“Species hunting is a piscatorial version of Panini sticker albums!”
ENTERING a seasonal lure fishing competition has added real spice to my fishing. Simple in essence, The Big Lerf Winter League is an all-out species hunt.
You get a point for every fish type, regardless of whether it’s a goby or a pike. It’s addictive, fun and, for my money, a bit like a piscatorial version of one of those Panini sticker albums you went nuts for as a kid.
I don’t know of many other competitive leagues where the next man will happily share their current hotspots, but such is the LRF scene.
It’s collaborative as well as competitive. And, as a working dad, it really helps that even short evening sessions can boost that species tally.
This week I had a wonderful trip to Plymouth Barbican with my mates Chris Lambert and Adam Moxey. Car sharing keeps costs down, while the banter is very welcome on a cold night.
Ostensibly we wanted to catch flounders, but what we got was a real pick and mix evening of fun. It’s quite mesmerising just searching the nooks and crannies of a harbour at night, watching strange little fish caught in the beam of a headtorch, and soaking it all in.
From the revving of motorbikes to a blues guitarist, we had an interesting soundtrack, with fishing to match. In no time at all, we were connecting with gobies and pollack, determined to snatch any tiny lure presented near the bottom. Having reached that point in the sticker album where you keep getting “swapsies”, however, I was clamouring for something different.
Flounders can be a tricky prospect, but a lure tripped along the bottom can work. And that’s exactly what I thought I’d hooked a few casts later, when the rod fairly thumped over!
Extreme caution kicked in as I loosened the drag a touch, fearing a break. You can’t bully a bigger fish on 3lb fluorocarbon! In my mind’s eye, the creaking rod signalled a 2lb flattie, so you can probably imagine my surprise when a lovely ballan wrasse surfaced. I can’t remember the last time I caught one of these fish at night.
As if to confirm it was some sort of mad hour, Moxey then caught a goldsinny wrasse, another supposed daytime feeder. You can only assume that massed street lights fool the fish into thinking it’s a bit earlier in the day.
The daftest surprise was still to come, however, when the next fish I hooked felt weirdly lethargic. Somehow, I’d snagged a two-for-one offer of goby plus crab. The nippy so-and-so had one claw clamped on to my lure and the other clamped on the goby, and refused to let go! For some reason, it reminded me of Boris Johnson clinging to power. We were still chuckling as we hit the road later, several laughs and league points better off.
“We wanted flounders, but we got a pick and mix evening of fun”