Sea Angling for Spearos

[ADM]

thanks ADM. Going to have a go with the big hammer as an introduction to soft lures. Are there any others you would suggest from AGM as will order a few variations to find what works locally (I'm guessing a lot of the lures on there are for course fishing?). What size and weight do you use in the jig head with these? Took the scanoe out in the estuary last night on the push of the big tide, and spent some time motoring up current and then drifting back. No fishing, but checking all was in order ready for some Bass lure fishing this spring.

I would start with the 3 inch size, much better action than the larger ones. pearl colour is good for bass and pollack, something brown or green for wrasse. the 7g 2/0 shad heads are a perfect fit for the 3 inch big hammers.

there's a ton of lures for all sorts of fishing on AGM. The senko style worms are good, Wave tiki of AGM own brand, they are better weightless.

Other cheap lures you can troll would be the curltail type lures (Grubs and Twintails section), 10 lures for less than a fiver??? Easy and cheap introduction or the swimbaits. Check the unrigged shads and swimbaits section. 5 lures for £3 you can't go far wrong!!

As for jig heads to go with these, as a general guide for a 3 to 4 inch lure don't go bigger than a 2/0 and up to a 5/0 max for a 5 inch lure.

Nothing wrong with a standard ball head jig or the AGM Saltwater Dart jig is good for swimming actions, stick to a maximum of 10.5g or 7g until you are more used to know how deep your lure is working and the area you are fishing. Would hate to recommend a 14g and you end up losing the lure every drift as it's hanging too deep for the speed you are going.

I know this is basic lures but you don't need to start off going all advanced and into weightless weedless stuff or stand up finesse heads when you are off the yak to get started.

 

[Pav]

thats a great post. Thanks.

 

[Mr. X]

Hehehe... those slugs looke like rubber jobbies... Ideal for mullet and cod in certain areas!

This flatty jig is coming on the market this year with Halibut in mind, looks awesome!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCvqBoIwaEw

They also have this fantastic lifelike redfish lure too:

YouTube - Red Ed

...

Flattie 400g that's a hefty 14oz! Look similar to the larger model from SOvereign. Some reckon (in my big fishing encyclopedia anyhow!) that flounder spoons work not because they look like edible fish - as originally thought - but because the look like a flat fish with a worm that can be nicked/taken. I guess halibut are bigger eaters than our humble shore flatties though. If you caught a big halibut in the UK you'd probably think you'd got your rig caught on the bottom & cut the line!

The redfish looks like a toy Nemo - the kids will love it!

 

[Fro-in-shorts]

Would try and contribute something but ADM pretty much says it all, "ADM is soft and plastics lure fishing"

All I can add is belly weighted shads and soft worms are amazing, "3" are my fav, they kill in surf and over very shallow weed/rocky ground. They are the easiest to cast on light tackle without having to worry about the line snapping on casting (issue of fishing supperlight with "6" shads. Small buttlet weights work well in combo with anything worm or eel shaped (these soft lures have awsome action but the internally weighted versions i've tried dont work as well, kills the action).

Back to guernsey with the dive gear and my spinning rod for 2 weeks of "ocean harvesting" bringing the paddle board over aswell so will be trying for a cheeky spawny bass on that down West

 

[atomichaggis]

Flattie 400g that's a hefty 14oz! Look similar to the larger model from SOvereign. Some reckon (in my big fishing encyclopedia anyhow!) that flounder spoons work not because they look like edible fish - as originally thought - but because the look like a flat fish with a worm that can be nicked/taken. I guess halibut are bigger eaters than our humble shore flatties though. If you caught a big halibut in the UK you'd probably think you'd got your rig caught on the bottom & cut the line!

The redfish looks like a toy Nemo - the kids will love it!

400g is kinda average in boatfishing and when using 30-50lb rods. If the conditions are tough, you might need a kilo of lead when fishing deep or in a strong current.
Cod are also notorious flattie eaters so this jig could have a use in the channel during the season.

 

[atomichaggis]

It seems you guys are all into soft plastics as opposed to live or cut bait. Any particular reason for that? cost, durability, sharks?

Livebait is illegal over here in Norway but we do use bait often, like whole coalfish, whiting etc. and fish them off a boom or off a weighted baithead and use it as a jig.
I find sharks are a worse problem on the jellies as they rip them to shreds... really anoying if they don't sell the bodies seperate from the jigheads :vangry at least you can always fish tons of baitfish.

 

[Mr. X]

Live baits illegal in Norway, really, I'm surprised. Is that just live fish or does it include worms & maggot? I was just looking into european laws on tail & ear docking for dogs (both are largely illegal now in the EU) - and, having lived in both the UK & US for a considerable number of years - it's hard to decide which is the most bonkers! I think Europe has got it wrong though, routinely ignoring & removing personal freedoms ... that just leads to the sort of frustration being vented currently in the Arab countries - and London yesterday, IMHO. By all means persuade people but then leave the final decision to them - maybe the individual is often the better judge.

Not sure why Team Deniz removed his question, it was a good one. I'm not that keen on the idea of live-baiting with live fish (a traditional form of Pike fishing here in the UK) but that's not the main reason, given the chance to fish with live sandeel for bass, I would jump at the chance - in my mind, that would be the ultimate bait for bass. However, I fish only occasionally and then from shore, the angling stores are usually closed or far away when I go fishing. When the fishing stores are open, most only carry frozen bait and perhaps a few types of worm & maggot. If I get the chance to buy bait, I might buy one or two of: live rag worm, frozen squid (from USA) and/frozen sandeels, or maybe mackerel. However, usually I don't get the opportunity to visit a store.

Fishing with hard & soft lures can be done pretty much on the spur of the moment on holiday - that's often how I do it. It's simple and convenient. No need to worry about keeping bait cool & using it up. If you live by the sea and/or a good fishing stores and/or have a boat (perhaps with live bait store on board), the considerations will likely be more in favour of live & frozen baits. Foxfish pointed out long ago that you'd normally expect to catch more on "real bait" - I guess it has a scent trail & more realistic texture & taste. Dr. Mike Ladle, seems to out-catch most bait anglers but I suspect his years of experience & refinement of this strategies & techniques has more to do with that (and he occasionally targets mackerel, which he uses as live bait for large bass - and he often manages to release the mackerel unharmed afterwards!!).

 

[atomichaggis]

No problem to use live worms... tho it's not so common here. Norway can be a bit of a nanny state at times.

 

[Mr. X]

Didn't expect that. It must have taken some spine to stay out of the EU, so figured they'd be more into the "rugged individualism" popular in the USA.

Actually met a Scandinavian woman & her husband recently, I think she was from Norway but might have been Sweden, I forget. They'd lived there, here & Germany too. Nice couple. Was able to have a decent conversation about chopping & storing firewood, and chainsaws. If the web is anything to go by, the Scandinavians are experts (but the Germans like their "holz" too).

 

[Pav]

New Toys

A pack of the big hammer plastics and a pair of Abu Tormentors 110 in a Green/gold and a Mackeral. No doubt I will spend the summer fishing with my Rap J13 Silver Blue as always!

Picked up an Abu Ensley 6'6" rod for a £10 from the local bootfair which will be ideal for flicking these plastics away from the Yak.

 

[robdigital]

Managed to get an hour at the canal this afternoon to christen my new bushwhacker 7' rod.

Started with my favorite lure at the moment spro bbz 1 and managed to catch my smallest jack ever - it was tiny!





Change of lure to a storm roach and soon latched into a better jack, nice thrash about on the surface from the fella and looked like it was fresh out of the mould probably never been caught - still waiting for its mummy though




good luck to anyone getting out

 

[Pav]

Mackeral have found there way up to North Devon now, so back to my staple summer diet of mackeral and cougette! Been trolling the lures but yet to get the interest of the Bass.

 

[Fro-in-shorts]

had my first bass of the year spinning from the kayak, good work-out...big arms, big tan, big bass I would reccomend spinning from kayaks to anyone, so much more efficient, as all my good shore marks were innundated with loose seaweed, but holding fish, all I had to do was paddle out and fish the lure along the edge of the weed belt, happy days

 

[robdigital]

Nice one, totally agree about the plus points of using a kayak for lure fishing



one of two Bass caught - the other was over 2lb and was eaten.

The fish was not purposely backlit for the photo but something i will remember for the future the fins look great.

cheers rob

 

[Fro-in-shorts]

Hey Rob, great looking fish, the smaller fish allways look are allways prettier in a way, lesh blemishes, wear and tear. When you are fiahing in the yak do you tend to drift and spin, anchor, or troll a lure as you paddle?

 

[ADM]

Really pretty fish. Well done. Love the look of them when they get all angry and everything is flared out.

 

[robdigital]

I always set up a drift and spin as i go - just an easy way of covering ground. Not usually any point in anchoring up when lure fishing, in fact i thought about getting an anchor but didnt bother and glad because i would never use it for the fishing i do - a drogue would probably be a useful addition for windy days

 

[SurfnSpear]

I went out for 3 hours last night and had a very satifying pollock in the lee of tide on an offshore reef. I had a trolling rod setup with a freeline white with blue back eddystone. I was into a gurnard using daylight feathers below when the reel started to scream...one of the most satisfying takes I have had in ages.

 

[foxfish]

Nice mixed bag there Brett, those pollock don't half pull for the first few seconds!

 

[SurfnSpear]

Nice mixed bag there Brett, those pollock don't half pull for the first few seconds!

This is very true...I have for years now fished off the end of that headland I walked you over to, with a salt water fly rod....
They put it up a bit, and even small pollack zooming up in the crystal water and bombing away back to depth can leave you very satisfied.