Andy 1965
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2020
- Messages
- 360
- Reaction score
- 3,337
- Points
- 93
- Location
- North Wales
- Favourite Fishing
- Lure
With a forecast of winds gusting to almost 40mph, and reports coming in from all around North Wales of an algal bloom, I wasn’t sure if I should bother heading out on Tuesday night, but the lure of the bass was just too much. In order to get some shelter, I decided to fish a mark which I don’t usually visit until later in the year, but given the circumstances I couldn’t really afford to be fussy.
I arrived at the parking space to find that the wind seemed to blowing offshore as I’d hoped, but sadly, as I walked along the coast and got closer to the mark, I realised the wind was in fact blowing more from the side. As if that wasn’t bad enough, there was a definite discolouration to the water, caused by the dreaded May rot, so this promised to be a proper ninja test ?.
Undeterred, I began my hunt with one of the lures which had produced the goods for me last Thursday, the big Patch in Nacre, but that was wishful thinking and this time it didn’t do anything. Over the next hour I also tried the yellow Patch and a lure which has previously done ok for me at this mark, the Frosty in 500g, but still without any luck.
The lack of fish certainly wasn’t anything to do with not covering enough ground and with the wind off my shoulder, I was able to put the lures out a very long way. So far in fact, that the knot where I’d joined my broken braid, and which was last week at the limit of my casting range, was now leaving the spool a long time before the lure splashed down. Now I’m no expert at estimating distance, but judging by how much braid was left on the spool, I would hazard a guess that I was hitting well over 100 meters ?.
The wind was picking up even more by now, and during one particularly strong gust I could have sworn I saw a seagull flying backwards ?. Not only that but I was almost blown off my feet, however by steadying myself against a semi submerged rock, I was able to stay upright.
With the wind massively helping my casting range, I decided on a change of tactics now and I clipped on one of my favourite lures for shallow, gnarly ground, a Sunslicker Swimmish mounted on a 3g belly weighted hook. Incredibly, the difference that the wind made to my casting was now clear, and I found that I could cast this 16g combination further than I had been able to chuck a 28g Patch last week! ?
10 minutes or so later and I was reeling the Swimmish steadily back towards shore, when it was hit without warning, taking me completely by surprise. After an initial struggle on the surface, the fish then decided to go deeper and it swan steadily against the wind and tide. I kept the pressure on, and after a minute or two I was able to draw the fish slowly towards me through the weed, and to land it on a nearby rock. A completely unexpected, and half decent fish of 47cm to start my evening ?.
To be honest I was shocked to catch in those conditions, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t chuffed to bits ?.
With the blank beaten, I fished on with renewed confidence and over the next hour I missed another couple of takes ?, but eventually the light began to fade. Now this particular mark usually goes quiet around dusk, before picking up again once it’s completely dark, so I wasn’t expecting any more action for a while, but once again I was mistaken, as somewhere out in the rapidly gathering gloom, my lure was smashed once more. The fight this time wasn’t as exciting as the first, but it was still a thoroughly enjoyable contest and after a few minutes I landed bass number 2, at 46cm only slightly smaller than the first ?.
With darkness proper came an increased risk of a stumble, so I decided now on a short move to some safer ground nearby.
Though stained by algae, the water on the reef had been relatively clear but the water over the cleaner ground was a different story. Visibility was probably no more than about 6in, so I didn’t really hold out much hope of any action, but incredibly my Mishna was hit 3 times in the first 5 casts! ? Sadly this first few minutes set the tone for the remainder of the evening, and though my lure was hit countless times, I just couldn’t connect with any of them ?. In an effort to improve my hook up rate, I switched the Mishna for a smaller Savage Gear Sandeel, but though this was also hit a couple of times, the results were the same and after 90 minutes at the new spot I was still fishless, so I reluctantly called it a night.
Before I left there was one last thing to do, which was to take the water temperature for my diary, but when I switched on my headlamp I discovered exactly what the bass were feeding on. The second the light fell on the water, dozens of sandeel scattered across the surface and when I began to wade around, there were literally hundreds if not thousands of them swirling around in the dirty water. On the walk back to the car my brain worked feverishly, as I hatched a plan to take advantage of what I’d just learned, and Thursday couldn’t come soon enough ?.
I arrived at the parking space to find that the wind seemed to blowing offshore as I’d hoped, but sadly, as I walked along the coast and got closer to the mark, I realised the wind was in fact blowing more from the side. As if that wasn’t bad enough, there was a definite discolouration to the water, caused by the dreaded May rot, so this promised to be a proper ninja test ?.
Undeterred, I began my hunt with one of the lures which had produced the goods for me last Thursday, the big Patch in Nacre, but that was wishful thinking and this time it didn’t do anything. Over the next hour I also tried the yellow Patch and a lure which has previously done ok for me at this mark, the Frosty in 500g, but still without any luck.
The lack of fish certainly wasn’t anything to do with not covering enough ground and with the wind off my shoulder, I was able to put the lures out a very long way. So far in fact, that the knot where I’d joined my broken braid, and which was last week at the limit of my casting range, was now leaving the spool a long time before the lure splashed down. Now I’m no expert at estimating distance, but judging by how much braid was left on the spool, I would hazard a guess that I was hitting well over 100 meters ?.
The wind was picking up even more by now, and during one particularly strong gust I could have sworn I saw a seagull flying backwards ?. Not only that but I was almost blown off my feet, however by steadying myself against a semi submerged rock, I was able to stay upright.
With the wind massively helping my casting range, I decided on a change of tactics now and I clipped on one of my favourite lures for shallow, gnarly ground, a Sunslicker Swimmish mounted on a 3g belly weighted hook. Incredibly, the difference that the wind made to my casting was now clear, and I found that I could cast this 16g combination further than I had been able to chuck a 28g Patch last week! ?
10 minutes or so later and I was reeling the Swimmish steadily back towards shore, when it was hit without warning, taking me completely by surprise. After an initial struggle on the surface, the fish then decided to go deeper and it swan steadily against the wind and tide. I kept the pressure on, and after a minute or two I was able to draw the fish slowly towards me through the weed, and to land it on a nearby rock. A completely unexpected, and half decent fish of 47cm to start my evening ?.
To be honest I was shocked to catch in those conditions, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t chuffed to bits ?.
With the blank beaten, I fished on with renewed confidence and over the next hour I missed another couple of takes ?, but eventually the light began to fade. Now this particular mark usually goes quiet around dusk, before picking up again once it’s completely dark, so I wasn’t expecting any more action for a while, but once again I was mistaken, as somewhere out in the rapidly gathering gloom, my lure was smashed once more. The fight this time wasn’t as exciting as the first, but it was still a thoroughly enjoyable contest and after a few minutes I landed bass number 2, at 46cm only slightly smaller than the first ?.
With darkness proper came an increased risk of a stumble, so I decided now on a short move to some safer ground nearby.
Though stained by algae, the water on the reef had been relatively clear but the water over the cleaner ground was a different story. Visibility was probably no more than about 6in, so I didn’t really hold out much hope of any action, but incredibly my Mishna was hit 3 times in the first 5 casts! ? Sadly this first few minutes set the tone for the remainder of the evening, and though my lure was hit countless times, I just couldn’t connect with any of them ?. In an effort to improve my hook up rate, I switched the Mishna for a smaller Savage Gear Sandeel, but though this was also hit a couple of times, the results were the same and after 90 minutes at the new spot I was still fishless, so I reluctantly called it a night.
Before I left there was one last thing to do, which was to take the water temperature for my diary, but when I switched on my headlamp I discovered exactly what the bass were feeding on. The second the light fell on the water, dozens of sandeel scattered across the surface and when I began to wade around, there were literally hundreds if not thousands of them swirling around in the dirty water. On the walk back to the car my brain worked feverishly, as I hatched a plan to take advantage of what I’d just learned, and Thursday couldn’t come soon enough ?.
