Surf bass fishing

There were a lot of romantic words written about surf bassing back in the 60's and early 70's. They concluded a period when bass came into the surf in startling numbers undecimated by the cruel gill nets. Surf disciples took on a purist attitude, that if a bass wasn't caught in the surf, then it wasn't really a bass.

Times have changed though. Far fewer bass run the surf beaches now, at least that is, fish of decent size. Several good spawning years though, have put numbers of juvenile bass back on to a more secure footing. Currently, right around the southern UK there are good numbers of bass from tiny 6in tiddlers to close on 3lbers. Emphasis lays with the 1lb to 3lb fish that are currently very strong in number.

The ranks of surf anglers has stayed static, maybe been depleted somewhat, but the increase in the smaller schoolies has re filled the surf with feeding fish, and it's this factor that will rejuvenate or re-introduce this noble art to a younger generation. The essence of this piece is to get you acquainted with surf fishing, to catch some of the more sizeable schoolies, but with an aim towards the bigger 4lb plus fish that require much more work.

WHICH BEACH?
The beaches we are looking for are very shallow and made up from hard, coarse sand that shifts in shape with every tide. They may be enclosed by high cliffs as you'd find in Cornwall and Ireland, or feature sand dunes supported by a bank of heavy shingle. This represents many beaches in Wales. A hypothetical 200-metre cast at high water may only put you into 6 or 8-feet (240cms) of water. More depth than this and bass tend to feed at the base of the shingle or sand as it rises from the seabed.

Beaches that are compact, stretching for only a mile or less, tend to be more productive than those never ending beaches that go on for mile after mile. This is because the fish are more concentrated. It's feasible to assume that a mobile bass may work the full length of a smaller beach, but run out of suitable tide on the bigger ones. You cut out some odds against you by sticking, at least in the beginning, to the smaller strands.

WATCH THE WEATHER
Understanding weather patterns and the prevailing winds are the ultimate knowledge for the surf angler. How a beach carries the prevailing wind dictates to a large degree just how well it will fish.

Any beach that faces the prevailing wind full on is a true storm beach. A wind factor over force 3 will produce a high creaming surf comprising wide and gradually higher tables of searching water. A wind strength over 5 may render the beach unfishable. Anticipate white water to break upto 200, even 300-metres from shore. Little natural food will be evident at first glance.

A flash beach only takes the prevailing wind at a side angle. Often, only one end, the end that the wind hits, will be productive. The sheltered corner may prove totally fishless accept in really wild seas when less weed will accumulate here, but the more prolific food supply may bring a few fish inshore.

A lee beach takes no prevailing wind at all. It's composition is likely to be more mud than sand, but on the plus side it will carry large amounts of food including static worm beds. However, when a wind does swing into a quarter that puts surf on a normal lee beach, then excellent sport is possible.

READING THE BEACH
This article is about surf fishing, so we're going to analyse the true storm beach in some detail and let the flash and lee beaches fall into place as an afterthought.

The next step is to totally reconnoiter the beach, or beaches you have chosen. I still maintain that it's better to forget fishing until you've a map in your brain that allows an insight onto what you're casting. You're looking for the shallow sandy gullies that run parallel with the beach. These gullies are nearly always a strong feature of storm beach makeup. Take precise note of these because it's here the fish will run with the flooding tide.

Other feature to consider are small patches of bared stone, rocky fingers poking from the sand and wooden groynes. These have small mussels, crabs in hidey holes, little fish etc, all resident and therefore attract the bigger bass. Never ignore a change in the seabed from clean sand to heavy shingle. Sandeel often bury themselves on the junction of the two. It's also well worth investigating washups where weed accumulates as this indicates a potential food gathering area.

Now you must subdivide this information into low and high water categories. Low water areas will tend to be only clean sand. You'll either be fishing into one of those shallow gullies, or down the back of a raised sandbank facing seawards. If you can locate harder feature, then fish it, but this is rare on surf beach low water marks.

At high water your task is easier. You've a choice between maybe a patch of boulders, some rocky outcrops, old groynes, fishing posts, or just placing a bait at the junction of sand and shingle. I start by casting towards feature and use close in tactics as a last resort.

Occasionally, you'll get a beach with no feature towards the high water line, just a continuance of the parallel gullies. This is no handicap for fish will work through these, but your casting has to be that little bit more precise.

FRESHWATER STREAMS AND RIVERS
So much past written work on bass has suggested that THE place to fish on an unknown bass beach is near a freshwater inflow. This is only half right.

During periods of calm weather, flat seas and clear water, an in run of freshwater adds some movement and aeration which will attract bass, but also, such places congregate small flatfish, eels etc that are a food source to bigger bass. Worth remembering this when the fishing is slow through settled weather.

Consider what happens when the weather is rough with heavy rain pouring down through the stream or river from the inland higher ground. The acidic water pours from the mouth of the stream, gets caught by the tide and is pushed in a downtide direction across the beach (see diagram). This band of acidic water can be seen at such times as a brown stain inshore, with a lighter blue shade of water beyond it which is the clearer, untainted sea water. Bass will always be found running the clear water line beyond the stain, never inside.

Depending on how big the stream or river is and the power of the tide, dictates how far the stain line will be from shore. A small stream may see it just 15-metres out, but a sizeable river can have a stain line more than 80-metres off. Only good casters catch fish at this time.

TIDE TALK
What about tides? Always start to fish a new beach over a spell of medium sized rising tides. By rising I mean rising to springs. I disagree with most other surf anglers that bass prefer the bigger tides. In my experience taken from several varied areas, there is a link with numbers of bass available and tides just below full springs. A massive movement of water pushed on by a decent wind can actually create too much surf and force fish much further out.

This applies particularly at high water when the surf is at it's greatest and getting the most effect from the wind. Rarely do I catch fish very close in as other writers seem to do. I need long casts out towards less rough water. If I can find the right feeding band I've had some good fish and decent bags in the past.

I do however, fish very close over low water periods. Bass are far more eager to feed at low water, the other advantage being that what little food is available on exposed beaches tends to be concentrated around the low water mark. A decent surf digs some food out and the bass respond accordingly. This close in work is particularly effective just after, maybe during, a decent blow over force 6 when bass move into the last 20-metres before dry sand.

This low water tactic works best on neap tides that coincide with storms. Get this combination right and huge numbers of bass may be infront of you. These are fish of all sizes right down to little schoolies and the mommas, but rarely do the big and little fish swim in the same feeding band. There is always a definition line between the two. Sometimes the big fish are close, and the little ones further out. It can be the other way around.

This would be the only time I would feel confident fishing a neap tide. There will probably be plenty of small fish in a reasonable neap tide surf, but bigger fish over 3lbs are that much rarer. Fishing a neap high water period really is a bad choice. In 25 odd years of keeping detailed records, I can find only the odd decent fish at such times.

On the majority of beaches expect the last hour of the ebb and the first two hours of the flood to be most productive. Usually, it's only the dead low water period and the next half hour that the bulk of fish show. The middle part of the flood tide is a slow period, though the smaller schoolies will continue feeding.

Less productive than low water in my opinion is the two hours before high water, but still capable of providing fish. The first hour of the new ebb is mostly poor, but the next hour can be excellent and give the most number of bites and the biggest fish.

This is because all the fish that have passed along the beach reverse their route, but this time, instead of being spread out over the low and high water spells, they are concentrated in that single hour. Also expect to have to cast a long way for these retreating fish. It's often the 125-metre men that do the best.

DAY OR NIGHT?
Day or night? Daylight bassing is really best left alone, though smaller school fish remain to feed, but again tend to be well out from the surf line. The occasional good catch can be recorded, even in bright sunlight, if the water is still coloured by a recent storm and little light can pass through.

It's good advice to concentrate your fishing over the hours of darkness, but don't ignore the dusk and dawn periods. Bass hunt sandeel in the waves during last and first light, but in full darkness they are on the seabed, running through the waves, using their noses to locate food.

TECHNIQUE
There are three types of fishing technique to consider. The most normal practice is a fixed paternoster with a shortish 6 to 12in hook length some 18ins above the lead. This should be chosen for the wilder surf's when you must have every help in feeling what's going on at bait level.

The next sees no grip wires on the lead, but the weight of the lead needs to be chosen very carefully. You need the pressure of water on the line to very slowly move the lead and bait in a wide arc from infront of you back towards the beach. As the lead travels you maintain a tight line. This method really searches the fish out. Infact you'll quickly associate a certain area with bites and anticipate them.

Thirdly is the walkabout method. Most good bass beaches have a lateral tidal current. We utilize this to move our lead and bait, but instead of us staying static we walk in the same direction as the lateral tidal flow. This allows the lead to stay out at distance, but we can keep a tight line for excellent bite detection. Get used to this system and you'll cover a huge length of beach and discover the better fish holding areas. This mostly applies to casts over 60yds though, to find that lateral current.

SAFETY FIRST
Chest waders are almost mandatory for surf anglers. Sure, they allow you to gain good distance wading out across a very shallow beach, but it's more for the protection from the surging waves. However, from the safety factor, I'm less keen on them for really deep wading. Filled with water and 100-metres from shore you are in very deep trouble. I limit my wading distance to just above knee length. You'll still get the odd growler creep almost to chest hight from time to time, so don't push your luck.

BAITS
What about baits? There are only four to consider. Lugworm is the bait if you simply want fish, immaterial of size. It will take bigger bass, but really sorts out the smaller school bass. It's often a case of the smaller fish being quicker off the mark and beating the biggies to the bait. When using lug help yourself by using a bait at least 10ins long. This puts a lot of smell in the water but keeps the tiddlers away.

Crab is excellent both early and late in the year. It is particularly effective in stormy conditions when it's high scent helps home the fish in. It's my number one night time bait at any time.

King rag can be excellent both in a day and night surf. It's disadvantage is that it attracts too many dogfish which can be a real pain at night, even when distance casting by day. Again, big baits are the answer for the bigger fish.

Lastly, sandeel. Well worth using close in over the low water period, but proves less effective at high water. Obviously a sight bait only, and not worth considering in even a slightly coloured surf.

Forget considering any other fish baits. Even in the autumn when the biggest fish are about you can't guarantee getting bites. Expect only 20% success.

TACKLE
Tackle is dictated to by the weather. For average surf's a rod balanced to 3ozs gives sport with the smaller fish, but has the guts to land the bigger ones. You'll also have realised that the rod is going to have to be held for the full duration of the session. The lighter modern carbon based blanks therefore, have the edge. Most of these put a light lead like this out a good 80 to 90-metres, plenty for the average conditions. A 6500 sized multiplier carrying 12lb line and a 30lb leader completes the set.

Rougher weather, and the need for greater casting distance needs a 5oz blank. It's no good retaining sweet notions about fishing light if the waves are huge, full of weed, and the fish are 125-metres off. The same reel does, but I uprate the line to 18lbs and the leader to 50lbs.

RIGS
Stick with the basic fixed paternoster for all your surf work. A 20lb hook length won't tangle through water action in the suggested short length.

Hooks should be Kamasan or Mustad 3261BLN's 2\0 to 4\0 for worm baits, but stick with a Mustad Ultimate Bass 2\0 to 4\0 for the crab. It's up to you whether you use a tied in blood loop, or a bead trapped swivel for hook length anchorage. I prefer the trapped swivel myself.

BITE VARIATIONS
Bites are obvious when fishing an anchored bait, but expect fish to drag the lead inshore when fishing a free roaming lead. A quick mind to realise what's happening, and a fast retrieve brings you back in contact with the fish.

When walking the lead, bites are either straight single pulls cased by the bass turning into the tide away from you on the seaward side, or just a slackening of the line as the fish turns into the tide towards you.

To clarify this, bass do not swim in the same direction as the tide travels, but face the tide full on and drop backwards with it. This means they can constantly smell the passing water for bait scents, which, once picked up, sees them power forwards into the tide until the food is located.

LANDING THE FISH
Bass are not great fighters until they feel the nearing surf, then they charge left or right through the surf tables turning their bodies broadside on to the current. They also rise to the surface and shaking their heads and splashing their tails on the surface. Do not hold fish too tightly on the drag at this time. Use the waves to bring a tired fish onto dry sand then carefully gill the bigger fish. Smaller fish should be lifted into a wet hand, hook removed, and carefully laid into the water table for them to swim free of their own will. With so many juvenile fish about you'll quickly get proficient.

That's it. There's enough information here to get you started, the rest you'll find out for yourself.