Last Fish of 2012

The final session of 2012. With the typical howling winds and monstrous swell, decided to seek the shelter of the large Estuary mouth. The wind would be minimal, and on my back, and guaranteed flat calm, my final chance of 2012. Bad news was the tides were not great for this spot, fishing the last couple of hours down, and a couple into the flood. Arriving at the headland, before my descent, a look at the water and it was as I thought, nice and calm. Just another of those amazing views that seem to greet me every time I head out to fish in West Cornwall.

With the Wrasse in mind, today I was fishing with the Nories Rockfish Bottom casting rod, paired with a Daiwa Ryoga 1016HL baitcast reel, with a spool of Sunline Siglon Fluorocarbon 10.3lb and a spare spool loaded with Sunline Castaway 1.5PE (25lb). A decent selection of Ecogear soft lures in the 3-5" range, and some weedless wide gape hooks, a range of Texas cone weights, perfect for searching the estuary bottom, with a mix of shail and heavy weed with submerged rocks. The view at water level looked very promising, with the clarity being decent considering the weather conditions of late.

The fishing was slow, very slow. As the tide turned, I started to get a few tell tale signs that the Wrasse were about, with a few nips at the lure, but with no hook ups, most probably some smaller fish. Switching over to the braid spool, started fishing at greater distance, hoping to find the fish as the moved in with the tide onto the reef. The flurocarbon is great for the close range work, especially for its abraision resistance amongst the rough grounds, but the braid definitely beats it for fishing at distance, especially for contact feel with the lure further out. After a couple more tentative knocks, finally hooked into a fish, and landed the only Wrasse of the day, my last fish of 2012, taken on an Ecogear 5" Paramax.

One thing that I noticed of late, especially when stood around out in the elements fishing, is just how mild the weather has been with these recent storms and winds. I fished this session without the gloves and base layers I would normally expect to wear at the end of December.

One thing that has changed in my gear the last couple of months is I no longer wear waders and wading boots. My waders have started to leak in the stocking foot after just over one and a half years. Not bad going really, considering the distance I walk in them, and the fact they are really designed for fresh water wading, not the rough tough salty environments I put them through. So now, I am wearing a pair of lightweight waterproof trousers, and some boots.

I deliberated over what boots to get for a long time, with the winter months in mind, they had to be waterproof, tough, and cope with the mud and sludge of the coast paths. After looking over the designer walk boots, and trail boot options, I bought something very different.

These are the winter issue Army boots. Leather, fully waterproof, even when submerged to above the ankle, Goretex lined with a Vibram sole. I then added some cheap Snowbee studs, for a little extra winter grip on the slippy stuff. I have been wearing them for the last couple of months, and very pleased so far. Tough, supportive and warm, not had any issues, as you would expect considering what they get put through in combat! The beast part is the price, as you can pick them up on the auction sited in the region of £30-£50. Well worth checking them out for a winter boot option.

So that's the end of 2012, looking forward to 2013, where I hope we can get out there fishing a lot more if the weather plays ball. If not, my plans are to tackle it head on with the gear to match, so have a great New Year - Cheers!