I have been concentrating on lure fishing for bass over recent weeks with occasional forays after thick-lipped grey mullet so when a suggestion to target thin lips was made I soon decided a change of scenery and technique would be good.
Thin-lipped mullet are not a species I have ever devoted a lot of time to so I was glad to have John Avery with me to give advice and encouragement. The technique is simple adapt a Mepp’s style spinner to take a size 4 single hook and bait up with ragworm. This is then cast out across the river and retrieved steadily searching for the shoals of mullet that inhabit pools throughout West Country estuaries.
The only modification to this was that I was using a cocktail of real ragworm and artificial Marukyu worm the artificial worms being a robust visual stimulant with the real maddies offering a bit of scent. That’s the theory anyway. I need to try the artificial on its own, as digging ragworm is a chore I could happily avoid.
Heavy rain preceded our trip but a decision to go any way was vindicated when the sky cleared and the sun broke through.
John and I started casting into likely spots working our way steadily upstream searching for the elusive thin lips. After a couple of dozen casts I felt a couple of plucks whilst retrieving and was thrilled when a mullet followed the lure and nailed it just as I was about to run out of water. Success brought a smile to our faces and encouragement that more mullet could be forthcoming. Several more mullet followed our lures over the next couple of hours but only one other succumbed to Johns offering and on one final mullet to me as I was about to pack away.
Surprise catch of the trip was a brace of flounder both over the pound mark the best 1lb 9oz. These two flounder succumbed on consecutive casts and from the same swim. Good sport on the light tackle we were using and a promising sign that there should be some good flounder about when the autumn sets in.
Whenever I fish for something like thin-lipped mullet using a tactic that is specialized I ponder upon how this was discovered as a method. Somebody had to think out of the box at some point. I wonder how many more secrets are awaiting discovery unlocking our ability to hook fish that at one time appeared un-catchable.
A bit like the lure fishing after dark for bass I was reading about earlier this evening. Must give that a serious try.
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