Well after a long week at work I thought I’d get out, get some fresh air and stretch my legs, obviously not forgetting my fishing gear. Thought I’d check out a mark that’s a short drive from Weymouth, had some luck here last year on high waters but never had a chance to check it out over low water. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the ledges and gullies running out to sea. Apart from the dropping air temperature and low tide, conditions seemed rather good. I haven’t just walked over a slippery boulder field not to have a cast or two. After a few dozen casts working my way up the bay in which the wind was pushing into I had a huge thump and run. I wouldn’t say I’m religious but I was praying this fish doesn’t jump the hook like the fish I lost on Chesil last week, But after a few short runs this healthy bass of 3.3LB came ashore. that’s my first ever January bass!!
Lure of choice was the IMASasuke SF-95 in rainbow pearl, for such a small lure the distance this lure will cover using 8 strand braid is outstanding. Currently though im giving the Berkleys new Nanofill line a good thrashing, so far.. I am casting just as far as braid an I haven’t had one wind knot, this stuff is super super thin, offers smooth accurate casting and comes at a price cheaper than most braids. Bargain! more to follow..
Hope you enjoyed the read, fingers crossed for the rest of the weekend.
Well its been one of those weekends of chasing our tails around trying to find a January bass, I keep reading reports of anglers catching on local grounds, Like this cracking fish by Adrian (click here) Both me an Mr Fox did the short drive over to Abbotsbury at 5am followed by a half hour walk in the dark only to find the water clarity very poor ,but we pressed on. After a few dozen casts I had a screaming run that took me off guard, after a short game of tug and pull the fish won and jumped the hook.. To say I was gutted is an understatement.. Maybe next time! Lure of choice was the Delande GT shad mounted on a 15g jig head retrieved in a sink a draw style.
So to try an redeem my fishing confidence I headed out to a popular local mark to see if I could pull afew Pollock out from the depths, normally I’d fish LRF here but I only had the bassing gear with me, as always I turned to old faith full the Megabass rainbow pearl (hi pitch), this lure has never failed to find a fish of two, worked dead slow through the depths, fish seem to throw them selves on the hooks.
To finish the weekend off I took Mr Fox to a mark where I hooked a few bass last year and saw the flank of what must have been a double, things look perfect today, a rising tide, sun going down and a cross wind that was bringing with it constant swell. Every cast I was expecting to feel the bang of a bass attack.. But the bass didn’t show, maybe to early in the year for this mark, I have started keeping a very detailed catch report database for this very reason.
After a good few hours of blasting hard lures out to the horizon with no success, I decided it was time for a change before we ran out of light, Plan B HRF, as I was carrying the versatile budget rod Grauvell Teklon Spin, I wouldn’t class this rod as an HRF rod, but I thought what’s the harm in trying to save the day with a wrasse or two. First cast with a Reins Rockvibe Shad 2" Gold Legend mounted on a 12g cone weight and size 4 weed less hook and the obvious bites where there. Lots of short takes and bumps but due to the lack of feel at range I managed to find the one fish to save the day. I shall certainly be going back to this mark with a true HRF rod, as the mark screams big wrasse.
Also this was the first time I had a chance to try out the Quantum EXOpt I purchased from Chesil Bait and Tackle, these guys are getting some really nice gear now from all the top end brands, just what Weymouth needed! First thing I notice with this reel is how light it is, weighing in at 7.1oz it makes some top end reels feel like lead sinkers. Plus I swear they must have had a formula 1 car designer put some effort into the looks of the reel.. The exoskeleton design is out standing and makes the reel stand out from the mid budget reels on the market. I do ask myself the question though, what would happen if a small peddle were to jump in the chamber? but being such a tackle tart as I am.. I’ll worry about it when it happens. More to follow on the reel but so far so good…
I keep hearing a lot of people saying that 2012 is either going to be the end of the world or amazing things are going to happen, After many hours of pondering on this subject I have come to a conclusion.. If 2012 brings the end of the world then this has given me a good reason to fish more and harder then ever befor, which.. fingers crossed, could result in catching that amazing double figure bass that all us lure anglers dream of. As much as I have learnt that adapting science, water craft and technique will bring big results.. Sometimes luck has to be on our side. My toes are going to be crossed at the bottom of my waders!!
I do apologise for the huge lack of posts, the last few months have been so manic and full of ups and downs that fishing has taken a back seat while I get things up together, in that time though I have been doing a shed load of research on new methods and techniques and started to set myself new goals. One being to use soft plastics more for my Bass and Pollack fishing and two to chase pike and perch using HRF and LRF tactics.
Today was the first day off I have had in months so I have taken full advantage of getting out there and giving the rods a hammering. After a bacon sandwich I first hit the fleet to see if a school Bass might give its self up early in the year but my efforts proved fruitless, to be honest the tide wasn’t at the right state going on my past records, but at this time of year its anyone guess.
After gathering my thoughts I decided to take a trip to Portland Bill for a little HRF and to use my new sauce recipe that I made. I wont be keeping it a secret as there’s not a lot to it.. But for my first trial run I was impressed. Only a couple of small wrasse to show for my efforts all caught using black 2 1/2" Paddletails mounted on a size 4 weedless hook supplied by Jacks LRF. If I had stayed longer im sure I could have caught a few more fish as the bites started to come thick and fast with sundown but I only had enough change in the car for an hours parking.
Soon after getting home I had a call from a chap I know as Mr Fox, who wanted to check out a new mark that we have had our eye on for the last few years, from a distance you would think the walkwould take a couple minutes to get to this mark. But I swear it must have been half hour before the first cast was made. When we got there both of us didn’t expect to find such deep water. On a spring tide I’d expect to see nearly 60 + feet of water.. Very different to what we are both used to fishing.. Plans are a foot on how to tackle this mark but many advice would be great. We used all sorts of lures that we had but the classical 1 ounce weight, four foot trace and red gill seemed to do the job and got down to depth. Both of us walked away after a few Pollack, biggest being 2 pound tops. Cant wait to hit this mark when the Bass are staring to bite again. I can see this mark throwing up some surprises.
Cracking way to open up a new mark with a double hook up!
