fantasy shopping/fishing

[woot]

I have been watching the forum intently for a long time whilst toying with the idea of buying a yak specifically for fishing, I have finally bitten the bullet and bought Happy Hookers kitted out P13.

I am now in the fortunate position of looking forward to spending lots of time in Pembrokeshire in the coming summer with a new toy to play with.

To set the scene I stay in a house 150 yds from the beach of Broad Haven (North) so this is where I am likely to do most of my launching although I do intend to put the P13 on the roof occasionally if necessary (maybe for meets, trips to recommended marks etc). I want to be able to go out have a nice paddle in nice surroundings and have a bit of fun fishing thrown in.

I am guessing my fishing is going to be almost exclusively lure fishing. Here lies my problem I have been looking at e-bay and some web sites and am very wary of the “most lures are designed to catch anglers not fish” rule. I would like to spend the winter stocking up with lures for the summer but want to make sure I am buying wisely. Before someone suggests doing a search on past threads I have been down that route and taken some suggestions on board.

So put yourself in my position what would be on your shopping list of lures and why and how should I fish them when the time comes? Please try to be as specific as possible because some of the things I am finding confusing are things like leadheads , jelly worms, shads, rapalas etc come in so many weights, lengths hooksizes colours etc that even when I think I know what I need I am unsure of which particular ones to order.

I enjoy bashing mackerel for the Barbie, catching Pollack on light tackle and would love to latch on to a decent bass but have so far only managed a few tiddlers.

So here we go with some fantasy fishing/shopping to get your juices flowing through the winter months. If you had a new yak ready for a summer of fishing and an empty tackle box what would you be buying this winter to fill the box and how would you fish them? A few links would also be nice because its fantasy shopping for you but I do actually need to buy this stuff.

 

Cheers

Woot

[moley]

For what its worth, I think it really depends on where you're fishing and how. What about depth of water, where are the fish feeding, what they are likely to be feeding on, are you castling or trolling, strength of tide? These issues will affect your lure choice, and there really is no 'all-rounder'. I tend to troll from the 'yak in shallow depths close to the coastline, and rate rapala j11 in black/silver as an old favourite, maria angel kiss 110mm in thundercloud, yo-zuri crystal minnow. My current 'banker' though is a berkley 9Omm shallow diving plug, only cost a couple of quid and can't remember it's name, but is first on most times!

 

However, everyone will have their favourite lure that works where and how they fish. If I was fishing deeper over reefs in a stronger run of tide (as I do from charter boats) I would use redgills (still work great) or calcutta shads in 'natural colours' fished on a portland rig. Like the look of the tempest sidewinders, but haven't had a chance to use them yet.

 

Cheers and happy lure-hunting.

[woot]

Thanks Moley that is exactly the sort of recommendations I was after. More details about the taget area - launch from large wide shallow sandy beach with rocky headlands at both ends that then follow a line of cliffs/bays for miles in both directions. The beach is at the very back of the horseshoe of St Brides bay so not an area of massive tides. Most of the fishing with be in shallow water with no extreme tide flow and I would like the option of both casting and trolling

[essexbuoy]

You could try the Storms jointed thunderstick as another option, you can get them from Basspro (google em up) in the states for a few quid each, they cast well compared to Rapala's jointed lures and have a great action.

[Doo]

Woot

 

I fish out of Falmouth on my P13. The lure I would add to the recommendations is the Rapala X Rap Blue/Silver. (the other colours have been nowhere near as good) It's an unjointed diving floating lure, doesn't look much, but trolling it has out- fished all others I have tried since I started this summer, including the J-11 and 13. It's caught bass, pollack and mackeral. The pollack often take it when it is stationary . The Lucky Crafty Sammy has been a good surface lure when casting onto the shallow reefs here. It's the longest casting surface popper I have used and I have had some good bass on it. It is worth buying just for the words on the box! I got both from Veals.

 

Doo

[woot]

Woot

 

I fish out of Falmouth on my P13. The lure I would add to the recommendations is the Rapala X Rap Blue/Silver. (the other colours have been nowhere near as good) It's an unjointed diving floating lure, doesn't look much, but trolling it has out- fished all others I have tried since I started this summer, including the J-11 and 13. It's caught bass, pollack and mackeral. The pollack often take it when it is stationary . The Lucky Crafty Sammy has been a good surface lure when casting onto the shallow reefs here. It's the longest casting surface popper I have used and I have had some good bass on it. It is worth buying just for the words on the box! I got both from Veals.

 

Doo

 

Thanks guys more good info, Doo what sort of terrain/depth do you look for for successful trolling with the rapala? when you say the pollack take the lure when stationary what do you mean? am I missing or something or if stationary won't the lure just float on the surface?

[woot]

More numpty questions - I have been looking at the Calcutta shads and have been once again been totally perplexed by the amount of choices 5 sizes 28 colours with further options of split tails and curltails! HELP, can you cast these things or are they only for trolling? any recommendations for size and colour for close in pollack fishing? I was hoping to anchor or slow drift over rough ground, gullies, reefs etc and cast and retreive them.

Tempest sidewinders- look good so again are they suitable for casting and should I go for 4" or 6" and are they suitable for casting, retreiving (these are leadheaded).

Cheers

[moley]

To be honest, I wouldn't use either shads or tempest sidewinders for fishing for pollack close in, although you would be able to cast with either as they have a built in lead head and it may work where you are. I would look at the smaller sizes (4") as they are likely to be small pollack! One of the joys of angling is testing things out and pitting your wits against the conditions and target species - just get out there and experiment. Just my opinion, but if I was specifically targetting pollack I might try a jellyworm or preferably ragworm hooked on a light leadhead, deep-spun sandeel, or float fish and retrieve a live ragworm. Metal lures can work well - generally I think you need to get down deep with pollack during the day, although they will rise as the daylight fades.

 

Trolling plugs, I would look for underwater features that are likely to hold fish, and I wouldn't fish in any great depth of water. Shallow reefs and boulder strewn ground should be great. There are other links on this forum to looking for fishy areas using charts etc.

 

How about asking the local tackle dealer for advice? Good luck!

[Devon Exile]

I have been watching the forum intently for a long time whilst toying with the idea of buying a yak specifically for fishing, I have finally bitten the bullet and bought Happy Hookers kitted out P13.I am now in the fortunate position of looking forward to spending lots of time in Pembrokeshire in the coming summer with a new toy to play with. To set the scene I stay in a house 150 yds from the beach of Broad Haven (North) so this is where I am likely to do most of my launching although I do intend to put the P13 on the roof occasionally if necessary (maybe for meets, trips to recommended marks etc). I want to be able to go out have a nice paddle in nice surroundings and have a bit of fun fishing thrown in. I am guessing my fishing is going to be almost exclusively lure fishing. Here lies my problem I have been looking at e-bay and some web sites and am very wary of the “most lures are designed to catch anglers not fish” rule. I would like to spend the winter stocking up with lures for the summer but want to make sure I am buying wisely. Before someone suggests doing a search on past threads I have been down that route and taken some suggestions on board.So put yourself in my position what would be on your shopping list of lures and why and how should I fish them when the time comes? Please try to be as specific as possible because some of the things I am finding confusing are things like leadheads , jelly worms, shads, rapalas etc come in so many weights, lengths hooksizes colours etc that even when I think I know what I need I am unsure of which particular ones to order.I enjoy bashing mackerel for the Barbie, catching Pollack on light tackle and would love to latch on to a decent bass but have so far only managed a few tiddlers.So here we go with some fantasy fishing/shopping to get your juices flowing through the winter months. If you had a new yak ready for a summer of fishing and an empty tackle box what would you be buying this winter to fill the box and how would you fish them? A few links would also be nice because its fantasy shopping for you but I do actually need to buy this stuff.CheersWoot

I have been watching the forum intently for a long time whilst toying with the idea of buying a yak specifically for fishing, I have finally bitten the bullet and bought Happy Hookers kitted out P13.I am now in the fortunate position of looking forward to spending lots of time in Pembrokeshire in the coming summer with a new toy to play with. To set the scene I stay in a house 150 yds from the beach of Broad Haven (North) so this is where I am likely to do most of my launching although I do intend to put the P13 on the roof occasionally if necessary (maybe for meets, trips to recommended marks etc). I want to be able to go out have a nice paddle in nice surroundings and have a bit of fun fishing thrown in. I am guessing my fishing is going to be almost exclusively lure fishing. Here lies my problem I have been looking at e-bay and some web sites and am very wary of the “most lures are designed to catch anglers not fish” rule. I would like to spend the winter stocking up with lures for the summer but want to make sure I am buying wisely. Before someone suggests doing a search on past threads I have been down that route and taken some suggestions on board.So put yourself in my position what would be on your shopping list of lures and why and how should I fish them when the time comes? Please try to be as specific as possible because some of the things I am finding confusing are things like leadheads , jelly worms, shads, rapalas etc come in so many weights, lengths hooksizes colours etc that even when I think I know what I need I am unsure of which particular ones to order.I enjoy bashing mackerel for the Barbie, catching Pollack on light tackle and would love to latch on to a decent bass but have so far only managed a few tiddlers.So here we go with some fantasy fishing/shopping to get your juices flowing through the winter months. If you had a new yak ready for a summer of fishing and an empty tackle box what would you be buying this winter to fill the box and how would you fish them? A few links would also be nice because its fantasy shopping for you but I do actually need to buy this stuff.CheersWoot

[Devon Exile]

Hi Woot,

 

A potentially huge subject with endless variations depending on where you intend to fish, for what species and in what conditions. To keep it simple, I have fished extensively with lures from both shore and kayak and also in canals and rivers for pike. Most of my success has come from a few tried and tested old favourites, Rapala J11's (and J13's for deeper diving) and for surface poppers the old Duel Aile Magnet (now re-branded Yo Zuri I think and available from Veals). Most successful colours are blue for the Rapalas and sandeel or mackerel imitation colours for the Yo Zuri surface poppers.

 

Obviously there are hundreds of others that work and we all have our favourites but I always revert to these trusted types because they work for me. The Yo Zuris are particularly good at covering a lot of ground quickly because you can cast them accurately a very long way on light gear with braid line.

 

Good luck!