Wakefield wanderer.

About a week ago I headed down to Wakefield in West Yorkshire to visit my in-laws. Normally when I go down to visit I tend to fill the car with carp gear and go carping. This year though I decided to leave the vast amount of carp gear and just take my lure fishing kit in the hope of fishing some of the canals and still waters. As it was a family based holiday the lure fishing gear gives me the chance to pop out to the canal whenever I get an hour or two free from fatherly duties! After we had arrived and got the kids settled my first port of call was to join Wakefield Angling Club. For £32 a year this gives access to miles of the river Calder, the Calder and Hebble Navigation Canal and to loads of other still water fisheries, a bargain if you ask me!

The first day saw me pop down to the nearest stretch of canal and have a wander about. I was really hoping to find some chub as they are supposedly quite prevalent on the canal. With this in mind I went with a simple dropshot approach 5g weight, #8 Owner offset worm hook rigged with a 2" tail section of natural coloured Gulp! Sandworm. A couple of hours wandering and searching saw me hook up with one of the fattest little perch I have ever caught! It measured 25cm on the lure forum ruler and wasn't far off that in girth. Still it was my first perch this year and a blank saver!

My first Perch of 2013.

Fat as a pig!

Next couple of days saw me visiting the stretch of canal a bit more still searching for chub. I tried various approaches with the lures and had a couple of bites on a Cultiva Ring Kick Tail but didn't manage to hook up. A short while later I was bouncing the gulp sandworm section about near some overhanging trees  when I had a large bite and a heavy fish started shaking its head. As it rose up in the water I could see it was a nice sized pike. It tried to make a run or two but was quickly on the surface ready to come in. It was not a well fish and its sides were all scraped and marked and its tail fins and anal fins had fungal growths on them. It probably weighed about seven pounds but I really didn't want to cause the fish any more stress and after a quick photo on the ruler I slipped it back. Typical of the pike to take the worm when previously I had been over the stretch with pike lures It was a good job it had been hooked in the scissors as I don't think my 8lb fluro leader would have lasted long. My mate Jamie joined me soon after and again we fished up and down the canal with pike lures and perch/chub lures but no fish at all. The only thing that happened was that I managed to leave my lure forum ruler on the bank and when I went back of course someone had taken it, gutted!

An accidental capture, this pike was in terrible condition. I hope it recovers.

Jamie casts towards the overhanging trees searching for pike.

Day four and I had permission to take the day and go and fish one of the lagoons in Horbury. My Wakefield Angling Club members book states there are some big pike in the lagoon and that there were no restrictions on lure fishing, so needing no further encouragement I headed down. I met up with Jamie again who had also got a season book and we checked out the biggest of the lagoons. It looked good, clear water, reed lined bays with a steep drop off into deep water about eight foot out, perfect pike habitat! Jamie and I set about working lures around overhanging trees and along the drop offs. I decided to go big so went with a 7" Slug-Go rigged weedless with a 1g Decoy shot on the hook shank to allow the lure to get deeper faster. After an hour or so wandering and working the lure with no action I decided to break out the LRF gear to see if there were any perch about. I rigged up a dropshot rig with a #8 offset worm hook and 7g weight to which I rigged a tail section of Gulp! Sandworm. It took about half an hour to get some action in the form of a small perch, all be it on a section of earthworm!

Battle scarred, it looks like this perch has suffered a big injury in the past

Now I had established there were perch about I decided to try and cover both the perch and the pike by rigging up a Fungus Roach  9.5cm Savage Gear Soft 4play on a 7g #2/0 jighead. I left Jamie valiantly fishing float tactics and lures and I boldly stated "the fish will be in that corner of the lake where the wind has been blowing" and off I went to test the theory! As I worked my way around the lake I met some other anglers carping. They hadn't managed any carp but had picked up a nice 6lb jack on a spinner. After a brief chat I carried on working my way round to the bay facing the wind.

Eventually I made it to the bay and although I had fished all around the lake to get there I still hadn't had a touch. Standing atop a pile of large boulders I cast out into the wind and allowed the lure to sink deep. Once the lure touched the lake bed I would jig it up with a couple of sharp jerks of the rod and allow it to fall back down. In essence it was a very slow sink and draw retrieve only with extra twitches and jerks thrown in to make the lure flicker like a dying roach. When the lure was about thirty feet in front of me a felt a good bite so I dropped the rod tip and took up the slack line before striking into the fish. When fishing soft lures with single hooks its better not to strike straight away, I find that when you drop the rod tip and give them a bit of slack it encourages them to take the lure properly into their mouths. The pause between the bite and striking is only about one or two seconds but it makes all the difference! Anyway, fish on and the fight began with the fish boring deep with a powerful run. As I was quite high up above the water this made the fight a fairly vertical one and the majority of the time it was just a question of holding the fish in the fighting curve as it repeatedly tried to dive. As the fight progressed I could see it was a nice sized pike and eventually she was in the net! I clambered back over the rocks and found some nice soft wet reeds at the waters edge where I could lay the pike safely for unhooking. It was a nice conditioned fish and weighed 8.5lbs, my biggest pike this year and a great result for my first time on the lagoon. The carp angler I had spoken to earlier made his way over to see what I had caught and very kindly took a couple of photos of me with the pike before I slipped her back.

I like the textures in this photo,if only I could of got it focused better!

The 9.5cm Soft 4Play lure proved irresistible to this pike.

My second pike this year weighing in at 8.5lb.

That about wrapped up the fishing for the day and although we carried on for a couple of hours there was no more action. All in all it was an interesting trip and really great to get to know some new waters and with Jamie also learning the lakes I know that when I go back he will have found a few more places for us to fish. As always I can't wait to do it again!

Tight lines, Schogsky.

Silver, a sliver and grey ghosts!

A couple of weeks ago I met up with friend of the blog Ritchie in the hope of hitting the bass again. We had arranged to meet at the mark at dawn and fish a few hours up until lunchtime. The weather for once had decided to support our fishing endeavours and it was calm, crisp and clear skied with a rising tide. I met Ritchie at the mark where he had been working his lures for about an hour and despite his efforts had only had a couple of bites but no hook ups. I rigged up my Savage Gear Dropshot XLNT with my go to lure, 4.5" Slug-Go in Arkansas Shiner mounted on a 10g football jighead. After about an hour I finally found some bass who wanted to play managed to catch and release three fish, the biggest just over 38cm.

The only usable shot of the bass I caught as my camera was playing up!

As we searched around the rock fringed bay I noticed some small silver fish shoaling in the shallows and after a bit of observation concluded that they may well be sand smelt. Sensing an opportunity to up my species count I found some #28 hooks to nylon and tied one directly to the 2/0 hook on the Slug-Go (New Zealand dropper style). I rigged it with a tiny section of Isome and gently lowered it into the shallows. The fish were not frightened of the Slug-Go and indeed they soon started shoaling around it before one noticed the tiny piece of Isome and seized it. With a yelp of glee I quickly hoisted it up and there in my hand was species #27, which was quickly photographed then released back to his rejoin his shoal.

Lure caught species #27 for 2012 the humble sand smelt

Ritchie meanwhile had had a few bites on his Slug-Go but no hook ups and soon he had to retire to go and work. I said my good byes and headed back to where we started. I had noticed a shoal of mullet nosing about and for once I had come prepared with bread and my light feeder rod. I started by breaking up some bread and throwing it in up tide of the fish and I was pleased to see them start to feed on the pieces as they floated past. I rigged up my rod with a 5g alloy stick float and had it fairly under shotted to keep it visible in the lumpy water. My hook of choice was a wide gape Drennan Specimen #12 and I pinched a small piece of bread flake onto the hook shank, leaving a nice fluffy edge to the bread. I cast out into the free offerings of bread and almost straight away the float shot under! I struck and then madly fumbled at the drag trying to free it. The fish had other ideas and instantly hit top speed before I could loosen the drag and as the rod arched over the hook bent and the fish was free. Oh well, at least they were in a feeding mood! I carried on with the drag set very loose and it wasn't long before I had hooked another mullet, all be it slightly smaller than the first. As always the mullet gave an amazing fight charging around on the surface, trying to get under rock ledges, diving and running before it was finally guided into the landing net. I was expecting it to be a thick lipped grey mullet but it quickly became apparent that it was in fact a very fat golden grey, my first for a few years.

Golden grey mullet, brilliant fun to catch!

Another fine golden grey, worth the effort for sure.

A couple of pics and the fish was released back to its shoal to continue pigging out on the bread. The next couple of hours was intensely good fun. With the mullet shoal feeding boldly on the bread I managed to hook and land a further two golden greys as well as hooking and losing a very powerful thick lipped mullet after a good seven minutes of playing it! It must have been pushing 5 lbs and every time I got him in he would run out again stripping line off the reel with ease. In the end he threw the hook when I tried to stop him running under a ledge, but I was overjoyed as the fight of big mullet really has to be the best light tackle fight out there. I packed up and headed back when the bread ran out, but it really was the most enjoyable sport I have had for a while and it seems I had forgotten how much I love catching mullet. Now that my mullet fixation has been rekindled I will be back there soon and hopefully I can try and get one on a lure of some kind!

Tight lines, Schogsky.

XLNT Sensory Perception.

Following on from my last foray with my new rod I just had to get back and try it again! It was to be a short afternoon session and for once everything went to plan with the sea state calm, a slight offshore wind and a flooding tide combining to make it perfect. When I arrived at the mark I also had the bonus of having it completely to myself and as it is a very popular mark it was pretty unusual! I tackled up the Savage Gear Dropshot XLNT with my Shimano Aernos 3000 reel, 20lb sunline momentum, 15lb fluro leader and on the business end a 4.5" Slug go mounted on a 10.5g football jighead. I began to cast the lure, allowing it to sink slowly through the water column and when I felt it hit bottom I would jig it up with a couple of sharp twitches all before allowing it to fall back again.  The retrieve as such is dead slow all the time feeling the lure bouncing over rocks and weed, the rod is so sensitive that you really start to get a feel for the contours and layout of the sea bed. Fishing these methods with this rod is brilliantly intense and I tend to fall in to a world of concentration mentally mapping the seabed and feeling the lure working in the water. I swear you can feel the fish swim by before they turn and inhale the tender Slug go! Sure enough it didn't take long to get my first hit and again I could sense the fish gently nudge the lure before it engulfed it. I set the hooks and enjoyed a spirited fight before landing another fine bass of 45cm which after a photo was quickly released.

Another XLNT Bass

The soft tip really allows the fish to suck the lure in with minimal effort and every take was really positive. Each of the many bass I caught that afternoon had the lure deep inside their mouths and I am convinced that such positive engulfing of the lure is partly down to the soft tip. It wasn't all fishing the slug go with this rod though and when I saw a shoal of Bass smashing baitfish on the surface I quickly swapped over to a silver Toby to get the required distance to hit the shoal. Sure enough the rod effortlessly cast the metal lure beyond the feeding fish and a quick retrieve had it pass above their shoal where upon it was nailed by another feisty bass which was quickly landed before being photographed and released.

It's not just slugs with me, Tobys also have their place!

I followed it up with a couple more before the shoal moved off out of range. The few hours I was fishing were really productive and brilliantly intense falling into an almost zen like trance when retrieving, punctuated by the electric suddenness of bites and the adrenaline fuelled moments of the fight.

A calm November afternoon, if only it was always this good!

All the time the weather remained calm and mild and as the light began to dim I decided to call it a day and headed back to the car thoroughly satisfied with the amount of fish landed. The main aim of the day was working the new rod though and again it was a real joy to use and I really wouldn't have had as much success without its XLNT sensory perception!

Tight lines, Schogsky.

An XLNT afternoon.

The other week I made a trip to Stirling to check out Angling Active, a large tackle shop that I had never visited before. My main reason to visit was to get my hands on a new Savage Gear XLNT dropshot rod. I have grown tired of poor customer service and the lack of a warranty on Japanese rods so when I saw this rod at 9' with a casting range of 7-25g that perfectly fits my requirements for fishing soft plastics for a multitude of species I had to have one! With a reputation for quality and good customer service in the event of any problems with the rod and a bargain at £60 it represents excellent value!

I was desperate to go and play with my new toy so the following day I grabbed Scott and we headed down the coast to our usual bass mark to give it a run through. Scott also had a new rod to play with, his second in the Nories Rockfish Bottom series, this time the slightly heavier light version casting 7-15g. I tackled up with a 4.5" Slug-Go in Arkansas Shiner and mounted it on a 10.5g #2/0 AGM football jighead. Scott rigged up a dropshot rig with a Jackall Clone Fry and we began to work the fast current of the mark. It wasn't long before I got some interest, all be it from mullet, I watched in surprise as a small one of about a pound charged after the slug and started nipping at the tail! Scott too had been getting some attention from the mullet and we tried a multitude of different lures to tempt them. Scott came closest with a small metal tipped with a small piece of Isome which a mullet had a good bite at but he couldn't hook up.

Soon the mullet drifted away and we got back to targeting the resident bass. Sticking with the Slug-Go I began to work the lure deep, little lifts of the rod tip allowed it to hop along the bottom in the fast current. This is where the solid carbon tip was very helpful transmitting the feel of the bottom down the rod to my hand. It was brilliantly sensitive and I could differentiate between kelp and softer weed as well as feel the sharp taps as it bounced over boulders. It didn't take long before I felt a fish tapping at the lure before seizing it causing the rod to arch over into the fish. Bass on and the rod came into its own with the soft tip cushioning its head shakes and the powerful butt section allowing me to apply pressure. Soon a nice bass of 43cm was landed and the rod well and truly christened.

They don't half swallow the lure sometimes!

The fish had totally swallowed the slug with just the tip of the jighead poking out a sure sign that the soft tip also allows the fish to inhale the lure with little resistance. Quick pic and back she went to be followed a few minutes later by another  bass, again with the lure right down its mouth.

Slug-Go wielding Ninja?

It's just me with another bass!

I had just released the fish when Scott came over to try his hand. He rigged up a new 7g IMA Gun in silver and began to effortlessly cast the little metal a country mile before working it back slowly with the odd pause to let it flutter in the current. Pretty soon I watched his rod bend into a fish and soon he had played a small bass into the net. Scott had a big grin on his face and was obviously very pleased at christening his new rod and the lure as well. As he can't help himself he then headed off to the rock pools to find some other species!

Small metals are great sandeel imitations.

I stuck with the bass and had soon landed a few more all taken on the trusty Slug-Go. Scott meanwhile had managed to winkle out a few blennies and a rather chunky sea scorpion that had a partially digested small blenny in it's mouth!

Not satisfied with gobbling blennies this little brute wanted a bit of Gulp! too.

By now light was fading and we had to go and whilst it was a fairly short session it was very productive and packed full of fish, so we both left satisfied at our new rods performance and I for one can't wait to get back and try it again! We'll also be back to target the mullet too no doubt.

Tight lines, Schogsky.