Question for Leon?

[Tim Kelly]

Leon

On my hols in Cornwall last week I caught a mullet on a popper (1/2oz rapala skitter pop)and had several other mullet attack the bait. Is this unusual? I was fishing for Bass at the time.

[Leon Roskilly]

Tim Kelly:

Leon

On my hols in Cornwall last week I caught a mullet on a popper (1/2oz rapala skitter pop)and had several other mullet attack the bait. Is this unusual? I was fishing for Bass at the time.

Thick lipped mullet rarely take lures (their usual food is algae).

 

Thin lips are often caught using a small mepps spinner (usually with the treble removed and replaced with a single hook to around 3 inches of mono) baited with harbour rag, or a small section of normal rag. However, thick lips do sometimes fall to this method.

 

I've often had thick lips following lures for bass, swimming about two feet behind, but never taking the lure - very frustrating!

 

(The same sometimes happens with large carp on my local lake!)

 

But then mullet do have a habit of breaking all the rules!!

 

So, yes catching a mullet on a popper is pretty remarkable. Given that poppers are increasingly used for bass.

 

If this wasn't unusual, I'm sure that I would have had heard of other reports (I'm a member of both BASS and the National Mullet Club).

 

Tight Lines - leon

Medway Mullet Group

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/medway

[Tim Kelly]

Thanks Leon. Is there an easy way of differenciating between thick and thin lipped mullet?

[Leon Roskilly]

Tim Kelly:

Thanks Leon. Is there an easy way of differenciating between thick and thin lipped mullet?

er, look at their lips

 

Thin lips are generally smaller than thicks, and usually form quite large shoals, they also move further up into freshwater than thicklips.

 

Just to complicate it, thick lips do swim in amongst the thins, so if you spot a shoal of 30 or more fish up, to about 3lbs, with a large fish in amongst them, the big one is probably a thick lip.

 

Three or four fish swimming together between 3 and 6lbs (or bigger!), you can be pretty sure are thick lips.

 

For full descriptions see:

 

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/aquarium/pages/t...greymullet.html

 

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/aquarium/pages/t...greymullet.html

 

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/aquarium/pages/g...greymullet.html

 

Tight Lines - leon

[Tim Kelly]

Phew, it's obvious then! I think I'll just call it a mullet!

[Leon Roskilly]

Tim Kelly:

Phew, it's obvious then! I think I'll just call it a mullet!

Er, better call it a grey mullet Tim, red mullet are something altogether different!

 

Tight Lines - leon

[Tim Kelly]

Now you're just trying to confuse me. I will call it "fish".