Looking forward .....

I learnt a lot about soft plastic fishing for Wrasse and Pollack last season but sadly the weather kept me off most of my favourite spots.  Last summer (if you can call it that) was woeful! Hopefully this year will see me out and about chasing some more Wrasse among the kelp and the boulders. 

Lets hope 2013 is a good season all round!

Tight Lines.

Bass on soft plastics - A look back at 2012

Just a quick reflection on a few soft plastics lures which worked for me last season. I admit I did not fish with them as much as I should have - instead I cracked on with the hard lures despite (at times) rather unsuitable hard lure conditions. This season will commence with a different attitude - a few orders have been placed and I am already stocking up on some softies .... roll on April!

The WaveWorm Bamboo Stick

This fish (above) was my first weedless/weightless caught Bass - a far out blinding technique and one which isn't as complicated or mysterious as it is made out to be. It opens up a whole new world of possibilities and increases the ground you can fish effectively.

This fish was a plump 7.3lb taken on the last day of a trip in early September - Until October it was my personal best Bass. Again, a Bamboo stick bounced along the bottom produced a lot of fish in the estuaries. 

The Black Minnow 120

This lure has hit the scene with mixed emotions - some love it, swear by it and others believe it is somewhat over rated. I fished with it for the first time at the end of September and I have to say it has a fantastic action. Once again bumping soft plastics down estuaries is a lethal technique and the Black Minnow produced this fish over 5 lb in tricky conditions. 

IMA Melty Nymph

I couldn't talk about soft plastics without mentioning this little lure - The IMA Melty Nymph although very soft and easily torn apart is a great lure. Yes, it is a little pricey but I didn't care when it caught be my P.B Bass of 2012 (above) weighing just over 8 lb. Fished hard on the bottom over a reef at night - perfect!

The perfect ground for Wrasse and Pollack?

Do you ever come across a mark and just think - This is it. How could it get any better?

During the summer I revisited one of my old mark which I used to fish as a lad and to be honest it had completely vanished off my radar until I was looking back through some old photographs. 

We set off and it all came flooding back to me. It wasn't long before I found dozens of independent Kelp beds strewn with boulders - perfect Wrasse ground. 

What I liked about this mark was the compactness of it all. One minute you are able to target Wrasse and then a quick hop onto some of the other rocks and you find masses of Pollack literally carpeting the sea bed. Granted most of these are only in the range of 1 - 2 pounds but still great sport. 

There are a few selective spots here also where you can find larger Pollack up to 8 or 9 lbs but sadly the weather kept me off last season. 

I can not wait to get back out on it and explore a little bit more. We had about three sessions on this mark last Summer and everyone produced fish up to 3 lbs.

Just a quick gap filler anyway for the blog to keep it ticking along nicely until I get out for my first proper session of 2013!

Belated Happy New Year

Tight lines.