This month I thought with such nice weather and longer evenings sometimes due to work we sometimes miss our opportunities with the best tides for sessions, so sometimes being able to get out locally to a rock mark or structure and just going with some light gear allows us to fish for species we don’t always encounter and a good fighting species to catch is Wrasse there are a few different types of wrasse but they can all provide great sport on lighter gear especially the bigger wrasse out there. So what approach do we use? You can fish for wrasse in numerous ways but if travelling light like we are focusing on then float fishing , light ledgering or lures which are great ways to catch them. Wrasse inhabit rocky and rough ground areas or around structures as well mainly using their strong mouths to crush crabs and small lobsters and other crustaceans as well as other small creatures that live on or around the rocks and will always take fish or worm baits presented. Float fishing: Fishing with a float is simple just a simple sea float set up or use some larger course fishing crystal floats if it’s calm enough leave at least three foot from float to a size 6 hook for larger wrasse use a 1/0 to keep the smaller species off and get the bait near the bottom. Just add a small hard back crab or worm or fish strips mackerel or herring works well and leave it to waft past the rock faces or further out.
Light ledgering: You can also ledger for wrasse using a light weight 1-2 oz weight dpending on your rods weight ability, but if it’s rough ground you may lose gear so bring a few spares with you! Again hook sizes should be size 6 or for larger species 1/0 on a simple paternoster rig baited with hard back crabs, fish strips or worms. Lures: many lures work for anglers with wrasse so its about finding what is good for you but some of the more common lures to use are power worm bug ants, jelly worms and jelly crabs just attach them to a Texas rig cast them where you want and let it hit the bottom then slowly jig it and wiggle it back towards you bumping it along the bottom and always maintaining contact with the sea bed. Wrasse are great fighting fish and have a smash and grab approach to taking baits they are certainly not shy at all. Get out there amongst the rocks and find a new type of fun although stay safe and remember rocks can be slippery or have tides come up over them or surround them cutting you off but fishing this way can be addictive if you don’t have time to get live bait simply dig up some garden worms as they will be taken as well.
