Trout season
|
After each winter, I look forward to the start of the trout season on Irish large lakes. In the West we start on February 15th. My target at this time of the year is trout only. I target them in three different ways: |
|
|
|
Here are also a large number of islands and submerged stone reefs. All these locations are potential fish holding spots, which trout are patrolling along the bottom of the slopes or near them. In order to fish them correctly, I use the spinning method.
In such places it is more effective than light trolling, (about which I will write up next time). The advantage of spinning is that we can send our lure even into water 50 cm deep, which often holds even 60cm + fish!
Generally, the size of the trout caught in Ireland is quite large. It is one of the places in the world where 50-55 cm trout is the norm and locals do not even consider it as a big fish! |
|
Nevertheless, the size of the average fish here obliges! The equipment must be perfectly selected. A modern fishing rod is needed here. Forget the "universal" rods most local anglers still use!
I use a rod with a very fast action and deep, preferably almost full bend. There are several reasons - First of all, the rod casts very precisely and does not wobble in all directions even after a strong swing.
The second advantage of such a rod are the possibilities we have during the presentation of the lure. I must mention here that I fish in lakes with lures that I designed and made myself.
They are innovative lures in Ireland among local fishermen. Even though they have their own slow work, they are still definitely twitch wobblers. It is this method that works best for lake trout!
The third, essential feature of a good rod for such fishing is the range of the cast. In order to achieve distance, the rod must load properly while swinging the lure to send it where it needs to be.
The minimum is 25-30 meters with a 3-9g wobbler.
|
 |
|
|
It is not an easy task for fishing tackle designers... A fast rod that is strong, loads well, quickly stops wobbling sideways after a cast,
and also correctly presents (aggressively) twitch lures.
|
|
All this means that not all rods will be 100% suitable for this type of fishing. I have checked many available models in recent seasons. Today, I can tell you what such a rod should look like.
First of all, it must be of the right length. Around 2 meters (7 feet), fast blank, good guides and great dynamics. All these features are very important when fishing with the twitch method! At the end of the set-up, of course I have 1 meter of fluorocarbon (0.25mm-0.28mm), a good snap link, and the equipment is ready! The method of presenting the wobbler consists of several strong, but very short (20-30cm) twitch movements of the rod, immediately followed by 1-2 second pause. Then there are more jerks and a second pause. |
 |
 |
|
