Let's Talk Triggers

Let's take us back to Plymouth in August; the weather is beautiful, there's feathers being chucked everywhere and there's tropical fish in the harbour... 

It was quite possibly the worst kept secret; the fact that if you knew where to look, you could easily find grey triggerfish in good numbers. The nights are drawing in now and the temperature is dropping, so it feels like a good excuse to reminisce about those warmer days. 

The name - grey triggerfish, doesn't really do them justice.

I have to say I'm a huge admirer of the species. A fish this bizarre looking ticks all my fish geek boxes. So let's talk triggerfish and hopefully my ramble about them might provide some new information for you. Not being an expert, I have only managed to catch two so far, one in 2017 and one this year. This year they seemed much more numerous though, making me sure if I had targeted them more I would have had a few. I will talk about that a bit later in this blog, but first a bit of background on this species. 

My first ever trig'

Summertime in the South-West brings with it so many things, hoards of tourists, unpredictable weather and a large variety of fish species. One of those species is obviously the grey triggerfish. Triggerfish are more commonly found around the West Atlantic but, as with so many species, the Gulf Stream has carried them over to the Eastern side too. A warm water species, the relative cool of the British Isles doesn't appear to be ideal habitat for them - global warming, it would appear, is making a rapid change to that. Over the last thirty years our local average water temperature has increased by nearly 1.5 degrees Celsius; a considerable margin and enough to encourage subtropical species like the triggerfish here every year.

The 'trigger' fin on full display, the fish can use this to lock itself in snags and holes in the rocks.

Plymouth isn't the only place they frequent; Chesil Beach is probably the most reliable mark in the country for them. Any wrecks along that beach being a fairly sure bet for finding one. There is also evidence, mainly from dead triggers found on beaches, that they travel as far north as the west coast of Scotland. Where these fish come from isn't well researched, I am certainly curious. My theory is they get their spawning done in warmer waters during spring, then let the currents take them to our shores. Whether or not they do this as a migration, returning every year, or that they simply come here by mistake and die in the winter, is up for debate. Not being a marine biologist, I'm not in the position to answer. The fact that so many triggers are found washed up after the first winter storms, certainly adds credence to the mistake theory. It makes more sense to me though, that lots make it back safely, to make the journey again. Which would be why we find them turning up at the same marks year after year.

I found this image on https://www.glaucus.org.uk/Triggerf.htm which is full of interesting sightings, it would appear the majority of trigger deaths are for fish that stay into December. 

So what do they feed on here? Triggerfish are methodical predators and scavengers, feeding on crustaceans and shellfish by investigating the rocky seabed and walls, finding their prey and crushing their shells with their incredibly strong mouths. Their teeth are very tough but their mouth is small in relation to the size of the fish. This has given them a deserved reputation of being 'bait stealers' (in this trait they remind me of goldsinny wrasse and they feed in a similar way, just on a much larger scale). It would appear that one of the easiest ways to tell it is trigger's attacking your bait/lure, is to find clean but small chunks taken out of it. Not even ballans are as strong-jawed and a trigger will rarely leave bite marks like a wrasse, they just take full chunks away.

In Plymouth the majority of the triggerfish are caught in areas where you expect to find wrasse, this makes sense as they share a similar diet. You can certainly expect to catch a lot of wrasse whilst fishing for them and that isn't really a hardship! Harbour walls at high tide, or deep water marks at low tide seem to produce the most consistent fishing, although they are far from common. From the evidence I have seen, they are a fish of habit. They will stay localised until either fishing pressure puts them off, or they run out of food items. If you are lucky enough to see one naturally in the water, you will notice it swims almost nonchalantly, gliding slowly and effortlessly. Never underestimate them though, when they want to use that big tail, they are capable of bursts of great speed. Something that may surprise you when you hook one.

That streamlined dinner plate shape cuts through the water with ease.

Bait choice is simple, use what they eat - crabs, limpets and worms, but it would appear that the majority are caught unintentionally on slivers of mackerel or squid. Whether or not this is due to mackerel being the most commonly used bait in the summer, or an actual preference from the species is up for debate. It does set them apart from wrasse though, as ballans do not seem so keen on fish baits.

My second trigger, caught this year on ragworm.

Lure choice is simple too, use as scented a lure as you can find. A section of large Gulp Sandworm appears to be a favoured choice but I am convinced a small crab imitation would also do well - something I wish to experiment with in future. I caught my first on the all conquering Ecogear Aqua Shirasu. I know anglers who have caught them on Isome worms too. The key element here is attraction by smell and taste. These fish don't seem to want to chase prey, they inspect and nibble so a flavoursome lure is vital. They aren't stupid though and when I could see the fish, I witnessed them ignore my lure repeatedly. I believe this was because these fish had already been under pressure from anglers, leading them to be overly cautious - more on that in a moment.

Technique and tackle wise, I can only go by my catches. Both times I have caught them I was using a light size 10 Decoy Rocket Jighead. I used my trusty LRF gear rated to 7 grams, six pound braid and four pound fluorocarbon leader. If they are in close I think you are doing them a great disservice by catching them on heavy gear, although having a bit of strength to bully them is helpful. You are definitely better off using a long-shanked hook or else you are very liable to be bitten off, don't go cheap and you should be fine. I do, as always, recommend using a pair of pliers to 'de-barb' your hooks though, just in case you are bitten off, at least then the hook can easily fall out. Personally I don't see the need for a wire trace when fishing for them, just strike early and the hook should set well in the thick lips or just behind the teeth

Some serious dentistry! 

It's worth telling the story of my first trigger, as I felt as overjoyed as I did guilty. 

I would love to say it was all my doing and on pure fishing brilliance alone I caught it, but that wouldn't be the truth... 

I was actually fishing next to Simon Kingdom (owner of the brilliant Osborne & Cragg tackle shop) who was targeting them specifically. The large piece of drop-shotted gulp he was using was getting absolutely shredded, so he went to replace it. I (shamefully) figured it was worth a drop into the spot he was fishing, using my favourite pink Ecogear Shirasu. Instantly I got strange bites and then struck into a decent fish. My rod bent in two as the fish put up a great scrap. A few moments later the trigger came to the surface! Simon graciously netted it for me and I could have jumped for joy. My top target for that summer - my first ever grey triggerfish, achieved. Lucky enough Simon is the forgiving type and also a top-notch angler, catching his own a couple of days later from the same spot. I breathed a sigh of relief when he did!

My 'stolen' fish.

Simon with his well deserved fish, caught on Gulp Sandworm.

The second came this summer, the day before, myself and Scott Dyer had walked around Sutton Harbour looking for one. Scott had already caught one while I was away (looking on quite enviously) in France on holiday. As we peered over the edge we saw at least six of them, cruising just under the surface casually. Tried as we might we couldn't tempt one to take a lure of any kind, they looked like they had wised up. 

Scott with his trigger, caught on red Isome

So the next day I agreed to meet Scott at the same spot, bringing Ryan Goudie along for the ride. Ryan wisely persuaded me that bait was the best option. With a jighead baited with ragworm we tried again. Yet still they wouldn't be fooled. I started chucking small chunks of worm to one on the surface. The fish started confidently munching the freebies. I used this confidence to sneak my baited jighead in next, instantly it attacked the worm. I waited until I saw the jighead enter it's toothy mouth and struck... All hell broke loose! The fish shot off at breakneck speed, my reel screamed. I just managed to stop the fish burying itself in weed when it shot off again. It took another two runs before it came to the surface, a real dinner plate of a fish. Ryan landed it for me and I shook his hand in delight. After a rather indulgent photo-shoot the fish went back. That same evening, Ryan caught one of his own and Scott lost one as it snagged him up. Both of their fish fell to half a peeler crab. The ferocity in which they tore apart the crab, made it clear that is the number one bait for them. 

Ryan's fish wolfed down half a peeler crab in seconds.

I didn't go back to target the triggers more, mainly due to word getting round quite rapidly they were there. It meant the spot was almost always full with anglers, so I was quite happy with my singular fish. It will be interesting to see if any of them turn up in angler's catches during the autumn. If not then there's always next year. Hopefully this has been of some interest to you. I have done a fair bit of research on this fish and I really wanted to collate that in the form of a blog post.

As always thanks for reading and check out my Instagram and Facebook pages - search benbassettfishing.

Light Metal Fishing

There are few types of lure fishing that feel as simple and pure as spinning with metals. The act of casting out a shiny thing with hooks in it, yet somehow persuading a fish it's food, has fascinated anglers for generations. In the end it's a piece of metal: no frills, no scent, just a fish catcher. But that's not always the case is it? There's so much more to the world of jigging and that's what's had me fascinated recently.

The ol' stinky snake! Tempted by a Majorcraft Jigpara.

As with every fishing technique, I'm no expert and that's always a pretty fun position to be in. You can never stop learning and the finish line should always be moving further away from you, all the time setting new goals. My first experience with lures was with a small spinner, targeting perch. We would catch hundreds of little 'stripeys' on my local river as a kid. It kicked off a love affair of fishing with artificials; although I couldn't have guessed how intense that love would get in my adult years! Since then I have gone from dabbling with lures to being completely obsessed, as you can probably guess if you have read any of my blogs over the years.

Schoolies are great admirers of all things shiny.

That brings me to metals, being a keen LRF'er I'm mostly talking about small, metal shore casting jigs up to around 7 grams. These range from cheap £1.50 Dexter Wedges to over £7 for something by Shimano or Xesta. Now what you fish with is your business, unfortunately my inner tackle tart is easily tempted and ouch, my bank balance does feel the burn! Do more expensive lures catch you more fish? Probably not but they sure are pretty. I digress though, the point of this little blog isn't to persuade you to buy fancy lures, it's to talk about the different techniques I enjoy and the variety of fish species I catch on them.

The scad were everywhere that evening, smashing the lures on the drop.

Probably my most successful, is also the simplest: the cast and retrieve. By this I mean casting out your lure, letting it sink to the required depth and straight retrieving it back with pauses and lots of twitches. There are few pelagic fish that will ignore a metal whizzing past their face seductively. As with pretty much all my spinning (I use that as a blanket term for fishing with metal lures but it's not my favourite), I prefer not to use a solid tip rod as I get far more action from a tubular model.

When you think metals, you can't help but think mackerel. I just can't understand why you would ever use feathers to catch these incredible fish.

The next is the classic sink and draw. This where you cast out, let the lure sink, then reel in the slack, then let it sink again, reeling in the slack and repeating, lifting the rod as you retrieve. This provides bites on 'the drop'; essentially as the lure flutters down a fish snaps it up. This can be a killer with species like scad and mackerel. For garfish, I like to use a shallower, slower version of this where I don't let it sink as long, so it's constantly fluttering up and down on the retrieve. They will hit it on the drop and hopefully you lift into the fish and strike, in theory...

Assist hooks can boost your catch rates, especially when scad are hitting the lures on the drop.

By far my favourite though, mainly because I don't get to do it that often, is the 'bounce along the bottom'. This is so simple and is just as it reads. You find a mark that is pretty snag free, let the metal hit the bottom then either straight retrieve it across the sand, hopefully leaving an intriguing dust trail in your wake. Or, even better, add jumps, pauses and twitches to this, bouncing it up so predators can see it flutter back to the bottom. Little flatties cant resist this technique and you will likely catch other sand dwellers like gurnards too.

Little turbot are as pretty as they are ravenous. Use small skinny metals for these guys.

This is all nothing new, but it hopefully might inspire you to cast out a metal or two next time you are out. As we move into October and November, the fishing can be slightly harder but the fish tend to be bigger; and those big fish love to be tricked into munching a piece of shiny steel.

My fishing buddy Richard Salter (check out his YouTube channel HERE) caught this lovely tub gurnard on a cheap 6 gram Fladen Mini Jig, just going to show you don't need the expensive lures to catch beautiful fish.

If you want a little more information, check out this video made by Weymouth LRF wizard Andy Mytton. It covers a lot of really interesting techniques and tackle.

For anybody interested, my recommended LRF metals would be, in no order:

Majorcraft Jigpara Micro Jigs in regular and slim

Shimana Soare TG ACE

Xesta After Burner Mini

HTO Fugitive

&

The classic Dexter Wedge

.


As always thanks for reading and check out my Facebook and Instagram pages if you haven't already, search benbassettfishing.

Taking The Mullet For A Spin

My target - the thin-lipped mullet.

The grey mullet, a group of fish that I both love and hate, none more so than the thick-lipped variety. Thick-lips grow to rather generous weights and fight like Floyd Mayweather. They are plentiful in our estuaries and are easily found by the roving angler. Yet, if you have any knowledge of angling at all, you know they are a nightmare to catch! They filter feed through their unusually shaped mouths and they tend to feed aggressively only in short spells, on certain points of the tide. If you are a sucker for punishment (I am) then these are the fish for you. Having put in time and commitment I was lucky enough to catch a few last year.

A local Plymouth thick-lipped mullet caught last year, they will take bread but not lures.

In Plymouth we have fantastic numbers of thick-lipped mullet, yet their thin-lipped cousins are a bit of a rarity. Thin-lips grow to a lower maximum size than the thicks and tend to be a little more enthusiastic about fresh water, travelling far up-river in their search for food. The thin-lips are also significantly easier to catch, due to the fact they can't resist a baited spinner! Despite this, I had never caught a thin-lipped mullet before (despite a few tries and missed opportunities!), so I was keen to finally tick one of my wishlist. It was obvious I would have to travel farther afield, there was only one place to go, Weymouth harbour.

Weymouth is a two hour-plus drive from Plymouth but I'm lucky to have friends in the area, giving me the perfect excuse to fish it when I can. Although I don't know the place like the locals, I'm starting to get a fair idea of the hot spots. One thing I do know is that the upper harbour is mullet heaven! Thin-lipped mullet of all sizes cruise about in the shallows, giving me a perfect opportunity to target them. With these in mind, me and dad brought out the customised baited spinners and got to work.

What is the 'baited spinner'? 

If you aren't aware of this contraption, and honestly this catches almost everything that swims, let me enlighten you. You can buy these in most tackle shops but I prefer to tie them myself. Firstly take a high quality spinner like a Mepps, don't go cheap you will regret it when it doesn't spin! Then use a pair of pliers to snap off the treble hook. This leaves a hook-less spinner. You then tie a length of line to it using your preferred knot. You can use any line but stiff hook-links work best. I use 25lb test Fluorocarbon as I find it's less susceptible to twist and tangling. I have heard of people using pike trace wire to great effect for the same reason. Either way I aim to have a length of around six inches from spinner to hook. This seems to work best for me, although be ready to change it if bites aren't coming so readily. Hook wise you can use anything from a size 12 to a size 6. again it depends on if you're missing bites. I always prefer to go smaller, so a long shank size 12 is my go to hook for mullet. Bait the hook with a small section of ragworm, running the worm up the line until the hook is at the very end, this will get you maximum hook-ups. To catch mid-water species like mullet and bass use a steady retrieve through those layers. For bottom dwellers like flatfish and wrasse, try a stop start retrieve along a fairly clean bottom. Honestly you will be amazed by how many species you will catch. 

We arrived at the harbour and were not let down by the mullet. There were many swimming about, including some very decent sized fish of around four pound. At first I was determined to catch a mullet using an artificial worm like Isome, but after a few casts and many follows without a bite it was clear only the real stuff would do. A quick trip to the ever reliable Weymouth Angling Centre (dodging the various stag do's on our way) provided us with the fresh live ragworm we needed.

My first ever thin-lipped mullet.

The transformation in our fortunes was startling. On most casts we were getting follows and delicate takes. I did notice that they often go for the spinner blades, ignoring the bait. This is definitely an avenue I would like to pursue in the future, catching a thin-lip on a unbaited artificial, it does happen so it's worth trying myself. Both me and dad were making strange and bizarre noises as we watched the fish follow then turn away at the last second. Casting and retrieving were also made difficult by a metal fence, probably put up to deter anglers like ourselves, but we worked around it, entranced by these fish.

The dreaded railing that would likely deter most other fishermen...

Finally a fish snapped fully at my bait, hooking itself in the process. There's no need to strike with this method as the fish pulls against your retrieve anyway. It wasn't huge and I have to say I was a little disappointed with the fight, the mullet didn't try to run like a thick-lip, it just wallowed and flipped about. My trusty gilly reached down over the fence and netted my first ever thin-lipped mullet and I beamed with happiness. I love that feeling of catching a new species, a previously unknown creature now in your hands. I quickly discovered that, unlike the hardier thick-lips, thin-lips readily shed their scales, so I was extra cautious when handling it. I removed the spinner and quickly returned it to it's harbour home.

Sun shining, a new species, that's my kind of Saturday.

Dad soon had a hook up from a much larger fish, unfortunately no sooner had he hooked it that it turned and snapped his braid! We couldn't believe it. I felt terribly guilty as he was fishing with my back up reel, with much older braid on it. Just goes to show we're not all perfect and you should replace your line regularly. A lesson learned. It put a slight downer on proceedings as we had plans to leave soon anyway, this only being a quick trip in between visiting friends.

This larger specimen topped off the day nicely. 

My mood was quickly lifted though by another great take, this fish putting up a much better fight. Still not thick-lip standards but great fun. I enjoyed watching it twist and turn in the shallows beneath me, it's silver sides flashing back the May sunshine. Eventually it came to the net and I had a better specimen, although still only around a pound or two. After he was returned though the fishing switched off, as if the mullet just decided 'we're not hungry anymore'. The wind was picking up and the tide was quickly retreating, it was our cue to leave. A new species ticked off that's left me excited to try it again!

As always, thanks for reading and please check out my Facebook page for regular updates and blog posts.

Osborne & Cragg Easter LRF Species Hunt

Two weeks ago it was that special time of the year again, the Osborne & Cragg Easter LRF species hunt. This being the third competition I had participated in, I was eager to beat my previous attempts and finish at least in a top three place. So how did I get on?

It started on April 1st and I had no plans to play the fool, getting out nice and early to get my first species on the board. The fish had other ideas though and my two favourite marks completely blanked on me! It was time to bring out the big guns just so I wasn't wasting the day, so I headed to Rame. I knew the spring tide would reveal loads of new rockpools that could hold a few species, even if the open sea was being a foaming angry beast. The first large rockpool gave up it's resident giant goby in a couple of casts - not a blank, phew! It was then to find the ever reliable shanny, which again did not take long and I then couldn't stop catching them all day.

I had two species ticked off, not too bad but I had hoped for at least one more. I walked around the entirety of Rame, hot and sweaty but still admiring the ravens cawing above me and the spectacular views. I then saw a gulley that had been cut off by the low tide. It was a sketchy climb down amongst sharp rocks that obviously don't see many anglers. The water was cloudy from the waves that had been battering it previously, but it looked fishy. I had a couple of hits just under the rod tip, then struck into a very strong fish. It caught me by surprise after all the blennies and it nearly snagged me up. After a brief moment of strong arm persuasion it came to the surface, revealing itself as one of the most beautiful corkwring wrasse I've ever seen! Day one was done and I had three species ticked off. 

The next day were the prearranged meets for the comp'. I could only attend the evening one on the Barbican. Luckily it turned out to be one of the best meets I have been part of, with lots of new faces and a fair few fish caught. I've become much more appreciative of Sutton Harbour's value as a fishing venue recently, with that night being one of the reasons. The water was teeming with fish, with huge mullet teasing everyone (well, mostly just Kieran!) at the surface and shoals of mackerel sleepily cruising by every ten minutes. I managed four species, a small ballan wrasse caught in daylight at Elphinstone, a rock goby, a goldsinny and one of those mackerel. The mackerel being a massive relief as I couldn't catch one in the last competition. So by the end of the night I was on seven species, feeling pretty confident about my chances this time.

With the weekend over, my fishing opportunities would be limited to evenings only. This was no bad thing, LRF is quite often even more effective at night, with a lot of mini-species being semi-nocturnal. In no species is that more true than the tompot blenny, they really come onto the feed once the sun starts setting, and it didn't take me long to catch one from a reliable mark. Species number eight. 

I had a little more time the next evening and set about catching a black goby and a scorpion fish. Quite unbelievably I caught both! Which, considering I struggle with scorpions in the competitions, was a huge relief. The black gobies were in their usual haunts around Millbay, aggressively attacking the Ecogear Shirasu Aqua lures. The tide was low and I had the rare pleasure of watching a small scorpion fish ambush the lure in front of me. I say it a lot but I absolutely love these fish, I never get sick of catching them. Those two species had taken me onto ten species.

I wasn't done that night though, with a late high tide I ventured out to Mount Wise. What lay before me was the single most inspiring sight an angler can experience - fish topping everywhere! The water was alive with fish and I knew they'd be herring. It took me three casts and three hook ups to land one, it was turning out to be an amazing evening. I had plenty more 'Tamar tarpon' before I decided that I better try for a pollack. I begrudgingly tore myself away from the herring and was rewarded with a chunky little pollack. Day five was done and I had a very respectable twelve species, which had completely exceeded my expectations. 

The next night I went out with Kieran. After watching him get snagged up by a mystery brute of a fish we decided to try for the herring again, Kieran having only ever caught one in his life. The herring were still there even though the tide was low. What then proceeded was a hilarious game of 'shake the hook' between the herring and Kieran. He really struggled at first to land any, which wasn't helped by me landing mine quite easily - no doubt my practice the night before had put me in good stead. He got there in the end though and I managed a bonus sand smelt to add to my total, a great night's fishing in good company. Day six and thirteen species.

Not until day ten did I get my next species and it was another huge favourite of mine, the garfish. These fish frustrate the hell out of me but I'm a sucker for the punishment, they are just so much fun on light gear. I turned up to a very sunny and therefore busy West Hoe Pier. What's handy about that though is it's very easy to see if the gar are about, as the pleasure anglers will definitely have caught a few if they are around. One of the chaps fishing had a bag covered in green scales that gave me the answer I needed. I cast around and quickly had four sand smelt. I moved around the pier and then had a mackerel. It was clear the gar were present but not in numbers, I had numerous hits that were undoubtedly them but it wasn't easy going. With time rapidly running out on the hour parking ticket I had bought, I had a take! The relief when I felt the fish rush for the surface and shake its head was palpable. I landed it finally and celebrated my fourteenth fish of the competition.

Day eleven arrived and I wanted a topknot or a poor cod to boost my total. I was fishing with Shane who is a casual LRF'er to say the least. I managed four species - shanny, pollack, corkwring and goldsinny, all lovely fish but not needed. We decided to try the harbour for bass instead as Shane had never caught one and I hadn't caught one for the comp' yet. As we fished around we bumped into Chris Price who had already caught a bass, a good sign. As we cast around the back wall we couldn't believe our eyes as hundreds of schoolie bass and mackerel swam in a ball in front of us. The stunning silver scales reflected the streetlights above us and I was temporarily in awe of such a sight. I quickly regained my senses and pulled my lure through the shoal, I had a big hit and after an energetic battle I subdued the bass I needed. Shane then followed mine up with one of his own and you could not knock the smile off his face, it was a great moment to be a part of. Day eleven and my fifteenth species.

It was getting tight at the top and I was level with Rob Eastman, who seemed to be matching me day by day. We were like two evenly matched football teams who kept coming back to equalise once the other had got into the lead. I needed something special and I couldn't rely on a flatfish (I seem to be absolutely useless at finding them! Much more practice is needed). I had tried and failed to catch a clingfish in the past but I knew that could be the bonus species I needed. I headed to a rockpool filled mark where I knew they were plentiful, equipped with isome and a size eighteen hook on a split shot rig. It was not easy! I searched rockpools everywhere for them but due to their small size and shy nature, it was hard going. I finally found a crevice where one was hiding, lucky for me this one was hungry! It quickly sucked in my minuscule piece of isome but I pulled it out of it's mouth, it took me three more times to hook it! The feeling when I held this tiny fish in my hand was equal to any species I have caught this year, such was the satisfaction in catching it. I had looked like a mad man and almost convinced myself that I was, but I had my sixteenth species.

The next day was Easter Sunday and day sixteen of the lure competition. I had the idea to fish the sandier waters of Polruan and Fowey with my dad, in the hope of something unusual. It started off so well, I quickly landed a sand goby, my seventeenth species of the comp' and I nearly had a tiny plaice! I couldn't get one though, although we bumped into Matt Downing who I knew through Instagram, he managed to tease one out and although I wished it was mine, I just admired it's miniature beauty and congratulated him. The rest of the morning was a bit of a write off unfortunately, no other fish for myself or my dad. So we headed home for some food and Easter eggs instead.

Due to a severe hangover on bank holiday Monday (when will I learn?), I didn't go out again until the evening. It turned out to be a pleasant session with a lovely pollack of just over a pound being the best fish. I also finally got to meet my rival for the title, Rob Eastman. Turns out he's a lovely guy and it made for enjoyable banter and stories as we fished together. My alcohol-caused tiredness soon beat me though and I called it a night and settled on my total of seventeen species. I just hoped Rob wouldn't catch the one more species required to catch me up!

At eleven o'clock the next day the bell was tolled and the comp' came to a close. I had won! What a fantastic feeling and a great achievement. I've learned a huge amount in the last year and a half fishing LRF, so rarely has a fishing technique captured my imagination as it has, and it's always a great pleasure to have all the hours put in rewarded in the end. Rob Eastman and Glenn Triscott are also excellent anglers so finishing above them is a fine honour. A huge thanks to Simon for putting on the competition and a huge well done to all the anglers who took part. We are lucky to have a awesome community of lure fisherman in the Plymouth area, which hopefully will continue to grow.

As always, thanks for reading and please check out my Facebook page for regular updates and blog posts.  

Rockpool LRF Part 1

This post will be part one of two, where I will share a few tips about species hunting in rockpools. Whether you are taking part in a competition or just want to add more species to your personal tally, ignore the rockpools at your peril, they can be full of surprises.

When the open sea is particularly finesse unfriendly, I will often try the more sheltered gulleys and rockpools. It can be tempting to just find a quiet spot in the harbour and try there, but then you are missing out on some truly entertaining fishing. In this brief feature, I will cover tackling the deeper pools, in the second instalment I will talk about the slightly trickier shallow ones.

What species are you likely to find in these rockpools? Certainly the most common I've found would be the shanny or common blenny; other species that are frequent in my neck of the woods are giant gobies, long spined sea scorpions, most of the wrasse species, shore rockling and clingfish. In theory though any rock dwelling or shore hugging fish types can get trapped in rockpools, sometimes making them easier to catch. Small mullet can also often be caught out by the receding tide, but try not to get too side tracked by them, a calm mullet is difficult to catch, a frightened and trapped one is impossible.

Tactics wise, split shot rigs and very light jigheads are the order of the day. Being so close to the water and the depth normally being less than a couple of feet, heavy weights are not necessary. Personally I don't use anything over two grams, my preferred weight being around one and a half. For the larger, more aggressive inhabitants, one or two inch unscented straw or ball tail lures can be excellent, especially in crystal clear water. If the water is coloured, particularly if the waves have been battering it at high tide, then Isome is definitely a winner, as it so often is.

What I love about tackling the rockpools is the fact it is low tide fishing. When your favourite mark is bone dry, the rocks near it can be saviours. I recently made the most of a very large spring low tide, the amount of rockpools it revealed was amazing, with whole gulleys and their inhabitants being temporarily cut from the sea. With a stealthy approach it means you have a captive audience of hungry fish, giving you a real chance of catching them.

I definitely have found a correlation, quite unsurprisingly, in how remote the pool is and how large the fish are that dwell within it. It makes perfect sense that the areas that see less humans have the highest density of fish species. We are after all a very scary sight to even the largest goby! If you are more focused on your HRF then you have an excuse to recce new marks at low tide, survey them then fish the rockpools near it. Not only will your HRF fishing improve because you know the mark more in depth, you also will have a better understanding of the prey fish living in that habitat - it's a win win.

But what makes a good rockpool? Firstly, as I've mentioned you need depth of around a foot or deeper. It should also be full of rocks, boulders or crevices to hide in. If there is an over-abundance of seaweed I try another, the fish might be there but you will quickly get frustrated with snagging on thick weed.

My favourite technique in clear water, is to flick the lure to the other side of the rockpool, slowly bouncing it across the rocks. You will quickly get the attention of whatever mini-predator is lying in wait. Scorpion fish in particular can be ultra aggressive and chase your lure, in one bite from their cavernous mouth they're on! It can be very compelling. Another excellent result in deeper pools can be the surprise strike into a wrasse, with nowhere to go they just go ballistic, trying to squeeze into any crevice they can. When you've been hauling out blennies, a wrasse can feel ten times it's size.

Hopefully this has given you some inspiration to try it out. In part two, I will talk more about the stranger fish species you can catch and how to tempt them, clingfish and sticklebacks being two examples.

As always, thanks for reading and supporting the blog. Check out Fishing Tails for more articles from myself and others.