Promising...

Following on from earlier, I've just got back in. My legs are still killing me from yesterday but i just about managed to keep myself on dry land as I stumbled accross the rocks for a while.

Again the tide was a nice low one; the day an overcast one with not a lot of swell and pretty decent visibility down below.

I began at my regular starting point - a nice flat rock which has plenty of water to aim at in most directions. The bottom is mostly sand and I really put my successes here in the past down to the fact that it's a bit of a go-between for the rocky grounds on either side; a corridor. I think that fish generally just cruise through here and don't really use it as a proper hunting ground. However, there always seem to be a few kicking about, and they're normally willing to have a snap at a passing lure.

After about 20 minutes I was pleased (and a bit surprised) to see a bass of about 2lb following my lure (Old Faithful!.... I really should give it a name - see previous entry) in to the rocks below before bolting as it saw my silhouette above.

To cut the next hour or so short, that fish was the only one to show itself today. As the tide began to push in, the water seemed to cloud a little and the whole thing just didn't seem so 'fishy' any more. I fished a few other spots with no joy.

Ending up back where I started I clipped on a new lure that I'd bought recently from Japan (among others). I'd tried one of it's cousins briefly a couple of days ago and not liked it much at all. However, this one was designed for a different purpose. Quite what that purpose is now that I've used it I really don't know (so wide are it's uses), but I can tell you that I will definitely be using this lure again when the fish are more in the mood. Even when they're not, I'm inclined to think that this lure may catch. What is it?...

The Shimano Triple Impact Lipless Minnow. This one's 10cm long and the sinking version. Weighing 18.5g it actually casts pretty badly but in the water it's a bit of a jack-of-all-trades it seems.

It's by no means a secret, you just don't see them very often in this country, and they're new to me. I obviously havent tested it fully yet and I'd kind of like to catch a fish on any lure before I really start talking about it, but this one did impress me today.

On a steady retrieve it swims in a smooth 'S' shape action. However, with the odd jerk or stop I found it very easy to give the lure some real 'life' - or 'death' may be more appropriate as it mimics a wounded fish extremely well. More conventional dog walking rod movements also proved that this lure also works sub-surface in a smooth and quite wide action. You could pretty much do everything with this lure, and all in the same cast if you wanted to! It gives you so many options and I like lures that give you that flexibility! I just need to try it out a few more times now to see how it stands up to some abuse.

Anyway, we'll just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings.