Wrassehysteria
BY LOUIS FEROX THERE is no arguing that catching bass, pollack, and sea trout will look good on the fishing CV. That’s what got me, and many others hooked in the first place.
But in my pursuit of these fine species, I always stumbled across a worthy adversary that would appear time and time again. The wrasse.
I love going after wrasse so much I thought it would be worthwhile imparting some of my knowledge and encourage any angler who has not had a crack at these incredible-looking fish to do something about it.
Why target wrasse you may ask? Well, I have realised that wrasse are hard-fighting fish and offer great sport.
A big wrasse will drag you into the trenches of rocks and kelp, so ensure you have your drag cranked up because if you give these fish an inch, they will take a mile.
Wrasse is a widespread species and can be found throughout the world in tropical and temperate seas. There are plenty to be found in UK waters including ballan wrasse, cuckoo wrasse and corkwing wrasse.
When I go on holiday, and there are some safe, rocky marks in the area, I’ll always take a telescopic rod and some gear to catch these cracking fish.
To locate wrasse, find the roughest ground you can with nice big holes and ledges. Wrasse is predominantly a rockfish, and they love hunting over rough ground.
When you’ve found your chosen ground, it’s as easy as casting at your target.
Let the lure sink to the bottom, then slowly retrieve it – you should be able to feel every bump and barge through the rod tip.
The appeal of wrasse fishing is that they aren’t too fussy as to when they will hit a lure. If you can find one, you will find others to target.
You will catch them all over the tide but the best wrasse can be found at either side of the high or low tide.
I’ve found that wrasse will happily chase soft plastic lures bumping along the bottom. I’ve also discovered experimenting with your lure colour can do the trick as wrasse can be picky about the colour they want to attack.
One last thing – never think that a retrieve is over until that lure is up out of the water and dry.
A lot of anglers will rush the last few metres, but it pays to fish every cast out to the bitter end.