This additional info (below) was supplied by Nick Thasarathar who I met on one of the SussexSeaFishing meets and has kindly wrote in with some fantastic tips.
Since we last met I've tried all sorts of sea angling - beach,
boat, pier etc but the one area I'm trying to major in and find really
exciting is lure fishing. I noticed you've started a new section on this on
the website so I thought I'd chuck in my 2 pennys worth from what I've
learnt so far in case it helps any other new comers to this type of
dangling:
Rod: I'm using an 11ft 1-3oz Any Fish Anywhere Estuary rod for spinning and
lure work - lovely bit of kit. It's important when you choose a spinning
rod it has a slightly stiffer action than some of the light carp rods as
this gives you a bit more control and responsiveness from the lure; which is
essential if you're working in close to rocky features where the food (and
therefore the fish) gather.
Reel: I'm using a mitchell fixed spool. There seems to be more people
choosing small multipliers (3000 sizeish) for spinning these days because
they claim it gives better control, but I find, because you are constantly
casting and retrieving, that you get less birds nests from a fixed spool so
I would recommend sticking with one. If you're using braid, you don't want
a really deep spool because it can jam up on casting so choose shallower
spools. If you've already got a deep spool reel, one way round it is to put
some mono on first, then your braid. This makes the spool "shallower" - I
think they call this a "mono backing". It is well worth while under filling
your reel, especially in windy conditions, as braid spills out quite easily
on a packed reel and you can get quite a few wind knots with it.
Line: Braid is great for this kind of work, because of its low stretch you
have more control and the risk of a crack off is low as you're not usually
flinging out more than 2oz. I use 30lb braid (fireline) in a hi viz colour
(yellow stands out well) which helps me judge where sub surface lures are.
It is important though that you add some clear line in between the braid and
your lure. I opt for 3ft of 40lb fluorocarbon - theoretically invisible and
tough enough to take some wear and tear from the rocks around Rottingdean.
Lures: For Rottingdean you definately need floating/shallow diving lures to
avoid the numerous snags. Lures that I've found work really well in that
area are:
Surface Popper: Maria Chico Boco or Yo Zuri Mag Popper (but downsize the
trebles to size 2 on the mag popper to reduce snags)
Shallow Diver: Maria Angel Kiss or Maria Chase BW (they now do a really
cool mackerel pattern for the Angel Kiss and a silver holographic pattern
for the Chase which is a good sand eel impression)
In terms of colour - dark colours for dark days and coloured water, bright
lures for bright days and clear water seems to work best.
Spinners: Like you, I'm a big fan of the 1oz Dexter Wedge - to jazz it up a
bit, I bought some red and black buck tail from Lagoon Bait and Tackle. I
whipped and glued this to the shaft of the treble hook and covered the
whipping with a bit of luminous rig tubing. It makes a "tail" effect flowing
slightly behind the hook and seems to work well. If you use a wedge or
similar spinner around Rottingdean, don't let it settle before starting your
retrieve as it will snag much of the time. Best thing I found to do is to
use a fast retrieve/high rod tip as soon as it hits the water to avoid
snags.
Marks: I like Rottingdean undercliffs, roughly in the areas of the stone
groins below the pub car park. If you're going to fish there, I strongly
recommend you visit at low tide and have a good look at the rock features
that lie underwater when the tide rises. There are numerous rock gullys and
small shelves to trap food and attract fish. Take care though, it can get
really slippy on these so wear some decent boots. There's also some good
bait collecting opportunities; mussels, limpets, shrimps, crab etc so
another good reason to take a look.
As I said, I'm no veteran of this type of fishing, but that's what I've
found to be useful pointers so far and I hope it helps others who are
starting out on lure fishing.
Perhaps SSF should do a lure fishing competition at some stage so we can
justify all these expensive bits of plastic we buy - ha : - ) ((Response, craig: Im on the case nick and have one planned soon))
(Nick Thasarathar) http://www.sussexseafishing.co.uk/32.html
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