Andy 1965
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2020
- Messages
- 360
- Reaction score
- 3,336
- Points
- 93
- Location
- North Wales
- Favourite Fishing
- Lure
After last week’s first, and ultimately unsuccessful lure session of 2022, I couldn’t resist another go on Tuesday evening and though the wind would be more from the east, leading to lower air temperatures, the water temps should at least be on the up by now. After last week’s glassy calm conditions, I arrived at my chosen venue to find that the light North Easterly breeze was putting a nice ripple on the surface, but I was surprised to find that though the air temperature was now 10.3°C, almost 3°C cooler than last week, the water was up from 8.7°C to a positively balmy 11.1°C 
. Despite the ripple and a small swell, the water clarity was still excellent and I was confident of finally getting off the mark.
With 30 minutes to go before sunset, I wasn’t sure what to expect in daylight and though I had caught in the same spot, at the same time of day in April last year, there were a lot more bass about than there are at the moment. There was only one way to find out, so I started off with the lures which produced the goods early in the season last year. Unfortunately the bass weren’t tempted, if they were even in the vicinity, and as darkness fell I was still waiting for the action to start.
40 minutes or so after sunset, it was finally getting properly dark and after trying several different lures, including the Line-Thru Sandeel, Patch 125, Mishna and Wave Worm, I was still waiting for my first take of the year. Still sticking to my plan of using similar lures as in 2021, I now switched back to the large Patchinko and after 10 minutes or so of trying different styles of retrieve, I was giving the slow retrieve with lots of pauses a go. It was during one of these pauses, that I could have sworn I felt a very delicate pull on the line. It was so subtle, that it was almost imperceptible and in anything other than flat calm conditions, I might not even have noticed it but as I held the rod tip high it was gradually pulled over, as something out in the darkness turned lazily away with my lure in its mouth ?.
To begin with I don’t think the culprit had even noticed that its latest “meal” was anything out of the ordinary, but after a few brief moments the ball finally dropped ?. I wish I could tell you that the fight consisted of multiple screaming runs but the fish wasn’t that big, it was still a decent size though and gave a good account of itself. With so much at stake, I wasn’t about to bully the fish, and as it tried several times to head for the horizon, I simply held the rod up to cushion the pulls. Eventually its struggles became less intense and I gradually drew it into shallow water, then I was finally able to slide my opening fish of 2022 ashore ?. At 50cm in length and probably near 3lb in weight, I couldn’t have asked for a much better start to my season ?.
After a few pics and a quick kiss ?, I returned my catch to the crystal clear water and watched in wonder as it swam off serenely into the darkness.
With the blank finally beaten, I hoped for a bass landslide but it wasn’t to be, and despite me fishing on for another 3 hours, I didn’t see another fish ?. At one point I thought I felt another couple of gentle plucks at my lure, but I couldn’t be sure.
After more than 4 hours of wading, I was beginning to lose circulation in my extremities by now and I fully expected it to be much colder than last week, but when I eventually took the temperature again, I was surprised to find that the air was still at 7.4°C and the water at 10.0°C, surprisingly high for late March. Perhaps it was the gentle Easterly breeze that took the edge off things, but it certainly felt a lot colder and I was finally forced to call it quit, when I could no longer feel my feet or my fingers ?.
So that me up and running for the season and I really should get out there again tonight, but with a dusting of snow on the hills this morning, along with 20mph+ Northerly winds, air temperatures of 3°C and a wind chill of -1°C forecast for later, I think I might just leave in until next week now ?.
. Despite the ripple and a small swell, the water clarity was still excellent and I was confident of finally getting off the mark.With 30 minutes to go before sunset, I wasn’t sure what to expect in daylight and though I had caught in the same spot, at the same time of day in April last year, there were a lot more bass about than there are at the moment. There was only one way to find out, so I started off with the lures which produced the goods early in the season last year. Unfortunately the bass weren’t tempted, if they were even in the vicinity, and as darkness fell I was still waiting for the action to start.
40 minutes or so after sunset, it was finally getting properly dark and after trying several different lures, including the Line-Thru Sandeel, Patch 125, Mishna and Wave Worm, I was still waiting for my first take of the year. Still sticking to my plan of using similar lures as in 2021, I now switched back to the large Patchinko and after 10 minutes or so of trying different styles of retrieve, I was giving the slow retrieve with lots of pauses a go. It was during one of these pauses, that I could have sworn I felt a very delicate pull on the line. It was so subtle, that it was almost imperceptible and in anything other than flat calm conditions, I might not even have noticed it but as I held the rod tip high it was gradually pulled over, as something out in the darkness turned lazily away with my lure in its mouth ?.
To begin with I don’t think the culprit had even noticed that its latest “meal” was anything out of the ordinary, but after a few brief moments the ball finally dropped ?. I wish I could tell you that the fight consisted of multiple screaming runs but the fish wasn’t that big, it was still a decent size though and gave a good account of itself. With so much at stake, I wasn’t about to bully the fish, and as it tried several times to head for the horizon, I simply held the rod up to cushion the pulls. Eventually its struggles became less intense and I gradually drew it into shallow water, then I was finally able to slide my opening fish of 2022 ashore ?. At 50cm in length and probably near 3lb in weight, I couldn’t have asked for a much better start to my season ?.
After a few pics and a quick kiss ?, I returned my catch to the crystal clear water and watched in wonder as it swam off serenely into the darkness.
With the blank finally beaten, I hoped for a bass landslide but it wasn’t to be, and despite me fishing on for another 3 hours, I didn’t see another fish ?. At one point I thought I felt another couple of gentle plucks at my lure, but I couldn’t be sure.
After more than 4 hours of wading, I was beginning to lose circulation in my extremities by now and I fully expected it to be much colder than last week, but when I eventually took the temperature again, I was surprised to find that the air was still at 7.4°C and the water at 10.0°C, surprisingly high for late March
. Perhaps it was the gentle Easterly breeze that took the edge off things, but it certainly felt a lot colder and I was finally forced to call it quit, when I could no longer feel my feet or my fingers ?.So that me up and running for the season and I really should get out there again tonight, but with a dusting of snow on the hills this morning, along with 20mph+ Northerly winds, air temperatures of 3°C and a wind chill of -1°C forecast for later, I think I might just leave in until next week now ?.
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