First Crack at LRF

There are three styles of fishing that appear to be gaining in popularity over recent years, and these are light rock fishing, drop-shotting and ultra-light lure methods. As a species hunter, I'd be foolish to ignore at least the first of these.

Fishing the open sea is something I have only done once before. An expensive trip aboard a charter boat which brought me a single pollock of 2-3lbs and a never-ending bought of seasickness. When we arrived back on dry land, we were greeted by a trio of kids sitting of a harbour wall catching a steady stream of small sea species. "Much more up my street", I thought.

That was some four or five years ago, and I really should have dragged myself from freshwater long before now. I brought Beth (whose idea of an afternoon at the seaside probably differed a fair bit from mine), along to Exmouth and set up a simple rig based on ideas I'd picked up online. I used a cheap and very light spinning rod with 6lb line straight through to a size 14 hook, and pinched an SSG shot or two, six to eight inches above the hook. I started with a rubber isome worm on the hook and fished the very same area those children had on my first saltwater fishing trip.

I tried lowering the rig down and awaiting taps - nothing. And then I tried adding weight and jigging/bouncing it along the edge - nothing. We then changed swim and sat next to some holiday crabbers who reported having caught a couple of fish. This rockier area produced instant action. From my research I identified the first fish as a blenny of some sort, and this was later confirmed as a tompot blenny. I then had half a dozen more in about a quarter of an hour.

The father and son crabbing duo offered me some of their bait - bacon and mackerel - which was just as well as I was fast getting through the relatively expensive worms. Both these baits worked too, the bacon perhaps best as it was more durable. The tactic was to lower the bait over the side of the wall and feel it down to the bottom. I then tightened up and lifted and dropped the bait very slowly until I felt the bites. Just before it was time to go I finally had a different species to add to maybe twenty tompot blennies. A smaller fish, which turned out to be a rock goby.

Really good fun; I'll definitely be back for more.