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Following on from last time when we were looking at artificial baits and their effectiveness whilst fishing from the shore. The Fire Tail by Berkley is another scented variation of the Power Worm. It comes in various colours and flavours. I have tried these off rocks where the water is deeper and just on the very edge where predator fish hide in wait. I used a spinning rod and just let a Fire Tail down to the seabed then slowly reeled in imitating an injured fish, straight up the rock edge. The only problem was that with the Fire Tail not being weighted I had to use a weighted single paternoster set up. The risk is that the weight snags in the rocks but after some practice I found that the trick was to keep the rig moving all the time. Again I threaded the Fire Tail onto the hook length as I would a live worm. I caught two Oblada fish using this method, but it may be easier to just use a bubble float and go spinning with these particular baits. These may be worth a try casting at distance - something I will try in the future. Off the UK coast it seems they are good for big cod at distance so we arrive back at the age old problem that the Mediterranean is a very different sea to fish.
Something else I tried was long lining. Send a 120 gram weight out as far as you can and then connect a lure to the line and let it slide down to the water. This is something the Spanish do a lot with live bait. I thought it was worth a try with artificial bait and it worked. Most Rappala lures or shads available have the eye in the mouth of the imitation and I just made up a link with a small swivel threaded on the main line to attach it to. Only through experimenting do we find if different ideas work here in the Mediterranean. The clear and sometimes flat calm waters gave me the idea of trying some Grauvell Japanese Flies. The twelve flies come in a box of twelve different colours for two and a half euros. One calm afternoon I just flicked one out with a light rod and let it ride on the surface in deep water. After an hour I was about to give up then I saw a dark image coming up to the surface and lunge at the fly, I struck, and lost it. Why I struck I do not know, it would have been better to let the fish take the fly. A silly mistake but it proved that maybe fly fishing would be good when the conditions are right.
Keep trying artificial baits as they are an alternative to worm, squid or mackerel. Berkley have now brought out a new range including grubs and peeler crabs so I will get hold of some and see if they work and let you know.
Copyright © Gary Smith & Luigi Mateos
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