Back home, back to business!

After the Cornish Lure Festival I had a couple of days of no fishing before I had to get out again! My youngest son Isaac had been asking to go fishing so we headed off to the Water of Leith to try and find some minnows for his fish tank. I rigged up a #16 hook to nylon, 1g split shot and rigged up a small section of pink Isome. We messed about for half an hour and soon we had three fat minnows swimming around in his jam jar. These were quickly taken home and put into Isaac's fish tank where they are now doing very well indeed. It was a lovely way to spend an hour but it didn't quite cure my fishing desire!

An Isome caught Water of Leith minnow.

That's ma boy!

I completed my fatherly duties for the afternoon and I had a couple of hours before the kids bedtime, just enough time to fish the high tide at Corkwing corner. It didn't take long to get down to the mark and I quickly rigged up my LRF gear with a dropshot rig, #8 offset worm hook tied via a palomar knot and a 7g dropshot weight clipped on a foot from the hook. This was rigged with a small section of bloody Gulp! Sandworm and dropped straight down beneath my feet. I started to twitch and shake the lure and very soon I could see some fish swimming over the white rock below me. As I watched I could see some pretty big pollock cruising around as well as some smaller fish that I hoped were wrasse. I kept gently twitching the lure and noticed the silhouette of a fish approach the lure. It made a couple of electric pecks at the lure alerting me to the fact it was a wrasse, before it grabbed it and tried to get into the kelp beds. I struck and quickly manged to steer it away from them and as it rose up through the clear water my heart skipped a beat, if it was a corkwing it was huge! I quickly swung the fish up and it quickly became apparent that it was a small ballan, not the target species but a lovely fish none the less.

Not the corkwing I was after but a great fish none the less.

I quickly took a photo, unhooked it and released the fish before rigging another section of Gulp! and dropping it back down again. As the rig dropped down through the clear water a big pollock came up and intercepted my dropshot lead, grabbing it with a sharp tug before spitting it out! My heart was in my mouth and it came back for a second go at the gulp before turning lazily away. To be honest I was slightly relieved as it was a good size and due to my high vantage point it would have been a real pain to land. I carried on dropshotting my corkwing hotspot but I could see there were another couple of big pollock patrolling the area. I thought there wouldn't be much chance of the little corkwings being about as they would probably be keeping a low profile with the big pollock on the feed. I quickly rigged up a Lunker City Swimmin Ribster on a #2/0 10g football jighead, cast out and began to work the lure back with a jigged retrieve. Pretty much straight away a pollock rose up and grabbed the lure, but when I struck I pulled the lure right out of its mouth! I should have waited till I felt the fish but I got over excited. I tried again and it made a couple of half hearted attempts but I couldn't persuade it to take a second time. I decided to spend the last half hour looking for mackerel so I rigged up a 12g Savage Gear Fat Pencil Prey and began casting out and working it back towards me using a sink and draw retrieve. It didn't take long to hit and soon there was a nice big mackerel charging about on the end of my line.

First mackerel this year!

This was to be eaten for tea so it was promptly dispatched and I carried on fishing. I managed to hook and lose another before I hooked a half decent coalie. This was landed and returned and then it was time to head back.

It was a fun couple of hours but slightly disappointing to find the mark populated with big pollock, the ballan wrasse was a nice find though and I hope to get back soon to see if those big corkwings have returned!

The next day I had some time in the morning so I popped down the coast hoping for a crack at the bass. I was at the mark by 08:30 and for once I had it to myself, the conditions looked good with a slight swell running and a slowly flooding tide. I rigged up a Lunker City Ribster in Arkansas Shiner on a #2/0 10g jighead and began working the lure in the channel. Things were very slow for the first hour and it was hard to work the lure back without it picking up loads of suspended weed. As the tide began to flood stronger the weed began to clear and I was soon into a small bass which took the lure very close in. A brief fight and it was quickly landed, photographed and released and I quickly followed it up with another around the 40cm mark.

First bass of the session fell to a Lunker City Ribster...

...as did the second!

The fishing went quiet again for another hour and I swapped rods to my shimano Yasei dropshot rod as I was keen to experiment with it to see how sensitive it was. While my savage gear dropshot is definitely more sensitive I could still feel the lure working as I bounced it back along the sea bed. I was then joined by another angler who on his first cast manged to hook my lure, both of us got annoyed and we argued over whose fault it was. After a while we resolved our differences and had a chat about the fishing, John said he had found one of my lost Slug-Gos complete with jighead, he had tried using it but hadn't had any joy so he gave it back to me which was a nice gesture. I rigged it up and cast it out while saying to john that my biggest bass had fallen to a Slug-Go here. I then got a tip wrap and had to put the rod down while I released the line from the tip ring and when it was freed I picked up the rod and a bass grabbed the lure. This accidental dead sticking of the lure had done the business and a nice bass of 45cm was landed after a good fight. This fish was taken for the table and with that I called it a day and said cheerio to John and headed back to town.

A long lost reclaimed Slug-Go worked its magic on this 45cm bass.

The fishing may have been quite slow to start with but it was great to get some bass again, I just wish they had made an appearance during the Cornish Lure Festival!

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.

More micro fishing for gobies.

A few weeks ago Jake and I went to Ravensheugh beach to target turbot. When we got to beach Jake saw some small fish in a rockpool. After a while we agreed they were gobies and tried to catch a few. Jake almost managed to get one but it fell of his #20 hook as he was lifting it up. After a fruitless hour or so searching for turbot on the beach at the mouth of a small stream I returned to the rockpool and after a lot of perseverance I managed to catch one of them. At this point I realised I didn't have my camera with me so I popped it into my empty water bottle. I then caught a second and then I caught a tiny dragonet. Jake then returned having worked his way along the beach a fair bit and back along again.

I worked the stream whilst Jake wandered along the beach.

We popped the tiny fish into a small rockpool to look at them and I took a couple of pictures using Jake's camera. Still unsure about the exact species of goby I had caught we headed off as Jake wanted to try for bass at Torness Power Station outflow.

At the time I thought they may be painted gobies due to the saddle markings. But it turns out they were two spotted gobies. You can just make out the spots.

Still not sure quite how I hooked this dragonet. It was about the size of my thumbnail!

A short walk back to the car and a drive down the coast and we were at the outflow. Once there Jake soon caught a few bass, first of all using a Hansen Pilgrim spoon and then, after losing that, on a Lunker City Ribster fished on a jighead.

One of a few bass Jake caught, much to the annoyance of others who weren't catching that many.

I meanwhile had been exploring and had spotted some more gobies in a large sandy bottomed rockpool and when we left I told Jake I'd like to get some smaller hooks and return to find out what they were. Jake visited twice in the last week and had managed to catch some two spotted gobies confirming the identity of the two I had caught and had also caught a small goby that we were pretty sure was a common goby.

Jake and I were reasonably certain he'd caught his first common goby and would later have this confirmed.

On Monday some new Gamakatsu 6315 #26 hooks to nylon arrived so yesterday we headed down again to catch a few more and get confirmation. Upon arrival I headed straight to the rockpool to get started. Jake went to try for a bass. The only rod I had with me was the "beast tamer". I was focused on goby hunting and nothing else!

My Ron Thompson Ice Fishing Pimple Lux 60cm Medium. 2 foot of goby stopping power!

Weapons of micro destruction!

Ultra fine wire hooks to increase my chances of hooking the tiny fish.

Tiny pieces of Power Isome and Gulp! Sandworm were the lures of choice. Split shot was placed a few inches above to help keep it down as it was fairly windy.

It took me a while to get them interested in my tiny chunks of Power Isome and Gulp! Sandworm but just after Jake came over to see how I was doing I managed to catch a two spotted goby, my 29th saltwater species on lures this year. Jake hadn't managed any bass but he then spotted a small flounder in the rockpool and soon had it hooked on a pink Ecogear Minnow SS. That's the first time I've seen one caught in a rockpool! I then moved along a bit to a spot where Jake had whipped the gobies up into a frenzy by jigging his brightly coloured lure around. After jigging my Isome around lightly amongst them I managed to catch a small goby. Careful examination would confirm it as being a common goby. A new species for me and my 30th saltwater species on lures this year. I was over the moon having reached my goal for the year.

Isn't he cute.

Rockpool flounder caught on the Rockfish UL.

Ecogear Minnow SS proved to tempting for this stranded flounder.

My first ever common goby.

Nine soft ray fins in the second dorsal fin along with other features confirms this as a common goby. Sand gobies have at least ten.

I had a small clear plastic tank with me that gave us an opportunity to study the gobies closely. We examined them carefully admiring their markings and subtle colourations before we both took turns with the "beast tamer" catching some more. Both of us ending up with one two spotted goby and three common gobies each.

Viewing gobies like this lets you see every detail.

Note the pale blue markings on this common gobies

The examination tank. This enabled us to take our time and confirm that all the gobies we'd caught were two spotted gobies or common gobies.

A few of the bass anglers took an interest in what we were doing too and had a look at our catches before I released them all again. Micro fishing is great fun and it's strange to think that it's taken us so long to investigate the gobies as we've spotted them there before. We just assumed they were sand gobies I suppose. In future we'll be investigating any gobies we spot as there are quite a few more species in the U.K. for us still to catch!

Tight lines, Hutch.

Going tiny for two spots.

On Monday I popped down to Torness to fish with my friend Ritchie, the winds had died down and conditions looked good for a change! Our plan was to search the cold water inflow for wrasse as well as the possibility of other species as well. I popped into Mike's Tackle shop on route which I really shouldn't do if I want to get anywhere quickly and after an age fawning over lovely shiny lures managed to drag myself away after only buying a couple! I arrived late morning at the inflow and met up with Ritchie. He had already had a few small coalies and due to my lateness we only manged to fish together for about ten minutes before he had to go!

After Ritchie had gone I searched all the usual mackerel holding areas but there were no sign of them at all and even the coalfish were not playing ball. The tide was dropping to low when after a couple of hours of searching I arrived at the Helipad to find the ledge below it exposed. This provided me with a perfect platform to walk onto in order to explore the edges of the structure. With the sea being calm I could see that against the walls and pilings were groups of little fish, hugging the walls and rising for tiny organisms on the surface. These small fish appeared to be the same sort that Scott and I encountered during our recent visit to Ravensheugh beach and with the fishing being so slow I decided to devote some time in trying to bag another new lure caught species. As the tiny fish were so close to the surface I rigged a #22 hook with a tiny piece of Gulp! Sandworm and just gently rested it on the surface film. The little fish were quick to come up and start pecking at the lure but as it slowly sank they became less and less interested. It was only by gently raising the lure back up to the surface that they became interested in it again until one manged to get its tiny mouth around it and I quickly lifted him out to find out my 25th lure caught species this year was a two spotted goby!

My first ever two spotted goby and lure caught saltwater species No. 25 for 2012!

I continued messing about with the tiny fish and managed to catch a further four before I moved off in search of bigger fish. Unfortunately try as I might the next couple of hours resulted in a couple of bites but no further fish and soon it was time to head home. It was slightly disappointing not to catch anything larger than 1" but it's amazing how a tiny fish can brighten your day and it won't be long before I am back to see what else the mark has to offer!

Tight lines, Schogsky.

Corkwing corner revisited. Scottish record almost beaten!

With the day free on Sat Jake and I headed down to Torness Power Station to fish the inlet side. When we arrived the tide was fully out and being a big spring we had access to a lot of rockpools and gullies that are normally covered. I had a look around some rockpools whilst Jake went further down and explored a kelpy area. We made our way along to the power station but unusually there was no sign of any fish. None were found in the long gully where we've caught a lot of sea scorpions in the past and no sign of any leopard spotted gobies in the deep water between the boulders where they've been caught in the past. We climbed down to the western side of the outflow and started fishing down the side of the kelp covered drop off with drop shot rigs. Jake got snagged though and whilst he tied on a new rig I fished in front of a nice overhang. After a short time a coalfish appeared but didn't seem too interested in my Gulp! Sandworm. Then a sea scorpion popped out and gobbled my lure. I thought it was well hooked as none of the lure was visible but as I lifted it up it promptly spat the lure out and swam off back into the crack. Jake then cast out away from the drop off and as he worked his lure back it was taken by a mackerel which was quickly landed and dispatched so Jake could have it for his dinner.

Drop shotting proving to be very versatile.

I put a 7g silver Toby on and soon had a few bumps from mackerel at range but didn't get any hook ups. We then went to the opposite side and after searching the area with my Toby I soon located the mackerel shoal fairly close in and soon caught four mackerel. Two larger ones were quickly dispatched so I too could have mackerel for my dinner and the other two smaller ones were shaken off the hook with minimal contact to avoid damaging their sensitive skin. Jake caught a second mackerel so with our dinners sorted we stopped targeting them despite them being great fun on LRF gear.

If only they grew a bit bigger!

Our friend Nick Aitken has caught a couple of Yarrell's blennies from the inlet area so before the tide flooded over it Jake decided to see if he could get one. This meant getting a bit wet though but a species hunter has got to do what a species hunter has got to do!

Jake gets a quick shower whilst trying to get a new species down in the corner.

No reward for his soaking though so we headed up onto the gantry that crosses the inlet to try for corkwing wrasse as the tide flooded over the kelp covered shelf we had been standing on earlier. Jake was in first when he caught a small coalfish.

This greedy little coalfish swallowed the whole section of Gulp! Sandworm.

Shortly after returning the coalfish Jake caught his first specimen corkwing wrasse of the day. We thought it may have been a small ballan wrasse at first due to it's colouration but closer examination confirmed it as a corkwing wrasse.

The dark spots behind the eye and on the root of the tail confirms this is a female corkwing wrasse.

A big one too! Measuring 22cm and weighing 171g it's just 5g short of beating the current Scottish record!

I was finding fishing from the gantry quite uncomfortable so I climbed down onto the rocks below to fish from there. We were both quite excited about the prospect of further specimen corkwings but the action stopped completely for a while and whilst Jake persisted in his quest for a Scottish record corkwing wrasse I headed over to the sea defence boulders to try for a leopard spotted goby before the area was covered by the tide. As I clambered over there I looked up to see Jake's rod nodding away and he was soon lifting up a small pollock.

The 4th species of the session.

I began exploring in between the boulders and whilst there was no sign of any gobies I caught a blenny, my first for a while.

This blenny was almost black when I caught it. 30 seconds later it's completely changed colour.

Then as I dropped my Isome down into a gap I spotted a small fish with the unmistakable electric blue marking of a leopard spotted goby. I quickly changed from a drop shot rig to a #16 hook and some split shot and dropped a tiny section of pink Power Isome down into the hole. My plan was scuppered however when a big blenny appeared and scared it off, before turning his nose up at my offering and disappearing again. At this point Jake called down to tell me he had caught another corkwing wrasse so I headed back up to the gantry again. The wrasse seemed to be there again and after a few bites we both caught another corkwing each.

No question about the fact this is Jake's second corkwing wrasse due to its vivid markings.

I get in on the act with my first corkwing wrasse from the inlet area.

Who said punk was dead?

Jake's third corkwing of the session. A much darker fish.

Just when we thought we would see an increase in catches though yet again the action stopped for a while so I headed to try for a Yarrell's blenny from the gantry above where Jake had tried earlier. Holding my lure above the bottom I soon had a few bites and hooked a fish. Quite excited, I called along to Jake but as I hoisted the fish up I could see it wasn't my first ever Yarrell's blenny. A greedy little long spined sea scorpion was the culprit. I tried for a while longer but didn't get any more bites so I headed back along to where Jake was and he hadn't had any further action either so we called it a day, headed back to the car and drove back up the A1 to Edinburgh. When I got home I popped out and got a few ingredients and Lillian and I had the mackerel for our dinner.

Thai Spicy Mackerel Salad - Yum Pla Too. Yum indeed!

Nice varied session with six species caught and a seventh spotted. I still think the area has even more potential. Further time will be spent exploring it soon and I think it's only a matter of time before a record breaking corkwing is caught!

Tight lines, Hutch.

LRF : Dropshot success!

Last Monday I received a delivery of some Delalande 6g drop shot leads and some #8 Decoy MG1 mini hooks from Art of Fishing. I have been meaning to experiment a bit more with the technique of drop shotting as I feel it can be great for keeping the lure in "the zone", the heavier weights can help combat wind and current and with the mini offset worm hooks it would be surprisingly weedless. The plan was to go to a mark Scott had heard reports of Yarrrel's blenny being caught from and I was keen to investigate the surrounding area a bit more. When I arrived it was cloudy but warm and there was quite a large rolling swell. I was using my Graphiteleader 7'9 Corto EX tubular tipped rod, Shimano Technium 3000SFC reel spooled with Sunline 6lb Super PE as main line and a 4' 6lb drennan flurocarbon leader. I tied the hook via a palomar knot 2 foot up the leader leaving a 2 foot long tag end to which I clipped the lead. These leads are designed to grip the line without tying a knot and in the event of a snag will allow you to get your rig back leaving the lead behind. I rigged a 2" section of gulp rag on the offset hook so that it was weedless.Initially I was slightly wary of casting hard with the rig, however it casts like a dream and was pretty aerodynamic and the lead ,despite not being tied on, was secure.

I began fishing on the gantry that overhangs the mark so it was just a question of dropping it down. This I did and I felt the familiar sensation of the lead falling through the kelp before tapping on the rock below.To test its weedless capabilities I lifted the rig back up through the kelp, gave a couple of turns of the handle and allowed the lure to fall back into the kelp. I did this a couple more times and it didn't hang up before I felt something pecking at the lure. I waited letting the bite develop, a couple more pecks then the tip of my rod lunged down as the fish seized the lure proper. I struck, the fish tried to get into the kelp but was quickly lifted clear and as it came to the surface I saw the beautiful colouration of a small wrasse. I swung it up to my hand and realised it was a corkwing and a real clonker too.

I love the myriad of colours on corkwing wrasse, a real exotic looking little fish.

I was really pleased and amazed too as it was caught on my first cast and I was really only testing the rig! I was also amazed at the corkwing as I had no idea that the mark held them and for beauty's sake are one of my favourite fish to catch. I took a few pictures and released my prize all the time marvelling at its colouration. I made a cast out again  and carried on bouncing the lure in the kelp. I was practicing keeping the lead in one place and just jiggling the rod tip with a bit of slack line. This gives the lure a weightless action and you can get the lure to twitch and shiver in a very natural fashion. I say I was practicing this but in reality I gave the rod a couple of shakes and was hammered by another fish! The rod went straight into its fighting curve and the fish stripped line off the reel with a surging run and must have gone about 15 metres before I gained control. I turned the fish and caught sight of the big bronze flash of a good pollock before it went on another run. I really lent into the fish allowing the rod to soak up its power and was surprised at just how well the rod brought the fish under control. Soon it was on the surface, albeit 15 feet below me! With no drop net I had to give the fish a bit of line, walk back along the gantry, climb the shoulder high metal fence one handed and climb down the boulders that make up the sea defences. All the time keeping the rod high to avoid the rocks. Amazingly the fish played ball and I managed to grab the biggest pollock I have landed on the Corto which weighed 3.5lb.

At 3.5lb this pollock is the biggest I have had on my Corto EX rod.

The little size 8 hook was only just strong enough to cope with this fish.

Unbelievable, two casts and two fish caught, the second being a great battle to land. I held the fish in the water till it had revived and then it swam strongly away. I still had the section of gulp on so I decided to fish from where I landed the pollock. After about ten minutes I again felt the small taps of a wrasse before I struck and landed another fine corkwing.

Another beautifully marked corkwing and another Specimen

I carried on fishing but after twenty minutes I hadn't had any more bites so I went back up to the gantry. Virtually straight away I was into some great corkwings each one a real joy to catch and admire their wonderful colours.

Another perfect specimen Corkwing falls for the Gulp! Sandworm

A bit more detail of the rig here,devastatingly effective!

This one wasn't over 4oz but made up for it with stunning markings!

I get the same buzz from catching corkwing wrasse as I do crucian carp. They can be quite challenging to catch and fight very well for their size. The majority of the fish were very large too with most being between 4 and 5 oz, with one just over 5oz only 1oz under the Scottish record!

This is my new PB corkwing wrasse and weighed 5.4 oz. Only an ounce under the Scottish record!

A real clonker!

Brilliant specimen sized fish which in Scotland is anything over 4oz. The sport lasted a couple of hours with a couple of long spined sea scorpions also landed as well as another pollock, all be it smaller at about a pound.

A long spined sea scorpion also couldn't resist the drop shotted Gulp! Sandworm.

My second pollock of the session, although not as big as the first, still gave a great fight!

The sport was so good that as I made my way back to the car I was grinning like an idiot! No Yarrell's blennies this time but the discovery of a corkwing hotspot that throws up such good sized fish more than made up for it. Add the fact that my experimentation with a new method proved to be so effective and it ended up being a brilliant session. I can't wait to do more drop shotting and really see just how big these corkwings can get!

Tight lines, Schogsky.