In a previous post I expressed an interest in trying out some Light Rock Fishing (LRF) on the river, so yesterday I took the plunge - and a plunge it turned out to be as conditions deterioriated into an atrociously cold, wet and windy afternoon. But I had invested in some gear and was champing at the bit to play with my new toys. Does angling bring out the big kid in you too?
The toys in question included a 1.8 metre ultra light rod by Fishing Ghost designed to cast 0 - 5g. I was skeptical about the zero part but on putting the little two piece together the action showed it was surely a light caster. I married the rod with a diminutive Mitchell 500 Avocet RZ, an inexpensive reel and a little stiff out of the box, but some judicious lubrication soon sorted that and it should prove adequate for an experimental foray into LRF. Many LRF enthusiasts load up with braid and flurocarbon leaders, but to keep things simple (and cheap) I settled on 4 lb Berkley Trilene straight through. Lastly, I armed myself with a mix of small spinners and soft lures.
And so to the river, which was running crystal clear despite recent rain. The first cast took me a little by surprise as the rod flicked a size 0 Mepps almost into the bushes on the far bank, oblivious to a brisk Nor' Westerly. A couple more casts produced the first trout - a healthy specimen just short of take size and soon after that another smaller fish. And I'm afraid, folks, that's where it stopped; for that's where the weather turned and I was soon subjected to the sort of wintry squalls that reduce my hands to useless lumps on the end of my arms. My fingers became so painful and stiff I could hardly clip on different lures let alone tie knots. Nevertheless, it was proof of the rod's casting ability and should be another interesting diversion - like the Tenkara rod from last year. It would probably really come into it's own on a nice, warm, calm day on a rocky coast. Dream on.
