Sunshine, Bass & Mullet Mind Games

I've been quite lucky this week to not only have time off work but also to have such fantastic weather with it. This inevitably has led to quite a bit of fishing time, some quite successful, others not so much. I've tried to vary the fishing as much as possible to try and boost the species total, but this has led to chasing the harder species e.g. Bass & Mullet, and we know how frustrating they can be! We'll start on freshwater though and slightly more relaxed circumstances.

This week I have had one target in my mind - Mullet, but if you know of these fish you know that planning to catch one and doing it are completely different things. Myself, Ellie, Olly and Shane all had Monday off so decided to try for the 'Grey Ghost'. Looe had done the trick for me in the past so we headed there with the intention of hopefully catching one, we arrived to find conditions were not in our favour, a cold breeze and weedy water were no good for the shallow water stalking I wanted to try. I decided there was no point in wasting our time and that Bake Lakes was a better option, it held a few species we all still needed to catch. So that's where we headed. We arrived and set up quite quickly, having bought the bait and licences needed. Me and Ellie fished one peg on Dunes and Olly and Shane fished another. Baiting up with micropellet and sweetcorn the Carp soon bulldozed their way into our swim and got to feeding, with them so focused on micropellet though it took a while to persuade them to take our bait, I was using Isome on a Dropshot rig and Ellie (more traditionally) float with Sweetcorn. Ellie's was first to go though and what a surprise it was... A good sized Bream of about 3lb. We weren't expecting it and the size was much higher than average for the lake, a great turn up for Ellie and a new species for her. She soon followed it up with a Crucian Carp and a Common, taking her to 20 species. With nothing happening on my LRF tactics we switched over and eventually, after quite a few missed bites and the usual Roach & Rudd, I had my own Crucian. I love Crucian Carp, they are such a great little dinner plate shape, give their all in the fight and aren't very easy to catch at times, I was really happy with that result. Meanwhile Shane had a couple of Roach and Carp which were new species for him. Olly had a couple of Carp but he was really after a Crucian, they avoided him all day though. I switched back to LRF and had a ridiculous take! A large Carp stormed off in front of me and my drag screamed, after a good five minute battle it was in the net. An immaculate 8lb Common Carp that couldn't have looked more perfect, some of the Carp in the lake have unfortunately been caught so many times that their mouths are damaged and some scales are missing. That is the reality of a commercial lake that sees so much business, especially from inexperienced coarse anglers that don't always treat every fish like they should. This fish though had obviously been either lucky or wily enough not to be caught much and it was an honour to hold such a pretty fish. We fished most of the day with good success catching varieties of Carp then satisfied, headed home.

Robbie had invited me to fish and do a write up for the new Specimen Lake - Caesar's Palace, the next night. I obviously couldn't resist and I will post that up soon. It was a lovely way to spend 12 hours and ended up in a completely virgin 11lb 2oz Mirror Carp, my biggest fish of the year so far.

I had Mullet on the mind still though.
Looe was worth another try so Ellie and Me went down again. With fish moving in the shallows we cast out our bread baited hooks. Quickly Ellie grew frustrated, I couldn't blame her, Mullet will do that to anyone. She decided to sit it out whilst I persevered, I waited for the tide to bring in the thousands of fish that it does every day. The fish in front of me gave tentative nibbles but nothing concrete. The tide started flooding in and I had completely underestimated the size of it! Washing huge amounts of debris in along with the fish I couldn't get a bait out there long enough to fish effectively. Two guys fishing across from me seemed to have similar luck. I gave up and decided the pub was a better option! A fishing trip is never a bad one when it ends in good company, food and beer, there's always next time.

Olly has recently been eyeing up my LRF gear in some jealousy and decided to buy himself some, well I was going past the tackle shop so bought it for him. I shouldn't really go to Osborne & Cragg in Plymouth because I always take far too much time in there, such is the quality of tackle and conversation. Having met the man behind the 'Duke Nukem' profile picture on Facebook, Andy Smith, I was able to thank him person for the spare spools he gave me the other week. I finally decided on what set up for Olly and then left to try for mullet again up the Plym River. I had overestimated the tides though and there were very few fish to target. I left after 45 minutes as I had promised Olly we would target Bass & Pollock that evening. I'm glad we did. We arrived in our favourite rock mark to beautiful clear waters, things looked promising. I had barely tied my lure on when Olly shouted 'Fish on!' his first cast with his brand new rod! He quickly followed it up with 'It's a Bass' which made the excitement levels jump. On light tackle the Schoolie Bass fought hard and it was a relief to get it in the net. It had taken a 7g Pink & Silver Metal Shore Jig, you couldn't wipe the smile from Olly's face, his first Bass of the year. We quickly took some photos then returned it to the sea. After that we were expecting more action but the only Bass we saw after was one smash my lure right by the rocks then come off, leaving me pretty devastated! Shane caught a little Pollock but as darkness set in it stayed quiet and we headed home. It certainly whet my appetite for more light jigging from the rocks, hopefully with more success next time.

After that the totals are:

Ben - 23 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, Goldsinny Wrasse, Golden Rudd, Golden Orfe, Blue Orfe, Golden Tench & Crucian Carp

Ellie - 20 Species - Golden Rudd, Rudd, Roach, Gudgeon, Perch, Pike, Corkwring Wrasse, Pollock, Mirror Carp, Ghost Carp, Black Goby, Tompot Blenny, Long Spined Sea Scorpion, Ballan Wrasse, Common Blenny, Golden Tench, Golden Orfe, Bronze Bream, Crucian Carp & Common Carp

Olly - 16 Species - Perch, Rainbow Trout, Pike, Rudd, Roach, Mirror Carp, Common Carp, Pollock, Goldsinny Wrasse, Common Blenny, Shore Rockling, Corkwring Wrasse, Golden Rudd, Blue Orfe, Golden Tench & Sea Bass

Will - 14 Species - Rudd, Roach, Gudgeon, Pike, Tompot Blenny, Corkwring Wrasse, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Common Goby, Ballan Wrasse, Dogfish, Golden Rudd, Golden Tench & Golden Orfe

Robbie - 11 Species - Perch, Mirror Carp, Roach, Rudd, Eel, Ballan Wrasse, Topknot, Crucian Carp, Common Carp, Golden Rudd & Blue Orfe

Shane - 8 Species - Rudd, Roach/Bream Hybrid, Crucian Carp, Pollock, Shore Rockling, Common Carp, Mirror Carp & Roach

Zoe - 5 Species - Pike, Goldsinny Wrasse, Rock Goby, Ballan Wrasse & Long Spined Sea Scorpion

Grant - 2 Species - Ballan Wrasse & Tompot Blenny

As always thanks for reading and please check out fishingtails.co.uk where I'm now a contributor. 

Stuck In The Rudd

Any self-respecting fishing challenge has to involve a trip to Angler's Paradise - or in this case, it's day-ticket cousin, Angler's El Dorado.
If you didn't know, these two fishing complexes are both owned by the legendary fishing eccentric, Zyg Gregorek. The many lakes are stocked with a huge variety of fish species and colour variations, it truly lives up to its name as a Mecca for Coarse Fishermen.
Angler's El Dorado is for people who aren't looking for a full week's accommodation but still want the chance to catch Koi and Golden varieties of Carp, Tench, Orfe & Rudd plus the predatory Catfish. For a fishing species challenge it's perfect as there are many that won't find anywhere else. £10 for access to all four lakes for a day is a bargain too considering that ranges from fishing for Tench & Orfe to the much heavier Carp & Cats. We decided to focus on the bigger variety of fish in the Orfe & Tench Lakes whilst also pitting our wits against the Carp in the Koi Lake. I had decided to try out my vintage Ambidex Casting Reel too, a quick google search had informed me it could be over 50 years old yet it still worked fine, so with new modern line I was eager to test it out against its modern equivalent.

We arrived just after 9am to beautiful sunshine and fish topping everywhere in the Orfe & Tench Lake in front of us. With anticipation we set up... well we would have had I not left my tackle box at home! I couldn't believe it. The first time ever it had happened to me and home was over an hour away. I truly felt like an idiot! Robbie was late too so we didn't have the back up from him either. Luckily Will, Ellie and Olly are a forgiving bunch, so me and Will made the short trip to the Angler's Paradise tackle shop. Too much money later we were back and set up with shiny new tackle. In front of us were literally thousands of golden fish, most of them only an inch or two long but with the occasional larger Golden Rudd lurking amongst them. Ellie had the first fish, the first of what we end up being countless Rudd. She quickly followed it up with a lovely little Golden Tench, a fish that I have been very keen to catch ever since I knew they existed. Tench are such an endearing fish and the gold variant just adds to their charm. We all got to fishing properly (except Robbie who was typically late) and all started catching lots of Rudd. When Robbie finally turned up, we found the maggots he brought to be even better at catching them. They inevitably became a bit of a nuisance, especially as when you would think you had a Golden Orfe on, it would just turn out to be a fantastically coloured Rudd. I'm not sure if they interbreed but some of the Rudd have all the characteristics and colours of an Orfe, but with the obvious deep body and strong upturned mouth of a Rudd. Stunning fish but with the Challenge in mind it was no good catching the same species over and over. Float fishing sweetcorn with the split shot bulked nearer the hook put off all but the biggest Rudd, though it was slower going. Will caught a Golden Tench and lost a Blue Orfe just after, Robbie was fishing a feeder next to him and it was slow going. Myself and Ellie walked around the lake looking for different fish. I had spoke to the guy who ran El Dorado before, he had told me they also had Chub & Barbel in the lake, something nobody else could confirm so I don't know the truth in it, either way we definitely didn't catch one! I did however find a huge shoal of Orfe and cast to them with maggot, they reacted greedily and my first ever Golden Orfe was soon in my hand, it was tiny to be honest but I was happy with another species. Ellie and Will had some too, still small like my one, we couldn't see any larger specimens which was a shame.
With the fishing getting a tad monotonous we moved down to the Koi Lake. There were some lovely fish up to 4-5lbs cruising about at the surface, all of them in unique shades of red, gold, white and black. These fish might have been dressed in clown's colours but they were no fools. We tried many different tactics but couldn't tempt one, though Robbie managed a Blue Orfe and lost a good fish in the thick weeds. Will caught a couple of Golden Tench but the Koi eluded us. I can only compare it to Mullet fishing, they just ghost past your bait or take every free offering except yours, frustrating stuff I'm sure you'll agree.
Will and Rob went off to try for Carp & Catfish and Myself, Ellie and Olly went back up to the first lake to catch the species we needed. I needed a Blue Orfe and a Golden Tench, Ellie needed a Blue Orfe and Olly needed both Orfe types and the Tench. We baited up an area near a tree and set to fishing, the Rudd were still proving a slight annoyance but Olly caught two nice Blue Orfe in quick succession. One off the list. It took me a while to catch anything other than Rudd but my first ever Golden Tench was soon on the bank, I quickly took a picture alongside my vintage reel and placed it back. The reel was a delight to use and I'm looking forward to testing it on more sizable fish. I then had a Blue Orfe and I had completed the four. Olly was still after Golden Orfe and Tench, I decided we would try and find some of the smaller ones and cast to them. So began about 15 minutes of frustration for Olly and hilarity for me as he just couldn't catch one. They either came off or turned out to be Rudd. I did feel for him but ultimately the fish beat him, he gave up and returned for the Tench. Whilst we were Orfe chasing Ellie was catching Tench after Tench, all she wanted was a Blue Orfe but it wasn't to be. Olly though sensed his opportunity and after a short while was finally into something other than a Rudd! A better sized Golden Tench that turned out to have no dorsal fin, a bizarre deformity but probably something quite common in ornamental fish that are specifically bred for colour. With no luck on the Carp and Catfish, Will and Robbie fancied heading home and we agreed, not the massive success we had hoped but still some rare species caught and a beautiful day in the sunshine. Those Cats would have to wait for another time.

After that the totals are:

Ben - 22 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, Goldsinny Wrasse, Golden Rudd, Golden Orfe, Blue Orfe & Golden Tench

Ellie - 17 Species - Golden Rudd, Rudd, Roach, Gudgeon, Perch, Pike, Corkwring Wrasse, Pollock, Mirror Carp, Ghost Carp, Black Goby, Tompot Blenny, Long Spined Sea Scorpion, Ballan Wrasse, Common Blenny, Golden Tench & Golden Orfe

Olly - 15 Species - Perch, Rainbow Trout, Pike, Rudd, Roach, Mirror Carp, Common Carp, Pollock, Goldsinny Wrasse, Common Blenny, Shore Rockling, Corkwring Wrasse, Golden Rudd, Blue Orfe & Golden Tench

Will - 14 Species - Rudd, Roach, Gudgeon, Pike, Tompot Blenny, Corkwring Wrasse, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Common Goby, Ballan Wrasse, Dogfish, Golden Rudd, Golden Tench & Golden Orfe

Robbie - 11 Species - Perch, Mirror Carp, Roach, Rudd, Eel, Ballan Wrasse, Topknot, Crucian Carp, Common Carp, Golden Rudd & Blue Orfe

Zoe - 5 Species - Pike, Goldsinny Wrasse, Rock Goby, Ballan Wrasse & Long Spined Sea Scorpion

Shane - 5 Species - Rudd, Roach/Bream Hybrid, Crucian Carp, Pollock & Shore Rockling

Grant - 2 Species - Ballan Wrasse & Tompot Blenny

It's Only Rock(ling) & Roll, But I Like It

This is a small post about small fish.

The realities of work recently have limited my fishing greatly so I don't have a huge amount to report. Though that doesn't mean there hasn't been some progress in the challenge for myself and others.

With the dreaded 'May Bloom' in full effect (the algal bloom we tend to get in the sea around May time), inspiration for chasing a late spring Bass or Wrasse has been thin on the ground. The algal bloom making the sea more resemble a rich Pea Soup than clear water recently. This led to myself & Olly keeping it very local with a short walk down to Mutton Cove in Mount Wise, fishing light with chopped Black Lugworm & the ever reliable Isome. I was confident of fish even though the water was green and murky. Keeping tackle light and hooks small I was soon into a fish, a Goldsinny Wrasse, my first ever of the species and what turned out to be the first of many for the evening. Olly took a while to get going but had a good sized Ballan on his Pen Rod which gave a fantastic account of itself. Fishing close to the harbour walls at high tide we got plenty of response to our baits, mainly Goldsinny for me and mainly Ballan for Olly. The highlights of this fishing being the surprise when a Ballan takes your bait after being plagued by the frustratingly small mouthed Goldsinny, the difference in fight couldn't be more obvious. With Wrasse seemingly the only fish interested in our baits we finished up after a couple of hours with a respectable amount of fish to our name, Olly's Ballan of well over a pound winning best fish.

A couple of days later I was itching to try something different. Flounder really fascinate me and I was thinking of how to catch one. A bit of advice from fellow Plymouth LRF'er Andy Smith on Facebook led me trying to lure one out around Millbay with the incoming tide. The tide was already half in by the time I got down there and it made the fishing more difficult, I had hoped to fish in shallower water and perhaps even sight fish for them. Time and Tide wait for no man though and it just means I'll have to try again. What probably didn't help was that there were Shannys (or Common Blenny if you prefer their less humourous name) splashing around all along the wall beneath me, I couldn't resist them and it was very enjoyable watching them vertically chase the lure up and down the Harbour wall. After catching three I realised I had let myself get distracted and I had to pick Ellie up from town so it was time to go. Flounder 1 Ben Nil.
Olly and Shane had plans to fish into the night at Devil's Point on the same evening. They had no luck on their Legered or Float Fished Mackerel strips but, to keep themselves entertained, they brought along their Pen Rods, this proved to be a masterstroke as they both caught a couple of Shore Rockling each plus Olly had a Ballan & two Shannys. Rockling aren't usually a target for most anglers but can be fantastic blank savers. They also fight quite hard on light tackle. It certainly made both of them a lot happier with their evening's fishing, even if the larger species avoided them.

Ellie hadn't caught a Ballan, Goldsinny or Shanny so was eager to get out and catch them. I obviously was very happy to escort her on this endeavour. I decided to try Devil's Point since it had fished quite well for Olly a couple of days before. Having finished work I quickly picked up a small amount of Ragworm, grabbed the rods and headed out with Ellie. It was a beautifully warm day and the place was full of people taking in the sunshine. Ellie had the first fish, the Ballan she had been looking for, not massive but a good start. I then followed that up with a Goldsinny (obviously can't get away from them now!), all the while a young couple were watching on as I explained the merits of LRF & LBF fishing to them. The chap was so impressed by the amount of bites we were getting, he told me he would be investing in some ultralight fishing gear soon, I should be on commission! All was going well until a particularly chatty woman came down to fish about 15 minutes after we had arrived. I am all for social fishing but she was too much, not to mention rude at times and after putting up with her for half an hour, whilst also catching some lovely Ballan & Corkwring, we decided to move over to the rocks. Finally in peace we carried on catching, I couldn't stop tempting Corkwrings out, not that I minded, I truly believe that they are the prettiest fish we have in the UK, whilst Ellie had some nice Ballans. Together we had caught nearly twenty fish, all of them Wrasse species except for a tiny lonely Shanny. Hungry and pretty satisfied with our humble (but very colourful) haul we headed home.

Totals so far are:

Ben - 18 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 & Goldsinny Wrasse

Ellie - 14 Species - Golden Rudd, Rudd, Roach, Gudgeon, Perch, Pike, Corkwring Wrasse, Pollock, Mirror Carp, Ghost Carp, Black Goby, Tompot Blenny, Long Spined Sea Scorpion & Ballan Wrasse.

Will - 11 Species - Rudd, Roach, Gudgeon, Pike, Tompot Blenny, Corkwring Wrasse, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Common Goby, Ballan Wrasse & Dogfish

Olly - 11 Species - Perch, Rainbow Trout, Pike, Rudd, Roach, Mirror Carp, Common Carp, Pollock, Goldsinny Wrasse, Common Blenny & Shore Rockling

Robbie - 9 Species - Perch, Mirror Carp, Roach, Rudd, Eel, Ballan Wrasse, Topknot, Crucian Carp & Common Carp

Zoe - 5 Species - Pike, Goldsinny Wrasse, Rock Goby, Ballan Wrasse & Long Spined Sea Scorpion

Shane - 5 Species - Rudd, Roach/Bream Hybrid, Crucian Carp, Pollock & Shore Rockling

Grant - 2 Species - Ballan Wrasse & Tompot Blenny

As always, thanks for reading.