I would have like to have kicked off the new season with a few fish on the fly, but the tides haven't really worked in favour of that so last night owing to a drop in the wind I decided to have an LRF session at a local pontoon with my two boys and my fishing buddy. We haven't really fished this venue properly before, just an odd quick dabble a couple of times so it was a pleasant surprise when we all started getting bites and catching fish from the off. There were clearly a number of small Pollock present and none of us really struggled to catch fish but my spot that I picked seemed to be the killer spot where the majority of the fish wanted to be. I ended up with over a dozen fish to a selection of different lures but the one that shone through was a small bright orange curl tail grub which the Pollock kept nailing time after time.
This one took a liking to a Reins Aji king 2", and was my first fish of the new Saltwater season.
The majority of the fish however fell to this little orange curl tail grub from AGM products.
Youngest son snapped Dad and big brother concentrating on catching the next fish !
It was a great little session to get the season underway and I was like a kid in a candy store even though the fish were small it felt that good to be back catching fish from the salt on the ultralight gear. Seeing my two boys catching fish gave me a lot of joy as well, and they had a lot of fun which of course is always the ultimate aim !
Youngest son showed his artistic talents by taking this photo of one of big brothers fish !
I have had this delightful little rod a while now, and I have caught a great many Lrf species on it, including Pollock, Wrasse, Garfish, Scad, Gobies and Smelt, and I can say it is an absolute joy to use. Very slim, extremely light in weight for it's price point, sensitive enough to be a ble to see and feel bites from the smallest of fish, yet it still has enough reserve power to deal with the odd rogue bigger fish.
The short butt section at just 12 inches is just right for holding the rod for long periods, and it enables the 7ft 6 blank to fish long enough to keep hooked fish away from potential obstacles, and if you are fishing over railings such as on a Pier, the handle doesn't keep clonking on the rails! Weighing just 95 grams it is one of the lightest rods in this price bracket. The casting rating is 0.6-8grams or 2-6lb line. It is built in china, but to Graphite leaders exacting standards. The blank, which sports the superb Fuji 'K' guides, measures just 9.2mm at the butt and 1.1mm at the tip, so you can get a sense of just how slim it really is. Even modest fish put a good bend on the rod allowing for a great fight from small fish and yet you can feel when you hook a better fish, such as the 1.5lb Pollock I had the other night that gave a tremendous scrap, that the rod is still able to cope with crash diving fish like this! Overall I am really pleased with the Calzante, It's a super little rod for the money and the build quality and finish is much better than some more expensive rods on the market. It carries a comfortable handle and reel seat which is very comfortable.The colour scheme is pleasing to the eye, and the woven carbon section carrying the product designation adds nicely to the attractiveness of the rod. The rest of the rod is finished in unground Carbon, which I personally like, and the tip section is painted white with hi vis orange ring whippings to aid visual bite detection. I would thoroughly recommend these rods for Lrf fishing, and I am looking forward to catching many more fish on mine.
I'd been keeping an eye on the tides with a view to a possible session or two, and last night a nice little window opened up and on the spur of the moment I decided to nip out for a quick session !
Having collected my mate on the way, we arrived to find flat calm sea, and no one around, dark was just beginning to set in and the setting looked perfect for a few fish. It felt a bit strange at first as I set up the gear, but I opted to fish an Ecogear aqua strawtail in red, on a small shirasu jighead, perfect for 'swinging' in the flow and fishing OTD.
It was apparent on the first cast that we were a little early, as this venue relies on the tidal flow to bring bites from the resident fish population, and it was about half an hour or so before the jigheads began to be pushed along and we were able to present the strawtails effectively in the flow. As if by magic the fish began to appear, as some tiny Pollock hit the plastics. Sport was a little sporadic and I was definitely a little rusty, but It began to come back to me and I nailed a couple of slightly better fish, on an orange coloured strawtail, the best going about 12 oz's, which put up a good fight on my Graphite leader Calzante lrf rod !
Altogether my friend and I managed five fish apiece, as well as a few missed bites, the fish did seem quite lethargic probably due to the water temps being around 8 degrees at the moment, the air was certainly cold and we decided to call it a night when neither of us could feel our hands anymore!
I had a great time and it reminded me just what I had been missing out on while I had been neglecting the salt in favour of freshwater.
I had hope to venture out again this evening to one of the piers, but that's not going to happen now as overnight the wind has picked up and it's blowing a hoolie now!
Really looking forward to the next session now and many more after that as the season proper gets underway.
