Fishing Light = Fishing Fun!

Fished West Cornwall this morning in the pouring rain. Building winds meant seeking shelter down a cliff at a deep water point. Fishing with the light tackle, Daiko Spear 8'3 2-14g rod, paired with a Daiwa Certate 2506 spooled with Sunline RockFish 0.6PE.

Started off with a Nories 2" Shrilpen mounted on a 1.8g Ecogear Bottom jig head. Casting out, I had a take from a Pollack on the drop straight off. This was to be the pattern of fishing for a good while, the Pollock taking the lure as it fell deep. Some good fights from them, making deep runs, going well for their size. Lost count of how many I had in the end.

Fishing closer range, allowing the lure to reach the bottom, I was able to pick up a few Wrasse, with small twicthes and long dead pauses. The Daiko rod was really bending into them as they scrapped in the rough grounds.

The little 2" Shrilpen was battered and bruised after a few fish fights, a new lure to me, todays testing going very well.

Another new lure and technique I wanted to try was the Ilex B'eye 5g, a small dressed jig with a sinle assist hook. I mounted an Ecogear 3" Sansun onto the hook, for a little more attraction. This small jig casts extrememly well. I used it on the drop and jigged along the bottom. Picked up numerous Pollack and a few Wasse on it.

Looking to get out fishing again tomorrow, weather is looking better, but the winds could be stronger, so will have to see where I end up fishing. One thing is for sure, still not seen any Bass down here yet!

Night Of The Jig

Fished Plymouth with Matt on the light gear, from evening light into darkness. We started out at at a spot where the deep water had a fast flow rate as the tide emptied our. Small metal vibs were being swept in the current to quickly, so the change was made to slim metal jigs, which were getting a chance to sink down. I was fishing with Sunline Small Game Fluoro, Matt was on the Sunline Rockfish PE. A few tentative knock soon converted into fish landed, with some Mackerel going for it in the fast flow.

Walking round to a small cove where the flow was minimal, as the light faded, the surface splashes increased as the fish fed off the top. Sight casting to where the action was happening, soon into a mix of decent sized Herring and more Mackies.

As darkness fell, we moved to a familiar Harbour spot closer to town. Meeting up with fellow light game enthusiast Mark, the calm surface was alive with fry, and the fish feeding were going for it. The surface was erupting with silver flashes, chasing the bait in and out. Fish were caught close in jigging, further out on the drop, non stop action for a good hour or so. We got to the point of hoping the fish shook the hook at the base of the wall, save lifting it up and unhooking! Using Jigs converted to a single hook instead of a small treble was really good, saved on time and fish damage. Mostly more Herring, but Matt had a really strong fight off a broad Mackie. All in, some great fun had.

New DUO Lures

Recently, I have been busy, really busy, too busy to fish in fact! This has been reflected in the lack of updates on the blog. This is set to change tho, with some quality fishing time coming up in the next few months, just as things start to warm up, with the reports of Bass being caught locally becoming more regular. So to get amongst the Bass, I have added a few more of the fantastic DUO lures to my collection.

DUO Realis Pencil 110 20.5g 110mm

DUO Beach Walker 120MD 20g 120mm

DUO Beach Walker 20g 110mm

  

DUO Moab 13g 120mm

  

DUO Beach Walker Vib 21g 100mm

  

DUO Beach Walker Vib 21g 100mm

  

DUO Tide Minnow 75S 9g 75mm

  

Really looking forward to testing the Beach Walker Vib's, as the smaller Bay Ruf SV70 vib has been producing fish well over the colder months. If you want to take a look at the full range of DUO lures, check out the English language version of their website HERE

For up to date news and pics, check out DUO on FACEBOOK and TWITTER

Friday 13th - Lucky For Some

For the last 6 weeks or so, work has been full on and hectic. This has left little opportunity to get fishing, and the reason why my catch reports dropped off! Decided that I would set aside a day to get out for a good session, and it just so happened to be today, Friday 13th......

Conditions in West Cornwall were good, early morning sun, little to no swell, and very good water clarity. Plan was to fish a deep water rock mark over the pushing tide, spend a good few hours out on the coast. I was fishing with my new light game rod, the Daiko Spear 60th Anniversary Blue Label 8'3 and 2-14g. Lures were mainly small to micro hard plastics, with a handfull of LRF softies thrown in the bag as well.

First fish caught on the new rod was a Pollack. It smashed a DUO Tetra Works Bivi micro vib lure on the drop, close in to the rocky ledge I was fishing from.

I wanted to get down in amongst the weed and rocks, so switched over to the softies, and Texas rigged an Ecogear 2" BugAnt. Keeping contact with the bottom, and long pauses between twitches, felt the familiar knock of a Wrasse, and fish landed. The 2" BugAnts were roducing fish well, with more Wrasse and Pollack to follow.

Moving from the rocky ledges to the gullies round the point, decided to work an Ecogear VX45 & VX50 metal vib, searching the deep water. Had a couple more Pollack take on the drop.

Swithed back to the DUO lures, and hooked into 3 more Pollack. This time they were taken on the DUO Ruf Bay SV-70 vib and the DUO Tetra Works Yurameki. The SV-70 vib is a truly great lure, one I will be using a lot in the coming months. Casts extrememly well for its size, and works great then retrieved sink and draw, making it buzz, or on a slow straight retrieve.

Second time testing the new rod, but the first session with some fish on. So far feels good, the Pollack and Wrasse today were putting a nice bend in it, and the casting ability with small lures is great. The bottom reading sensitivity gives huge amounts of feedback, and sublte takes on the drop are transmitted well. Looking forward to getting out with it again soon.

You have probably seen by now, that DUO have a Facebook page, but if not, then check it out HERE. Something you might nt know, is DUO also joined Twitter this week, so if you want to follow them, and get all the latest updates and news, check them out HERE.

Sunline Small Game Fluoro

I have been using Sunline Small Game Fluoro 3lb for light game duties for a while now. Spooled onto a 2506 Daiwa Certate, the full 150m fits nicely. I have tested it in the Harbour environment, close range vertical fishing, with drop shot rigs, and light jig heads. Small species plucking at a lure register well on the line, with good sensitivity. The line cuts nicely through the water, and I prefer to use it over light braid in windy conditions. Fishing in the winter months with cold hands, one great advantage with using fluoro straight through, is that you do not need to tie a leader length. It also allows you to cut and re-tie your rigs easily and readily, without having to consider loosing leader length. On the 2506 size spool, the line does not retain much memory in the form of coils, it is well behaved, even with ultra light jig heads in the region of 0.5-1g.

Along with the shelter of the Harbor fishing, I have also had some great sessions using the 3lb Sunline Small Game Fluoro out on the deep water rock marks of West Cornwall. Here my target species have been Pollack and Wrasse. Using slightly heavier small game tackle than the in the Harbour's, I have taken Wrasse to around 3lb in weight. In this instance, matching the line to a rod that will protect it is key, and also the use of a landing net is essential for landing the fish. The Pollack have been falling to small casting jigs and metal vib lures. Casting with the Small Game Fluoro is great, due to it's low diameter. Allowing the jigs and vibs to sink though the water column, picking up hits from the Pollack on the drop. There is a little more stretch evident using fluoro straight through over braid, but this also helps cushion the dives and runs from the fighting Pollack and Wrasse. In this rough environment, the light 3lb fluoro has proved to be pretty tough, with good abraision resistance, and great knotting strength, whether tied direct or using a small metal clip.

As much as I love using fluoro as a mainline, I do not see it as a replacement to braid for light game duties, Side by side, the two lines compliment each other, both having their advantages and disadvantages. On some occasions, I will fish with 2 set ups, one with braid and one with fluoro. Or if carrying two rods is not an option, just take along a spare spool loaded with either the braid or fluoro, allowing you to chop and change when conditions dictate. I like the 3lb breaking strain, as it is fine and sensitive enough for the mini species in the Harbour, as well as being tough enough to take on the rough weedy grounds below deep water rock marks I fish a lot. The Sunline Small Game Fluoro gives you the confidence to fish areas where a bonus larger fish may take the lure.

Daiko Spear SRS832L 60th Anniversary Blue Label Rod

With my fondness for fishing with light tackle, recently picked this rod up with the intention of using it for small plugs and vib metals. A little longer than my other light game rods, 8'3 in length, with a casting range of 2-14g. This is the tubular tip version, but there is also an 8'3 solid tip model available as well.

The rod is a Daiko Spear SRS832L 60th Anniversary Blue Label. The look and finish of the rod is superb. The tackle tart inside me loves the fact the deep transluscent blue finish, with the weave shining through in the light, matches the colour of the Daiwa Certate reels I use. The guides are the now familiar Fuji K type titaniums.

I have only had a quick test session with it, when I took the above pics. Casting a 7g surface plug, distance was not a problem, and working it back, great action can easily be achieved. The rod also performed great with a 3g jig head and 2" soft lure, but the hard lures are where I will be using this rod most. With work being super-busy over the last few weeks, have not had the opportunity to get out fishing,  but hopefully in the coming weeks, I will be putting this rod through it's paces, and will be able to provide some good feedback on it.

If you want to know some more about this rod, and also the solid tip version that is also available, drop me a message to gunningpk@hotmail.com and I will put you onto the chap who has brought a few of these rods into the UK from Japan.

DUO Lures April Contest

With the start of April, the guys at DUO are launching their latest competition. This month, all you have to do is email a photo of your best catch to date, using a DUO lure. Once again, in order to enter, you need to be a fan of DUO on Facebook Once you have chosen your best photo, of a cacth using a DUO lure, the address to send it to is duocontest@gmail.com

The closing date for entry is 28th April 2012. If you want to know what the prize for this months competition is, then check out the pic below! To see the original contest page on the DUO site, take a look HERE