Old Wooden Wobbler produces a Pike off the Top

Found an old wooden surface wobbler hidden away in a little corner of the garage, a fire tiger pattern, perfect for my pike fishing. I took the lure up to my local water to have a look at the action, it was excellent, the balsa lure was so buoyant which enabled the lure to wobble across the surface in a lazy slalom which proved to be irresistible to a little pike in the shallows. the lure is around 15cm long and quite bulky which meant a lot of commotion was caused on the top, second cast down the side of a reed line and the lure got smashed!

2lb Pike on an old wooden surface wobbler in Fire Tiger Pattern

I carried on with the lure along the bank and had a lot of interest, 3 fish tried to take the lure off the surface without the hook setting but great fun to watch and heart stopping stuff.

The Old Wooden Surface Wobbler in Fire Tiger Pattern

Hope to be out again soon,
Thanks for Reading,
Sam Johnson

Underwater Release of a Lure Caught Bass

Managed to film the release of this little Bass of around 2lb that i caught on an IMA Salt Skimmer over the Easter Bank Holiday. I always use a Catch and release policy in my fishing as it preserves the future stocks of our Bass in the UK.



Thanks for Watching, 
Sam Johnson

Another Day on the Bass! IMA Salt Skimmer!

Another Day of Bass

  Headed out again for a final trip before I set off home the next morning. A few friends of mine had come to visit me at the caravan for the bank holiday weekend so no fishing was done then but when they had left I was out again in search of the Bass.

  Now, with waders and boots on, I went down to the same mark I had success with the previous trip. This time however, with the neap tides, I decided to fish much close to high tide and down. This proved to be a good choice!

  On went the Salt Skimmer again and within minutes of it dancing across the surface it was slammed, a nice schoolie around a pound had taken a fancy to the lure.

A little Bass on the IMA Salt Skimmer

The bass were here again! On went other surface lures to try and tempt a fish on a different lure but no success. Switched back to the Salt Skimmer and first cast it was finally engulfed after numerous attempts by the Bass. A short fight later and another bass was in the net, this time a little bigger at 2lb.

2lb Bass IMA Slat Skimmer

  A couple of casts later and its twin decided to have ago, this time flip out the water to attack the Salt Skimmer, Another nice little fish of around 2lbs was netted.

Another 2lb Bass on the IMA Salt Skimmer

After that fish was released I noticed boiling at the surface where sandeels were getting attacked by the bass and being forced to the surface. I flung the Salt Skimmer out over the back and started the WTD retrieve. The Salt Skimmer then got hit hard, this was a better fish, a nice bend was on the Injection and the fish was making some nice clutch screaming runs. I waded out and eventually managed to get the fish to the net, she was a nice fish of 3.5lb and had but up a great fight. With my Iphone set up on a tripod this time I took a couple of snaps and back she went.

 3.5lb Bass on the IMA Salt Skimmer

 3.5lb Bass on the IMA Salt Skimmer

That proved to be the last of the action, despite fishing down to the same level of water I had caught the previous trip, the bass had seemed to have moved on.

  All in all and excellent trip down to the caravan in hope the Bass would be about and a new mark proved to be successful for me with 8 fish in total, all off the surface on the IMA Salt Skimmer.

Thanks for Reading, Sam Johnson

4 Days, 4 Fish, to 4lbs, All off the surface!! Great way to start the season!

A tale of 4 days, 4 Fish, to 4lbs.. All off the top!

Day 1:

  It all started with a two and a half drive down to the caravan after reading some reports of a few fish popping up in North Wales. All the gear packed and my rod already set up poking into the front seat due to my excitement back at home. I had planned the journey to arrive, sort the caravan out, and be ready to fish a low water mark I’d previously had success at. I headed down to the mark with the feeling of hope and optimism but as I got down there, my initial confidence was shattered due to very murky water. Despite the murky water, Bright sunshine and flat calm conditions I fished on to no avail. I got back to the caravan for some food and decided to head to a High Water mark early morning to see if the water clarity was any better.

Day 2:

  The alarm went off at early o’clock and the last thing I wanted to do was get out of bed, it was freezing in the caravan so couldn’t bear to think how cold it’d be out on the coast. I reached for the kettle and sorted out a brew and on went my Under Armour to keep me warm. Got to the coast and was met with a slight glow of the sun which would later become a beautiful sunrise, something you can never get tired of on these early mornings. Anyway, I started fishing over a reef but again, the water was so murky, probably a foot of visibility but I fished on, I was up now. After trying all manor of lures along the coast from surface to soft plastics, still no success. Confidence was low.

  I decided the rest of the day would be dedicated to finding some clear water so I travelled the coast in search of a likely looking mark to fish but everywhere I got to the headland and peered over the edge, I was met with milky water.

  The high tide in the evening spawned some confidence from somewhere and I headed to a favourite mark of mine for last light and into darkness. I arrived full of optimism and hope the water may have cleared a little but that was far from the truth. I got there and a previous reef I fished over had been stripped of seaweed due to the storms and the water, I’ve seen clearer soup. Couldn’t see my wading boots in 10cm of water, safe to say this mark was a right off for the week!

Day 3:

  Day 3 and confidence was very low, in the morning I searched far and wide for clear water and still no joy. I headed back to my first low water mark and was met with a nice swell and probably 3 feet visibility, enough to fish on with optimism but by this point I was thinking ‘Is it too early in the season? Are they even here yet??’ all sorts of things were denting the confidence again and the blank that followed my efforts didn’t help.

  For last light I headed to another high water mark id never fished but heard can produce when conditions were right. I got there and to my utter amazement the water was clear! Flat calm conditions so on went the surface lures to no avail, I continued to play about with different lures and techniques as this clear water had given me confidence but yet again, no fish. I drove back to the caravan hungry and dejected.

Day 4:

  Decided to stay in bed this morning as my previous efforts for early starts hadn’t warranted any sort of success and the murky water I’d be fishing at this state of tide wasn’t exactly inspiring confidence. I went in search, yet again, of some clear water and after a walk around an area I’d wanted to fish in previous seasons, I could finally see the bottom over the shallow ground!

  I ummed and ahhhd whether to even go and try this new area with the lack of confidence I had now but what else was I going to do with the day, the weather was overcast and the sea nice and calm so on went the Salt Skimmer in hope of something having a go on the top.

  After walking along the coast chucking the Salt Skimmer over the reefs in front of me I settled on a nice shallow bay with scattered reefs. Trust this to be the only time I didn’t bother to would my waders and boots on, I was instantly soaked when a rock I was standing on suddenly became immersed by a rogue wave.

  First cast into this promising area and I was gently walking the Salt Skimmer back to me.. SPLASH!! Was that a fish?! Or didn’t I twitch it a bit hard?! SPLASH AGAIN! Then nothing. At least there’s fish here!!!!  I couldn’t believe my eyes after 4 days with no sign of any fish. Second cast to the same area, heart pounding with excitement and the little Salt Skimmer danced its way through the ripples... SMASH!! FISH ON! A short fight later and a little beaut of a bass was netted, 2lb on the Boga and was well chuffed after such hard work during the week, and to get one to kick my season off with a surface lure, can’t beat it!

2lb Bass on an IMA Salt Skimmer

2lb Bass on an IMA Salt Skimmer

2lb Bass on an IMA Salt Skimmer

  With tide retreating I got back onto the rocks after safely releasing the fish to try and get another. A few casts later and the Salt Skimmer was smashed again! My rod bent over and the ever welcome zzzzzzzz of the clutch was a sweet sound. After a short run I managed to get the fish to the net, a nice, plump fish of just under 4lb, my biggest on a surface lure and what a session this was already becoming. The Spiderman pose is due to the carefully balanced iphone ha

4lb Bass on an IMA Salt Skimmer

  I fished on in hope of another and was rewarded with this little schoolie after several casts in which the lure was being slashed at almost instantly once I had started the retrieve with no hook up!

Schoolie Bass on an IMA Salt Skimmer

 The tide was now considerably lower than when I began and the sport had slowed. There was still time for a nice little bass to take a fancy to the Salt Skimmer which resulted in another fish around 2lb to finish off the session.

Another 2lb Bass on an IMA Salt Skimmer

  Well, after 4 days of murky water, confidence draining blanks and the never ending search for clear water, it all came together for me at a new mark. An excellent way to start the season for me and all off the top!

The lure that started off my season, the IMA Salt Skimmer

IMA Salt Skimmer 110F

Thanks for Reading,

Sam Johnson

Savage Gear 3D Bleak Glide Test

  I managed a short half an hour session on my local water to test out the new 3D Bleak Glide from Savage Gear as i'd just received them in the post. I got two sizes, 13.5cm 28g and 16.5cm 49g to try in both dirty silver and fire tiger patterns.

Savage Gear 3D Bleak Glide 13.5cm Fire Tiger

  The lures are slow sink so where i fish i started the retrieve the moment it hit the water. I varied the retrieve from slow and steady to short twitches with the rod tip but i must be honest, the lure looked fantastic in the water and creating a wide, slalom action.
  In just a short session i could tell this lure is going to be a favorite of mine for where i fish, the lure that got the most interest was the 13.5cm Fire Tiger pattern which may be because the abundance of jacks where i fish at the moment and the fact the water is very coloured up. I tried the other size i had in both colour patterns with no interest and came back to the smaller version but i'm confident the others will catch on another day.
  I managed to catch a small jack of around 2lbs have a pop at the lure very close in but didn't manage to land the fish unfortunately as you can see, great fun though and always gets the heart going!



Thanks for Reading, Sam Johnson

First Pike off the Surface 2014!

  Weather seemed perfect on my local water to try for the first Pike off the top. No wind and overcast meant the water was flat and calm so on went the Megabass Dorum 120, my most successful lure last season. The Megabass Dorum 120 has a bib on the front but is so buoyant due to its wooden body that it wiggles on the surface and creates an excellent V wake behind it.

Megabass Dorum 120 

    I cast the Dorum across a shallow bay and slowly started working it back with the odd pause and twitch when about 3/4 through the retrieve a Pike of about 3lb came up to hit it! I always remove the middle hook of lures with three hooks to aid with unhooking and also fish welfare.

Thanks for Reading, Sam Johnson

New Pike Lures from Savage Gear

  Have been looking forward to getting hold of these new lure from Savage Gear; the Bleak Glide Swimmer. These lures look perfect for the shallow water piking that i do so couldn't wait to get my hands on them. The Bleak Gide Swimmer comes in three sizes; 13.5cm 28g, 16.5cm 49g and 20.5cm 85g. I, personally, use light tackle for my lure fishing so i decided to get hold of a couple of the 13.5cm and 16.5cm versions as the 20.5cm version were a little too big for my fishing.
  I went for one natural colour for each size in the Dirty Silver colour and one colour for murky, clouded water in the Fire Tiger Pattern. Both colours have worked for me in the past so they seemed the perfect option for me.

Savage Gear Bleak Glide Swimmer 13.5cm & 16.5cm in various colour patterns

  As you can see below the lures are jointed which helps them create an enticing slalom action just under the surface. There are videos of the action available on youtube if you give it a search but they look fantastic!

The Savage Gear Bleak Glide Swimmer with Jointed Segments

I should have mine by the end of the week so i will hopefully, if weather allows, be out in the coming weeks to test these lures on my local water.

Thanks for Reading, Sam Johnson