Sea Angler (UK)

Going soft

The technqiues to try now for catching on rock marks and in harbours...

- Words and photograph­y by Jake Schogler

LRF tactics for rock marks and harbours.

Sea temperatur­es are at their lowest at the start of March but then begin to climb as the month progresses, which, combined with an increase in light levels, certainly improves the fishing.

At this time of year I tend to vary my chosen venues from deep-water rock marks to fishing in harbours. The rock marks are the ones that offer the best chance of a big pollack or cod. However, many are only really fishable in calm weather, but the rewards are there if the weather plays ball.

The harbours are tough at the moment, too, but there is one early spring arrival that I really look forward too, and that is the flounder. With even mini-species, such as blennies and scorpions, thin on the ground in the harbours, it is the flounders that signal the return of some rod-thumping LRF (light rock fishing) sport.

One of the many benefits of using LRF gear is that although I am fishing two different venues for two very different species, the tackle remains the same. At this time of year I rely much more on soft lure techniques. I mostly fish with an exposed jig head in the spring because there is less weed. As I am using sensitive tackle, I can feel my way around snags without clumsily winding into them.

An LRF rod, rated 1-8g , coupled with 0.6 PE braid and a selection of soft lures, hooks, dropshot weights and jig heads cover me for fishing both scenarios.

TWO PLANS OF ATTACK

With the weather still quite temperamen­tal, it pays to have a plan A and B when heading out to fish. I tend to hit the deeper water rock marks in calm weather, and concentrat­e on harbours when it’s rough. While the fishing tends to be a bit better from the deeper water, this soon changes when the first flounders start to come back into the harbours, usually around mid-March.

It certainly pays to have access to a harbour bolthole when the weather is rough. There are still fish there to be caught, and I expect the fishing to improve rapidly throughout March.

At the rock marks, my main targets are pollack, coalfish and codling. When fishing deep water in early spring, my retrieves are always slower than in summer. I try to make my lure look like a vulnerable, injured prey item, rather than the faster, panicking baitfish.

A light jig head and deep water mean you can take full advantage of the long, slow drop through the water column. If the lure has dropped through the water without being snaffled by a pollack or coalfish, then I will do a slow-twitched retrieve back up and repeat. Bites can be anything from a rod-wrenching lunge to the tiniest of plucks, either way, if you feel anything different, strike!

As most of my cold-water retrieves are slow, the rigging options are important. I wouldn’t want to use a 7g jig head with a 2in straight lure as it would drop through the water too quickly because I am after a much slower fall rate trying to imitate an injured prey item sinking through the water. Therefore, lightly weighted jig heads will offer you the best on-the-drop presentati­on. The shape/style of lure will also affect the fall rate. Worm or stick baits have the least resistance and will descend faster, whereas paddletail lures can act like a parachute slowing the decent.

If the fish are working very close to the bottom, then I would switch to a dropshot rig. Fall rate of the lure is less important, so I am confident in using heavier weights as the idea is to work the lure along the deck. Again, this gives me the ability to work a lure very slowly and subtly, even keeping the lure in one place.

Once the lead is on the bottom, the lure can act in a weightless manner and, again, it is this slower, more subtle approach that seems to pay dividends in the cold conditions. Ideally, I would be targeting deeper water to find fish, but as the month progresses I tend to concentrat­e more on the harbours.

TARGET HARBOURS

I tend to focus much more of my early spring flounder fishing in harbours because when these fish return from spawning, they are in the harbours to feed.

Harbours are a great place to find flounders. One with a sandy seabed will undoubtedl­y hold flatties, and if it’s a working harbour there will also be a good supply of food items from the fishing boats in the form of discard and from the nets and decks of the boats. This food source will help attract the flatties and give you a sheltered area to work the lures.

Target sandy patches and channels, with the mouth of the harbour being a good place to intercept the flounders as they move in and out with the tide.

Just like my approach to deep water, my harbour work relies on soft lures and slow retrieves. When specifical­ly targeting flounders, then my techniques all revolve around working the lure on or very close to the bottom. So the main rigs I use are a dropshot rig or a jig head rig.

As I am concentrat­ing mainly on flatfish in the harbours, I tend to increase the weight of my jig heads so I can get them quickly to the seabed. I am not concentrat­ing on an on-thedrop presentati­on because most of the flatfish will be taking prey from within a couple of feet of the seabed.

The other harbour bonus species, such as scorpion fish and codling, hunt along the

seabed and will take both dropshotte­d and jig head rigged soft lures. A 2-5g jig head with a size 8 to size 4 hook works well for soft plastics up to 3in long. I use smaller lures at this time of year and stick to a couple of retrieve styles.

RETRIEVE STYLE

Firstly, a very slow-twitched retrieve can be great when working a lure across a flat, sandy/ muddy seabed. To achieve this, it is simply a case of casting and letting the lure sink to the bottom. Then begin a very slow retrieve and gently shake the rod tip. This keeps the lure slowly trundling along the bottom, throwing up puffs of sand, and the little twitches add an extra bit of life into the lure, especially when working longer, thinner worm-style lures.

The other technique is bottom bouncing. Here, I simply cast out, and when the lure hits the seabed I lift the rod sharply so that the lure hops off the bottom. I tend to do a couple of lifts of the rod then pause for a few seconds, before hopping it back up again.

I am trying to keep the lure working in the bottom 2ft so the rod lifts are not large sweeps of the rod. I like to mix up the pause times, especially when using a scented lure, like Isome or Gulp, and I happily let the lure rest on the deck for up to half a minute before continuing the retrieve.

Dropshotti­ng is among the slowest retrieve styles that I am able to use. Because I am using a heavier dropshot weight, it can also cover more water due to being able to cast further. It differs from the other methods by having the ability to work a lure effectivel­y in one place without having to draw the lure back towards you. This meticulous covering of the water pays dividends with early spring flounders.

 ??  ?? A light jighead and Gulp sandworm (above) were used to catch this pollack (below) Rock marks offer the best chance of a big pollack or cod
A light jighead and Gulp sandworm (above) were used to catch this pollack (below) Rock marks offer the best chance of a big pollack or cod
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 ??  ?? BEAT THE SNAGS The dropshot weight comes loose if snagged. When the weather is rough, head to a harbour Flounders arrive in the harbours around mid-March SCENTED WORM The hookbait can be an Isome worm or similar. HOOK POSITION Tie your hook 1ft from...
BEAT THE SNAGS The dropshot weight comes loose if snagged. When the weather is rough, head to a harbour Flounders arrive in the harbours around mid-March SCENTED WORM The hookbait can be an Isome worm or similar. HOOK POSITION Tie your hook 1ft from...

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