From shore to surf
Discover the tactics you need to fish the intertidal zone
LRF tactics for fishing the intertidal zone
Winter means working that bit harder to keep catching. We are not quite at the scratching stage because there are still plenty of fish around, as long as you know where to find them.
This really is the key to most of my fishing, I am confident enough with my light rock fishing (LRF) gear that if there are fish present, then I have the tackle to trick them.
This is really relevant in winter because the fish are less widespread and more localised. Usually for me, this mean a focus on deeper water and food sources. Commercial harbours generally contain both, but there are other areas to exploit.
One of these areas is from the shore to the surf – the intertidal zone. Rock pools, gullies, and anywhere there is water left from the flooding tide. Not only is this a habitat with many species, but also it can give you the clearest insight as to what the bigger fish are feeding on.
For example, just prior to writing this article I changed from my usual haunts of the deep-water commercial harbours for a crack at a local beach mark. This is a mixed ground venue with a small reef with gullies and rock pools, which flanks a small sandy bay. It is relativity shallow, even at high tide.
FISH-HOLDING AREAS
However, the gullies that snake their way in over the reef give depth and great cover for incoming predatory fish. There are also large boulders piled up to form a sea defence, which is a haven for small rock-dwelling fish, such as blennies, gobies and scorpion fish, as are the numerous kelp-lined rock pools around the small gullies.
When planning to fish these areas, I always try to get there for low tide, which gives me a great opportunity to study the terrain. Even though I know the area well, it still changes, especially after a storm. Being there at low water really helps identify likely fish-holding areas, such as gullies that flood with the tide.
The other aspect of arriving at low tide is you can take advantage of all the rock pools. I get some strange reaction from folk who see me hunting about rock pools; it’s usually one of blank incomprehension.
It’s completely accepted that we head to a harbour and then fish straight down the wall with very small lures trying to target the variety of mini-species that live in this habitat. I find it amazing how many people baulk at actually targeting rock pools at low tide.
On this occasion, I was armed with the HTO Rock n Force, a 1-10g solid tipped LRF rod, PE 0.6 braid, 4lb fluorocarbon leader and a small selection of lures and jig heads. My first port of call is always the rock pools, and I target these pools for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, it is great fun! There is always a
variety of intertidal species in the pools, and I love to catch them, especially when you can see the fish attacking your lure. In fact, it is a great time to try out new lures, as you get to see how the lure reacts to your rod movements, as well as how the fish react to the lure.
Secondly, by fishing these rock pools you learn about the resident flora and fauna on the beach. This is priceless information because knowing where these small fish reside gives you a massive clue to where predators, such as bass, are coming in to feed and what they are eating.
WORKING THE BOULDERS
I rigged a size 8 1g jig head on the rod and mounted a 1in tail section of Isome on the hook. I started by fishing among the boulders that form the sea defences and contain some deep pools. I dropped my lure into the gaps between the boulders and gently tapped the lure against the sea bed with tiny lifts of the rod tip. The rocks give so much cover that the fish that live in and around them are very bold biting.
Within seconds I felt a fish grab the lure and watched the soft tip of the rod bend over, indicating the fish was moving off with the lure. A tiny flick of the wrist set the hook into a common blenny.
Blennies are common along our coastline and always up for grabbing a lure bounced around their lairs. I have a real soft spot for them because they are very aggressive and think nothing of biting you with all their strength when being unhooked. They are as common in winter as they are in summer.
I spent half an hour or so working around these boulders looking for other species, however, it seemed to be blenny paradise and I was into double figures before I moved further out on to the exposed reef.
Here the rock pools are more exposed and the fish are very wary. In order to find fish here, I had to look for either very deep pools at the bottom of gullies, or those that contain large boulders.
I simply bounced the lure right against any boulders, made a couple of taps on the seabed and then let the lure sit for a couple of seconds. As you bounce the lure around the edge of the boulder, the fish that live underneath quickly give away their location. They will either dash out and grab the lure, or you see puffs of sand as the fish move under the rock.
Using this technique as I made my way towards the sea, I managed to catch a longspined scorpion.
I explored the rock pools with the lure and made an interesting discovery. In some of the deeper ones there were some small sprats that had been trapped by the tide. They are a shoal fish and are not normally found in rock pools, but these had obviously been forced into these pools by predation.
By now the tide was starting to flood, which required a different approach. I tied on a heavier leader of 8lb fluoro and reached for a sprat imitation, the HTO Fugitive metal jig. Normally in winter I wouldn’t use a small metal unless fishing deeper, more settled water. However, the discovery of the sprats in the pool had made the lure choice easy.
As the gullies holding the sprats started to flood, although still shallow, I cast beyond them, retrieving the lure as soon as it hit the water. A medium-paced twitched retrieve kept the lure working in the top 5ft of water. It only took a few casts before the metal was hit by a small bass.
Schoolies on LRF tackle are as much fun as winkling out blennies, and I had a great amount of sport with them on my light gear.
As the tide flooded I was pushed back on to the sea defences and it was time for another change in lure. This time I needed one that looked like the blennies infesting the boulders.
On went a Slug-Go with a brown back and pearl belly. This, coupled with a 3g jig head, was cast out along the edge of the defences and hopped back across the rocky seabed. Again, bites were almost instant, and more bass fell to this method.
ACTION-PACKED
It had been an action-packed session, with the species count at only three, but the numbers of fish caught was reminiscent of summer.
There is no question that the bass were preoccupied with either blennies close in or sprats a bit farther out.
Other lures just weren’t getting hit, and I tried a few to find out. The fact that I had caught and identified the most common prey items on the shore had a massive impact on the session, making it not only fun but productive.
LRF is a style that means you have to focus to get results. Sometimes this can lead to blinkered vision, for it is so easy to fall into the habit of heading straight to the open sea, especially when targeting the bigger fish, and searching for deeper water that will hold them.
At this point, lure choice tends (for me, at least) to be based on what I last caught a fish on, and, invariably, the lure is tied on and a fish will be caught and the cycle continues.
However, little variables make a big difference in fishing, and by taking the approach of fishing all the habitats, you can tweak those variables in your favour.