A Manic Weekend!

After a very late night on Friday, fishing and rod building, I was due to meet friends at a mark on the Purbeck coastline for an early morning session. Due to the early hours start it was easier just not to go to bed on Friday into Saturday and load the system with caffeine to keep me going!

I was first to the car park and sat waiting for the others to arrive, for once I was early and was sat in the dark planning my attack in my head for the morning....what lures to use and where I'd like to get to before the sun starts to come up. The previous evening we agreed on the meeting time, they obviously forgot......I arrived at 04.45 and they rolled in at 05.20!

My fishing companions on this trip were fishing partners from many a trip and a new bass angling specialist Rob Wolfsbarsch ( Rob Staigis - http://www.wolfsbarsch.com/in-english.html ) from Holland who had come over to fish with Tom ( http://tomsfishing.blogspot.co.uk/ ), along with Mark & Joe ( http://lurefishingforbass.co.uk/ ).

After the shaking of hands and introductions it was off to the area we had mapped out to target for bass. There is something very special about walking the coastline at this time in the morning, we are truly blessed here in Dorset to have the coastline open to us to fish at a very short drive.

After a good 40 minute walk in the dark we got to the target, water and conditions looking as good as they could be for the day. We all spread out as Joe & Rob disappeared around the corner to fish another area out of my sight. After a climb across the rocks I got to the one I had my eyes on........I could see a ledge under the water where the water dropped off, this was where I was going to start working the lures first, looking for fish working along the drop off. We were over low water but normally this can still produce and give the first light fish.

After only a couple of casts over the ledge, fish on!

Adjusting casts into a stiffening head wind, which gave that feeling of winter is on its way!
Up and down the ridge, trying at different depths and distance until I found the depth and area to target that gave fish on repeated casts. Next to be landed another pollack.

As the light increased the numbers of pollack dropped off only to give me a couple of wrasse.

I increased the distance of cast and got my first bass, only weighing about 3 1/2 to 4lb but target hit. I stayed on the same area of rocks as the others moved around, I knew I had fish out in front of me and they all came to the same lure, the IMA Hound ORCA in Bora Mullet.

This lure casts very well even into the increasing wind, I had no problems getting distance. The lure itself weighs 20gs and is 125mm in length, it is designed to work at a depth of between 80-130cm. This is the lure that was matching the bait I had in front of me.

So, light increasing, wind strengthening and that sudden hard shockwave hits down the rod, fish on! This fish was giving a good account of itself playing around at up and down the ledge it swam, finally allowing me to get it close in and get a look at my second bass hook up........bending down to lift it out and one big shake of its head as I am about to grab it, its off! Right at my feet, I'm claiming this one I had touched it......Feeling generous to myself!

Now the suns up and the fishing turned off, just like flipping a switch!

The others now return from around the corner and we have the who's caught what? It would be unfair of me to tell of there catches, that will be on there blogs very shortly. We carried on fishing for a few more hours, changing locations to no avail.

Now, what could be better than a bacon butty and a cup of tea to wake you back up? Sun shinning and the catch up time, I haven't spoken to these fishing friends for a while and the normal laughter soon flowed over what everyone has been up to.

This was the end of the morning fishing session for me, but after a short spell at home and a chance to get some rods wrapped, food inside me and more caffeine it was time for round two!

A quick phone call to Will Harding ( http://ngangling.blogspot.co.uk/ ) and the next plan is made......A quick change of gear, out with the bassing tackle and onto the LRF. I have been testing a new blank to DFR over the past couple of months and it is performing above my expectations.

Now for those with a belief that LRF isn't fun, think again! Below one of many pollack that gave me a genuine smile and enjoyment from my angling, after all isn't that what we all aim for?

If there was ever a time when I wished that it would stay light for longer this was it.......This was catching, not fishing! 

I met up with Will at the mark and Rob Mears a local photographer who enjoys his fishing to. After a quick chat I was into fish from the off, first cast in a small wrasse, then solid pollack after pollack up to 4lbs. These fish were giving the test I wanted on this rod, strong fights with line screaming from the reel as the clutch was let loose.

When fishing from rocks above the water a net was a must to make life easy for us and to safely handle the fish. On a mixture of soft plastics from Molix to Ecogear the fish kept coming to the net for all of us. Rob had this great wrasse, just look at the colours in the mouth, an artists pallet on one fish.

The Molix SP was the Sligozzo 4" / White Shad, I did cut the larger bulk part of the body off and hook up allowing the big paddle to the rear to work in the water.

My next choice of SP was the Ecogear Minnow.

Again instant results, this time a mackerel giving a great account on light tackle, the Dorset tuna ran and took line of the reel, how much fun can you have in one day?

All the SP's were rigged on jig heads, my first cast in saw me loose one on a fish, a bit to hard of a strike on my behalf. Lesson learnt and allow the fish to take the lure then lift into it, fish hooked.

  

The light was fading and the fish were still biting, the words of just one more cast! I did not want to leave, when fishing is this good it is hard to walk away from it.

The sun dropped beyond the horizon and we made our way back to the cars, this truly was a great days fishing, bass, pollack & wrasse all giving fights on light tackle.

It would be unfair to report what the others caught, I'm sure this will come in there blogs when written.

We tried again Sunday, but with conditions changed from the sun on the day before to howling wind and driving rain we had to admit defeat! I picked up Will and Lolly to hopefully get to where we were the day before......safety ruled here and we weren't going to put our life's at risk or anyone else's to save us just for some fishing ( even though I am obsessed ). We drove around, parking up and getting saturated looking for somewhere to fish, then having to settle on somewhere that could of given a surprise. This was not to be, three very wet anglers returned to the car to then go and get food! 

Sunday was a wash out.........  

Thank you for reading another days fishing from a Lure Addict!