Pollack on soft plastics .... Hard work finally paid off!

My first Pollack on a soft plastic.....

I have been trying for some time now to catch myself a Pollack on soft plastics ..... I know most of you are probably thinking 'why hasn't he already?' Well lets just say the Atlantic has thrown me some rather impressive curve balls over the past month or so! The fierce swells and the appearance of the Red Tide (see earlier post) has made fishing difficult enough. 

My fishing partner for the evening was my Granda, who introduced me to sea fishing when I was little. Wrasse and Pollack on the float gear was my staple for years until I got the lure bug.

The conditions were looking good. There was a swell and stir in the water but it was nice and not too dirty. When we arrived at the mark the terns had just stopped hammering the water, which gave me some confidence - there was feeding about! 

I rigged up with a 4.5 inch Pink Sluggo on a Texas rig, flicked it out and slowly began to retrieve. As I was lifting it out of the water I got smashed by a fish of around 2lb weight right at my feet. The reel took a quick scream and the rod jolted but the fish was off. It has just grabbed the tail and dived. 

I fished on with a renewed enthusiasm. 

No more bites on the pink - I switched to a 5 inch White Senko, added a little more weight to handle the swell and threw it out a good distance beyond a large rock which I could see under the water.

I twitched it back in, giving it a flick every now and then.

FISH ON!

As the lure dropped back down I got the unmistakable crash dive of a Pollack. The fish tore line off the reel as it headed for the bottom. At this point all I could do was hold on and keep the rod high to avoid the snags. After a few minutes of heart stopping head shaking and diving I began to make some head way bringing the fish up to cleaner ground. 

A few adjustments to the drag and the fish was soon clear of the bottom and coming in nicely. The next task was getting it landed  . . . The swell was rough and getting the fish up onto the ledge I was on was looking tricky. Using the wash of the waves I got the fish up and land locked into a pool. The Boga style grip closed on its bottom jaw and the fish was mine.

(My first Pollack on Soft Plastic)

It was by no means a monster but I was absolutely delighted ..... Finally I had got a break from the weather and conditions played in my favor.

The Gear:

Rod - Graphiteleader Argento RV 6-28g

Reel - Daiwa TDX 3012

Line - Sunline Super PE 20lb

Leader - Suneline Siglon 20lb

Lure - 5 inch White Senko with 3/0 Owner Weedless with Hitch-hiker

This has certainly boosted my confidence in this method of fishing. Of course I know it works, I have read and watched others land fish to this method but I think we would all agree that until you have tried and succeeded using a particular method then we all doubt it a little. 

I hope this is the start of many fish to be taken on this method!