Tough But Rewarding.

Myself, Ben and Ed met up for another bash at the Wrasse and Pollock yesterday, deciding to fish once again in the Uwchmynydd area. After some of the sessions of late I was not getting my hopes up on an epic session.

Uwchmynydd usually fishes so well but of late it just has not delivered what we have come to expect, I guess down to dodgy winds and uneasy sea states.

On arrival the conditions looked great. We would be fishing an ebbing tide with a 0.8' swell, bright sunny conditions and really everything we could have hoped for for some Wrasse.

The fishing started very slow with just a few bites here and there to keep us interested but it was becoming apparent as time went on that I was correct not to expect an epic session. I was fairly content all the same, it was a beautiful day to be on the rugged coastline of the Llyn Peninsula and we were treated to some pretty spectacular sights.

A large pod of Bottlenose Dolphins came along the coast where we were fishing and hung around for some time. I must confess to downing my rod and just sat watching them for sometime on a rocky outcrop, I always feel so privileged to see such sites and feel they are worth the pause to take in.

Despite my best efforts they proved hard to photograph with the limitations of my compact camera, but I managed to get a couple of marginally acceptable shots of a dolphin that seemed to drift from the pod.

No photo can do an experience like that justice anyhow, you need to see it firsthand to capture the excitement.

Back to the fishing; I have been fishing with the HTO Rockfish Revolution 7'10" rated 7-28g lately, which is a pretty nice rod to use and will actually comfortably cast lighter than 7g on the right braid.

Yesterday I was using my Shimano Complex Ci4+ 2500HGS loaded with 0.8PE braid, cone weights between 3.5g and 7g with 3-4" lures.

Anyway, tapping the bottom at close range I started getting bites as the tide slackened off a bit, a few lures were bitten in half before I struck into a feisty fish that took a fancy to my Nories Ladyfish.

The revolution bent nicely and the power kicked in as a spirited fight ensued and I bullied the fish up through the depths. A beautiful flash of red appeared and fighting still, to get back to the Kelp below.

At this exact point Ed was into a small Pollock just around the corner, so it was a joint "first blood".

I landed my Wrasse that went 2lb 14oz on the scale.

Due to the double hook up hopes were raised of the fishing kicking into action but sadly it remained tough. a slight move along the headland did increase the bites, but I suspect they were small fish pecking at our lures.

Changing to a HTO Pro Worm I managed to get my first and only Pollock of the day. It too put up a good scrap and managed to reef me momentarily.

Ben and Ed were still struggling to get into fish and I suggested a move, but the guys were wanting to stick it out seeing as I was getting fairly regular nips.

Shortly after the Pollock I did hook up on what felt like a very heavy fish but sadly it reefed me and even when I got it out, it managed to bust me up as i lifted it away from the kelp. After a few expletives were yelled, I rigged up again and opted for a  T-rigged HTO Real Stick in Ayu and again, I was getting some good taps before I took another Wrasse of around 2lb.

I was still getting bites but I was convinced they ware smaller fish so we eventually decided to move and fish a gully which can throw up some good Wrassing.

Pretty much straight away after the move, Ed was getting bitten off by a Wrasse under his tip. Determined to get a Wrasse, Ed stuck at it and eventually got a positive take. Strangely, Ed did not pull up a Wrasse, but a Cod!

A pretty nice surprise for Ed until it shat down his arm and yes me and Ben certainly laughed!

I felt for Ben as he was still blanking and was noticeably agitated, thankfully that didn't last long as his lure was attacked by a feisty Wrasse chasing it up through the column!

Sadly however, we had to draw the session to a close. There was always hopes that the fishing would improve, but how long do you realistically give it?

It was still good to meet up with the lads and get out and I hope we'll be to again soon for sure.