Bits and bobs.

I'm rather excited at the moment because I'm off to Lanzarote next Monday. As anticipation builds I  have been sorting out my tackle so I can do a little bit of fishing whilst there. Noting I was low on a few bits and bobs I'd already sorted out a load of drop shot weights and treated myself to some new #0.4 PE braid. With a small list of items still required I drove through to the Glasgow Angling Centre on Tuesday to pick them up. I also thought whilst through there I would head a bit further west to the Clyde Estuary and see if I could catch some goldsinny wrasse so I put some ultra light gear in the car. The shopping was quickly done and I exited the superstore before any potentially expensive impulses got the better of me and my bank balance. Armed with some ragworm I headed along the motorway and was soon at the small marina opposite Morrison's in Greenock. Setting up a very simple one up rig with a #10 wormer hook I was soon getting bites close in and landed a couple of small pollock.

Tempted from the weeds close in by a chunk of ragworm.

Being overcast and a bit windy I was concerned that the conditions weren't ideal for wrasse to be active but I was soon proven wrong when I began to feel the rather distinctive sharp taps of a wrasse and quickly hooked the fish responsible, a small dark brown goldsinny.

Mission accomplished. My first wrasse of 2014. Looking forward to a few exotic ones next week hopefully!

One of my goals this year is the improve my fish handling, particularly in saltwater. To work towards this objective I've bought  myself a 4m long telescopic landing net handle and a rubberised net that I can use around harbours and on rock marks. As I caught the fish I had the net propped over the railing in front of me and unhooked the fish over it before using it to return the fish rather than drop them from my elevated position. I fished on for a couple of hours and caught a second goldsinny wrasse, a few more pollock and then had to use the net to land a nice little codling which I probably would have struggled to land without it.

My net came in handy for this handsome chap.

I was obviously quite pleased with the way the session went and was very happy to catch my first wrasse of the year. Using the net as an unhooking aid meant the fish were safe if I dropped them and returning the fish using the net worked very well too. If these practices minimise the risk of unnecessary injury and improve the chances of a successful release then they can only be a good thing so I'll be using the net whenever appropriate in the future.

Tight lines, Scott.