BEGINNER’S BEGINNER R’S GUIDE
SHORE
Tronixpro makes some very decent and affordable LRF tackle.
declared! If you can play in larger fish, say a 3lb to 4lb wrasse, on this kind of gear, there is very little that can stop you in all of angling. This is another example of a skill that LRF teaches you – which is well worth having when you hook into that fish of a lifetime – the ability to play in and land a fish that has an advantage over you. “On the coarse fishing side, the equivalent to LRF is street fishing, and in France and the Netherlands it’s becoming incredibly popular with young people because it presents fast-paced action from hard-fighting fish on light tackle. “There’s a thriving social scene and superb product branding to back it up. The result is that a lot of young people are going fishing and, importantly, loving every Sunline LRF braid is a top choice in the lighter breaking strains.
You can soon rack up an array of different species on LRF tactics. This scorpion fish was a welcome addition to the list.
The Daiwa Gekkabijin – a perfect LRF reel.
minute of it, so I can’t see why that won’t translate to our LRF scene.” Like Reuben, I firmly believe that something needs to be done to encourage younger generations to pick
up a rod and reel and enjoy the pleasure that is fishing. LRF is perfect for getting kids out into the fresh air and it helps lay the foundations for a more healthy youthful engagement in the sport. Some experienced anglers may scoff at the concept of LRF but I think that we all have something to learn from one another, no matter how old or experienced we are. To provide you with a personal learning example, I’m no stranger to targeting wrasse on lures, but my usual kit is a 7ft Illex rod rated at 5g to 21g, and not an LRF outfit! But on my last trip to the west coast of
Ireland I decided to dig out the light gear to target them. I was using a 7ft 6in rod rated at 1g to 10g and a small Daiwa fixed-spool reel loaded with 6lb braid. I used an IMA Trilobite lure in watermelon green, rigged with a small weedless hook. I made my way down to one of my favourite gulleys and started to fish as the tide flooded – with kelp, boulders and an incoming tide, it looked perfect. This was completely new territory for me because I had no idea what a wrasse would fight like on superlight tackle. I was on tenterhooks as the lure fell through the water, then… tap! My heart stopped as I waited for the second tap, then suddenly the rod doubled over and I was into my first LRF-caught wrasse. The fight was epic but I was surprised at just Total Sea Fishing 19
p017-020_TSF_10_LRF.indd 19
22/08/2014 15:39