Cranks for Trout

I finished my latest batch of ultra light lures the other day and had a fantastic days fishing using them today, more on that to come....

 

These lures are designed specifically with trout in mind for pacey rivers with lots of water features, although they would catch all predatory species no problem. I did a range to cover from the small streams to the bigger rivers and kept a natural theme going through the range as the water trout are found in is usually clear and don't feel theres the need for bright lures, in fact they can often spook the trout.

 

This first set is a variation on the bean, i made them slimmer and moved the hook point round to the back in hope that i would get more hook ups from those snapping trout that come up from behind and just snap at the lure. These measure in at 3.5cm and weigh 2-2.5g with hooks.

 

 

The next set was a slightly bigger slim crank which measure 5cm and weigh 3-3.5g with hooks

 

 

 

I went on to make some slightly bigger versions, these measuring 5.5cm but slightly deeper bodied weighing 5g

 

 

Some fatter bodied cranks to push more water and give off more vibration measuring 4.5cm and weighing 5.5-6g

 

 

And lastly some bullhead shaped lures measuring 4.5cm and averaging 5g

 

Slowly getting back into it

 

I keep losing the motivation for lure building, i guess once you do something similar over and over again it can often get like that. recently I've been slowly getting back into building lures, mostly ultralights as its getting towards that time of year when i will use them allot. Ive also been doing a few other things too though which I'll include when finished. For now I'll leave you with a pile of Bean lures i built ready for the trout season.

 

 

 

Rainbow Perch

Just a quick update with a few things, I popped out today for a couple of hours trying for some perch. I was getting allot of nips but nothing was really sticking, I suspected it was a shoal of really small perch or just aggressive silver fish as they do sometimes nip at lures. I tried scaling down from a 2" Kopyto to a 1" kopyto along with other tiny lures but that resulted in no action at all so i thought at least i could plug away with the 2" kopyto and eventually hook one of the little beggers! It was slow going but i did manage a few along with this unusual perch that had no stripes and a rainbow trout like colouring, Ive caught them like this before. Shame we don't get bigger ones like it as its interesting having a variation.

 

On the building front, i have just finished a batch of snap beans, photos of which are below. I have also been tinkering with a few other things and have been getting into rod building, more of this to follow soon.

Ready for the rivers

Ive been busy making lots of cranks and bean lures recently in time for the rivers opening, these are the kind and size of lures i use when targeting chub but they get crunched by all species! I haven't finished all of the bean lures so will post them up when Ive finished them.

These cranks are made to work shallow and i tend to use them in rivers with a bit of flow and often in shallow pools, they work really well in the places that chub like to hang out.

Building Momentum

I managed to get out yesterday on a local canal that has been coloured for months now, its only just showing signs of coming back to life. I've only just recently started fishing abit more regulary and I feel I'm starting to build momentum now as the fishing slowly improves. I wouldn't say i was quite 'on a roll' but Ive enjoyed some good fishing, and a few nice fish over the last few weeks and the blanks seem like a distant memory. The fishing won't be on top form until we get some consistently warm weather but it is warming up and venues are showing signs of life.

On the canal I thought I'd go for my ultralight baitcaster outfit and just treated the few hours fishing as a bit of fun. I didn't go out expecting much, just a fish or two to keep things rolling along would do nicely.
After about half an hour I had my first take, but like a wally i missed it out of not concentrating! never mind i thought, at least there was a chance of a fish in the coloured water. Not long after missing that take and i had another, this time i was ready and struck into it, I could see the spinner bait blade flashing as the small pike shot from side to side. It was great to see a pike, feels like a while since Ive targeted them.

 

I carried on walking slowly and casting as i went, basically just searching the water, I felt my spinnerbait wasn't fishing in the right depth as it would either catch bottom if i slowed it down, or it would be too high in the water if i fished it slow. A quick change to one of my ultralight lures with a rattle inside and another fish was on, again a small pike. The action started to hot up a little and i was soon on a tally of 5 micro pike, great fun!

 

 

 

On the lure building front, I'm building another set of the bean type lures at the minute and have just finished a batch of small cranks. I tried out variations of the tiger pattern technique, one ended up looking like flames, very effective. I also tried to do something more natural by layering more natural colours, this turned out ok too.

 

 

 

 

 

I love it when a plan comes together!

I was back fishing a small stream today with a mate of mine, Neil. The last time I was at the stream I was wading and I spooked a few big fish, It was difficult to fish the overgrown stream and get close enough to the fish without spooking them. The thought crossed my mind of trying for them with the Ultralight spinning rod, that way i could cast way beyond where i was wading and the water bulge would not spook the fish either. I'd much prefer to catch trout on the fly, but i was interested in a big one this time round and i couldn't ignore the most likely form of success.

I did start with the fly rod but with the wind making it difficult to cast in a jungle stream that is all ready challenging enough, I popped back and got the ultralight rod and box of tiny bean lures out the car.
Neil, doesn't yet have waders so although I had mine on, I opted to stay on the bank with him, so we walked and fished where we could get access. Not too long after fishing with a bean i got a hit and saw the fish turn, a quick re-cast and the trout took again, an enjoyable fight followed with lots of jumping. Not one of the big un's I've seen but a decent sized fish all the same.

 

We carried on fishing and dropped a couple of small fish off before things started to go quiet. That quiet spell was broken with a fish that I'll remember for some time. I was fishing a small narrow but deep pool when a trout of about a pound came flying up and snapped at my bean, it didn't connect so i cast back out again but this time further down the pool. I'd just started to retrieve when something hit hard, the fish then started to motor and my reel was making the best sound known to man! Again lots of jumps but with a fish of this size it was even more spectacular. Finally in the net, i peered in to see a big trout, big for my standards anyway and certainly a fish to fulfil my ambition of catching a big wild brown trout. Preferably I would like one on a fly rod, but I'm not turning my nose up! One thing kind of preys on my mind though, is it a brown trout, or could it in fact be a sea trout?

 

I did some research on the Internet to try and find out which one it could be, the fact that it had a couple of red spots, slight red edge to the adipose and olive fins does in fact suggest its a brown trout, but it looks so much like a sea trout colouration? Although the smaller fish I have caught all have this same colouration so I'm not really sure at all. To be honest I'm just chuffed to bits what ever it is and it doesn't really matter either way as if sea trout, it was once a brown trout too. fascinating that you can catch such decent fish from tiny bits of water!

I'd done a batch of my bean lures just recently and it was these that the trout really wanted.

 

More building, less fishing...

Well its been a terrible start to the year which has carried on from where last year left off. Since my last post I have only had one session which was only for a few hours and not enjoyable in the biting northeast wind. Either bad colour or freezing conditions is putting a halt to my fishing, this time last year i was fly fishing for coarse species in short sleeves. That still seems like a long way away with the recent weather.
Anyway I didn't blank last time out, only managing a solitary perch on the ever faithful white kopyto, nothing impressive size wise but it was a nice fish and it turned out to be a good photo.

So most my time away from fishing has been spent building ultralight lures ready for the warmer months, im quite enjoying the bean lures so am going to make a whole batch of those next. Allthough enjoyable making lures in the warmth of the house, i'd much rather be out fishing.