Catch report 05/07/12 - Pushing the light game boundary...

Weather and work are really messing with my fishing karma at the moment. But with an eagerness to push the limits of my sport I have managed a couple of shorter LRF sessions recently with local LRF amigo, Mike SULLIVAN hailing from The Rockfish Revolution.

We have discussed LRF a lot recently and having broken a few of those "you can't do" scenarios over the past months (4-5lb Bass on 5g rods!! on more than one occasion..since when!) we have decided to see how far the LRF wagon will take us. LRF has been, till now, predominately Harbour/Marina fishing close to civilisation. Now LRF is fun fishing!! It can be unlikely that you will blank a session [although some starting out will do, even some of the more seasoned members of our group still do ;)] and this in turn keeps people interested in this style of fishing as well as the pure variety of species and accessiblility of marks that comes hand in hand with LRF style angling.

But is this the limit of LRF style fishing or can we take it a few stages further? Well of course the answer is always going to be onward and upward :) and this has been the mission for the past couple of sessions. So where to start. Well both being avid HRF anglers as well as having the prime rough ground marks of our coastline it's a natural place to start. No!! I dont mean rock pool LRF, although it will have to be done ;) I mean back to my favourite of all species and lets push the LRF limits on wrasse.

First session took me back to the mark which started my journey into angling. It's as good a place as any to look at LRF wrasse with it's heavily weeded and rocky terrain. It was a cracking session with Mike clearly taking the better fish, mine coming on the last cast before giving up :) but left me with some observations on how I am limiting my angling by forcing myself into catagories when I fish. To explain, I turned up to the mark for an "LRF" session. As I have previously explained here this means a more "urban" approach to my fishing in this style. However, this was no longer harbour LRF style fishing this was coastal LRF style which brings into play all the usual coastal angling factors. I had no waders with me, well that ended up with wet feet. I was fishing heavy weeded and rough terrain. Even the smaller jigs and lures got snagged very easy and I had no light weedless tackle!! I lost the most end gear I have in any session since I learnt Texas rigging was the way forward.

So by pigeon holing my fishing styles into prescribed and immovable "templates" I had probably one of the worst sessions in terms of fish for quite some time. But there was a blank saving wrasse hiding in a hole who was more than happy to try and stuff an Ecogear Bug Ant 2" in white. My first fish on the bug ants which haven't overly produced for me in the past.

LRF Ballan Wrasse

Pause for thought and a quick login to Jacks LRF shop. Size 6 and 8 weedless hooks on the way. I didn't imagine for a second that texas rigging would come into play with my LRF angling but this last session supplied more than enough evidence that marks such as this will produce fish if you have the right gear.

In our second session we hit a place I have thought about trying for some time. Again back to the coastal shore on the rocks but taking the weed out of the equation. The tide was high and with it brought waves hitting the rocks which is unusual for this mark. Not the best day to start on a new venue but we fished on. As with any new area it takes a while to seek the holding areas for fish and it was sometime into the session before we hit the right spot. Wrasse for both myself and Mike, who also picked up a quick take OTD from a pollack.

My wrasse come from a break in the rock which went down through to the main body of water. The tide was pushing a column of water into this area and the wrasse was waiting for food, taking the white Paramax as the  water level dropped.

LRF Ballan Wrasse

All in all some interesting angling over these sessions. I will be keen to return to the weed once I sort out a weighting system between 1-2g for the weedless rigging of the lures. Now that I thought about it a visit to some local marks filled with rock pools could be in order to see what they throw up. Can't believe Im ending a post and leaving you on that thought :)

And to all those attending this weekends Cornish Lure Festival, Good Luck and enjoy!

Till next one, tight lines!