We've had some fabulous weather recently which has raised the sea temperatures enough to see a few fish start showing inshore. Following on from the last entry our best laid plans have had to change slightly due to a shocking lack of Sandeel availability preventing my friend and I pursuing any Ray fishing, yes we could use other baits but we would not have anywhere near the same results. Instead we have been out on Fly and Lure with reasonable success.
Another LRF trip produced some nice Pollock to around the 2lb mark which was great fun on the ultralight gear and a strong tidal flow! The fish crash diving underneath the pontoon I was fishing from making the reel make that - zzzz - zzzzz - zzzz sound as they made a bid for freedom, and the rod at full curve, epic fun!!
The next trip was on the fly and though it was a bit of a struggle I did manage a few Basslings plus a fish of about 1 3/4lb but at least it was a start!
First proper Bass Lure session of the year again produced a few sporadic fish to about 3lb which was very satisfying and a promising start for the mark I fished which has been very unproductive for the last few years compared to when I first started fishing it and my friends and I were getting good numbers of Bass on most sessions.
As you can see I have started using the action camera as much as possible to record some of the sessions. I find this a lot easier than trying to use a normal camera to take still photos while fishing and reduces the time the fish need to be out of the water. I can take an instant photo on the action cam if need be. Hopefully I will have enough to make a short film by the end of the season.
So what's next? More fishing of course! hopefully plenty more fly and lure action when tides and weather permit.
I really don't seem to be able to get into any serious fishing campaigns yet this year, I have no idea why to be honest, but thank goodness for LRF, because when you are as lost as I am at the moment it comes to your rescue...
For once everything was right, tide, wind, general weather patterns and on the spur of the moment as is often the case with me at the current time I decided to go and tackle a local pontoon with my eldest son. It wasn't long before we were into fish and Bass at that. They were a reasonable stamp too which made the whole thing even more fun on the ultralight gear, as they tore off down tide under out feet seeking sanctuary under the pontoon. In the end we had a number of them along with a handful of Pollock too. Very enjoyable all in all and much needed under the circumstances until I find some mojo to do something a little more serious, but then fishing is meant to be fun and LRF is just that all way...
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 !
Finally the fish have arrived, only a month late but hey, that's just a small detail ! After four or five blank sessions in the last couple of weeks I was really getting frustrated and beginning to think it was never going to happen, but tonight it did !
Nothing earth shattering, just a short Lrf session at an easy access venue where five of us fished and we all caught. Myself and my mate, my two sons and one of their mates all had a variety of fish including some small Wrasse, Pollock and Pouting. The ever faithful Ecogear aqua products proving their worth again. It felt good to be back amongst the fish after so long even if they were only small, at least we know that things have kicked off and we can now hopefully look forward to some regular action !
