I'm going to start this post with a confession...
I've been criminally neglectful of the sea in my fishing up to recently. I've always thought of it (quite naively) as the brutish cousin of Freshwater Fishing, a hobby filled with rods as thick as snooker cues and hooks the size of hands. I, of course, was extremely wrong. In my ignorance I've missed a plethora of incredible fishing that is almost literally on my doorstep. A bounty of fish species that I've never caught or even seen in the flesh before. I've also arrived late to discover that Sea Fishing has become an art form. Every technique, from the ultra fine-tuned LRF to the heavy metal of Beachcasting, is filled with a million variables of tide, time, wind direction, lunar activity and much more. Well my friends, as you can see I am no longer a disbeliever and have decided to embrace this 'art' and fish species it presents.
My most recent posts have featured LRF heavily and this is no different. Every time I go out I learn something new about this most broad and varied of tactics. I have found dropshotting small isome on size 14 hooks incredibly successful but also have discovered the brilliance of tiny lures and their attraction to ravenous Pollock. Any fish on such light tackle feels monumental and really displays the fighting ability of Sea fish compared to their Freshwater cousins. The sea, being as unpredictable and forever in motion as it is, tends to produce more athletic fish even on the smaller scale, especially if those fish are denizens of open water. I have not just been focusing on the smaller stuff though, I've finally started heavier bait fishing too, but lets start small.
If I was to name one mini-species that I want above all others it would be the Long Spined Sea Scorpion and recently fishing with my sister Zoe, I have been getting serious Scorp' envy. Zoe has always had a mild interest in fishing but recently has really took the hobby to heart. She's loving the competition of The Challenge and the fish it brings. She also has a nasty habit of catching the fish I want! This day started as a bit of a tour of Plymouth and ended with some really interesting fishing. The tides were all wrong really as a rule, an outgoing tide always has a feeling of impending doom about it - the water receding and taking the fish with it. But I'm an optimist at heart and I was sure we would find some fish if we went small.
We started at Devonport Pontoon, the place where I caught my first ever fish (a small Ballan wrasse, if you were wondering) nearly two decades ago. It had been shut down in disrepair but it's looking like the petition to save it worked the required magic, as its now cleaned up and the council have installed a brand new pontoon. Myself and Zoe were made up at this discovery and set to fishing. The day was to be a battle of Bait versus Imitation. After a brief chat with a generous and knowledgeable Mullet Angler, Bait ran into a quick lead, Zoe's ragworm section being rapidly snapped up by a Goldsinny Wrasse. A great start but no good for her in the Challenge having caught one previously. I had plenty of pulls and knocks but nothing substantial enough to take the small Pink Isome offered. With the Tide receding and an intention to make all our visits brief, we moved on.
Next up, Millbay, Millbay has a fantastic moorings that pretty much scream LRF. Though initially intrigued by the many Mullet cruising in the sunshine I set more reasonable targets. Unfortunately Zoe had other ideas, not only pulling out a nice Rock Goby, she also had that spiny wonder - the Scorpion Fish! In between my jealousy, unhooking her fish and fish that wouldn't take a size 12 hook I was still blanking. A disaster, no brother likes losing to his sister. Zoe obviously was having a great time though and it made up for it in a small way. The tide by this point was pretty much gone and Sutton Harbour was calling.
Sutton Harbour is a bizarre mix of beautiful boats, diesel slicks, amazing fish, tourists and blanket seaweed growth. It does hold a brilliant array of species and is always fishable due to its locks. We set up by Cap'n Jaspers and I immediately had a huge bite, I struck into a fish that was unmistakably a Ballan Wrasse, keeping true to reputation it quickly took me under some harbour debris and my braid gave way. I had not been expecting such a take and paid the price. Zoe then went and caught three Gobies whilst I was setting back up. Her cocky comments I obviously took with grace and decorum! I finally got back to fishing and had another monster of a take, this time I fought smarter and landed a modest Wrasse of just over a pound. They really do go well on ultralight tackle. Zoe then proceeded to lose another Wrasse and we called it a day. A great couple of hours and two new species for Zoe.
The next night whilst I was at work Shane, Olly and his girlfriend Louise went out on the rocks spinning for Pollock. Olly and shane both got respectable Pollock each but Louise (on her first ever go at fishing) managed to land a Bass of around 2lb! Now that's one way to get a girl fishing. Louise has a real interest in the sea and was incredibly pleased with her catch. When we found out the rest of us gave our congratulations through gritted teeth... In all seriousness though it was great to see and I have found that women I know seem to take to fishing almost too naturally, outperforming the more (apparently) experienced guys on several occasions.
A couple of days later a group of us decided to give the mini-species another go. Myself, Ellie, Will, Grant and Zoe went back to Millbay to try again. Zoe had the first fish, a modest Ballan that gave her a superb fight on the Pen Rod she was using. Another species off the list. Ellie followed suit with a Tompot Blenny, her first ever. Grant had one soon after which was a relief since the last time he came fishing he managed to catch the hardest fighting knitted jumper you've ever seen! I had my first ever Black Goby, so distinctive with its dark colouring and exuberant dorsal fin. Ellie had one too, quickly racking up the species. Will pulled out his first ever Common Goby and then Zoe quickly showed why she's deserving of her 'Scorpion Queen' nickname, landing the biggest Scorp I've ever seen. They are such a brilliant looking fish, all spikes, anger and (quite surprisingly) an ability to vibrate when rested on the palm of your hand. I can only suppose this puts off potential predators, whilst their cavernous mouth makes them the complete mini-predators themselves. I still could not get myself a scorpion but there's still plenty of time for that. Grant had a strong fighting Ballan right as the heavens opened and it was time to go home. Another session proving the simple fun of chasing tiddlers.
The next day was a rare joint weekday off for myself and Will. Both of us really wanted to try for some larger species. There had been lots of talk of Bass and Bream but we were being realistic and agreed that a Dogfish would be a good result considering neither of us are overly knowledgeable about bait fishing in the sea. We decided that the Whitsand side of Rame Head in Cornwall had potential and wasn't too far away. I had an idea of a mark I had visited years earlier but couldn't find it at first - leading to a wasted hour in a duff spot. We moved on and came across the originally desired mark. We set up with two rods cast to a sandy area in front of us, baited with Mackerel & Ragworm. Whilst waiting for fish to take notice of those, Will cast out his ever reliable texas rig for Wrasse and I experimented with various Sandeel imitation lures on my light set up. I was first in as a hungry Pollock snapped up my lure on the drop. Not a large fish but it gave a great account of itself on finesse tackle. Then one of the bait rods gave the tell-tale bounce of a fish, I rushed over and picked it up connecting with a fish - what would it be though? As it neared the net it revealed itself to be a Dogfish, a Dogfish that obviously wasn't hooked correctly as it spat the hook out at the last second! You have never seen two grown men more devastated to lose a Dogfish, we looked at each other in half laughter, half devastation. Rebaiting we cast again. It took about 5 minutes for the other rod to go and Will pulled into another fish. This one also came off! We talked it over and it seemed obvious we weren't striking hard enough, so when the inevitable third take came Will was ready. This time there was no mistake and an angry writhing Dogfish was soon in the net. How we felt before completely flipped the opposite way. Never had you seen two grown men so happy to catch a Dogfish. The tough mouth showed us we were correct in our reasoning for the lost fish. Unfortunately after that fish the bait rods stayed quiet and I missed my chance to catch a dog, there's always next time I suppose. I did however have plenty of follows and hits from Pollock and Wrasse on my lure and landed a couple of small Pollock which, whilst not quite being a sandpaper skinned member of the shark family, still kept me entertained. Will however kept up better form with his final fish. After chucking out a texas-rigged rubber shad around for an hour or so, he asked me 'where have all the Wrasse gone' and literally two seconds later he had a massive take! It steamed off ferociously and we knew it was a good fish. After a minute or so of drag screaming fun, the fish ran out of energy and came to the net. A great looking camo-coloured fish easily over 3lb, Will's first of the year and one of his biggest. We very sweatily made our trip back up the cliff side shortly after and headed home.
On another day and with mini-species proving popular and everyone wishing to boost their totals, four of us, Myself, Ellie, Olly and his girlfriend Louise tried a couple of spots around Plymouth again. Olly quickly caught a Goldsinny, his first of the species. Whilst Louise kept up her flawless record by capturing a fine Scorpion Fish (leading to more of the dreaded scorp' envy for me!). I managed the tiniest Corkwring Wrasse I've ever seen whilst Ellie landed a Scorpion too. Then the weather decided it didnt want to be Spring anymore and promptly turned back into Winter so we headed home.
So a mixed bag, a steady stream of species for everyone and I'm feeling more confident every time I go out. Hopefully by the time Summer rolls around I'll be knowledgeable enough to really take advantage of the varied and exciting fishing I have surrounding me.
Totals so far are:
Ben - 17 Species - Perch, Roach, Bream/Roach hybrid, Mirror Carp, Pike, Rainbow Trout, Common Blenny, Corkwring Wrasse, Tompot Blenny, Ballan Wrasse, Rock Goby, Ghost Carp, Black Goby & Pollock
Ellie - 12 Species - Rudd, Roach, Gudgeon, Perch, Pike, Corkwring Wrasse, Pollock, Mirror Carp, Ghost Carp, Black Goby, Tompot Blenny & Long Spined Sea Scorpion
Will - 11 Species - Rudd, Roach, Gudgeon, Pike, Tompot Blenny, Corkwring Wrasse, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Common Goby, Ballan Wrasse & Dogfish
Robbie - 9 Species - Perch, Mirror Carp, Roach, Rudd, Eel, Ballan Wrasse, Topknot, Crucian Carp & Common Carp
Olly - 9 Species - Perch, Rainbow Trout, Pike, Rudd, Roach, Mirror Carp, Common Carp, Pollock & Goldsinny Wrasse
Zoe - 5 Species - Pike, Goldsinny Wrasse, Rock Goby, Ballan Wrasse & Long Spined Sea Scorpion
Shane - 4 Species - Rudd, Roach/Bream Hybrid, Crucian Carp & Pollock
Grant - 2 Species - Ballan Wrasse & Tompot Blenny
I've been criminally neglectful of the sea in my fishing up to recently. I've always thought of it (quite naively) as the brutish cousin of Freshwater Fishing, a hobby filled with rods as thick as snooker cues and hooks the size of hands. I, of course, was extremely wrong. In my ignorance I've missed a plethora of incredible fishing that is almost literally on my doorstep. A bounty of fish species that I've never caught or even seen in the flesh before. I've also arrived late to discover that Sea Fishing has become an art form. Every technique, from the ultra fine-tuned LRF to the heavy metal of Beachcasting, is filled with a million variables of tide, time, wind direction, lunar activity and much more. Well my friends, as you can see I am no longer a disbeliever and have decided to embrace this 'art' and fish species it presents.
My most recent posts have featured LRF heavily and this is no different. Every time I go out I learn something new about this most broad and varied of tactics. I have found dropshotting small isome on size 14 hooks incredibly successful but also have discovered the brilliance of tiny lures and their attraction to ravenous Pollock. Any fish on such light tackle feels monumental and really displays the fighting ability of Sea fish compared to their Freshwater cousins. The sea, being as unpredictable and forever in motion as it is, tends to produce more athletic fish even on the smaller scale, especially if those fish are denizens of open water. I have not just been focusing on the smaller stuff though, I've finally started heavier bait fishing too, but lets start small.
If I was to name one mini-species that I want above all others it would be the Long Spined Sea Scorpion and recently fishing with my sister Zoe, I have been getting serious Scorp' envy. Zoe has always had a mild interest in fishing but recently has really took the hobby to heart. She's loving the competition of The Challenge and the fish it brings. She also has a nasty habit of catching the fish I want! This day started as a bit of a tour of Plymouth and ended with some really interesting fishing. The tides were all wrong really as a rule, an outgoing tide always has a feeling of impending doom about it - the water receding and taking the fish with it. But I'm an optimist at heart and I was sure we would find some fish if we went small.
We started at Devonport Pontoon, the place where I caught my first ever fish (a small Ballan wrasse, if you were wondering) nearly two decades ago. It had been shut down in disrepair but it's looking like the petition to save it worked the required magic, as its now cleaned up and the council have installed a brand new pontoon. Myself and Zoe were made up at this discovery and set to fishing. The day was to be a battle of Bait versus Imitation. After a brief chat with a generous and knowledgeable Mullet Angler, Bait ran into a quick lead, Zoe's ragworm section being rapidly snapped up by a Goldsinny Wrasse. A great start but no good for her in the Challenge having caught one previously. I had plenty of pulls and knocks but nothing substantial enough to take the small Pink Isome offered. With the Tide receding and an intention to make all our visits brief, we moved on.
Next up, Millbay, Millbay has a fantastic moorings that pretty much scream LRF. Though initially intrigued by the many Mullet cruising in the sunshine I set more reasonable targets. Unfortunately Zoe had other ideas, not only pulling out a nice Rock Goby, she also had that spiny wonder - the Scorpion Fish! In between my jealousy, unhooking her fish and fish that wouldn't take a size 12 hook I was still blanking. A disaster, no brother likes losing to his sister. Zoe obviously was having a great time though and it made up for it in a small way. The tide by this point was pretty much gone and Sutton Harbour was calling.
Sutton Harbour is a bizarre mix of beautiful boats, diesel slicks, amazing fish, tourists and blanket seaweed growth. It does hold a brilliant array of species and is always fishable due to its locks. We set up by Cap'n Jaspers and I immediately had a huge bite, I struck into a fish that was unmistakably a Ballan Wrasse, keeping true to reputation it quickly took me under some harbour debris and my braid gave way. I had not been expecting such a take and paid the price. Zoe then went and caught three Gobies whilst I was setting back up. Her cocky comments I obviously took with grace and decorum! I finally got back to fishing and had another monster of a take, this time I fought smarter and landed a modest Wrasse of just over a pound. They really do go well on ultralight tackle. Zoe then proceeded to lose another Wrasse and we called it a day. A great couple of hours and two new species for Zoe.
The next night whilst I was at work Shane, Olly and his girlfriend Louise went out on the rocks spinning for Pollock. Olly and shane both got respectable Pollock each but Louise (on her first ever go at fishing) managed to land a Bass of around 2lb! Now that's one way to get a girl fishing. Louise has a real interest in the sea and was incredibly pleased with her catch. When we found out the rest of us gave our congratulations through gritted teeth... In all seriousness though it was great to see and I have found that women I know seem to take to fishing almost too naturally, outperforming the more (apparently) experienced guys on several occasions.
A couple of days later a group of us decided to give the mini-species another go. Myself, Ellie, Will, Grant and Zoe went back to Millbay to try again. Zoe had the first fish, a modest Ballan that gave her a superb fight on the Pen Rod she was using. Another species off the list. Ellie followed suit with a Tompot Blenny, her first ever. Grant had one soon after which was a relief since the last time he came fishing he managed to catch the hardest fighting knitted jumper you've ever seen! I had my first ever Black Goby, so distinctive with its dark colouring and exuberant dorsal fin. Ellie had one too, quickly racking up the species. Will pulled out his first ever Common Goby and then Zoe quickly showed why she's deserving of her 'Scorpion Queen' nickname, landing the biggest Scorp I've ever seen. They are such a brilliant looking fish, all spikes, anger and (quite surprisingly) an ability to vibrate when rested on the palm of your hand. I can only suppose this puts off potential predators, whilst their cavernous mouth makes them the complete mini-predators themselves. I still could not get myself a scorpion but there's still plenty of time for that. Grant had a strong fighting Ballan right as the heavens opened and it was time to go home. Another session proving the simple fun of chasing tiddlers.
The next day was a rare joint weekday off for myself and Will. Both of us really wanted to try for some larger species. There had been lots of talk of Bass and Bream but we were being realistic and agreed that a Dogfish would be a good result considering neither of us are overly knowledgeable about bait fishing in the sea. We decided that the Whitsand side of Rame Head in Cornwall had potential and wasn't too far away. I had an idea of a mark I had visited years earlier but couldn't find it at first - leading to a wasted hour in a duff spot. We moved on and came across the originally desired mark. We set up with two rods cast to a sandy area in front of us, baited with Mackerel & Ragworm. Whilst waiting for fish to take notice of those, Will cast out his ever reliable texas rig for Wrasse and I experimented with various Sandeel imitation lures on my light set up. I was first in as a hungry Pollock snapped up my lure on the drop. Not a large fish but it gave a great account of itself on finesse tackle. Then one of the bait rods gave the tell-tale bounce of a fish, I rushed over and picked it up connecting with a fish - what would it be though? As it neared the net it revealed itself to be a Dogfish, a Dogfish that obviously wasn't hooked correctly as it spat the hook out at the last second! You have never seen two grown men more devastated to lose a Dogfish, we looked at each other in half laughter, half devastation. Rebaiting we cast again. It took about 5 minutes for the other rod to go and Will pulled into another fish. This one also came off! We talked it over and it seemed obvious we weren't striking hard enough, so when the inevitable third take came Will was ready. This time there was no mistake and an angry writhing Dogfish was soon in the net. How we felt before completely flipped the opposite way. Never had you seen two grown men so happy to catch a Dogfish. The tough mouth showed us we were correct in our reasoning for the lost fish. Unfortunately after that fish the bait rods stayed quiet and I missed my chance to catch a dog, there's always next time I suppose. I did however have plenty of follows and hits from Pollock and Wrasse on my lure and landed a couple of small Pollock which, whilst not quite being a sandpaper skinned member of the shark family, still kept me entertained. Will however kept up better form with his final fish. After chucking out a texas-rigged rubber shad around for an hour or so, he asked me 'where have all the Wrasse gone' and literally two seconds later he had a massive take! It steamed off ferociously and we knew it was a good fish. After a minute or so of drag screaming fun, the fish ran out of energy and came to the net. A great looking camo-coloured fish easily over 3lb, Will's first of the year and one of his biggest. We very sweatily made our trip back up the cliff side shortly after and headed home.
On another day and with mini-species proving popular and everyone wishing to boost their totals, four of us, Myself, Ellie, Olly and his girlfriend Louise tried a couple of spots around Plymouth again. Olly quickly caught a Goldsinny, his first of the species. Whilst Louise kept up her flawless record by capturing a fine Scorpion Fish (leading to more of the dreaded scorp' envy for me!). I managed the tiniest Corkwring Wrasse I've ever seen whilst Ellie landed a Scorpion too. Then the weather decided it didnt want to be Spring anymore and promptly turned back into Winter so we headed home.
So a mixed bag, a steady stream of species for everyone and I'm feeling more confident every time I go out. Hopefully by the time Summer rolls around I'll be knowledgeable enough to really take advantage of the varied and exciting fishing I have surrounding me.
Totals so far are:
Ben - 17 Species - Perch, Roach, Bream/Roach hybrid, Mirror Carp, Pike, Rainbow Trout, Common Blenny, Corkwring Wrasse, Tompot Blenny, Ballan Wrasse, Rock Goby, Ghost Carp, Black Goby & Pollock
Ellie - 12 Species - Rudd, Roach, Gudgeon, Perch, Pike, Corkwring Wrasse, Pollock, Mirror Carp, Ghost Carp, Black Goby, Tompot Blenny & Long Spined Sea Scorpion
Will - 11 Species - Rudd, Roach, Gudgeon, Pike, Tompot Blenny, Corkwring Wrasse, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Common Goby, Ballan Wrasse & Dogfish
Robbie - 9 Species - Perch, Mirror Carp, Roach, Rudd, Eel, Ballan Wrasse, Topknot, Crucian Carp & Common Carp
Olly - 9 Species - Perch, Rainbow Trout, Pike, Rudd, Roach, Mirror Carp, Common Carp, Pollock & Goldsinny Wrasse
Zoe - 5 Species - Pike, Goldsinny Wrasse, Rock Goby, Ballan Wrasse & Long Spined Sea Scorpion
Shane - 4 Species - Rudd, Roach/Bream Hybrid, Crucian Carp & Pollock
Grant - 2 Species - Ballan Wrasse & Tompot Blenny
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