Some beautiful Cornish Wrasse

 My son James and I have been loving the Wrasse fishing over the summer in Cornwall. Soft plastic Black Minnows all the way held close to the rocks both of kayak and shore. James has almost a sixth sense for tempting them out. Bass at the time of writing not abundant.

Summer of Bass and Wrasse

This year for me was a bumper year for Bass. Not big and all returned but glorious mid range fish from the Cornish coast. Some days on the kayak at certain states of tide my catch rate was into double figures. The best of fishing on Black Minnows but other lures did the trick as well. It was the first summer I caught a Bass on the fly from a South Cornish cove. As well as the Bass my son and I caught some cracking Wrasse. Deeply fished lures that had to be weedless to cope with the kelp.

Summer day at Ringstead Bay

Beach day with family at Ringstead Bay. Managed to get a few hours in searching for Bass. Just one Bass and a Wrasse  after covering a lot of ground. Nice paddle though with light winds.

Tenerife shore fishing species hunt

It had been two years since I had last fished the shores of Tenerife and not a lot has changed. Fished loads of spots with my youngest James on the lure and with a variety of seafood baits but primarily squid. Fished areas up the South East coast including Abades and Las Galletas as well as Palm Mar. On the lure we managed to tempt a few Trumpet fish and the ever present Lizard Fish mainly to the Black Minnow. I did have follows from escapee Bass but no takes. I find it absolutely amazing that the predatory fish are so limited near the shore on this volcanic island mid Atlantic even though we fished some really deep marks. On the float with Size 12 hook we landed many mini species including Canarian Damsel, Boga, Canarian Rockfish, Canarian Puffer and Ornate Wrasse. The tide had a noticeable impact on fishing with incoming tide always way more productive.

Trumpet Fish

Boga

Puffer

Canarian Rockfish

Biggest fish of the holiday on Black Minnow

Dabbling with fishing the Bristol Channel at Littleton-on-Severn

James and I have embarked on some shore sea fishing on the Bristol Channel just 20 minutes away. Something I have always wanted to try but I have previously avoided as a dark art. The thought of lots of new rigs and tackle to understand, the challenge of getting fresh bait and the timing of visits to make the most of the tide has to be honest put me off. However a bit of research and minor investment in some entry level kit has opened the door. The guys in Veals of Bristol were of great help.

We have now conducted 4 trips and I am glad to say none have resulted in a blank. Our visits back in October were relatively balmy days at Littleton-on-Severn (Whale Wharf to be exact). Ideal tides seem to be between 11.5m and 13.5m arriving to fish 2hrs before and leaving 2 hrs post high. It is silt with very few snags the only issue is traversing the salt marsh mud below a metre high grass verge to get distance on the cast. First visits saw mixed results of a schoolie Bass on float fished ragworm that was intended for the Mullet in the small wharf, some tiny Whiting on flapper rigs baited with ragworm and a nice Conger of about 5lb on squid.

 

As the Winter has moved on we have caught a number of Codling most returnable but the odd one large enough to take home for tea which has been great. The bigger fish seem to fall to the bigger baits and generally taken the defrosted squid. Smaller fish are constantly tapping on the ragworm but are unable to shift the 5oz leads. The larger Cod and Conger produced slack line bites indicated by the rod straightening on the rest.  

Still new to this discipline it is nice to build knowledge and understanding. Points of note have been: that casting distance has not really had a significant influence over success; carp rods have landed the biggest Cod and the Conger however clearly they do constrain casting distance with large leads; sea reels are required to ensure rapid retrieve to avoid snagging; its best to leave small taps as the fish will either hook themselves or move on; gripper leads are a must to combat the tide; and finally a good strong rod tripod is an excellent investment. Both James and I are looking forward to more sessions and fishing through the seasons on the Bristol Channel.

Portland Bill excursion for Bass and Wrasse

Light winds and last of the summer sun had encouraged a long day trip to Portland Bill. A bit of old rag still left from a previous south coast trip but the focus was on lure fishing for Bass and Wrasse. First stop was the far end of Chesil where it met the Bill. My son and I traversed some impressive boulder fields to make our way down to an idyllic spot sheltered from the light easterlies. Loads of Gar were showing but we did not have the hooks or lures small enough to connect. After an hour or so I hooked a nice Bass of about 40cm on the Black Minnow and then the Wrasse started hitting the lures. The neap tide was on its way out mid way between high and low. After several bitten off lures we finally landed a nice Wrasse.

Time for change in scenery and we headed off for Pulpit rock at the end of the Bill. It frustrates me greatly when you can't pay for parking on your card. An app later and 30 minutes of faffing on the phone and finally we could park - is this meant to be easy arghhh? Pulpit rock was busy with sightseers and fisherman but we managed to slot in amongst them. After a few hours of fishing across low we managed a small Pollack and Wrasse but not easy fishing although we were distracted by the impressive scenery. We ended up back on Chesil to see the sunset. A long beautiful day and well worth the trip.

Cornish excursion

Wonderful few weeks in Cornwall. Surf small and clean most of time with some flat days or northerly winds dictating a bit of South coast kayaking. My lads totally into the surfing for the sheer fun whether its on shortboards, softboards or bodyboards which suits me fine.

All the beautiful Bass caught close to the shore not necessarily at high or low, but in the movement of tide. As ever the Bass went back to grow on. Great sport looking for chasing fish and then casting in front with lures waiting for the hit. Weather sublime, water crystal clear. Mackerel too were great sport together with lots, and I mean lots, of small Pollack.

Bass, Wrasse and wrecks exploring the Jurassic Coast

Another day out on the South coast as the baking weather with lights winds continued. Launched yak from Ringstead and set off along the coast in search of Bass. Caught a nice sized schoolie and then lost a really good fish just yards from the boat. The tide was pretty low all day so although plenty of fish about they were hard to tempt. The water was like glass at times with the odd patch of mist rolling in. Snorkeling gave me insight to the busy world under the surface with plenty of Bass patrolling just yards from the beach and small pockets of territorial Wrasse.in amongst the kelp. Weedless lures all the way today made life easy although the Wrasse would make short work of the rubber lure.

Now for something different .. a bit of Bass fishing

Long baking hot day at Studland with family during which time I spent 3 hours out on the kayak. Some really big bass about as I drifted across the weed. Managed three schoolies on turn of tide that all went safely back on the Black Minnow. It was a case of paddling in and drifting out with the offshore. Casting in the channels amongst the weed. I had a big Pollack follow but did not convert.

Kayak trip to Lyme Regis

Spent the day kayaking with my youngest son kayaking the ledges to the west of Lyme Regis. An early Bass got me excited but this was short lived as the hours went by without a further take. Over the size limit but it went back as a present to the gods although I felt they didn't return the favour. Towards the end of the day the Wrasse came on the feed savaging my soft plastics and costing me dearly. Great little scrappers on light tackle though. It was a beautiful late summer day though with very little wind and fantastic scenery.

Cornish Mayhem..

Spent a lovely week in Cornwall. Fished a West Country Passport beat I have not been back to in a while and picked up some beautiful miniature trout in the mossy wilderness on the dry fly. Stream was low with no sign yet of the regular Sea Trout. Spent a few lucky moments metres away from a Stoat which hugged the bank like an Otter.

 

Hmmm how do I get that cast in?

Sea fished from my new Caper kayak off the Roseland using some Snowbee Snakebite weighted jig heads. They worked wonders on the Pollack picking out the larger fish and unbelievably caught a nice 5lb Cod just a few 100 metres from the beach. It was coloured up like the kelp and fought like stink on my spinning rod. No Mackerel in attendance although I did see a large Seal playing with a big Bass just offshore at one of the beaches.

Surf small and unruley although managed some cleaner moments at Watergate and Perranporth.

It's been a while but I will recap a glorious summer in the South west...

Spent many wonderful weeks in Cornwall. Kayak fishing and surfing with my family. Lots of Mackerel inshore and a few suprises but no Bass although it is a different story at time of writing with plenty of Bass now being caught along the South Coast.

Little video of two of my lads enjoying prolific Mackerel on the Roseland. One interesting trip out from Portreath saw a close encounter with an Ocean Sunfish and squid surprise. The squid regularly took the feather but rarely stayed on long enough to enter the boat!

 Back in July the Black Bream fishing was superb off the Solent with the shoals feeding on the moving tide and then switching off immediately on the slack.  

The surf was in no way great over the summer but I was super stoked to see my two eldest lads finally getting the bug. Now they know what it feels like to be a surfer!

I need to relocate returning to Bristol and work just doesn't get any easier.