Andy 1965
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2020
- Messages
- 362
- Reaction score
- 3,353
- Points
- 93
- Location
- North Wales
- Favourite Fishing
- Lure
After a long break from fishing, well 8 days is a very long time for me ?, I was back on the lures this week, and first off on Wednesday evening was a lure session with my mate Glyn. After a break of a couple of years from the lures ? he was desperate to get back into some silver, and I was more than happy to have him tag along. Glyn wasn’t planning to stay too late, so we decided to travel separately to the mark and though I didn’t expect sport to kick off until dusk at the earliest, I still arrived first in plenty of time to grab a space ?.
Conditions were pretty good and though there was a chilly Easterly breeze blowing, it was only strong enough to put a slight chop on the water and apart from a narrow band of dirty water up against the shore, the clarity was still excellent further out.
Being a creature of habit, I began my hunt by circulating through a variety of lures which usually serve me well this early in the year, but sadly the bass weren’t ready to come out and play just yet. 30 minutes or so after I started fishing, I spotted a figure walking along the shore towards me and I was soon joined by my companion for the night. After a few refresher hints and tips to get him up to speed, Glyn was soon back in the game and we proceeded to cover the water in front of us with a variety of lures, in anticipation of a good night ahead.
20 minutes or so later and we saw the first bit of action, when an old favourite lure drew first blood for me, as a feisty little schoolie was fooled by the classic DC12 ?.
With the last hour of the flood approaching, I thought this would be the start of the evening’s action, but strangely, apart from a mini pollack with eyes bigger than its belly, the next hour was quiet ?. So far this year the ebb has been quiet at this particular mark, so I wasn’t hopeful that we would get any more action, but in a complete change from my other sessions, the fish started moving after high water. Once the tide turned, the bass came on the feed in better numbers and 30 minutes after high, I added another fish to my tally. Only another schoolie but they all count ?.
The next half hour resulted in another couple of missed hits for me, and unfortunately Glyn didn’t fare any better. As well as missing a couple of fish, he also lost 2 lures, to add to a disappointing return to the game ?. With an early start in the morning, Glyn called it a night at about 11, leaving me to fish on alone.
With the tide well on the ebb by now, I wasn’t expecting too much to happen but 2 hours after high water I was surprised when my Patchinko was smashed close in by schoolie number 3 ?, and this was soon followed by number 4
.
Sadly that was it for another night and with the night time chill starting to bite, and another session planned for Thursday, I called it quits until the following day.
24 hours later and I was back in the same spot, and with high tide 45 minutes later than the previous evening, just into darkness, I was hoping for better numbers of hopefully bigger bass. Conditions were calmer than on Wednesday too, and the water clarity was excellent, so things were looking good.
This time I started off with the lures which had produced for me the previous evening but again things were quiet to begin with, I persevered though, hopeful that there might be the odd fish about before darkness fell.
Now on the walk along the shore to the mark, I passed 2 other anglers fishing with bait but after about 40 minutes I was joined by another lure angler, this was just the start though and word had obviously got around that the bass were in, as the crowds soon started to arrive. Over the next hour I was joined by 9 more anglers, mostly fishing lures, meaning the bass were now outnumbered ?.
For the next hour we all fished on expectantly, but despite our best efforts, the bass outsmarted us all, and I didn’t see a single fish landed. Of course this couldn’t last forever and finally, just as the light was fading I saw the first sign of life as a small pollack snatched at my lure and missed it. Soon after this the angler fishing to my right landed the first bass of the evening, only a small one, but an encouraging sight all the same.
Five minutes later I missed my first proper take of the evening, but the bass were obviously just starting and minutes later my neighbour was into another one. For the next hour the bass went crazy and everyone was kept busy with multiple fish caught, and just as many hits missed, my luck was well and truly out though and while my neighbours caught steadily, I struggled to even get a take ?. I kept trying though and eventually even I managed to hook something ?. I could tell straight away that it was a little more substantial than the schoolies of the previous evening and after a very enjoyable scrap, I finally slid my catch ashore. It wasn’t a monster but at 51cm it was still my biggest of the year so far, and I had avoided the blank once more ?.
Though I was massively relieved to get off the mark at long last, it did come at a cost. My hands were getting numb with cold by now and while I was trying to unhook my catch it jumped at just the wrong moment, this pulled one hook of the spare treble on the lure straight into my finger beyond the barb! ? Though the cold was partly the cause of the accident, it also helped massively and my fingers were so numb that I barely felt any pain ?. After a quick double unhooking with pliers, my catch was released to grow bigger and I returned to the fishing. Soon after this I was in again, as what felt like another half decent fish hit my lure, but frustratingly after only a few seconds it threw the hook and made good it’s escape ?.
That was pretty much it for my night and while those around me continued to catch, I just couldn’t find the magic lure, I did have one more hit from what felt like a small schoolie, but that was all.
Eventually the bass did go off the feed and one by one my neighbours packed up and left, within 30 minutes there was just myself and one other angler left. It was getting really cold by now, so I decided to have a tea break before I gave it a last hour. I was wasting my time though and I didn’t get another touch, so I eventually called it a night just after midnight.
So I have finally reached double figures of lure caught bass for the year, and I’m happy with 3 fish of 50cm and above so far, but with my recent mark getting way too busy for my liking, it’s time for me to spread my wings and to explore a little ?.
Conditions were pretty good and though there was a chilly Easterly breeze blowing, it was only strong enough to put a slight chop on the water and apart from a narrow band of dirty water up against the shore, the clarity was still excellent further out.
Being a creature of habit, I began my hunt by circulating through a variety of lures which usually serve me well this early in the year, but sadly the bass weren’t ready to come out and play just yet. 30 minutes or so after I started fishing, I spotted a figure walking along the shore towards me and I was soon joined by my companion for the night. After a few refresher hints and tips to get him up to speed, Glyn was soon back in the game and we proceeded to cover the water in front of us with a variety of lures, in anticipation of a good night ahead.
20 minutes or so later and we saw the first bit of action, when an old favourite lure drew first blood for me, as a feisty little schoolie was fooled by the classic DC12 ?.
With the last hour of the flood approaching, I thought this would be the start of the evening’s action, but strangely, apart from a mini pollack with eyes bigger than its belly, the next hour was quiet ?. So far this year the ebb has been quiet at this particular mark, so I wasn’t hopeful that we would get any more action, but in a complete change from my other sessions, the fish started moving after high water. Once the tide turned, the bass came on the feed in better numbers and 30 minutes after high, I added another fish to my tally. Only another schoolie but they all count ?.
The next half hour resulted in another couple of missed hits for me, and unfortunately Glyn didn’t fare any better. As well as missing a couple of fish, he also lost 2 lures, to add to a disappointing return to the game ?. With an early start in the morning, Glyn called it a night at about 11, leaving me to fish on alone.
With the tide well on the ebb by now, I wasn’t expecting too much to happen but 2 hours after high water I was surprised when my Patchinko was smashed close in by schoolie number 3 ?, and this was soon followed by number 4
.Sadly that was it for another night and with the night time chill starting to bite, and another session planned for Thursday, I called it quits until the following day.
24 hours later and I was back in the same spot, and with high tide 45 minutes later than the previous evening, just into darkness, I was hoping for better numbers of hopefully bigger bass. Conditions were calmer than on Wednesday too, and the water clarity was excellent, so things were looking good.
This time I started off with the lures which had produced for me the previous evening but again things were quiet to begin with, I persevered though, hopeful that there might be the odd fish about before darkness fell.
Now on the walk along the shore to the mark, I passed 2 other anglers fishing with bait but after about 40 minutes I was joined by another lure angler, this was just the start though and word had obviously got around that the bass were in, as the crowds soon started to arrive. Over the next hour I was joined by 9 more anglers, mostly fishing lures, meaning the bass were now outnumbered ?.
For the next hour we all fished on expectantly, but despite our best efforts, the bass outsmarted us all, and I didn’t see a single fish landed. Of course this couldn’t last forever and finally, just as the light was fading I saw the first sign of life as a small pollack snatched at my lure and missed it. Soon after this the angler fishing to my right landed the first bass of the evening, only a small one, but an encouraging sight all the same.
Five minutes later I missed my first proper take of the evening, but the bass were obviously just starting and minutes later my neighbour was into another one. For the next hour the bass went crazy and everyone was kept busy with multiple fish caught, and just as many hits missed, my luck was well and truly out though and while my neighbours caught steadily, I struggled to even get a take ?. I kept trying though and eventually even I managed to hook something ?. I could tell straight away that it was a little more substantial than the schoolies of the previous evening and after a very enjoyable scrap, I finally slid my catch ashore. It wasn’t a monster but at 51cm it was still my biggest of the year so far, and I had avoided the blank once more ?.
Though I was massively relieved to get off the mark at long last, it did come at a cost. My hands were getting numb with cold by now and while I was trying to unhook my catch it jumped at just the wrong moment, this pulled one hook of the spare treble on the lure straight into my finger beyond the barb! ? Though the cold was partly the cause of the accident, it also helped massively and my fingers were so numb that I barely felt any pain ?. After a quick double unhooking with pliers, my catch was released to grow bigger and I returned to the fishing. Soon after this I was in again, as what felt like another half decent fish hit my lure, but frustratingly after only a few seconds it threw the hook and made good it’s escape ?.
That was pretty much it for my night and while those around me continued to catch, I just couldn’t find the magic lure, I did have one more hit from what felt like a small schoolie, but that was all
.Eventually the bass did go off the feed and one by one my neighbours packed up and left, within 30 minutes there was just myself and one other angler left. It was getting really cold by now, so I decided to have a tea break before I gave it a last hour. I was wasting my time though and I didn’t get another touch, so I eventually called it a night just after midnight.
So I have finally reached double figures of lure caught bass for the year, and I’m happy with 3 fish of 50cm and above so far, but with my recent mark getting way too busy for my liking, it’s time for me to spread my wings and to explore a little ?.
