Anyway enough excuses and may I wish you all a very happy new year! So, how has the new year started for the members of OTBA? Well all I can say is I can't wait till the summer!
That's being a little unfair to be honest, as I have actually had some cracking results over the past weeks whilst pursuing my new interest - fishing with lures.
To be more precise I mean fishing with small soft jigs on light rods. This approach really has hooked me. As a kid I often considered lure fishing as a desperate method that never really accounted for many big fish. Don't get me wrong, I would still do it and catch the odd fish but was never really amazingly confident. This may be down to the endless options of different lures all of varying colours, shapes and sizes. There's so many lures in some shops that the whole thing can get a bit confusing.
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| My first Pike was on a lure! Boy don't I look young. |
With this is mind I have always been looking at other methods to catch predatory species such as Perch and Pike but now wish I had not been so hasty in ruling out lure fishing. The more I think about it the more advantages I see in this mobile and creative approach. Lure fishing offers the angler so many options. You can fish at all the depths , you can cover so much water , you can basically make that lure do whatever you want and you don't have to commit loads of time to it.
It was that last point that made me start my recent spell of jig fishing sessions on the Bristol Avon. As I was up in the area visiting the girlfriend I would often only get a couple of hours fishing time. Not enough to bait and wait effectively. So why not explore the river with lures?
My first session on the river with the jigs was more than enough to get me coming back for more as I caught Pike , Perch and Chub all on little jigs. Check out the video below to see just how I did it....
The Bristol Avon has turned out to be the perfect river for the method too, since as you can see in the video it's just me on the bank without another angler in sight. This means I can try all the areas the fish lie up in - and I mean all the areas. I always tend to look for the predatory species near cover and every tree , undercut bank or snag is thoroughly explored. Soon you begin to get a picture of the exact areas the fish like to sit in and then fishing gets really easy. I have already had three Chub in three sessions from the same swim on the Avon , it's a swim where a concrete pipe enters the water in the near margin. The fish I find always are sat under the pipe , a spot that would more than likely be ignored using other methods as it is so close to the bank.
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| A near PB Chub on a Lure |
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| Another Chub from the "Pipe" swim |
It really pinpoints a fact that is important in all fishing disciplines and that's location. In a lot of the swims I try I end up biteless - however in other spots the jig is hit almost instantly, indicating there are a number of competing fish present.
The Perch I have caught on the Avon so far have all come from the same tree. This is a typical Perch spot where a fallen tree has created a large raft. The numbers of Perch under this tree are staggering and I am sure if I persevere that big two or three pounder will show up!
The method it's self is so simple too , a small jig mounted on a single hook. That's it! This is fished in an up and down motion to imitate a fish in distress. The skill in lure fishing really is working the different lures though and I'm sure far more experienced lure anglers than myself would have had a lot more fish - but I keep learning as I go!
A few of the other lads have also jumped on the method and are getting some cracking results. We pass on our observations and findings so that we can all use these tips in our own fishing. One observation we have noticed already is that how different species tend to prefer certain styles of retrieve. Perch prefer the classic jigging motion of a lift and drop, whereas Pike seem to like the faster dart - like retrieve. With the Chub I've caught I can only imagine that they are snatching at the lure as it passes. I personally find it hard to imagine Chub chasing down the lure but I may be - and probably am - wrong! What do you guys think?
So that's what's been keeping me busy recently, work and a bad case of the lure fishing bug! I hope those of you who haven't tried light jig fishing yet really fancy going and giving it a try after this little read. There isn't really too much else to say other than get out on the bank using this mobile and exciting method. Oooh - there is one other thing and that is that I've just got back from my first session drop shotting! We'll save that story till next time! ;) .
Tight lines!
The Perch I have caught on the Avon so far have all come from the same tree. This is a typical Perch spot where a fallen tree has created a large raft. The numbers of Perch under this tree are staggering and I am sure if I persevere that big two or three pounder will show up!
The method it's self is so simple too , a small jig mounted on a single hook. That's it! This is fished in an up and down motion to imitate a fish in distress. The skill in lure fishing really is working the different lures though and I'm sure far more experienced lure anglers than myself would have had a lot more fish - but I keep learning as I go!
A few of the other lads have also jumped on the method and are getting some cracking results. We pass on our observations and findings so that we can all use these tips in our own fishing. One observation we have noticed already is that how different species tend to prefer certain styles of retrieve. Perch prefer the classic jigging motion of a lift and drop, whereas Pike seem to like the faster dart - like retrieve. With the Chub I've caught I can only imagine that they are snatching at the lure as it passes. I personally find it hard to imagine Chub chasing down the lure but I may be - and probably am - wrong! What do you guys think?
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| A Dorset Stour Perch |
Tight lines!
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