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Print versionBallan wrasse fishing
It's a misconception that ballan wrasse are a specialists fish. Certainly, the bigger 4lb plus specimens are difficult to locate and even more difficult to hook and land, but there are good numbers of smaller 1 to 2lb ballans in most areas that offer the first time angler an easy route to gain the knowledge and expertise he'll need before tackling those elusive 4lbers.
The wrasse are back inshore in numbers by May which coincides nicely with the beginning of the holiday season, and as wrasse feed by daylight the angler in the family can quietly sneak away for a couple of hours before reassuming a domestic role. These short, sharp sessions are the ideal introduction to wrassing.
LOCATION
The Dorset Coast around Portland and Kimmeridge hold wrasse to a good size. The Channel Islands, in particular Alderney, produce large numbers of wrasse year in, year out.
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In Wales, wrasse country lays between St Ann's Head near Milford Haven to Newquay. The west facing shore of the Lleyn Peninsular and the west and north coast of Anglesey are the places to head for in North Wales.
The Isle of Man has good ballan marks near Castletown and Ramsey. Pick any rock mark in Scotland from Luce bay in the southwest, the north coast, down as far as Berwick in the east and there'll be wrasse at your feet. Some fish are taken off rock marks on Tyneside and in Yorkshire too, but these areas are not as productive as others. From here south to Hampshire wrasse are a rare commodity.
The best potential can be found in Ireland, especially the southwest corner around Roaring Water Bay in Cork, Dingle, Kilkee in Clare, and any other marks from literally hundreds northwards to Belfast in Northern Ireland. Many of these Irish spots will never have had an
anglers boot on them.
SEASON
The first fish show inshore during early May, with peak numbers showing from June to September. Some fish will linger along the rock ledges well into December in a mild year. Immediate access to deep water will see ballans resident in all but January and February.
FISH HOLDING FEATURES
Wrasse are often referred to as "Rock fish" in Victorian text and for good reason. They like it rough! They haunt imaginary territories around the bases of large boulders, small rock peaks of a few feet high, and particularly overhangs tight in under submerged cliff faces. They especially like cutbacks and fissures that travel deep into the rock and cliff, even though these cracks may be only a couple of feet wide. Some wrasse live in amongst dense kelp beds and take on the most beautiful colours mixing red, yellow, greens and brown.
Harbour breakwaters, piers, and jetties are other favourite homes, though pier and jetty fish tend to be quite small, but very eager to feed. Water depth does not bother them. You'll find fish in 8ft and 80ft. Most, and sometimes the biggest fish, are right under your feet. No casting is needed.
TIDES
Ballans will feed whether the tide is a spring or neap. Calm weather may be needed for safe access to many wrasse marks, but the fact is that the fish feed best when there is some swell running, but not overly so. This probably dislodges more food and excites them to a greater degree.
More fish will be hooked during flood tides than the ebb period, but on marks where the ebb tide pushes up against the venue you are fishing, then the opposite will be true.
TACKLE
For sheer fun the best weapon is a spinning rod able to cast 2ozs, but the action needs to be stiff, not soft. Even a 1lb wrasse will dive hard for it's bolt hole when hooked and needs to be held away from the many rocks and snags. A 2lb fish really puts a bend in the rod, and a 3lb plus fish tests both angler and tackle to the full.
A fixed spool reel is preferred with this outfit loaded with 12lb line, maybe going up to 15lb if the ground is very snaggy and there's a good chance of 3lbers. Given the nature of the rocks and overhangs and the power of the wrasse, this should not be considered as fishing "heavy" by any means.
Specialist anglers after 4lb wrasse and bigger wisely choose a stiff bass blank, or even a full blooded beachcaster and 20 to 30lb line on a multiplier reel and still can only expect to land 25% of the fish they hook.
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A simple fixed paternoster using a blood loop for hook length attachment is adequate for ledgering. Keep the hook trace under 12ins and from 30lb line. Wrasse have sharp teeth and are not put off by heavy line. Tie the lead to the bottom of the rig with a short length of much lighter line so that if this gets stuck only the sinker will be lost.
Hooks need careful thought. For small wrasse a Mustad Viking pattern between 1 and 2/0 is suitable. For bigger fish, then this pattern can bend when put under pressure and is too springy in the point to really allow the tackle to set the point in the wrasses bony jaw. Go for an O'Shaughnessy model from 1/0 to 4/0.
Adding to the excitement is watching a float. Avoid so called "pike" floats. These are too bulky and take to much pressure from the fish to completely pull them under. The slim cigar shapes are the best ones with a tube running up the centre.
To correctly set up float gear, pass the main reel line through the float. Now slide on a non toxic ball weight that's heavy enough to cock the float. Follow this with a small bead and then a small swivel tied by one eye only. Add a short hook length of about 12ins of 25lb line and the hook of your choice. Use a stop knot above the float, either from very slim silicone tubing or a short length of 15lb line to set the floats depth. You're now ready to fish.
Make sure that the top of the float sticks well clear of the surface. If not, the swells will continually swamp it and make bites impossible to detect. The bait should be set to fish about halfway adding depth until bites come. Some anglers prefer a float and paternoster rig arrangement which is good for pier fishing..
Wrasse will also take standard ledgered baits cast out into deep water. Often a two hook rig baited with crab will take them two at a time, though few anglers target them this way, they are a by catch when after other species.
METHOD
Wrasse fishing is very straight forward. Pick out a safe spot that allows you to stand at the waters edge, but where the rock or gully falls sheer into water about 10ft plus deep. Don't cast, just simply lower the tackle into the water and let the tackle roam to the whim of the sea.
Hold the rod low to the water with a fairly tight line and feel for several sharp rattles which indicate the wrasse has found the bait. At the end of these rattles the rod tip will pull down, this is the moment to lift the rod and strike. Hold the fish hard against the rod for they'll try to bolt back for home. When float fishing, the float may lift slightly in the water before being pulled out of sight. As it disappears, strike!
Wrasse fight by diving from side to side, or heading for the bottom. Fish that find their bolt hole may occasionally be coaxed free by releasing some free line. This is a waiting game and the odds are still stacked with the fish, but it's worth a try.
A landing net will often be the deciding factor in the capture of the fish. Small fish can easily be lifted, but a 2lber on a spinning rod should not be risked. The net will be safer from your personal point of view too.
Wrasse are a pure sporting fish and should always be returned alive, immediately to the water.
BAITS
Two baits excel, crab and lugworm. Peeler crab is the better ledgered bait, with lugworm the best float fished bait.
Presenting crab makes the difference in hooking or missing the fish. Fully peel a 50p sized peeler crab and cut it in half down the body. Thread it over the point of the hook and up the shank. Now make a neat tube like parcel of it with thin elastic thread, but leaving the hook point well clear. This stops the wrasse pulling the bait free too easily from the hook and encourages it to take in the point. Bind in a couple of legs also just to create a more natural looking bait, though it makes little difference to the bite ratio.
Ballans will also eat small hardback crabs whole. Simply pass the hook through the middle of the back until the point stands clear. This is a good float bait too. The same applies to whole softback crabs too.
Lugworm tends to be the better bait for the smaller fish that live around piers and breakwaters and in the shallower water of rocky holes under cliffs.
Few anglers realise that wrasse eat a high proportion of sandeels when living along rocky coasts. As a ledgered bait it does not compare with crab, but fished on the float so that it behaves naturally it can be very affective and worth trying when the other baits are slow to get bites.
Mussels and limpets will also produce fish but never match the returns of crab and lug.
TIPS
The biggest wrasse are inshore during May and June during the spawning period.
Wrasse move to deeper water during storms and take a few days to return as the sea settles. Remember this and time your trips accordingly.
In a sea that's reflecting sunlight a black coloured float will be seen easier than one with a yellow or orange top. Lighter colours also diffuse easily as the float disappears and confuses the eye. Black floats retain their stark colour, even at depth.
In a very settled sea with little well to work the bait try lifting the rod tip up and down occasionally to give some movement to the bait. This induces bites.
For the bigger wrasse stick with a whole large crab for bait on a 4/0 hook. Your hook up ratio will be poor, but the size of your fish high.
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