First 5lb+ wrasse on a lure :D

After landing 5 wrasse over the 5lb mark last year on crab, I have been desperately trying to land one of a similar size on the lures this year. There are some stonking fish to be had from the deep water marks on Anglesey and today I ventured away from my usual wrasse mark to try a spot I've been wanting to fish for a good while. The sea was a little choppy but being out of the wind meant I could stay in contact with the lure and get a good feel for bites. After seeing lots of bait fish topping I started to regret leaving my bass gear in the car but I did have a few fishy looking SP's with me so I chucked on a Fin S Shad with a 2.6g Aji Mebaru Jighead and started casting towards the topping fish. After nothing for a dozen or so casts, I decided to leave the shad to sink a bit more. Before it had hit bottom I had a cracking take and a 5 second screaming reel before the fish threw the hook..... What it was I will never know but it felt big :0 Anyway, this had got my legs shaking like a shi**ing dog and for the next few casts I was probably a little to eager on the retrieve, bringing it in a little to quickly. After slowing it down again though another solid take and another good fish on the end. I was convinced it was going to be a bass but up from the depths after a cracking fight came a monstrous wrasse. I couldn't make out exactly how big it was until I had climbed down to grab it, it was a clonker. Instead of trying to lift the fish which no doubt would have ended badly, I clambered back up to my casting perch and grabbed my net before returning down to safely land it. Weighing a hefty 5lb 2oz and measuring spot on 50cm on the TLF ruler, it was a new lure caught PB, happy days. A few rushed pics on a self timer followed and after I'd got a pic that was good enough, the fish was released. After this the bait fish had seemingly disappeared along with everything else. An hour of nothing and I called it a day, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be back there soon enough though :)

Thanks for reading,
Tight Lines,
Ross