Pollack on spinner bait combo 22.7.11

People:me

Duration:5.30-7pm

Tide:High water was 5pm

Weather:steady NW breeze, sunny.

Bait:squid strip on spinner


Results:a nice pollack,1 tiny coley.




Report:
Putting this report up as it might help anglers new to fishing catch a pollack they wouldnt otherwise have done. Since seeing Chuckaroo catch an 8.5lb huss on a spinner baited with mackerel while out in the boat in May 2010, Ive been trying an odd bit of bait on spinners. Plenty of people will not be surprised by it but I think its worth mentioning, lots of people will be doing this regularly already, same as a mackerel strip on a lead head from the boat.

The first 20 or so casts with unbaited spinner at a well known Antrim coast road rock mark produced 1 response from the tiny coley pictured. After finding a strip of squid on the rocks at my feet and putting onto the hook on my spinner I got 2 responses from pollack in 3 casts, the 1st a fish about 1.5lb came off at my feet but I got this 2lb 6oz fish landed on the 3rd throw with the squid strip. If I had more fresh squid I may well have got more offers. Much bigger pollack were anticipated, a friend had 16 between 4 and 9lb a week ago.

Owe you one Charlie, Ive been trying that out more often since you got that nice huss. I think I might take a pack of squid with me as a rule now when targetting pollack on the spinner.

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nice pollock it always amazes me how big their eyes are

Yeah Roger they have giant eyes. Thanks for response.

nice looking fish.....tight lines

nice looking fish.....tight lines

Great result, try a wee teaser lure, just up from the spinner, had some success with it from the rocks in the past. A small mackeral feather or the like works well.

Nice pollock cathal sometimes I try strips of mac on the spinner or a red feather & it will take fish everytime

Kev, Brian,

thanks for the suggestions, been thinking about spinner additions again this summer. Another evening earlier this month I spun with my most trusted type of spinner, the type pictured for something like 30 casts in a place where the wee pollack and coley can come thick and fast and got no responses.

A sea trout jumped, and I pulled the lure in the area several times to no avail, put a length of white rubber strip onto my treble (the strap from a dust mask for the face) and 1st trow in the spot I got a hard dig close to the surface but it didnt stick, it felt more trouty than that of a wee pollack, went on to catch 3 pollack all small, where before adding the white rubber to the treble I couldnt even get one of those.

Yes Kev the wee lure up from the spinner, I havent done it in ages, when fly fishing its surprising sometimes how the fish will select a very small fly on a dropper in preference to the more easily seen lure on the tail of the leader- same idea I suppose, it would prob pay off to have the wee boy up the line a bit during all spinning you do.

Brian thanks for the red feather suggestion, I will keep you posted how I fare with that one too, sounds good. There are some good pollack around here now, might go for a cast this evening.

Thanks,

Cathal.

Hi mate, a couple of weeks ago at ballintoy my son doggey dave caught two pollack at 1lb and 1 at 1 1/2 lb bringing in bait [no spinner] over a short stretch of kelp very slowly. He tried it because, as he was retrieving his bait to refresh it as it was out for a while he saw a fish dive at it and missed. His first was on a ragworm, and second was on a bit of mack.So bait spinning seems to work.

nice going and fine pollock might give it ago next time i am on the rocks

great tip for all of us and even finer result, lovely pollack

nice pollack there, sometimes i also useing strip of mackerel with lures, it helps when fishing is slow, well done