GET LUCKY AT WRECK FISHING
A few simple things can increase your catches and make you the envy of the other anglers onboard
Simple steps to maximise your offshore catches.
THERE HAS BEEN MAJOR SURGE IN wreck fishing over recent years as people seek bigger more sporting fish to target. Couple this with a recent rapid rise, due to Covid-19 restrictions and the furlough scheme, in people returning to angling after years of absence, and wrecking skippers suddenly have a whole new audience.
Many new wreck anglers think it is a route to instant success with guaranteed big fish, but it is not quite like that. Cast an eye around the deck when wrecking and you’ll typically see two anglers struggling, a couple doing okay, someone getting a few fish, but probably one catching more than his or her share. is isn’t luck, it’s experience. To reduce those odds more in your favour, here is what you need to do to get your lures noticed by the fish.
TACKLE CHOICES
If you don’t have any tackle, then you can hire it from the skipper and gain a better feel for the gear you might need as your interest grows. Typical boat-supplied rods will be 20/30lb-class and they’ll do a basic job of working lures.
If you prefer your own tackle, then look for a 12/20lb-class rod around eight feet in length and specifically designed for braid.
is will have a supple tip, but a quickening of power in the upper mid-section feeding into a stiff butt. is is a laboured point but very important. Braid does not stretch, as such, so the full power of the rod and line goes direct to the hook-hold. A stiff rod can rip out a light hook-hold, while a soft tipped rod absorbs the lunges of a big fish and cushions the direct pressure of the line so you’ll land more fish with a rod of this design.
Reels with a level-wind make the retrieval of line easier. at said, it’s a matter of minutes for the thumb to get used to steering the line on to the spool, so I’d suggest buying a reel without a level-wind from the start. It needs to be able to hold 300 yards of 30lb braid and that crucial mono backing. e gear ratio is also important. Don’t consider anything below 5.1 retrieve ratio. You’ll likely be fishing in at least 200ft of water and in
some areas between 300-400ft deep. e faster the retrieve ratio, 6.1 being perfect, the faster you’ll get your tackle back from the seabed. is reduces lost time and minimises fatigue.
Forget mono as a mainline because it stretches too much, reducing bite detection and makes it harder to work the lure properly. Braid helps set the hook when a fish takes the lure. Yes, braid is expensive and we need to preserve it. To do this, add a length of 30lb fluorocarbon or mono (a little longer than twice the length of the rod) as a shockleader. e knot between the braid and leader acts as a deliberate weak point that will part under very heavy hand pressure should you get snagged. is preserves your braid and adds a clear gap, which fish can’t easily see, between the braid and the end-gear.
Without doubt, fluorocarbon gets you more fish when its used as a hooklength to the lure.
e fish won’t see this easily. In addition, its good abrasion resistance reduces the chance of fraying should it come in contact with either the wreck or predatory jaws.
Terminal tackle needs to be simple, cheap as regards losses, and as non-tangle as possible.
e best set-up is what’s often called a Whitby rig. Simply tie a strong American snap swivel to the leader and clip the lead weight to the snap link. To the same eye the leader is tied, tie on your length of fluorocarbon and then the lure to this. at’s it.
LURE SELECTION
e angler catching most of the fish isn’t really lucky. He or she will watch the first fish that come up and note what type, size and colour of lure the fish are taking. is will depend on what prey fish are resident around the wreck. Bigger predators, such as cod, pollack, ling and coalfish, become preoccupied with that food source and often ignore lure sizes either bigger or smaller than the prey fish.
e type of lure needs to be discovered too. Use a shad-shaped lure if the fish are taking small prey fish because a sandeel imitation in this situation may be ignored. e reverse applies if a sandeel pattern is taking the first few fish of the day. at said, it can change, so carry both shad and sandeel patterns in different sizes and be prepared to change as catches decrease.
Lure colour is something over which you have more control. On days with cloud cover, go for a darker hue such as black or red to give an obvious silhouette when the fish view the lure from below. On bright sunny days, use the warmer colours such as yellow, white, pink or a lure with mixed colours such as a blackbodied with a warmer red, pink, orange or red tail section. Use a brighter orange or luminous green lure in very deep water, especially after rough seas when the water may not be totally clear and carrying some sediment.
You can make your lure stand out by adding add one or two luminous green or orange beads to the hooklength in front of the lure.
e beads need be no more than 3mm. A simple addition, but exceptionally effective.
SPEED AND ANGLE
Finding the speed the fish want the lure to be presented is vital. is is another advantage of a fast-retrieve reel because you can wind slowly by choice, or really speed up the retrieve. Start with a medium speed retrieve. Note where any takes or pulls occur by counting each full turn of the handle. is feeding level will change as the tide flow alters, so make counting handle turns second nature. is varied speed trial will target the slower swimmers like cod and ling, but also pollack and coalfish. If there are no takes at medium speed retrieve, slow it down gradually. Usually, this is enough to draw a take. Some days it’s opposite and the fish want a lure that is flying past them. Don’t underestimate the short speed burst that pollack and coalies are capable of when attacking their prey. Fast lures do catch fish. e lucky angler will maximise the time his or her lure is in the killing zone. Too many anglers work the lure straight up and down, but this means the lure is in the actual zone where the bulk of the fish are for just a few seconds on each individual drop. e better tactic is to work out how the skipper sets the boat up to drift over the wreck. Ideally, you need to drop down, and remember it takes a fair while in deep water, so that the lead weight hits the seabed a short distance away from the wreck. Now pay off a little line, say 30 to 50 yards or so, but this needs to be slightly less on a very slow drift and more on faster drifts. Skippers normally shout, “Wreck coming up”. When you hear that, flip the reel into gear and let the line gradually come tight. Don’t retrieve yet, just let the lure rise up at a shallow angle off the seabed on the tightening line. When you get it right the lure swims up and over the upside of the wreck. If you can see the sounder, as the wreck appears, then start to slowly retrieve. is brings the lure right up to and
over the wreck where the bulk of the fish will be clustered. To get this tactic right, you need to adjust the size of your lead weight. Always aim to use as little as you need to reach the bottom and just stay in contact with it but be able to lift that lead on that tightening line. Go too light and you’ll be far too high in the water as the line lifts the sinker. Too heavy and you’ll be snagged in the wreck. You’ll get the hang of this. As you leave the wreck have one quick drop to the seabed, retrieve through the fish, and when out of the zone, retrieve all the way to the boat to get ready for the next drift. Sometimes fish will be in a slack water bubble downtide of the wreck, but they will be tight to it if the tide is running so don’t waste too much time on this.
TACTICAL CHANGES
at lucky angler will be busy between drifts. If his or her catch rate has slowed and a change of lure and colour type hasn’t resulted in much success, the next step is to change the length of the hooklength. On brighter days, going longer by just a couple of feet (say, 7ft to 9ft) can help when retrieving lures. If that doesn’t work, reduce the diameter of the fluorocarbon and go lighter, say from 20lb, which is standard, to 15lb. It is often enough to get a take. Remember to slightly ease the drag pressure on your reel to compensate.
Another option is to change from a retrieve to a hopping tactic. To do this, use a slightly heavier weight that will keep the line fairly vertical in the water. Shorten the hooklength to between three and four feet. When the lead hits the sea floor, wind in a couple of feet more than the length of the hooklength. Now work the rod tip up and down. is will see the lure lift nose up in the water, then drop nose down imitating a fish that’s swimming just up off the seabed. e predators typically take as the lure is dropping down. It’s a deadly technique, especially when the tide is increasing and the fish are moving tighter into the wreck.
e lucky angler will note the state of the tide too. During slack waters pollack often move higher in the water column. Occasionally, they can be in a band as much as 50ft above the wreck if you’re fishing water over 250ft deep. As the tide starts to flow again and increases in speed the fish drop down, and when it’s flowing strongly they will be tight in and around the wreck where the water flow is broken. Cod and ling will typically be within 10ft of the seabed or wreck, so if you want to target these, you need to fish in that band. Coalfish often move above or below the pollack shoals. If this happens, expect the bigger coalies to be deeper and the smaller ones higher.
One last attribute that the lucky angler possesses is organisational skills. Take a glance in their tackle box and it’ll be as neat at 4pm as it was at 8am. e user doesn’t want to waste time looking for things. Everything has its place in the box and when it’s used it goes back in the same place. When others on board are short of line, hooks, swivels or some other item, it’ll be he or she who has some to spare. Back home after a trip, that angler will make a list of things required, replace them, and be ready to go well before the next trip.
Take note of these few relatively easy things to do to elevate yourself quickly to a level where you maximise your wrecking opportunities and become the envy of the others on board. It’s hard work at times, but so rewarding.