The weather seems to be very changeable at the moment, this morning here it is blowing a hoolie, rattling with rain and quite mild. Yesterday evening however was very different, bright but cool with fresh breeze. Despite this we decided on another Lrf session on one of the local piers, ( we have three to choose from ). My eldest son accompanied me this time keen to expand on his ever growing sea species list.
I set us both up with carolina rigs to start off to see if there were any bottom dwelling species about. Sections of Gulp! sandworm on a size 8 hook were offered to any prospective diners.
My son got a bite on his first drop in which he missed but the next try produced a new species for him in the form of a fiesty little Scorpion that kept grunting!  ( note the section of sandworn still in its mouth, it didn't want to let go of it's meal ! ).

No more bites were forthcoming on the bottom so we changed to OTD techniques, a 2gram jighead with a size 4 hook, and the lure was changed to my favourite of the moment, an orange Ecogear strawtail. A succession of small Pollock fell for the strawtails for both of us, pretty little fish covered in speckles.

Then unexpectedly, something a little more fiesty hit the lure, and my first Bass of the year was landed. Only a fish of about a pound, but on lrf gear great fun !

Soon the tide went slack as high water came and the bites tailed off. By this time we were both quite cold and decided to call it a night. No doubt we could have caught more if we had waited for the tide to turn and the fish to come back on the feed, but being a school night and the fact it was already quite late, that wasn't an option !

Graphite Leader Calzante Lrf rod.

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.

Lrf pier session

An impromptu Lrf session on a local Pier produced a couple of nice Pollock for me this evening, both put up a hard scrap on the light gear and were taken on Ecogear strawtails in Orange colour. These are the first decent Lrf fish of the year so hopefully things should begin to pick up shortly as the Bass put in an appearance.