2013 - Looking Ahead To Bigger Things

2012 will not be remembered as the best for fishing results, personally I have had a bit of a stinker this year, with less fishing opportunity due to the continual crappy weather, and consequently less fish landed! So as this wet and windy year ends, here is a glimpse into my thoughts on how I am going to tackle the new year as we move into 2013 in a few days.

The key word for me in 2013 is going to be SIZE. This is in relation to tackle and lure size I am going to try and work, and importantly that size will be bigger! I started out my lure fishing using an 11' spinning rod, and 2013 will see me once again head out there with a rod of 11'. This is a big change from the last few years, as I have greatly favored, and fished with rods of a length that would be considered by many as 'short', and most definitely from the lighter end of the casting weight scale.

The rod in question is the Major Craft KG Evolution Hira Suzuki Series KGS-1102HIRA. This rod is 11' with a casting range of 10-45g. You can check out the full specs on the Major Craft website HERE I should be picking this rod up for some test sessions soon from Matt Newcome, who gave it a good hammering in the summer of 2012, and posted his thoughts on the rod HERE If you want to check out Matt's sessions and thoughts, well worth taking a look at his new look blog http://nobitealarms.com/

I am hoping this rod is going to widen my opportunity to fish. With it's length and power, I should be able to punch a lure out in windier conditions, and also fish from a higher rocky perch when the seas are rough, something that is very common at my regular marks in West Cornwall. It will also be interesting to see if ye olde lure fishing argument can be proved, that a longer rod, covering larger distances equals more fish landed.

There are also another couple of Major Craft rods coming into my collection soon for 2013, in the form of two Volkey casting rods. Although under the same label, these rods will be very different in their purpose. First up is a Major Craft Volkey Big Lake Custom Series VKC-70H/BL. This is a one piece 7' rod, rated 3/8 - 1.5oz (approx 10-42g). You can check the full spec HERE Something about about a one piece rod excites me, and looking forward to pairing this rod with my Daiwa Ryoga 1016HL baitcast reel.

My plans are to use this rod in the fresh stuff, as I step up my Pike fishing. The heavier casting rating will allow me to throw a bigger profile lure, and see if I can tempt my first double figure Pike. Also I am planning to take this rod out on the coast, and see if it can perform fishing heavy style for the Wrasse. Heavy Carolina and Texas rigs, with some bigger soft lures, see if I can make 2013 the year when I improve my PB on the Wrasse, by tackling deepest and roughest of ground if necessarry.

At the other end of the Volkey scale, another casting rod moving into the finesse scale, a Major Craft Volkey Bait Finesse Series VKC-69ML/BFS. Again a one piece rod, 6'9 and rated 1/16 - 3/8oz (approx 2-10g). You can check the full spec HERE I will be pairing this rod with my Shimano Calcutta 51DC baitcast reel.

This rod, as with it's heavier brother, will be used in the fresh and salt. Hoping to get amongst the Perch with more regularity in 2013, and for fishing in the smaller more confined coarse environments, with the overhanging trees and submerged logs. The baitcast approach to fishing is something I will be hoping to move forward with in 2013, having had some good success using these styles at the latter half of 2012.

I have already started to collect some lures in bigger profiles, such as the DEPS Bubleshads and Death Adder sticks, and I will be adding some more softs, as well as jointed hard baits for the Pike, and some bigger plugs for the surf environment. Now these lures may not be big by some peoples standards, and some folk are regularly launching lure combos in the 40-100g range, but it will be a big step up for me over previous years, and I am looking forward to seeing if it is an experiment that works out.

This does not mean I will be shelving my lighter tackle and styles, as it is a way of fishing that I enjoy a great deal, and has given me great results. This upping the size trial will be in addition to my light game, and will hopefully become another way in which I tackle the sport we love. If I don't try it for myself, I wont know otherwise, so it is going to get a good outing from me. The weather may be bad, but it's time to tackle it head on, put on the full wet weather gear, get out there and see what is about!