When the winter starts, lure fishing becomes hard, largely due to the weather systems creating storms, which in turn makes presenting a lure to a bass difficult due to either a lack of water clarity or the water littered with seaweed and other hook attracting items, which have entered the open sea or estuary systems.
However there are other targets that l can turn my attention to such as squid. Squid are found around harbours and areas that have light on the water. These areas are often found to provide shelter from the winter storms and provides a great opportunity to try and catch these incredible creatures.
Pollack are a year round species, however it is in the spring where l start to target them on a more regular basis, this is due to the improving weather conditions. Where l am based in Pembrokeshire, l am lucky to have some first class ground for lure fishing for pollock where l have been able to catch many good sized fish including a double figure, which l am confident that l am able to better.
When l target pollack l generally look for two types of ground, that being either fast moving water with a rough and rugged bottom (pictured below)......or deep water where the water is calm.
In the deep faster water I will fish a Fiiish Black Minnow typically a 120 25g No3 in either Khaki or Ghost Minnow, keeping it hard to the bottom and bounced it along staying in contact at all times. The takes are savage, so staying focused is so important so that the fish can be brought away from any potential snags.
For the deep and calm waters there are quite often some reefs to be found where l like to fish with a Savage Gear Sandeel V2 either a 22 or 33g. I use the lighter weighted lures at low water then as the the water deeps l change to the heavy version. I keep the lures tight to the bottom for as long as possible where most fish will follow the lure up from the reef and will hit you right underneath your feet. The trick is not to lift your lure out until the very last minute and try to hang it for as long as possible. It is worth keeping an eye on the lure where it is sometimes possible to see the fish follow the lure and smash it right in front of you, before making that initial first hard dive that pollack are renown for. Hold Tight!!
When it comes to the end of season for both bass and pollock fishing due to the weather getting too rough on the open coast I will prepare my squid jigs and start to get my squid ready for the upcoming cod season. All my squid lures are in natural colours. My favourite jigs are Yamashita , where l use different weights to suit the conditions. I do not use additional weights as l like to keep the lure looking as natural as possible. Over the years of chasing this species l have learnt that all big fish like it slow and there is no difference for squid.
As the water starts to warm where the timing of this can depend on what type of weather we have had in the early spring, bass make a return looking for the first of the early bait fish. To me this time of the year is exciting as the bass fishing starts to get underway and as the water warms the bass start to feed harder. To match the bait fish l use a DUO 120F Tide Minnow Sprat, which has very nature colours.
My favourite all time shallow diver lure in the 140SF Tide Minnow Sprat, where it casts an absolute mile, the 120F version is also an excellent casting lure for its size and has a fantastic action. l like to fish the lure through boulder fields where the bait fish become trapped and the bass patrol or sit in position awaiting to ambush unsuspected prey. As the tide starts flooding, the fish move in. As mentioned for the size of these lures they are excellent casters and can allow me to cover a lot of ground. All that is required is a basic straight retrieve to put the lure in to action, l also speed up and slow down to see what the bass maybe switched on to and also add twitches. As the lure is a floater rather than a sinker, if the lure is approaching a boulder or snag l will slow or stop the retrieve allowing the lure to come back to the surface, before starting the retrieve again. What I tend to do is any boulders that have just been covered with the incoming water I will pause, lift my rod tip high bring the lure over the top of the boulder and then recommence the retrieve positioning the lure in front of the boulder where the bass are quite often found holding.
Thanks for reading, I hope it helps, Chris.