A bass milestone - 20th August 2011

After the successful session on Thursday I decided to try the same mark on Saturday. The weather had been rather windy on Friday but seemed to be much calmer on Saturday afternoon so I made my way down to the shore for the end of low tide. Unfortunately the sea was still rough, large swells were breaking on the rocks. This particular location does not fish well in rough conditions. But nevertheless since I was there I thought I may as well fish for a while and see how it goes.

I started off with some soft plastics, Xlayers and Slug-gos, but the surf was just carrying them in and even with a weedless set up I was still getting snagged. So I switched to a Feed Shallow. I put on a new one I got recently from Absolute Fishing, a silvey grey lure with a bright red belly. On about the fifth cast, directed diagonal to the shore and across several shore-parallel gulleys, the lure was snatched by a fish. It was putting up a reasonable struggle and when it broke the surface I could see it was a bass, although not big. I eased it onto the rocks on the crest of a wave. It was a 45 cm bass; it fought well considering its size.

It was my 120th bass of the year - so I now equalled my previous best annual total achived in 2009.

If there was one there I reckoned there should be a few more. I continued fishing, tried some different Feed Shallows and a few other lures such as Tide Minnons and Magabass X-140 but there was no more interest. As the tide rose the surf got bigger and I was getting hit by a few large waves so I decided to move on. I headed to a Cork Harbour mark, worked my way along the shore but had a big problem with weed. There was no sign of any fish activity so I packed up early.

Still I was happy to have pulled out the one bass given the conditions.   

Good bass session - 18th August 2011

Thursday was a calm partly cloudy day and I reckoned the conditions would be ideal for a good mark that I had not been able to fish recently due to rough conditions so I finished work early and headed off . The sea was quite calm, just a little choppy, and the water was clear with very little weed so it looked promising. I started out with some some soft plastics and after about 20 minutes I switched to a Feed Shallow. After a few casts the lure was grabbed by a bass. At first it was not struggling too hard so I thought it was a small fish but as I got it in close I could see that it was a decent size. As it approached the shallows it began to fight much more strongly and thrashed about wildly. I eventually eased it on to the rocks. It was a 65 cm bass, weighing 5 lb. It had almost totally engulfed the lure.

I continued fishing with the Feed Shallow but it was quite for about another 25 minutes then the lure was struck by another bass in close, this was putting up a better fight than the first one but was only 50 cm.

Shortly afterwards I had another, again in close. This time the bass dived into a gulley and the line was rubbing against the rocks on the edge but I managed to raise it and landed it without snapping the line. This was an almost identical 50 cm fish.

I cast across the same area and shortly afterwards was struck by another bass, this one erupted behind the lure, lept out of the water, crashed back in and fought fiercely. Then disaster - the line snapped and the bass was gone along with my favourite Feed Shallow!!!! The line must have been damaged when the previous bass dived below the ledge. I was kicking myself for not checking it and cutting off the damaged section.

I switched to a weedless Slug-go and lobbed it across the same area. On the first cast the lure was grabbed by another bass, this one was the smallest of the session at 45 cm.

Shortly afterwards I briefly had another on the same lure but it came off. Then a few minutes later I had the fifth bass, another 50 cm fish, which again grabbed the Slug-go from the edge of the same gulley that most of the bass had been lurking in.

I hooked another bass a little later, had it on for a few minutes but as I got it in close it came off. Next cast I had a good size pollock. This was followed by a few more pollock but the bass shoal seemed to have moved on. I moved further around the bay but just had another couple of pollock. I fished for a while in darkness but could only get one more pollock.

So I was very happy with the evenings fishing, that was my best lure session so far this year; 5 bass and 6 pollock.

More night time lure fishing - 16th August

I headed to a local mark after dinner, got there just after high tide at about 8.45 pm. I had a few casts across an area of shallow rocks that was now flooded by the tide. There was no sign of any activity. I made my way along the shore to an area of flatter rocks where the water was deeper and began fishing. I had a few casts with an Xlayer, fired out a Patchinko and then switched to a Feed Shallow. On about the thrid cast a bass struck the lure only about 6 m out, it lept into the air and did a brief tailwalk before crashing back into the water. The fish was pulling hard and stripped some line before I had it under control and gradually coaxed it into a shallow gulley where I could lift it out. It was a stocky 53 cm bass, weighing just under 4 lb.

I continued fishing in the darkness and worked my way along the shore and then back. But there were no more bites. I hadn't been that hopeful since the tide was now dropping fast but decided to try it on the ebb as I always fish this section of coastline on a rising tide, looks like I will be sticking to fishing it on the rise. Since it didn't look too promising I packed up before Midnight, but at least I did get one bass. 

Short session - 14th August 2011

I just had time for a short session on Sunday. I headed to a West Waterford mark that fishes well early on a rising tide. I got there at 2.00 pm just as the tide was beginning to push in. It was a bight sunny afternoon with a light light westerly breeze and the water was crystal clear.

As it is very shallow with lots of snags I used weedless soft plastics and surface lures. I started with an Xlayer, fished with that for about 15 minutes then changed to a Patchinko and blasted it out to the edge of the reefs. I covered the ground in front of me at a range of angles and on about the tenth cast a fish lept clear out of the water as my lure passed over it, the fish seems to hang in the air for a moment of two before crashing back into the water and then lunged at the lure again, this time it was hooked. From the fight I knew it wasn't a bass, it kept deep, all the time pulling downwards, but nevertheless it put up a good struggle. I hooked the fish at 60 m out it and it put up a fight all the way in. It was a well fed 55 cm pollock. I was very surprised to get that in bright daylight in shallow water.

I continued fishing across the same small bay until I was forced back by the tide. I moved to the left and fished a shallow gulley between two rock ridges but had no interest. Then I had to move back again as the tide rose around me. I packed up close to 4 pm, happy enough to have got one fish.

Fishing a new mark - 13th August 2011

There was a strong west southwesterly breeze on Saturday which ruled out fishing a reliable East Cork mark. There is a bay in Waterford that I have been meaning to fish for a long time so decided that the conditions would be suitable. I found a route down the cliffs and was on the shore at the northern end of the bay just as the tide was starting to push in. I was hopefully of a good session given the full moon tides. There was a moderate swell breaking onto the rocks at this end of the bay and oxygenating the water so it looked good.

I started fishing into an area between two large rock outcrops where the water looked a few meters deep, using Feed Shallows and Xlayers. After about twenty minutes I moved a few meters and fished the opposite side of one of the rocks using an Xlayer. After a few casts directly out to sea I changed direction cast parallel to the shore. First cast the Xlayer was grabbed by a bass that must have been hiding in the kelp directly below the rock I was standing on. It wasn't a big fish but gave a decent fight all the same. It was then I realized I should have brought a landing net. I worked the fish along the shore until I got it into a groove in the rocks and was able to reach down and lift it out. I put it into a rock pool while I went back to my bag to get the camera, got back lifted the fish out of the pool and just as I removed the lure from its mouth it gave a mightly twist and slithered out of my grasp and into the water before I got a chance to photograph or measure it but it was probably about 44-45 cm.

I continued fishing there for about half an hour but there were no more bites so I began to work my way along the shore. There were plenty of shallow areas now being flooded by the tide which looked ideal locations for bass to come in searching for crabs and other food but there was no interest, apart from a pollock on a Feed Shallow.

I continued working my way around the bay and reached the southern end just before high tide. There was a deeper water area here so I had a go for pollock. I had two on Xlayers, both about 2.5 lbs, and lost one easily twice that size on a small mother worm. I lost a few smaller pollock on Xlayers too. I also had a solitary mackerel on a Xlayer. By 6.30 pm I started to head back, saw some activity in an area of shallow water and fired out some surface lures but there was no interest. The fish splashing about were presumably mullet.

I packed up at about 7.00 pm. I had expected a better session, although there were a few other anglers there who didn't seem to fare any better. Despite that I will return since the bay contains an abundance of bassy looking marks.

Night time lure fishing - 9th August 2011

Over the last few weeks I have found bass fishing slow, probably as a consequence of the water clarity. The fish seem to have been reluctant to come close to the shore in such clear conditions. As there have been plenty of reports of bass caught on lures at night in recent weeks I decided to have a night time session at a West Waterford mark.

I got to the coast and made my way out across the rocks to the shore and was fishing by 9 pm, just at low tide. A westerly wind was beginning to pick up but the water was crystal clear. There was not much happening until the light started to go and the tide began its initial push in. I was fishing a weedless Xlayer across some shallow reefs when suddenly a large fish lept almost clear of the water to try to snatch it, missed, and fell back with a mighty splash. In the brief moment it was clear of the water it looked like a bass although in the twilight it was difficult to be sure. I continued casting the Xlayer across the same area but there was no more interest. I switched to a weedless Slug-go and on about the third cast it was struck by a fish in exactly the same location that the bass had lept out of the water. It fought strongly, tried to get around some rocks but I managed to keep control and turned it towards me and gradually brought it into the shallows beside me. It was a stocky 55 cm bass, weighing over 4.5 lb.

I had a few more casts with the Slug-go. It was dark at this stage although the shore line was well illuminated by a bright three quater moon. I switched to a Patchinko thinking that it would make a larger disturbance on the surface as well as rattle to attact any bass moving in with the tide. After 4 or 5 casts there was a massive splash behing the lure about 20 m out, but the fish didn't connect, I stopped the retieve and then the fish smashed into it a second time a second or two later. This time it was well hooked. Intially it fought very strongly, flattening out the rod and stripping line. I struggled with it for a few minutes, gradually coaxing it in. Then the fight stopped, at first I thought I had lost the fish, but could feel weight on the line and thought I might have snagged a clump of weed as the fish came off. I reeled it in close and then turned on my headlamp to see what was on the end. The bass was still there!! but as soon as I switched on the light it went into a frenzy, wildly thrashing about although as it was so close it was easy enough to ease it onto the rocks. It was a rather slim 71 cm bass, weighing just under 7 lb, about a pound under weight for its length.

 
I fished the same area for a few more minutes but was pushed back by the tide. I found a new spot close by and fished for another twenty minutes or so. The tide was rising fast now so I moved further back. I fished a little longer but there were no more bites so I packed up and was off the rocks before Midnight. Still I was happy with the result for a few hours lure fishing in the dark.

Saturday evening bass - 6th August 2011

I had to catch up on work at the weekend so didn't get out fishing until Saturday evening. I got to the rocks just as the tide was beginning to push in. As there were lots of very shallow rocks I could only fish with weedless soft plastics and surface lures. I started off with a Patchinko and on about the fifth cast the lure was struck by a strong bass about 20 m out just as I slowed the retrieve down to a stop. It gave a good fight, turned and stripped some line when I got it close to the shore. After a few minutes I got it back in and onto the rocks. It was a 52 cm bass with a weight of about 3.25 lbs.

Shortly after there was a large splash about 15 m out in front of me. I cast various lures across the spot but could not tempt the fish and was soon forced back by the tide.

I worked my way along the shore but there was no more interest and no sign of any fish activity apart from a few crusing mullet.