Bullhuss have always seemed to evade me whenever I tried to target them in the past. I came to the conclusion that I was fishing the complete wrong areas as everything else I was using including baits and rigs were perfect. Eventually I came across an area that my father and me fished from the shore and hit into some good bullhuss. The only thing to do was to get out on the kayak and catch some.
The area I fished was a tidal stretch that had a 40ft channel. I anchored in the channel on the out going tide. My plan was to use one of my spinning rods to catch some live bait. From past experience the dogfish love and cannot resist latching on to any dead bait so this was out of the question. To catch the live bait I just used a simple double hooked rig with small size 10 hooks baited with some frozen mackeral. The fish finder showed shoals of fish on the bottom as they passed by and it was not long before I had some fresh live Whiting. The Whiting where rigged on a single 4/0 hook ledgered on the bottom.
While the two live bait rods were out I continued to use the spinning rod to see what else could be swimming around below. Mackeral, Whiting and a Grey Gurnard showed themselves and of course the Dogfish made themselves known too.
The first Bullhuss to take was a really good fish. The take was a few knocks then the line started to be pulled off the reel. I hit into the fish and had a really good fight from the Bullhuss. I did not realise that these fish give such a good account of themselves which made it even more enjoyable. When the huss came to the surface I was delighted to see such a fine fish. I lifted him onto the kayak and of course he tried to bite me but I managed to control him.
The morning proved to be endless rod bending fun with a number of Bullhuss taking the live baits. The spot makes an excellent alternative to deep water if the weather plays up.
The last Bullhuss I caught before paddling back in was very surprising and a little sad if I am totally honest about it. When landing the last bullhuss it became clear that the poor fish had swam into a net which was cutting through its skin around its neck as it was growing. I am not sure what type of netting this was but it certainly did not look nice for any fish. I cut the net off the bullhuss and sent it back on its way.
On the way back in I tried my luck up against the wall near the launch spot for a scorpion fish. I used my double hook trace which I caught my bait with. Within ten minutes I had a rattling bite and lifted into a small fish. No monster but a species I was looking for. A nice looking Scorpion Fish. They are such interesting and aggressive little fish which makes them fun to catch. Needless to say I went home happy with a good day day out.
Until next time,
Tight lines.
Fishing With Mack 