Bloody typical..

While Gary Wingate was putting together my light rock fishing outfit I asked him for a few tips. He was happy to give me advice and even some spots to try. I had already done some looking about on various forums so kinda had a good idea.

I knew that the best of all fishing is probably past so asked him if I would still be in with a chance. He told me that he has noticed the sport dying off when it gets unsettled but will soon pick up again with some calm weather. Its funny as Light Rock Fishing (LRF) to Sea Fishing is kinda what Tenkara is to fly fishing, they are also both Japanese techniques. There are a number of reasons why I am atracted to this type of fishing however the main driving force is probably that it will be another option for me to choose from. My biggest fear is is that I have a couple of hours free and nowhere to fish because conditions are wrong.

Gary told me that wind would be a LRF killer however even if the water was dirty still give it a go.If it is too windy then you can not feel takes which makes the style of fishing impossible. He also ran through a quick list of species that I may catch – even after all my reading I still have absoloutely no clue what I may catch. Seemingly one stings and will hurt like hell.

Well, no sooner than my PIN number was in the machine the wind slowly began to pick up. I wanted to try the outfit out though and after a quick stop at an old jetty to find no water  due to the tide being too far out we drove on a bit and found an even more abandoned jetty with good access to deep water.

With each step we took along that pier to the end of the jetty the wind got stronger.We are talking about proper blowing a hoolie here not just a gentle breeze.

It was still good fun however we were freezing and so quickly headed back to the car after trying it out. Not being one to stomp around these places that Sea fishers inhabit I was interested to see that the same amount of junk is left behind by a certain type of angler.

The wee lrf rod (TronixPro HTO Rockfish)  and Daiwa Sweepfire Fixed Spool Reel are things of beauty, light in the hand and just fun to use.

My second trip out was equally as poor as the first however was more successful in that I managed to get the artificial bait into the water. I was able to let the weight drop down and feel it jangling about on the bottom through the rod. I was fishing on Helensburgh pier a known hotspot for not actually having any fish. I was hoping though that some of the wee ones would be feeding however I suspected the dirty water and the unsettled weather was again against me. Turned out I was not wrong!