11/06/2016 - Return to Gran Canaria, part two

Over a few beers on the terrace, Stuart suggested that we have a fishing competition - one hour with same bait and method (Angleworm on the dropshot) for most fish and most species, me against him and Rob - so the next morning saw us heading over to Puerto Mogan again. As soon as the tide allowed we scrambled out onto the breakwater with the crabs. 

The competition was a "roving" competition within the confines of the rock, which in practice meant we were often fishing within a foot of each other depending on where the fish were! 

The action was fast and furious right from the off, with hordes of damsels and ornate wrasse attacking the bait as soon as it hit the water. At the end of the hour I'd edged it on numbers 49 to 47, whilst we'd both had three species - me a parrot fish and the others a small puffer. With it being Saturday, there were also quite a few locals on the main breakwater, all float fishing bread or prawns, in the deeper water beyond the drop off. However, apart from one unfortunate parrot fish that was dispatched into a bucket, we saw nothing else caught! 

Next day we drove into the interior via one million hairpins (certainly felt like it!) and walked up to Roque Nublo, a basalt needle in the centre of the island and what's left of the original volcano that formed it. On the way back we stopped off at the beach at Taurito for some food and a couple of beers. Leaving the others at the bar I ventured onto the rocks up the right hand side of the beach and made my way around the corner to a spot I'd had some success the year before.

However, apart from getting smashed up a couple of times by what were probably big parrot fish, I only managed a few damsels and ornate wrasse before the tide forced me back up the rocks. Stuart had snorkelled around at this stage and mentioned that he'd seen a big shoal of small barracuda in the vicinity of one the hotel discharges, so I switched to small metal lures in the hope of snagging one. Didn't have to wait long before I had a couple of bumps and then a fish on. Unfortunately, despite carrying on casting to the same area, that was the only 'cuda I could manage and a couple of lost jigs brought the session to a close. Monday morning saw us back at "sex" beach. Stu had ear problems, so it was just me, Rob and Duncan that scrambled down the valley. Upon arrival we found we had the beach all to ourselves. Unlike the previous visit, there was a visible line of debris at high tide level, presumably blown in by the onshore wind. Unfortunately, upon closer inspection, it was obvious that it was mostly fragments of plastic, an all too common sign of what we are doing to our oceans!

The tide was still in, so I started off casting from the beach over the sand, slowing bumping the rig back over the ridges and feeling for bites. 

After a few casts I had firm rattle and hooked into a small fish. As it got in closer I could see it was a flatfish, similar to the one I'd lost on the previous visit. When I swung it into my hand I confirmed that it was specifically a perfectly camouflaged (and perfectly named), wide eyed flounder - another new species. Had three more of these of various sizes before handing the rod over to Rob, who'd been hovering around behind me. After a bit of tuition he managed to catch a flounder and a couple of Atlantic lizardfish, which seemed to satisfy his curiosity and get me my rod back!  A few casts later I was bringing in another small fish when the rod tip slammed over as something suddenly made a beeline for the rocks. My suspicions about what had happened were founded a couple of minutes later when I dragged a large Atlantic lizardfish up the beach clutching the cleaver wrasse I'd originally hooked. The wrasse was successfully rescued and returned apparently none the worse for wear before I had a closer look at the lizardfish. I certainly wouldn't want to be a small fish faced with that huge mouth filled with needle sharp teeth! 

Had one more flounder and a couple of small lizardfish before it went quiet, so had a break and sat in the sun with the others for a bit. However, once the tide had gone down sufficiently I started to make my way over the rocks to fish the drop off. I'd just passed a dustbin sized rockpool when I spotted a big blenny-like head poking out of hole. Whatever it was hastily retreated upon seeing me, so I quickly tied up a split shot rig with a #16 to nylon baited with a fragment of Angleworm and dropped it in. Felt a tug and unceremoniously hoiked what I later identified as a pretty little rockpool blenny out of his hideaway!

Popped him back from where he came and headed to the edge of the rock platform where I reverted to the dropshot rig again. Had loads of nibbles from the off, but converting them into fish was difficult. I suspected that pufferfish were to blame as they tend to chomp their way up the Angleworm leaving it looking like beaded necklace! Managed a few Canary damselfish and ornate wrasse and a single, female parrotfish that had two horrible looking lice on her head, which I carefully removed before popping her back. Wasn't too long before I was getting "hurry up" gesture from the others on the beach, so called it a day. 

Had one last session at Puerto Mogan before we left for home but, to be honest, I was feeling a bit fished out. However, overall we had a great time and I would certainly recommend sneaking a few bits of fishing tackle in your luggage if ever you head to the island, or one of its neighbours.

Final scores on the doors

94 canary damselfish

45 ornate wrasse

5 wide eyed flounder

4 Atlantic lizardfish

4 cleaver wrasse

4 European parrotfish

2 Madeira rockfish

1 derbio

1 European barracuda

1 Macronesian sharp nose pufferfish

1 rockpool blenny

Cheers Gran Canaria!

09/06/2016 - Return to Gran Canaria, Part One

Last year's trip to Gran Canaria proved so successful that we found another excuse (this time Stuart's 60th birthday) to go again, even down to booking the same week at the same hotel! As before, I took a selection of LRF and light game gear hoping to add a few more species to my tally from last trip. Arriving Wednesday afternoon, the rest of the day was spent settling in, admiring the view over to Puerto Mogan from our balcony and having a few drinks down on the patio. 

Next day we took the short trip by hire car to Puerto Mogan and headed down to the water front. While the others got ready to go for a swim, I headed straight out onto the old section of breakwater, where there was already one other chap float fishing off the end over the rocks. 

I set up a tried-and-tested drop shot rig with a #10 Sabpolo wormer hook baited with Gulp Angle worm and dropped it down the side to be met with instant bites. Found that the usual suspects were to blame, i.e. Canary damselfish and ornate wrasse. The place seemed to be snided with them! Eventually had a couple of female European parrotfish that put a proper bend in the rod, before dropping my rig down into the shadows next to a large boulder. The next fish was a lot smaller, but was a new species - a Madeiran rockfish - swiftly followed by a slightly larger one next cast. Unfortunately, it was back to the damsels and wrasse after this until the tide dropped and the fish retreated to deeper water. 

Talked to the other fisherman after it turned out he was English as well. He was floatfishing bread and just picking up the odd damselfish, so I gave him some Angleworm to try when I left to re-join the others on the beach. Before we left we had a walk around the harbour, or "free aquarium". As well as numerous species of bream, mullet, colourful male parrotfish and the odd bass, there was a big shoal of barracuda in residence, in sizes ranging from about 8 inches up to the odd individual getting on for three feet long - unfortunately due to Spanish law all out of bounds!

The next day we ventured well off the beaten tourist track down to a "secret" beach I'd found on Google, which involved a bit of a scramble down a barranco (ravine). I'd also warned the others that it had a bit of reputation as a nudist beach, so it wasn't really a surprise when we got down to a small, enclosed, sandy beach to find a few locals already there and "au naturel"! Got the snorkel gear on for a quick recce up the left hand side of the beach and soon spotted a number of different species both in the rocks and out on the sand. Back on the beach I headed out with the fishing gear, gingerly making my way over the still wet and very slippy rocks to a point where I could fish down the drop off. Not surprisingly, the ornate wrasse and the damsels were out in force. However, I did also manage a Macronesian sharpnose pufferfish before being forced off the rocks by the incoming tide. 

Back on the beach I had a cast out over the sand and got a fish on first time - the smallest lizardfish I've ever seen! Wasn't complaining as this was another new species for me - the Atlantic lizardfish rather than its rock-dwelling cousin the diamond lizardfish. Carried on casting from the beach, inching the rig back slowly and keeping the rod tip high, feeling for bites. Had a few rattles and knocks doing this, before hooking into another fish. This one I knew straight away from Scott Hutchison's blog to be a cleaver wrasse, or pearly razor fish, with its brilliant colours and its two pairs of "fangs" with which it did its best to nip me with while I unhooked it. 

Casting over the same spot I had two more of his companions before the bait was taken on the drop by something a little more acrobatic. This turned out to be a silvery derbio, which flicked its spiny dorsal fin in and out of the slot in its back like a switchblade. Next cast it was something different yet again. However, I only had glimpse of a small flatfish before it came off! Had my suspicions about what this might have been and was a bit disappointed as it was another one of my target species. Went quiet after this, so returned to the others to soak up some rays before we had to make the scramble back up to the car. On the way past some rocks Stuart and Duncan disturbed some seriously big-looking Gran Canarian giant lizards, which belted straight down the path at me and Rob! Luckily they shot off into a hole before we had to take avoiding action. 

Had a few deserved beers back at the hotel that night and agreed with the others we'd definitely return to what was now dubbed "sex beach" by a prudish Stuart!

20/02/2016 - Thank goodness for gobies!

As the title suggests, sometimes it's the humbler, or lesser, species that rescue a session and that certainly was the case today. A few days down in Wales meant there was an opportunity for the first LRF trip of the year. Picked the nicest day weather wise, although that still meant chipping ice off the car windscreen in the morning. Temperature was minus 2 degrees Centigrade when I set off and, although it had crept into the positive by the time I go to Hobbs Point, it then decided to chuck it down!

Sat in the car park, peering through the window at the near-invisible toll bridge, and waited for the rain to pass. I'd arrived just before low tide so, a soon as it was dry, I made my way as far as I could down the ramp, stopping before the algae made it too slippy underfoot. There was a bit of colour to the water after the rain of the last few days and still quite a flow towards the sea given it was slack water so, all-in-all, not brilliant conditions. However, had got some artificial baits (Gulp Angleworm and Sandworm and Marukyu Isome), together with a few raw prawns, so felt I could scratch something out. Dropped my rig straight down the side of the wall, felt it hit the bottom, and then just gave it an occasional lift. Had a couple of rattles before I had a proper bite and my first fish. Not really surprised it was a goby as they are greedy little gits!

 

Several more followed the first and, whilst there was quite a variation in size and colour, they all appeared to be the more common (certainly at this venue) rock goby.

 

 

Whilst the sun made a appearance and warmed my back up briefly, it was pretty exposed stood on the wall. After about an hour I'd begun to shiver and my nose had started that uncontrollable slow drip! However, despite the conditions I'd managed to chalk up a dozen fish, which was probably more than I was expecting when I arrived. Gave myself one last drop down the side for yet another obliging rock goby to "gob" a lump of raw prawn.

 

 

Packed up and headed to Lidl for some much-needed carbohydrates in the form of two Danish pastries, scoffing them in the car park with the heater on. We're down again in April, so hopefully it'll be a bit warmer and there'll be a few more species about. However, I was certainly grateful to the gobies on this occasion! 



14/06/2015 - Gran Canaria LRF, Part II

Decided to stay local to the hotel this time and headed down to the beach at Taurito. From our balcony I could see that the left hand side of the beach was fringed with rocks that extended around the corner of the bay. When we got down there I noticed a local fishing off them, chucking out what looked like big lumps of bread under a float. Saw him catch what looked to be a small bream, so settled in a diplomatic distance away from him. The rocks didn't make dropshotting a viable option this time, so I also set up with a float with sections of Markyu Isome and Angleworm on the hook. Cast out as far as I could into the onshore breeze and let the float drift back towards me over the rocks. Wasn't long before the float was dipping and bobbing under as fish attacked the bait. However, I failed to contact anything with the hook coming back baitless. Eventually sorted this out by keeping the line tight by very slowly retrieving the float and feeling the bites through the braid. Initially found that the usual culprits, the wrasse and the damselfish, were responsible. However, had a take on the drop from something that shot around all over the place. Turned out to be a small Derbio.

Slab of silver.

A few casts later and something grabbed the bait as it was coming in over the rocks. This was also a different species - a Lizardfish.

Red eyes and needle sharp teeth.

Had another one of these along with more wrasse and damsels before heading back to join the others for cocktail hour. Stu had been out snorkelling and reported seeing several, decent bass right close in to the beach. However, due to another local law - no fishing off the beach - these were also out of bounds!

Next day Stu and Dunc were booked in for a watersports package, so after waving them off to their potential doom on the parascending boat, I again headed off across the rocks. This time I headed further around the corner and found some deep water close in suitable for dropshotting -  next to a sewage outlet pipe from one of the hotels! This really turned out to be damselfish corner. I must have had two dozen of them, including the biggest of the trip. 

Damsel PB!

Rob came snorkelling over at one point to see how I was getting on. He was doing some underwater filming on the GoPro, so I promptly caught a damsel for the camera! I also had a cracking example of an Ornate Wrasse with claret and blue bands behind its head - a true Villa fan!

Real Villain.

Had been snagging up in the rocks, so was trying to limit lead loss by gently feeling the rig down to the bottom and then lifting up 6 inches as soon as I felt the lead hit bottom. Had done this a couple of times when the bait was taken with a real thump. The fish charged around under my feet for a bit before popping up onto the surface. Was pleased to see that it was a different species - a European Parrotfish.

Pretty Polly.

Got back to the others to find that Dunc had been hand-feeding the bass with bits of frankfurter sausage out of his potato salad! Tempting as it was, I didn't have a go for them. Rules are rules! I also understand that these European bass aren't indigenous anyway and are escapees from the various fish farms ringing the island.

Our penultimate day was also spent down on the beach at Taurito. While the others went swimming and snorkelling again, I headed off to try for something a bit different. Found a platform where I could again access deep water and put on a small paddletail. However, I couldn't get the required distance against the onshore breeze, so swapped it fairly quickly for a 7g silver Snapper Zapper casting wedge. Something slashed behind it on only the second retrieve. Next cast it was taken by something that shot off like a startled rabbit. Saw a long silver shape twisting in the clear water and its identity was confirmed when it went airborne. After a bit of a tussle I had a decent Garfish on the rock next to me.

Acrobat.

Took a quick snap and popped him back hoping that there were some more about. A few casts later I felt something bump the lure a couple of times before it was taken properly. Didn't feel a big fish, but I was more than happy when it turned out to be a small barracuda.

Predator in miniature.

Popped him back in and cast over the same area. In the next ten minutes I had another eight around the same size. Each time I would feel the lure getting bumped and knocked as it came through a particular area. Stu happened to come snorkelling around the corner as I caught what turned out to be the last one. When he swam over he said that he reckoned there was a shoal of at least 200 of them in front of me. However, as quickly as they arrived they were gone and, apart from a small Lizardfish, that was the end of the action. Headed back to the hotel for the last time only really having scratched the surface over the few days I'd been fishing (on one snorkelling session alone I counted 16 different species of fish). However, I'd had a great time and a few beers were consumed that night. Anyway, who knows...my licence is valid for three years?!

 Thanks Gran Canaria!

11/06/2015 - Gran Canaria LRF, Part I

Was due to go to on an all-inclusive trip to Gran Canaria for week for a friend's 50th birthday. After reading about Scott Hutchinson's trip to nearby Lanzarote on his excellent blog (something-fishy-going-on) I knew that there was lot's of potential for some LRF while I was there. We were going to based at Taurito in the south-west of the island and some searching on the web and on Google Earth revealed some interesting spots, notably at neighbouring Puerto de Mogan. I also noted quite a bit of discussion on various forums about licences. Legally a licence is required for fishing from the shore in the Canaries. Quite a few people suggested winging it and pleading ignorance if checked by their wildlife police. However, others said that this wasn't really tolerated and risked a fine and confiscation of tackle. I therefore decide to err on the side of caution and, after a bit more searching on the web, found a company offering to sort out licences for you online for a cost of 40 Euros (Gran Canaria fishing licences). After an exchange of emails with a very obliging chap called Sunny, I was in possession of the necessary permit, valid for three years!

   

Legal!

We were taking a bag of snorkelling and walking gear as hold luggage, so I put together a selection of LRF gear including soft plastics, metal lures, jigs, hooks and weights, along with a few floats. Managed to pack everything, including my reel, into a ice-cream tub sized, plastic container, which just left the rod, my 7ft Sonik SK4 travel rod, in its protective tube. 

Day of departure duly arrived and after a four hour flight and another hour in the car, we were getting ourselves acquainted with the hotel, specifically the bar! However, next day we were down at Puerto de Mogan for a recce. The town has a nice big marina that unfortunately under Spanish law is out of bounds for fishing. However, the breakwater protecting the beach had looked good on Google Earth and didn't seem to disappoint at first glance.

LRF heaven.

A swim around with the mask and snorkel revealed a host of fish swimming amongst the rocks, a number of which I recognised from my research. It wasn't long before I had a dropshot rig set up with a Berkley Gulp! Angleworm on a size 10 worm hook. First drop in and the rod top started rattling immediately as fish attacked the bait. After a couple of over-enthusiastic strikes, I lifted into my first fish of the trip, a small Ornate Wrasse.

  

Little beauty!

The water was clear enough to be able to see fish circling around the bait and again I recognised one of my target species as being amongst the crowd drawn in by the Angleworm. Another determined rattle on the rod top resulted in one of these, a Canary Damselfish, coming to hand.

  

And another!

It soon became apparent that these two species were the most abundant, but also the most aggressive as anything else didn't get a look in. Ended up catching a dozen of the damselfish and half a dozen wrasse before the tide dropped, exposing the rocks and sending them off into deeper water. Had a wander around the marina before we left and was stunned by the number and types of fish that could be seen, including large shoals of mullet and several types of bream.

Out of bounds!

The following day we had a drive up to Artenara, the highest town on the island. However, the route back to the hotel took us past Puerto de Mogan again, so I was able to get another couple of hours fishing in. This time I was able to get out onto an old section of the breakwater that gave me access to some deeper water.

Nice spot.

Started off with the dropshot and Angleworm and soon had the wrasse and damselfish queuing up to take the bait. Had taken several of each and was thinking of changing tactics when something different popped up. Had a good idea what it was, but later confirmed it as a Macronesian Sharpnose Puffer fish - a bit of a mouthful for a funky, little fish.

Yellow eyes.

I'd spotted some big Redlip Blennies whilst out snorkelling and could now see several of them sat on top of the bigger boulders. Swapped over to a cheburashka rig, again baited with Angleworm. Tried to lower this into a position where the blennies would see it. However, they appeared to be more rig shy than the other species, disappearing down the sides of the boulders. By the time they re-appeared the wrasse and damselfish were all over the bait. After a few more of these aggressive little beggars I packed up and headed back to the hotel for a well-deserved beer.