By Drew McMinn
Hello, my name is Drew, I’ve been Light Rock Fishing for about 10 years. I count myself lucky to have gotten into the game pretty early, the original HTO Rockfish rods had just been released, you could treat the Rockfish Files like a bible, and everything was fresh and new. To be honest Light Rock Fishing arrived with a bang on the shores of Northern Ireland, I was lucky enough to know some very experienced lure anglers who were happy to take me under their wing and show me the ropes, soon I was trading my Zziplex rods for Majorcraft Solparas and Zaltz, but more about that later. 

Beginnings

In its infancy Light Rock Fishing in Northern Ireland was a tight knit clique of a dozen or so lads, trading information and arranging meetings under cover of closed facebook groups –  God forbid the big rod anglers would see what we were up to!  The social aspect of it was second to none and every other night there was a gang of tiny rod wielding, fully grown adults on the shore, often in the most unusual places, getting looks from passers by as we dangled rods like children into the briny blue abyss. Each week someone had managed to get their hands on something that the rest of us had never heard of, often some obscure Daiwa Japan jig head or perhaps a new metal of some shape or form.  I was shaped by this, giving me an insatiable need to fish socially, standing shoulder to shoulder with a few mates, getting a little competitive, sharing stories and techniques and showing off new tackle purchases and generally having what we Irish call “the craic”, after all if there’s no craic, what’s the point in fishing?  I remember those days fondly, they were a learning curve and I’m thankful I got to experience them. I made a lot of friends, learned a lot and genuinely had a great time doing it.

A worrying decline

Around 2015 it felt like interest in ultralight fishing locally was starting to fall, from our once strong group of light rock fishermen to a dedicated few, it felt like people were starting to lose interest, LRF in Northern Ireland was dying on its feet, more than likely due to lack of access to tackle, information and a solid social base for light rock anglers and the wider lure community in Northern Ireland, and Ireland as a whole to base itself around. It was a very quiet time  for the LRF scene locally and though some of us still managed to fish, LRF was more of a niche activity than it had been just a couple of years previously.  There were people Lerfing, they just seemed to be doing it alone, scraping gear from the few websites which still catered to our addiction such as AOF and AGM discount fishing. I’m not quite sure if this was felt in the UK also, but there was a time that it felt like our supply of ultralight goodies had completely dried up, save for home grown produce such as HTO and a little bit of Berkley trickling through in the form of Gulp Sandworms and Powerbait Power Nymphs.

Social revolution

In 2017 I was a fully fledged lure junky, I lived for pollack and wrasse on heavier lure gear. The LRF gear wasn’t forgotten by any means but it was put on the back burner as we chased bigger fish on the more inaccessible rock marks of County Down and Donegal. On a side note,  I don’t think I would ever have become an accomplished lure angler in any capacity if it wasn’t for LRF, every technique we learn as light game anglers can translate seamlessly to hard rock technique and I would recommend any fisherman who wishes to hone their lure technique to experience light game at least once to see what I’m talking about.  

At around this time Facebook groups were becoming a bit of a thing, and I started my own encompassing all saltwater lure technique in an island wide capacity.  There hadn’t been anything like this before, one central hub for Irish saltwater lure anglers to come together, a closed group with the same ethos, that being targeting fish with lures and balanced tackle, I even gave it a very cool name “Lure Fishing Rocks Ireland”, the groups popularity grew quickly, and as it did, a fledgling sub community of Lerfers soon emerged from the woodwork, some who had quietly been fishing away during the dark times, some newcomers and some who thought they were accomplished lure anglers had never considered ultralight fishing before.  

Soon we were having LRF meets again, we got to chat about new funky tackle as bit by bit we built a community with steadfast roots in LRF and HRF. By no means am I trying to blow my own trumpet here, Lure Fishing Rocks and its members were just lucky to come together at a time when a second wave of LRF was taking hold across the UK and Ireland, we just happened to be the virtual place where it all came together for the new batch of local lads.  I made so many new friends with the same passion as me on that group, all of us making sure to report our sessions, talk techniques, tackle, arrange meets and genuinely have the best time. Some of my best angling friends were made thanks to a shared love of local LRF.

And now…

Here we are, post lockdown, the second coming of LRF well and truly underway, more Lerfers than you could shake a £200 carbon stick with a equally flashy reel at. I should have mentioned that throughout most of this recap I was working in McKees & Belfast Angling Centre (fishingtackle2u.co.uk). I had seen many different items of tackle come in go through the doors but until a couple of years ago we didn’t feel confident investing heavily in LRF as we didn’t know which way it was going to go. There are now so many dedicated light rock anglers that I have managed to fill 2 whole peg boards with yummy JDM Lerf products as well as a myriad of beautiful light game rods from Major Craft, Daiwa, HTO and Penn.  I don’t go a day without seeing at least one of my light rock fishing buddies in store, and though I should be working it always turns into us organising a session somewhere after work.  

LRF is now bigger than I could ever have imagined, I personally have an addiction to buying Major Craft Aji-Do rods and filling little Versus tubs with Gulp, and I know at least 20 others within a 20 mile radius who are just like me!  There isn’t a night in life you can’t find a buddy to go fishing with because we are all connected, simply a message away from another person who shares our angling passion.

In summary I think Light Rock Fishing, and socials go hand in hand, we’re all proud when we catch something big, or weird, or special. Facebook, Youtube and Instagram give us a perfect platform for this, we inspire, advise and help each other, and of course there’s plenty of craic along the way!

Thanks for reading my ramblings and if I’m given the chance again,  I might even talk about some fish.