For anyone looking to try sea fishing for the first time, there can be few better ways to make a start than wrasse fishing. Granted, it’s not a fish famed for its eating qualities, but what it lacks in taste it more than makes up for with its striking appearance and fighting qualities. And wrasse aren’t difficult to catch, a simple refined approach is all that’s required to stand a very high chance of landing one of these feisty rock-dwelling stunners. In recent times, the wrasse has become the pursuit of lure fishing purists who target their quarry with soft plastic lures, but here we will be revisiting the traditional method of fishing a bait on the bottom.
A suitable outfit
If you’re coming from a coarse fishing background, chances are that you’ll already have the tackle you need. A carp rod is ideal, and it really doesn’t have to be top of the range. All it needs is a little backbone in order to extract a hook fish from it’s residence before it has half a chance to wrap its self in the kelp and hold fast. In fact, any rod with a little power will fit the bill- bass and estuary style rods, pier rods or spinning rods are all fine.
Attach a fixed spool reel loaded with 20lb braid and a 30-40lb rubbing leader to combat the abrasive environment you’ll be fishing in and your outfit is complete.
End tackle
Again, nothing fancy is required here. You won’t be casting very far at all, so forget bait clips, springs and anything else you’d associate with distance casting.
A running leger rig or a fixed paternoster are the way to go and loops tied in the mono can replace swivels and clips. Construct your rig with 50lb monofilament and be sure to use an ultra sharp hook. The Seadra SSWG is perfect for this style of fishing and a size 1/0 hook will cover the selection of baits you might use. A couple of ounces of lead will be all that’s needed and will aid natural presentation of your bait, you could even use spark plugs or small rocks on the mark if you’re feeling particularly thrifty! A rotten bottom (a weaker length of line between the lead and the rig) will cut down on tackle losses.
Baits
Crabs, both hard back and peeler, ragworm and limpets all take their share of the fish. The obvious beauty of using limpets is that they can be kicked off the rocks where you’re fishing at a lot of locations and a dozen or so will cover you for a couple of hours fishing.
Hard back crabs can be highly effective and along with the limpets, form the bulk of the fishes natural diet. Other than ragworms, secure your bait firmly to the hook with some elastic.
Approach
The ideal wrasse fishing mark will have deep water at your feet, rock ledges and plenty of kelp. If you find this kind of location, it’s a simple case of lowering your baited rig straight down the side or maybe flicking it a few feet out from the edge.
But be warned, hang on to your rod! If fish are present, you likely won’t have long to wait for a bite. Initially you will feel a couple of taps on the rod tip, but resist the temptation to strike and wait for the rod tip to pull over. At this point, raise the rod tip fast and get some line back on the reel before the fish can bolt for its lair. This is something that wrasse are very good at, so have your wits about you and ensure that your reels clutch is fully locked up. Wrasse fight hard and will give a truly memorable battle! A small landing net can be useful for larger fish, but the majority you’ll be able to hand-line to safety. Wrasse average around a pound or so in weight, but many marks hold much bigger fish.
Location
Cornwall, south Devon and Dorset all offer some fantastic wrasse fishing. Look for rocky outcrops, headlands, jetties and harbour walls that have deep water at their base. Wrasse remain a prominent species at these locations and there’s more chance that they will be present than not.
Conservation
As mentioned, wrasse aren’t the best eating fish and most anglers will return them. A pair of forceps will be useful to remove the hook as the wrasse is armed with a mouth full of almost human like teeth that are designed to crush crabs. Try and release your fish at water level, rather than dropping them from a height and they’ll swim away strongly.
Above all else, enjoy the tussle that the wrasse has to offer!