[Rob F]

...that nobody in the North West had caught anything on lures since June!

Had an overnight bxxt session last night, lots of pin whiting, dogs, dabs, the usual stuff. I used up all of my lug but hung around for a bit of a dawn session with my limited SP's hoping for a surf flounder.

I popped round the coast to Marine Beach, Fleetwood where the River Wyre reaches the Irish Sea. Lots of blow lug beds, patches of smelly silty mud and plent of snaggy mussel beds... perfect for flounder.

All I have in my SP "armoury" at the moment is a pack of picol 'eau eels, some Wolf Tackle elver immitations, a pack of purple wrasse SP's that Graeme Barber kindly gave me at the Bumble and some bog standard rubber eels from my local tackle shop that would be more use on a charter boat for cod.

My only jig heads were my newly aquired C'ultiva Super Ball 1/2 oz with size 1 hooks

It's at this point I realised I truly no NOTHING about soft plastics or how to work them. I've had wrasse to just shy of 4lb before but anytime I've caught them it's been pure water craft, I've know where to put the lure but I wouldn't have a clue how to work it naturally! Wrasse are aggressive and terratorial and will strike any anything... but enticing a bite on SP's...? Never done it!

If I was fishing with baited spoons over this mark I'd be disappointed not to have a fish in the first half hour.

I tried everything I could, searching out gullies, sink and drop over mussel beds to find sandy patches, letting it bounce aroud in the current... However I am going into this completely blind! I've built up my confidence and experience in plugs but I feel like a complete SP novice! I AM!

I blanked, but I know I have a lot of reading and research to do now....







(unless it wasn't just me, and nobody has caught anything on lures up here this year...?)


Tightlines,
Rob

 

[Simon L]

I know 'exactly' how you feel Rob, as that's where i was at the start of the season (and last season). Whenever i put an s/p on the end of my line, i just felt like i was wasting my time. Then, early in the season inparticular, i saw the catch-rates of the guys out in Jersey, when no-one else around the country really appeared to be catching. I remember having a chat with Marc Westood, and us coming to the conclusion that s/p's were where it's at to get catch-rates up, and that they will deliver in situations where HP's wont . . . . but only if you know how to use them.

I know (from discussions in the bar in Jersey) that there are guys who happily use their Rod Bar to work s/p's., and frankly, they catch too. However, when i first tried using them last year on my Shukan, the lack of feel was just nonsence. So, you don't 'need' a better wand to wave with them, but i truly believe that it will make a difference.

As for 'how' to work them . . . you can read a hell of a lot from here, but the main learning experience should have come from the guys you fished with out in Jersey - i know you fished with Callum for example, and he's right up there.

I cheated this year, and fished as much with possible with guys who are completely comfortable working s/p's. It helped to score a nice Bass back in April on one also. My suggestion to you - just fish as much as is possible with guys who are comfortable with them. Use the Bumbles to your advantage, and as a learning process. Nothing breeds success like 'seeing' that in fact you arent doing much wrong, and it's just about putting that last 5% or 10% of extra technique into practice that will see your catch-rates shoot-up.

 

[trev richardson]

What no Cod Rob....:shock::shock:

My lad was over fishing Fleetwood a couple of weeks ago and there were plenty of small Codling about, including the pin Whiting............:-D:-D

 

[Rob F]

No cod for me Trev, my pendulum has gone a bit rusty since last Winter so I stuck to scratching 2 or 3 hook flappers.

Bless him I caught Callum on an off day! You know when you see someone having a mare and you stay out of the way and not pester them with questions... it was persisting it down, he knitted his pink YGK quite severely, lost about 30 lures and we blanked! He offered to teach me SPs and lend me the mix again that evening but I thought he'd had a bad enough day (stolen camera etc) I just thought I'd keep to my plugs and give him some space to enjoy his evening's fishing. I could tell he is immense at SP's with the string of bass, wrasse and pollock he was pulling out that night.

Then his brakes failed on his van on the way home!

 

[Keith White]

Other than the 'blanking'....

Sounds like a day in the life of the wabbit LOL.

Becoming/Is a good angler and has learned such alot.

 

[Callum]

ha ha that was a fun day rob even with the minor set backs they just made the trip more memorable.

alot still aint enough keith lol.

 

[Rob F]

ha ha that was a fun day rob even with the minor set backs they just made the trip more memorable.

alot still aint enough keith lol.

How cool were those baitfish in that rock pool?!!! Mate I'll be down again next Summer, I can't thankyou enough for putting me onto that 6lber so hopefully we can meet up again for another couple of sessions. You can get the numbers, I'll go for the specimens....

 

[trev richardson]

...And who is going to lose all the lures then??????:-D:-D:-D:-D

 

[Rob F]

...And who is going to lose all the lures then??????:-D:-D:-D:-D

Who cares? I don't buy them to go on the mantlepiece! Callum was fishing SP's in where it hurts, in the evening especially he was concentrating his efforts on some pretty evil looking white water and consistantly produced the goods. I stuck to plugs, hoping to draw fish out of the snaggy stuff to attack my lure. Both approaches worked in different ways on the same venue

 

[Callum]

yeah those bait fish were cool as.... i wish i took a photo, ive been down a few times since and have a peek in the pool but its always empty, its still produced though! yeah ill look forward to it mate i still lose alot of lures some days are worse than others but the fish make up for it.

 

[Mo Zakaria]

i see you dusted your beachcaster rob. good try on the sp mate. have you tried st.annes on high tide from the stannah car park on higher tides? they catch loads on bait but could be a learning area for you.

 

[mick g]

Plugging North west

Not tried plugging in the bay this year Rob, every time the tides were right
the winds were wrong and we are limited up here, everything has to fall perfect...
Rushy and his mate had a couple of good sessions in september though...
http://www.anglingaddicts.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=364

 

[Dave Rushworth]

Not tried plugging in the bay this year Rob, every time the tides were right
the winds were wrong and we are limited up here, everything has to fall perfect...
Rushy and his mate had a couple of good sessions in september though...
http://www.anglingaddicts.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=364

Hi ****, we did have a couple of good sessions though it's been really poor this year compared to previous years....the other report's here http://www.anglingaddicts.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=370

This session was a first for me as I hooked two bass on the same lure, one on each treble! :shock:

 

[Rob F]

Not tried plugging in the bay this year Rob, every time the tides were right
the winds were wrong and we are limited up here, everything has to fall perfect...
Rushy and his mate had a couple of good sessions in september though...
http://www.anglingaddicts.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=364

God tell me about it! Plus when you factor work and other commitments in, it's been a difficult year for North West bassing