Andy 1965
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2020
- Messages
- 360
- Reaction score
- 3,336
- Points
- 93
- Location
- North Wales
- Favourite Fishing
- Lure
Having recently caught my 50th bass of the season, I was closing in on another milestone in my lure fishing career and after my 7 fish haul on Tuesday, I was left 1 bass short. With the wind forecast to swing through 180° by last night, my initial plan was to fish a completely different mark but when the predicted wind speeds dropped from a maximum of 20mph to a much more pleasant 6mph, I leapt at the chance to return to the same spot again 
. Given that the tide was entirely different from my other sessions there this year, I wasn’t overly confident of doing well but I reasoned that it was still worth a go.
I arrived approximately 3 hours after high water to find perfect conditions and though it was very bright, the ripple created by the onshore breeze should make the bass a little more confident of coming into the shallower water in search of food. After my recent successes the choice of lure was a no brainer, so first out of the box was the Swimmish, but straight away I realised that I had a small problem. Despite the water being just as clear as on my previous visits, there was quite a lot of fine green weed in the water, probably washed from along the coast by the change in wind direction. Hopeful of an improvement in conditions I persevered, but despite trying a few different top water lures in an attempt to gain casting distance and reach clearer water further out, the weed continued to be a problem. My theory was correct though and eventually, after a good hour of pulling strands off my hooks on almost every cast, it finally began to disperse.
With the tide ebbing quickly now, I made my way further out onto the reef, gradually getting closer to the area where I did so well on Tuesday. The tide was smaller than on Tuesday though, and I wasn’t expecting to get as far out as I had done 2 days before. Fortunately, life is full of swings and roundabouts and knowing that I still had plenty of time left before low water, I was confident enough to wade out a little further out than usual.
The sun was getting lower in the sky by now and with the light levels starting to drop, my confidence was building, then sure enough, almost 48 hours to the minute since my first bass on Tuesday, my lure was smashed again. Once more the bass put up a great scrap in the shallow water and my nerves were jangling as I willed the fish to stay on the hook. As it happened, there was no reason to be worried and after a minute or two my catch was safely landed. At around 2.5 – 3lb in weight it was nothing special, but it just happened to be my 400th lure caught bass and I was absolutely buzzing .
With memories of some hectic sport on Tuesday, I was keen to get back to the fishing straight away so I kept the celebrations to a minimum, and after quickly releasing the fish I cast back out immediately. Alas, lightning didn’t strike twice and I had to wait for the next piece of action. It was in fact a good half an hour before I had my next take, but I had to be patient for it. After casting out for the umpteenth time, I had only turned the reel handle a few times when it was hit without warning, but sadly the aggressor missed the hook ?. With my lure still a good way out I carried on with the retrieve and sure enough, the fish was still there. As the lure got closer it was nipped at three or four more times but it still didn’t result in a hook-up ?, then all was quiet again and I was convinced my chance was gone. I was mistaken though and when it was no more than 2 rod lengths out, my Swimmish was smashed followed by zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz as line was actually taken off against the drag. Over the next couple of minutes another 2 short runs took a little more line, and I thought to myself that I might well have hooked into something decent, but the fish soon ran out of steam. As I slid my catch ashore, I was a little surprised that it wasn’t as big as I first thought but I was still more than happy with a bass of around the 3.5 – 4lb mark ?.
Hoping again that the fishing would take off, I was disappointed once more and another 10 minutes were to pass before I landed bass number 3 of the session and 60 for the year. Only a little-un, which managed to throw the hook as I landed it on my rock, but I still managed to get a quick pic before it flopped back into the water ?.
The sun had long since set by now, but with the sky still being tinted bright orange I had enough light to keep fishing the reef for another 30 minutes. The fish had gone quiet though and the wind was beginning to pick up, resulting in conditions getting a bit choppy, so with the water beginning to rise I made good my escape to more even ground.
I fished on for another 90 minutes but the bass were nowhere to be found, even when I came across a massive shoal of baitfish hiding in a sheltered corner there were no predators to be seen, so I called it a night.
So that’s another 10 bass week, with the average size definitely on the way up, along with 2 more important markers reached on my voyage to lure fishing enlightenment, so I’m more than happy with how things are going ?.
. Given that the tide was entirely different from my other sessions there this year, I wasn’t overly confident of doing well but I reasoned that it was still worth a go.I arrived approximately 3 hours after high water to find perfect conditions and though it was very bright, the ripple created by the onshore breeze should make the bass a little more confident of coming into the shallower water in search of food. After my recent successes the choice of lure was a no brainer, so first out of the box was the Swimmish, but straight away I realised that I had a small problem. Despite the water being just as clear as on my previous visits, there was quite a lot of fine green weed in the water, probably washed from along the coast by the change in wind direction. Hopeful of an improvement in conditions I persevered, but despite trying a few different top water lures in an attempt to gain casting distance and reach clearer water further out, the weed continued to be a problem. My theory was correct though and eventually, after a good hour of pulling strands off my hooks on almost every cast, it finally began to disperse
.With the tide ebbing quickly now, I made my way further out onto the reef, gradually getting closer to the area where I did so well on Tuesday. The tide was smaller than on Tuesday though, and I wasn’t expecting to get as far out as I had done 2 days before. Fortunately, life is full of swings and roundabouts and knowing that I still had plenty of time left before low water, I was confident enough to wade out a little further out than usual.
The sun was getting lower in the sky by now and with the light levels starting to drop, my confidence was building, then sure enough, almost 48 hours to the minute since my first bass on Tuesday, my lure was smashed again
. Once more the bass put up a great scrap in the shallow water and my nerves were jangling as I willed the fish to stay on the hook. As it happened, there was no reason to be worried and after a minute or two my catch was safely landed. At around 2.5 – 3lb in weight it was nothing special, but it just happened to be my 400th lure caught bass and I was absolutely buzzing .With memories of some hectic sport on Tuesday, I was keen to get back to the fishing straight away so I kept the celebrations to a minimum, and after quickly releasing the fish I cast back out immediately. Alas, lightning didn’t strike twice and I had to wait for the next piece of action. It was in fact a good half an hour before I had my next take, but I had to be patient for it. After casting out for the umpteenth time, I had only turned the reel handle a few times when it was hit without warning, but sadly the aggressor missed the hook ?. With my lure still a good way out I carried on with the retrieve and sure enough, the fish was still there. As the lure got closer it was nipped at three or four more times but it still didn’t result in a hook-up ?, then all was quiet again and I was convinced my chance was gone. I was mistaken though and when it was no more than 2 rod lengths out, my Swimmish was smashed followed by zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz as line was actually taken off against the drag. Over the next couple of minutes another 2 short runs took a little more line, and I thought to myself that I might well have hooked into something decent, but the fish soon ran out of steam. As I slid my catch ashore, I was a little surprised that it wasn’t as big as I first thought but I was still more than happy with a bass of around the 3.5 – 4lb mark ?.
Hoping again that the fishing would take off, I was disappointed once more and another 10 minutes were to pass before I landed bass number 3 of the session and 60 for the year. Only a little-un, which managed to throw the hook as I landed it on my rock, but I still managed to get a quick pic before it flopped back into the water ?.
The sun had long since set by now, but with the sky still being tinted bright orange I had enough light to keep fishing the reef for another 30 minutes. The fish had gone quiet though and the wind was beginning to pick up, resulting in conditions getting a bit choppy, so with the water beginning to rise I made good my escape to more even ground.
I fished on for another 90 minutes but the bass were nowhere to be found, even when I came across a massive shoal of baitfish hiding in a sheltered corner there were no predators to be seen, so I called it a night.
So that’s another 10 bass week, with the average size definitely on the way up, along with 2 more important markers reached on my voyage to lure fishing enlightenment, so I’m more than happy with how things are going ?.
