Smooth operator

To say I've not been fishing much of late is an understatement, for some reason I've just not been able to muster up any interest in fishing my local lakes. Once again this closed season I've not had any kind of campaign to get my teeth into although I think this is more down to not having a new and interesting water to fish than actually losing my mojo. I could fish my usual local waters but to be honest they bore me to death these days and I'd rather not fish them at all than fish them half heartedly.

A couple of blogs ago I mentioned the canal and it's horrible colour due to the massive increase in boat traffic. Now the colour has always been a real confidence killer for me when fishing lures on the cut but some other anglers don't seem to bother about it at all and fish on regardless. The other day I was headed to a local club lake for a bit of rubber chucking and my journey there took me over the canal. Even though it was tea coloured I decided to have a few casts anyway just in case and was surprised to get a thump from something on only my second put-in.

Nothing else was forthcoming in that swim but I decided to fish a little more persistently and a couple of spots later I was rewarded with a nice perch which absolutely smashed my tiny pink shad. It looked well worthy of some challenge points anyway although it was some way short of the hoped for 2lb.

 

 

After that I moved onto the lake where I managed to pimp out a few micro-perch on the dropshot before heading home.

My next trip out was an impromptu visit to the beach at chapel st leonards in pursuit of my first Smoothound. A chance comment after seeing a post on Facebook about Smoothound the week before started the ball rolling for another of our little group get togethers. Now this was set to be an interesting one because, although we were all seasoned freshwater anglers, we hardly had any beach fishing experience between us let alone tackle for the job! The week in the run up to the trip was spent frantically sourcing suitable tackle and reading up/watching every available snippet we could find about catching smoothies, it was all very exciting.

The big day finally arrived and at 5.30am the East Midlands battle bus containing Myself, Andy, Dave and Phil set forth in the direction of Chapel and hopefully some rod bending action. We made it to local lad Big Phils house at around 7.15 and met up with him aswell as Lee and Martin. After a slap up brekky courtesy of Phil and his good lady Louise, our intrepid party headed to the beach via the bait man at Chapel point to pick up some extra supplies.

We headed around a mile down the beach from the point and it was all but deserted save for one poor unsuspecting angler who was totally unaware of the rabble that was about to descend on his tranquility. The tide was in, the sun was out and the wind was off our backs, good conditions for it we hoped! We walked to a suitable area a proceeded to get setup with everybody opting for squid as a starter bait due to it's ease of use.

Well it didn't take long to get stuck into some fish because we started getting thumps on the rodtips straight away. Phil scored first with a small but perfectly formed Smoothound which was the first any of us had seen let alone caught, mission accomplished!

 

 

Dave, Andy and Lee all stepped onto the scoresheet next with similar sized fish and it was proving to be a productive session. Phil had another and then Dave hooked a more substantial specimen. It pulled hard on the 3.5lb test pike rod he was using but it was soon tamed and the first big one of the trip was beached.

 

 

I must admit to being somewhat jealous of all these fish getting caught and was wondering when my turn would come. I'd been a little unlucky as I'd had two drop off but a change to a lugworm hookbait soon brought a change in my fortunes. The rod tip banged over hard then the line fell slack so I wound furiously to make contact with the fish and battle commenced. To be fair on the gear I was using it didn't stand much chance but it still had be back winding a couple of times. Pretty soon a nice smoothhound, certainly the biggest of the day so far, was wriggling up the beach and my day was complete, I didn't care if I didn't get another bite because I'd caught what I'd gone for.

 

 

 

After that the tide began to go out and sport died for everybody. It soon became tiresome moving the gear down the beach every 20mins but we were still hopeful of some more fish. Sadly, other than a couple of flatfish including my first Dab there was no more action forthcoming.

 

 

We decided to hang around until the tide came back in in the hope that the smoothies would come back in with it but when the flood tide did eventually come in it brought with it so much weed and rubbish that fishing was nigh on impossible so we gave up on it and headed home. All in all a good day out and yet another successful trip for our little Facebook group. After my LRF success the other week plus this, I think I shall be heading to the coast more often especially as I'd so love to catch a Bass. It's the one sea species I've tried for more than any other but so far one of its kind has eluded me, not for much longer though I hope!

 

 

 

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LRF - I could get into this!

May bank holiday came around and some friends had invited me and my better half to a wedding in Cornwall. The idea was to drop the kids off at the in-laws in Torquay, stop the night and then drive on into Cornwall to a b&b near port Isaac, with all that sea around it would've been rude not to take a rod along!

Now, light rock fishing or LRF as it is better known has grown massively in popularity in recent years as more and more anglers discover the sporting opportunies that the mini species which can be found in abundance all around our coastline can offer. The best way I can describe it is ultralite lure fishing at the seaside!

Usually for me, a trip to the sea involves me packing my beachcasting gear and ordering some lugworm at the venues local tackle shop but this time around I really quite fancied a dabble at the whole LRF thing as I'd never tried it before and I was hoping that it would add a whole new dimension to my already varied lure fishing exploits.

I did a bit of research on the internet with regards to lures, tackle and suitable venues and soon enough something like a plan was formulated. It felt quite odd packing such light kit for sea fishing and I have to admit to being quite dubious as to whether it would be up to the task!

Padstow harbour was to be my first port of call as I figured fishing vertically off walls into calm water would be the easiest thing to start with as it allowed me to exert the most control over the lure without having to worry about currents, rocks and tides too much. My research had told me that the first thing I needed to fish there was a permit from the harbour master as I was told I risked a hefty fine if I was caught without one. Fortunately the permit is just a formality, it's free of charge and valid for life plus I got some tips from the harbour master as to the different spots to try and the ones to avoid.

 

That sorted, I was soon tentatively dangling a tiny jighead baited with an ecogear aji-must alongside a moored boat completely unsure as to what to expect. My initial confidence soon began to wane however as, despite trying several spots, I never had so much as a tap.

 

I checked the time, it was nearly 10am and the harbour area was really starting to fill up with tourists. I didn't have too much time left myself as the wedding was at 2pm that afternoon and I had to get back to the b&b to get ready. I was just contemplating giving it up as a bad job when I noticed a couple of kids across the way chuck a load of fish bits in as they packed up their crabbing gear, the small fish topping over the 'loosefeed' was what really caught my eye and I was round there like a shot. I couldn't see anything on the surface upon my arrival but a couple of sharp taps on my first put-in really got my heart going even though I missed them. Next drop I connected with a fish straight away and swung in my first LRF-caught fish and my first ever Sand Smelt, I was most chuffed!

 

I managed a couple more afterwards to prove it wasn't a fluke before time got the better of me and I had to be gone. Although I was pleased to have caught, from what I'd been reading I really was expecting a bit more in the way of small bottom dwelling species such as blennys and scorpionfish. I figured a change of venue might be worth a go next time out.

After the wedding and subsequent reception shenannigans the previous night we headed back to Torquay feeling somewhat jaded and decided to blow the cobwebs away with a stopoff for something to eat at Brixham on the way. Obviously I'd already planned this little adventure beforehand as it allowed me to checkout the dangling opportunities around the towns breakwater! After convincing the missus I needed to take my rod along for our walk to the lighthouse I was soon having a cast around a likely looking feature for 'research' purposes (of course!)

 

In the all too few minutes I managed to squeeze in I had several good pulls but really couldn't connect with them so was non-the-wiser as to what the culprits were. I resolved to return at first light the next morning for a proper go prior to our long journey back to the midlands. That afternoon I also popped into the tackle shop in Torquay to pick up a few bits and ended up buying a slightly heavier 3-12g rod as I felt a little undergunned with the 0.5-7g I had been using. The currents off the breakwater were much stronger than in the harbour before and it was also extremely rocky.

The next day I was back, this time with my daughter Charlotte in tow, both of us proper determined to catch something. Once again I was getting lots of unhittable taps and decided to scale everything right down further and switch to dropshotting as opposed to fishing jigheads.

 

Straight away I was getting taps and still not connecting but after spotting some small wrasse darting in and out of the seaweed and rocks at my feet I decided to drop the lure on top of them to observe their reaction. They were on the bait instantly and although they were having a good go it became obvious that the problem was my bait and hook size. I swapped the size 8 for a 12 and the 1.5inch sliver of marukyu isome worm was reduced to half an inch. First put-in gave me a pretty little wrasse and I knew I was onto a winner!

A succession of small wrasse followed and it was really interesting watching them approach the bait and almost bristle at it in much the same way as perch do. It was also fascinating how they just appeared from nowhere every time the bait was lowered down amongst the rocks, the camouflage on those things is incredible. Charlotte was quick to get in on the action too and I ended up having a job prising the rod off her so I could have another go myself!

 

I spotted a few much larger shapes moving about further down the rocky slope and after much coaxing with a larger bit of worm I managed to hook one which looked around the 3lb mark. Now this thing really pulled and I struggled to stop it getting down into the rocks whereupon it promptly smashed me up, gutted! I couldn't hook another despite my best efforts so decided instead to stick with their smaller brethren.

Apart from a solitary goby all the fish we caught were wrasse and from what I can make out we caught three different species of them, Corkwing, Goldsinny and Ballan.

 

After a couple of hours I'd well and truly lost count of how many we'd caught but it had been a great trip for both of us. On my part it had given me loads of confidence in the whole LRF approach and for Charlotte it had given her lots of dropshotting practice to build on and obviously we both really enjoyed ourselves. Forget the bait fishing in future, whenever I visit the inlaws it's going to be LRF all the way now!

 

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Holiday time

It was holiday time in the Heathcote household and with all the scorching weather of late it couldn't come around quickly enough as far as I was concerned. South Devon was the destination and the weather was set to remain hot hot hot.

From a fishing point of view I had planned a couple of early morning trips to a couple of local rock marks I the hope of catching some wrasse, pollack and mackerel with maybe a chance of snagging a Bass or two.

 

Have rod will travel

 

Once we got settled I popped into Torquay to get some supplies and of course it would've been rude not to have a mooch around the harbour looking for signs of fish. There was Mullet and Bass in abundance everywhere I looked and I couldn't wait to get stuck in.

 

Mullet grazing on a pontoon (tiny phone pic)

 

It was 5am when myself and Charlotte found ourselves clambering down the rocks in the hope of bagging a decent spot. I was surprised to find my first choice area already packed out but people certainly seemed to be catching a few.

 

Busy busy busy!

 

We set up around the corner to the crowds and soon enough a Sandeel was bobbing about beneath a float just off the rocks. After about five minutes the float shot away and I struck fully expecting a whacker of a Bass or something but to my dismay i hit nothing but thin air. Nothing else occurred for the next hour and I began to get impatient especially when everytime I looked across to the crowds they were hauling mackerel left right and centre!

Charlotte was starting to look bored so I resolved to try for the wrasse and bass another day, I needed to get a bend in the rod So on went the feathers!

A couple of casts in and I felt a thump on the rod and a few seconds later a shiny Mackerel was being tentatively swung to hand. After showing Charlotte what to do, we took it in turns and nearly every cast was a coconut. At one point Charlotte had five at once!

 

Charlotte getting stuck in

 

After about half an hour of hauling, disaster suddenly struck! after a particularly exuberant cast with the 6oz lead i was suddenly aware that my rod seemed somewhat shorter. Closer inspection revealed that around six inches had snapped off the end and I noticed another crack had appeared around halfway down what was left of the tip section aswell, bugger!

As I reeled in I had another hit off a Mackerel and as I swung it in Charlotte went to grab it and managed to get a loose hook lodged in her hand. Much screaming ensued and there was rather a lot of blood but fortunately it wasn't in deep and I managed to get it out with no real harm done. Looks like that was the end of my holiday fishing then!

 

The sun sets on my holiday fishing hopes

 

It was roasting as we headed back up cardiac hill to the car but at least I had plenty of Mackerel for the freezer, those Bass would have to wait for another time.

 

The final catch, plenty of Pike bait there!

 

 

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Holiday Fishing

Friday 23rd July

As mentioned in my last blog entry, ive been on my hols in Devon over the last week and after a week of touring the local attractions in the rain i was raring to get out and do a spot of fishing. On friday i finally got my chance. Over the course of the week whilst on my travels id been sizing up a few likely areas but the main problem was getting access to a decent spot. All the rock marks seemed to be at the bottom of sheer drop cliffs and were extremely difficult to get to even at low tide. Any area of beach had hoards of surfers and bodyboarders which made it a non-starter so i was a bit stumped.

First thing friday morning i was at the tackleshop in Ilfracombe to buy some bait and ask for some advice on where to go. They were obviously used to being asked because no sooner had i done so when he produced a photocopied map of all the hotspots around Ifracombe which included details of what could be caught where and also tactics to use as well, great stuff!

I opted to fish on the seaward side of the outermost harbour wall, a spot according to the map known as the berricks. Parking was good, if a little expensive, but my spot was only 50 yards from the car which was nice, it certainly saved me clambering about on dodgy cliffs or shouting at pesky surfers! The tide was dropping fast so i would be fishing it at its lowest, i dont know if thats when its at its least prodauctive or not, i was to find out soon enough.



As i walked down there was couple of other anglers in residence along the harbour wall who had very little to report other than one chap who said hed had some sort of spiky fish which hed never seen before in 20 years of fishing there. I set up a two hook rig baited with ragworm and cockles and cast it about 30 yards out from the rocks. I was taken by surprise when almost straight away the tip started tapping and i reeled in this little chap below.



Pleased to have caught i recast and over the next hour was plagued by loads of taps and knocks which resulted in lots of missed strikes. I decided to scale my hook size down as i suspected that small fish were the culprits and sure enough i managed to hit the next bite and caught this oddity. Ive never seen or caught one before but the chap next to me said it was some kind of gurnard or something, when i remember ill look it up anyway.


After this a procession of small Wrasse followed until i ran out of bait at around lunchtime. The biggest was about 2lb or so but i enjoyed getting out there and getting away from it all for a bit. I did try floatfishing sandeels in the hope of a bass and missed a couple of fast bites but it was hard going. Ive booked up again for next year anyway so at least ill know what to expect and ive still got that map so few other areas will be getting some attention i reckon.