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The majority of anglers tend to pack the lure gear away during the cold winter months and wait for spring and summer when the sun is shining and the temperatures are on the rise. However, our staff have been out on the rocks to show that there is no shortage of action to be had on the lures in the UK during the winter. This blog will provide you with all the tips, tackle and insight that you need so you can lure fish during the winter successfully.
Lloyd Thomas and Lloyd Prytherch from our Cardiff store joined Fishing in Wales' Ceri Thomas and Joe Shaw, an experienced angler and guide who runs Catch and Cook Wales. Joe's Catch & Cook offers a unique guiding experience from either the shore or on Kayaks, with the opportunity to cook your catch at the end of the session. The aim of the session was to target pollock, bass and wrasse on a range of Joe's marks along the Pembrokeshire coast. This stretch of Coast is home to some lovely beach marks, however the guys headed towards some of the rock marks which are less fished, mainly due to the lengthy walk and rock climbing that is involved just to get TO the spots. The weather was absolutely spot on with clear skies, no winds and low swells which made for a stunning day out, with even better fishing.
The Pembrokeshire coast is a stunning part of the Welsh coastline and it is known for having some of the best saltwater lure fishing in the UK. You can take your pick from clean sandy beaches to rugged rock marks in the search for a range of species including bass, pollock, wrasse, mackerel and more. During the winter months these species are often found in deep water, so it's a good idea to target areas where the water is fairly deep, just like the one pictured below in north Pembrokeshire.
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Although both Lloyd's are huge admirers of soft plastic lures such as the Black Minnows & Coastal GT shads, the metal slow jigs were by far the superior approach during their trip with Joe & Ceri. The slow fluttering action from the slow jigs as they fall through the water columns proved to be a deadly tactic. When fishing these lures, don't be afraid to let them drop to the bottom before varying your retrieve. Like we mentioned earlier in the blog, the majority of fish were found close to the rocks and kelp, often hitting the lure soon after the drop before making a quick dart for cover. The 38 gram HTO YO YO is a perfect lure for this type of fishing, with just the right amount of weight to get your lure down in the water quickly, but still light enough to use a relativley soft lure rod for some good sporting action.
Fishing the jigs deep was an extremely effective method, but as the day went by the lighter jigs started to catch fish closer to the surface. Could this be to do with the temperature increasing as the day went on? Potentially. Ceri took a break from filming to have a few casts for himself and he was resulted with this stunning bass, caught on a Westin F360 jig. on a quick retrieve. It's important to note that all of these metal lures were changed from treble hooks to singles. Firslty, the single hook reduces the chances of getting your lure caught in rocky snags or kelp, meaning you can fish much closer to the features you want and only lose a fraction of the gear you normally would. We also found that by using assist hooks, we most fish were hooked perfectly in the corner of the mouth, with no bass, pollock or wrasse being deep hooked.It also goes without saying that singles are much easier to remove from the fishes mouth than trebles. Most lures such as the popular Savage Gear ISP Seekers come with a spare single hook so that you can change it over from the treble. If you would like to make the change from trebles to singles on your metal lures, we have a great selection available in our spinning & lure fishing section.
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Fishing with rag worm can almost become a bit of a cheat code when it comes to targeting Wrasse, so using a selection of soft plastics can be an exiting and challening way of fishing for these agressive predators. Due to the constant movement, soft plastics are a brilliant way to target them, especially when worked slow through kelp or along rocky features where the Wrasse are liking to be ready to pounce on a passing meal. The usual colours such as Khakis and whites will work, but don't be afraid to use some brighter colours including pinks, yellows and oranges. The stunning ballan Wrasse pictured below took a liking to Joe's 28g Axia Mighty Minnow in the Khaki pattern.
With all these lures and tactics in mind, we recommend a lure rod with a casting weight between 20-50g to allow for a range of lures. This we mean you can cast some lighter minnows and jigs but but also some heavier ones as well for fishing as distance, just like the metal YO YO jigs that we mentioned earlier. aspinning reel between 3000 & 5000 we will perfect, which you can tailor to balance your rod depending on weight and length. We recommend a salt water reel with an IPX rating which will protect it from the salt. the Penn Spinfisher VI in the 3500 is the perfect tool for the job, currently at just £89.99 down from £149.99. Both Lloyd P and Ceri have been using this reel for over a year now, for all their lure fishing and it has certainly stood the test of time. We also recommend using a braided mainline as it will improve your casting distance, but it's also great for bite sensitivity as it has no stretch at all, unlike monofilament. Berkley Whiplash is up there with the best braids on the market, which is what many of our staff and customers use. The 32lb spool is the perfect match on smaller spinning reels, just like the one in the picture below which Lloyd Thomas has paired up with his Penn Fierce IV 3000.
If you would like to watch the full Fishing in Wales video of Joe taking you around the marks of Pembrokeshire, simply click the link below.
We hope that this article has provided you with some useful insight and some motivtion to get out on the coast during the colder months.
For more information, feel free to contact us via our email, phone or on our socail media pages.