A Top Knotch session

Havent been out a whole lot lately with work taking priority
over fishing not by choice but necessity.
I went to a local mark on Sunday 11th initially to try for wrasse
which have been proving very elusive lately. I fished for an hour or so
into the rising tide without so much as a touch using a variety of lures
so back to the car and out with my trusty Solpara and Caldia for some
lrf i knew the fish were about as i had seen a few blennies and scorpions
moving in the various tidal pools and gullies so this is where i decided to start and
straight away i got a long spined scorpion on my trusty Jackslrf worm

 Had another few Scorpion fish and a few Blennies. The tide was starting to push so I headed
over to a large pool about 4ft deep switched lures to another favourite the Power Isome and began
work it around the edges and various ledges in the pool it got interest from a small scorpion fish
which was darting around the lure so i stopped the lure dead on the bottom and to my amazement
a nice sized flatfish came off the wall of the pool and inhaled the lure. I couldnt believe it firstly because
i hadnt seen it and secondly it was the last thing i had expected to catch!!

 At first i didnt have a clue what it was so out with the phone and onto google which promptly informed
me it was my very first Topknot  and my very first flatfish on a lure. The Topknot is the only member of the
flatfish family to live in, on and amongst rocks and is considered quite a rare catch so needless to say I am
a very happy angler.
I packed up and went home after that catch figuring that i had used all my luck for that session
I headed back out that night to a local quayfront and began dropshotting down the quaywall
had nothing for the first half an hour but my hopes were high as i could see baitfish moving all around and could see fish taking from the top so i continued with the dropshot and picked up a small coalie

 I continued on with the dropshotting this time casting and allowing to pendulum back in towards the
wall while slowly retrieving this worked a treat with coalie after coalie succumbing to this method

I then began to see silver flashes in the crystal clear water which i initally thought were school bass

but i now know to be herring 

The best of the herring coming in at around 12 inches long and great fun on the lrf gear I havent laughed as much on my own in an age they were coming thick and fast for a good 2 hours and some were even 

tailwalking across the surface very funny to see and certainly not something i thought i'd ever see a herring 

do 

I packed up around midnight and headed home a very satisfied angler after the best days lrf I've had in a while things are certainly looking up with some new and exciting species showing their faces. I really cant wait to see what the rest of 2012 has in store.

Tight lines

Jay