I don't want to take the easy option for any of these targets, there wouldn't be much point in calling them goals if I did, although with this one the goal was always going to be achieved by catching the Thick Lipped, they are larger on average so it made sense to me to do it that way.
The reason I have been out targeting the Thins though is I've been writing a follow article for the one I have just had in the Sea Angler magazine. I was playing around with some rigs to try target the larger of the species that hide a lot lower in the water and are not interested in the spinning tactics. You can see the rig its self in issue 584 of the magazine.
Due to it being a follow up article I'm not going to go into much detail about it now but what I will tell you is that my personal best was 2lb 7oz and it is now 3lb 4oz which comes in at just under 93% specimen for my area and I could not be happier. When I hooked the fish I knew it was bigger than anything I have played before and then when I seen it on the surface my heart started beating out of my chest. I will put up a cheeky picture of it now for you though.
After weighing it and taking a few pictures I sat the fish in the edge securely in my net for a few minutes to recover and then released it. I would absolutely love to meet him again some day but until then hopefully somebody else can enjoy catching him too.
Now onto some of the fishing I've been doing towards my targets for the year, I had a trip on the Thursday after lock down was partially lifted to target a new Small-Eyed Ray PB, I hit up Southbourne beach with my Mrs and the kids to have a short family evening out, with the fishing gear in the car to obviously.
The tides for this trip were not very good at all but I'd never catch one sat at home so in my mind there is no point in not trying! I took the usual bait with me for this one Sandeel, Squid and some X Seagoo, I used some Kraken Tackle Pulley Extra rigs and Up and Over rigs too. Like I said before they are so well made I don't see me using anything else, the components on the rigs would cost you almost what the rigs do, if not the same and the plus side is you don't have to tie them!
Unfortunately this trip turned out to be a blank session but it was the most enjoyable blank I've had to date. It was just nice to be back out after a few fish, had a lot of fun on the beach with the kids as well. One thing I have learned over the last few months is that my 10 year old boy, Kieran absolutely loves photography, I have since bought him a digital camera and let him take all my pictures for me. I am paying him a few pound per picture I use, that way I am encouraging him to keep taking pictures but also teaching him what it feels like to earn his own money.
Next up was a short notice session where I decided to give it a go at beating my Plaice personal best, we set off to the same beach, mostly because it was very quiet when we went there for the Ray. This time I only took some Ragworm and a wrap of Black Lug for tipping off with. Again using the Kraken rigs but this time the Loop rigs. Again this session ended in a blank but it was fun either way again. I enjoy catching fish obviously but most of it for me is seeing my kids enjoying the scenery and the nice beaches we live so close to, I took them all for granted when I was young so don't want my kids to do the same.
The small tides over the first week were not very helpful when it came to the fishing on the beaches but one thing it did help out with was getting out with the LRF gear and trying to make a dent in the species target for the year, I set myself the goal of hitting 35 species and now have my work cut out seeing as we are almost half way through the year.
I took Kieran out with the ultra light gear and had a play on the drop shot for some mini species, the target Blenny and Goby didn't make an appearance but three species of Wrasse did. Kieran managed an awesome little lime coloured Ballan Wrasse.
We were both really happy with how the short session panned out, it was our first LRF trip of the year so to be only one away from catching the four species of Wrasse we get locally I was super happy as well. The only one that didn't make an appearance was the Baillon's Wrasse, I'm certain I will get one soon but for now I'm happy to have managed the Goldsinny, Corkwing and Ballan. With the Corkwing below being the star of the show, its colours are amazing!
So I'm happy to have made it to six species so far seeing as how the year started for us all but have a long way to go to reach the goal. Thanks again for reading and I really hope you enjoyed the post, maybe even the article when it come out too.
