bang he hooked a steam train of a pollack that was on for a few moments before smashing him up, gutted for him as it was clearly a big pollack!! Yep the tide by now was pushing nice and hard!!! I had on another stonking fish that I managed to get within 20 yards of the rock before this one, just like Neils, came off - ARSE not now, not in front of the cameras!!!! Neil then landed a cracker of a fish at 6.4lbs taken on a Savage Gear Sandeel

The pollack were coming thick and fast with Neil losing another big fish before I managed a couple of fish, one going 5lbs and this one of 7.4lbs both taken on the awesome Fiish Black Minnow

Henry had been taking the mickey, as he usually does, on our ability to lose good fish when the same thing happened to him! Oh how we both laughed!!!!! We both told him that it wasn't beaten but he continued to horse it in and attempt to show it who was boss resulting in ''beep'' after ''beep'' in front of the camera!!! He did manage to land a couple of fish himself though which was great to see as I thought he had lost the knack!!!!

To top off the trip we witnessed large shoals of baitfish, probably herring or pilchards being rounded up by a pod of porpoises with gannets diving in on the action, it really was a majestic sight!!! I am so pleased that we managed to get such good fishing for the show, it promises to be pretty cool I reckon and should be aired on Sky Sports 2 on December the 14th. Neil and I had a real blast helping, hopefully it will entice a few people to try a lighter approach and fishing soft plastics, it really is such fun and christ does it work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PLAN B-NOT TOO SHABBY!!

Well the plan was hatched over the last couple of days and I was to head over to the island of Bryher to meet up and fish with Neil. The tides were perfect to target the big pollack from Shipman Head. Well that was the plan but as has been the way for the last few attempted sorties to Bryher, the weather decides to throw a spanner in the works and cock it all up!!!!!!!!!!!!! Northwest winds picked up on Saturday night meaning when Neil went to have a look Sunday morning, the gullies and headland that we planned to fish were underwater and sea was pummeling in - ARSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After sulking for a fair while I simply had to get out of the house, and the good thing about living in the islands is that you can find shelter somewhere! It was still ok down here on the south side of St. Mary's but the forecast was to swing round southerly and freshen as the day went on with 25-30mph winds by 4 o'clock meaning I wouldn't get long to fish the mark I had as a backup plan. Still you don't catch anything sat at home and considering I was on a high after my beloved Arsenal thrashing the Spuds I had to at least give it a go!!!!

The ledges were showing up well in front of me as I got to the mark, it's not terribly deep here, in contrast to some other marks that we fish for pollack with depths up to 40 feet in places compared to 140 feet at Outer Head. But this spot coupled with a bit of tide can throw up some monster pollack. I reckon I have had more doubles from here than anywhere else in Scilly so you just never know. The wind had already started to freshen and was blowing straight into my face when I rigged up the Sakura Shinjin with a Savage Gear Slug Sandeel onto a jig head. The first few casts produced nowt and I was starting to wish I hadnt bothered as the wind was getting worse and making it pretty uncomfortable. I decided to give it an hour before the lure of a cup of tea and some cake called!! The tide was now just starting to turn and usually that means the pollack switch on to feed - pollack love tide and water movement!! The next couple of casts and the pollack started to appear, not big fish of up to 2.5lbs but at least I hadnt blanked!! Just one problem, the wind by now was blowing hard and waves were starting to get up, not ideal when you are fishing on your own!! I changed over to one of the new ''in lures'' the Fiish Black Minnow, this lure has been getting awesome reviews wherever it has been used slaying huge numbers of bass and pollack. My good mate Henry Gilbey has been telling me to try them for pollack as he has just come back from lle D’Ouessant where he fished with the French guys who designed them and said they would be mental for pollack from the shore! Now was as good a time as any!! The lures that Nick Roberts at Bass Lures had kindly sent me ranged up 25g meaning I would be able to cast into the strong headwind as they weighed a lot more than the jig head I was using. I was now able to cast out past the two pinnacles that the pollack love to run between and it wasnt long before lure got smacked using a slow sink and draw method!! The pollack made several dives to start with before slow pumping brought it towards me then all hell broke loose as the pollack realised that it was hooked!!!!!!!!!!  After several more dives I got to see the golden flank of an enormous pollack for the first time and then disaster struck, she dived again but this time I couldnt stop her even with a really tight drag and she went straight into the thick kelp busting me off in the process - BUGGER I was gutted!!!!!!!!!! Just how big was she, I will never know but I've had them to over 13lbs from the shore and this was every part that size!!!! 

After turning the air blue I had to fish on, despite the lost fish there had to be more out there and I wasnt wrong! Two casts later when another pollack hit the lure on the drop. This was another good fish that made several crash dives before I got her to the rock and then I had to jump down to the ledge below grabbing the net as I went (easier said than done) using one of the many waves I managed to slip the net under a stonking pollack!!

She pulled the digital scales down to 9lbs and after several quick photos using a big rock pool to keep her alive and kicking in the process, was returned to where she came from!!! What a stunning fish caught on light balanced tackle and I have to agree with Henry and Nick, these Fiish Black Minnows are the mutts nuts for pollack!! If only I had managed to land the one that got away but maybe next time hey, it's what keeps us all fishing!!!!!

NEW GEAR TRIALLED AND TESTED

Well folks its been a hell of a long time since I have done a post, a combination of going on a much needed holiday to Ireland (not sure that some people would call getting up at 4 o'clock every morning to go and chase bass as a holiday though), getting battered by big swells making the islands unfishable and work getting in the way but enough excuses!!!!!!

I did venture out on Saturday for an hour but there was so much groundsea it made trying to fish virtually impossible so I have been waiting with the rod set up by the front door for the swells to ease and today it did!

I had been sent some cracking looking new lures from Andy at Jackslrf to trial with Neil and also the new hooks that they will be stocking soon as well. More about them later! For my wrasse fishing, as those that have been following my exploits will know, I have been using and abusing the Major Craft Crostage and having some great fun with it landing christ knows how many wrasse but just recently I have been playing around with the very different Century HPR 7'3''. I will be writing up a long term test review sometime in the future when I have given it a good stig type testing, first impression though is that it has a serious amount of power lower down that could come in very handy if a big kelp donkey needs halting!!! Right, back to the fishing...

I decided to head out around the airport and see what the kelpy gullies I have been fishing looked like on a big spring low water. Always a good idea to really see what you are fishing over and where the deeper drop offs are and what other new ground you can find too. I started to fish with the old faithful Watermelon Hawg Stickbait rigged up with a 7g cone weight, a flick out and the Century HPR was soon bending nicely into a wrasse OTD.

A good start that got better as the afternoon went on! It seemed like the wrasse were literally queueing up, maybe with all the bad weather and big seas they were only now able to get out from the holes and feed and were starving??

It was a bite a cast to start with but the size was down with most fish being under 2lbs with the odd 3lber in amongst them.
 

A change of gullies was called for in the hope of finding a better stamp of fish, thankfully the whole of the airport is full of gullies and rocky outcrops not to mention boulder fields so I didnt have far to go.

I decided to swap lures and try a new type of soft plastic from Jackslrf that isnt currently available to purchase, as yet. It certainly looks the part, watermelon with red blue and gold flecks throughout the lure which looks remarkably like a small baitfish.

Coupled with a new type of hook, with its slightly longer shank that incorporates a couple of small barbs designed to hold the soft plastic in place. I cast out parallel to a finger of granite and let the lure sink down, closing the bail arm manually a couple of twitches got the lure swimming invitingly. I didnt have to wait long before the first tap tap as an inquisitive wrasse homed in on its meal. It was only a small fish that I may have not caught before as with these new hooks the point of the lure is slightly further back down the lure resulting in a better hook up ratio. I cast out again and this time a slightly better fish grabbed the lure after a couple of twitches.

Another cast on the same line and bang, a much better fish hit the lure!! The Century HPR was absorbing the big wrasse's powerful dives and taking it all in its stride. Christ this rod has some power in the lower tip section and clearly been designed by the wrasse master Keith White with big pigs in mind!! Several times the wrasse tried its best to take me into its rocky lair but each time the rod got the better of it and soon I was able to slip the net under a stonking fish.

Measuring 54cms and pulling the digital scales down to 6.2lbs it was a new pb for a lure-caught wrasse for myself and the best thing was watching her disappear back down to her kelpy den with a big swish of her tail! 

Well I was pretty impressed with both the new hooks and lures not to mention the Century HPR, now I just hope that the weather stays ok so that I can get out again this weekend for some more ''research''!!