[basswannerbe]

I have been into sea fishing for about 10 yrs ( not every wk end, i wish, only holidays and winter trips) now and all i want is a bass! i have tried everything and nothing, i go to barmouth alot and last weekend had my first proper bass strike, what a feeling that was i reeled it in got it about a foot from the side and the little blighter got off and swam back to the depth, i was gutted to say the least:uhuh: i intend to bag one this yr i have got to!!! i am going to hayle in cornwall in the summer and then back to barmouth, i will be reporting on each trip!!:g:

 

[rockling]

I have been into sea fishing for about 10 yrs ( not every wk end, i wish, only holidays and winter trips) now and all i want is a bass! i have tried everything and nothing, i go to barmouth alot and last weekend had my first proper bass strike, what a feeling that was i reeled it in got it about a foot from the side and the little blighter got off and swam back to the depth, i was gutted to say the least:uhuh: i intend to bag one this yr i have got to!!! i am going to hayle in cornwall in the summer and then back to barmouth, i will be reporting on each trip!!:g:

Hi basswannerbe have a look in the soth wales forum mate i had 25 out in one day its fishing its nuts off here t all my bass this yr hav come of crab and a running ledg gave it a go tight lines

 

[Guest]

I am sure you will get one soon. They seem to be about in good numbers already in many parts of the country, North Kent and Essex seem to be the hotspots at the moment. Good luck and be sure to post a report and picture when you get your first.

 

[Spitfire66]

try the local forums & get up to date tactics and info - look forward to the reports

 

[Guest]

Get down to Dorset and go spinning...

 

[Yawner]

I have been into sea fishing for about 10 yrs ( not every wk end, i wish, only holidays and winter trips) now and all i want is a bass! i have tried everything and nothing, i go to barmouth alot and last weekend had my first proper bass strike, what a feeling that was i reeled it in got it about a foot from the side and the little blighter got off and swam back to the depth, i was gutted to say the least:uhuh: i intend to bag one this yr i have got to!!! i am going to hayle in cornwall in the summer and then back to barmouth, i will be reporting on each trip!!:g:

You should have no trouble getting one around Hayle, give me a pm when your coming down and I`ll help you out.cheers Mark.

 

[4Fox Hake]

The most basic but most important tip I've ever been given about shore bass fishing, which must have at least trebled my catch rate overnight, was "however far you're casting, it's too far".

Fish close in — 30 yards max on a flat beach, even closer if it's steep etc. — and only go further out if you don't find them. You often see the guide to aim for the second to third breaker out, which IS often best, but I would start even closer, then work out. Shallow water does not put off even the bigger fish. I've had a 5lber from 2' of water, and an 8½ from about 3-4' deep.

To catch a ... any ... first bass, use worms. They go nuts for lug over sand, or for maddies anywhere. This may bring you only schoolies to 1, 1½, but if they're there, you won't be able to avoid catching them!

Large sandeel/launce, or whole squid will weed out some of the bigger fish, especially (or more regularly) from beaches. Using fish baits inside estuaries doesn't work that often, down here at least, but they are what pulls out the occasional whopper.

Many swear by mackerel — I've never had much luck with it for bass myself. Peeler, much the same for me. I find it's best to only use this around rocks.

 

[basswannerbe]

good advice from all,thanks. can't wait to go now, going to colwyn bay in a few weeks with my little lad and lads from work,the pressure is on to show the my little lad how good dad is

 

[basswannerbe]

guess its just gonna be down to luck, i have got a bass rod i sit holding it (as not to miss the 'big one'), i used to use my rod rest alot but have found you can miss out and you dont get the same feel by just watching the tip!

Like i said i am going to colwyn bay at the end of the month so heres hoping for the big one!!

 

[littlemissmermaid]

guess its just gonna be down to luck, i have got a bass rod i sit holding it (as not to miss the 'big one'), i used to use my rod rest alot but have found you can miss out and you dont get the same feel by just watching the tip!

Like i said i am going to colwyn bay at the end of the month so heres hoping for the big one!!

Good luck :yeah: Try using braid instead of nylon line, , keep hold of your rod and you will feel every little bite.

 

[basswannerbe]

thanks i do use braid and have found it so much better than the nylon. gonna have a look around the other forums to sea whos doing what

 

[SMART20]

The most basic but most important tip I've ever been given about shore bass fishing, which must have at least trebled my catch rate overnight, was "however far you're casting, it's too far".

Fish close in — 30 yards max on a flat beach, even closer if it's steep etc. — and only go further out if you don't find them. You often see the guide to aim for the second to third breaker out, which IS often best, but I would start even closer, then work out. Shallow water does not put off even the bigger fish. I've had a 5lber from 2' of water, and an 8½ from about 3-4' deep.

To catch a ... any ... first bass, use worms. They go nuts for lug over sand, or for maddies anywhere. This may bring you only schoolies to 1, 1½, but if they're there, you won't be able to avoid catching them!

Large sandeel/launce, or whole squid will weed out some of the bigger fish, especially (or more regularly) from beaches. Using fish baits inside estuaries doesn't work that often, down here at least, but they are what pulls out the occasional whopper.

Many swear by mackerel — I've never had much luck with it for bass myself. Peeler, much the same for me. I find it's best to only use this around rocks.

Sound advice there - the best thing about Bass is they will take practically any bait, and be caught on any method. Don't confuse this fact with the thought that they are easy to catch. Often big fish are caught by complete novices - this is because 99.9 % of the time, anglers are casting WAY too far. I used to go fishing a lot with a very successfull member of the B.A.S.S. He would fish alone mostly, with little or no light, and fish whole / half mackeral baits less than a rod length out - this was where a gully ran parrallel to the shore (western Solent approach, Hampshire). The beaches all along this stretch have this distinctive gulley at this range - there are no hot spots - you can catch anywhere, but at differing states of the tide, depending on which stretch you fish. The beauty of this method is that no-one will ever use it, even when you tell them about it, cos we have all been brainwashed into distance casting by the mags. He has had Bass to 12lbs using this method by the way. One night I was fishing next to him (2 ft away), and he had 4 before I had one - reason was, he was fishing 6 ft out, and I was underarm casting 12 ft out, and missing the gulley, and I did not catch until I halved my distance.
Look for a feature, such as a gully, and the bass will be there - you just need to do some experimenting on what state of the tide they come through - once you find this, you can almost set your watch by them.

Good luck,
Mart.

 

[tony.barrett]

Hi

If I can add a story to the above comment about close in.

I was fishing the harbour wall at Saundersfoot, a guy from same camp site was next to me about 20 yds away. A girl about 10-12 yrs came and set up between us - on her own so plucky youngun - with what can only be described as a kiddies rod.

Neither of us caught anything worth keeping and non of the small ones were bass. When the water got down to about 6-12 inches at the base I packed up, threw the last of the mackeral bait into the water and went back to the caravan.

Later that day the other guy remarked - you remember that girl between us? Well when you threw your bait in two large bass came and harried it. She cast to them and caught one - about 10 lbs he reckoned.

The worst part of this story is her comment - "Oh no not another mullet, thats all I have been catching all week!"

Yes the guy did the right thing and told her it was a bass.

Tony B.

 

[SMART20]

Hi again,
Just another bit of useless / useful info. One bright night, this guy I was talking about was fishing a bait so close in that as the slight swell receeded, it was leaving the half mackeral stranded on the sand, due to the anchor weight and trace length being used. He was about to wind in and re-cast when he thougt he saw a shape at the waters edge. To his amazement, a bass of 6lbs beached itself to get the bait, before flapping back into the water, much the same as the killer whales beaching themselves to catch the seals. As with other types of water craft, if you are quiet and patient enough, there is no limit to where you can catch a bass from.

Smart.

 

[billy bennett]

If you are up in north wales at colwyn bay, try the menia straits, it must be one of the u.k.hot spots for large bass, either the penmon end or dinas end are both fantastic when the fish are in, and the swellies between the menia bridges is the most bass ridden place i know of. I am sure if you post on the welsh thread you will get a host of people giving you advice about when and where to fish. but if you want big bass you dont want to miss the menia area. best of luck

 

[basswannerbe]

Hi

If I can add a story to the above comment about close in.

I was fishing the harbour wall at Saundersfoot, a guy from same camp site was next to me about 20 yds away. A girl about 10-12 yrs came and set up between us - on her own so plucky youngun - with what can only be described as a kiddies rod.

Neither of us caught anything worth keeping and non of the small ones were bass. When the water got down to about 6-12 inches at the base I packed up, threw the last of the mackeral bait into the water and went back to the caravan.

Later that day the other guy remarked - you remember that girl between us? Well when you threw your bait in two large bass came and harried it. She cast to them and caught one - about 10 lbs he reckoned.

The worst part of this story is her comment - "Oh no not another mullet, thats all I have been catching all week!"

Yes the guy did the right thing and told her it was a bass.

Tony B.

) brilliant story mate, bet you couldn't believe it! that'll be my luck next weekend when i take my lad you watch he will bag one before me !!