Andy 1965
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2020
- Messages
- 362
- Reaction score
- 3,352
- Points
- 93
- Location
- North Wales
- Favourite Fishing
- Lure
After last Thursday’s bumper catch, it was time for a visit to a different mark on Tuesday night, to look for something a little bigger on my 13th lure session of the year. The choice of venue was a bit of a gamble due to the weather, but after a period of heavy rain and strong winds early in the evening, it was forecast to dry up by about 7pm, with the winds easing slightly and swinging offshore. For once the meteorologists were spot on and after some pretty dodgy conditions for the drive there, I arrived at my destination just as the rain stopped and the sun came out 
. After quickly getting kitted up I made my way towards the shore and once there I found lovely calm conditions, things were looking good .
With the tide being almost the biggest of the cycle, I was able to see some features which are usually submerged, so I took a few quick snaps on my phone for later study before I began the hunt for silver.
As I expected, despite trying a selection of usually reliable lures, the first couple of hours were very quiet, but once the light levels started to drop, my confidence increased. About 30 minutes after sunset, I switched the Patchinko for a Ruf Manic, in at attempt to gain a little more distance on the cast and finally I saw the first action of the night, when my lure was hit at maximum range ?. Now I couldn’t be sure, but from the initial take it felt like a half decent fish, so I carefully played it towards shore, but just as I began to think that I was winning the fight, the sneaky bugger dived headfirst into the weed, and I felt that horrible sensation of everything doing solid ?. In an attempt to free the fish, I kept steady pressure on the line, but when I eventually freed my lure, the fish was gone and the chance to beat the blank was missed ?. I was of course gutted, but there was nothing else for it but to keep trying.
Knowing that there were bass out there gave my confidence a big boost, and I hoped that I wouldn’t have to wait too long for another take, and sure enough, 5 minutes later my lure was hit again. Determined not to lose another fish in the cabbage, I kept the rod tip as his as possible but this time, for no apparent reason the fish somehow spat the hooks halfway in! ? I was getting very annoyed by now, but I had the chance to make amends immediately when my lure was hit yet again on the very next cast. Again, I kept the rod tip up high as I gently played the fish towards shore, and this time it seemed to be working. After a minute or two the fish looked beaten and I was sliding it across the surface towards me, when no more than 2 rod lengths out it gave one last flick of its tail and was gone! ? Hoping for another chance, I cast out again immediately but sadly, the bass had moved on as quickly as they had first appeared ?.
The next hour was quiet and I moved a few hundred meters along the shore, hoping to locate the bass again, but it seemed like I might be out of luck. I kept moving though and eventually I reached a spot where a strong flow ran across in front of me, and against the prevailing wind. This resulted in some seriously lumpy water and concerned that a smaller lure might be overwhelmed in the turmoil, I decided to beef things up a bit and I clipped on a Hunt House 155. Next I began casting this diagonally uptide and allowing it to swing around in an arc, covering a serious amount of water in the process, and a few minutes later this technique paid off. If wasn’t a classic bass strike, more a gradual increase in resistance, but within a few seconds of that, the rod began to bounce around in my hands and I knew I had a fish on. I could tell straight away that it was only a schoolie but they all count when trying to avoid the blank ?, so I reeled in as gently as I could. It took a while, but eventually my care paid off I was able to safely land my first bass of the night ?. Being on the small side, I wasn’t about to waste time wading back to shore for a picture, so the fish was shaken off the hooks in the water and I got straight back to the fishing.
After my earlier lost fish, I hoped for something better now, but sadly the schoolie was to be the last interest I had in my lures. With the tide being so big, it brought with it ever increasing amounts of loose weed now and barely a cast went by without me snagging on some. I would normally have called it a night at this point but it wasn’t that simple, as I just happened to be stranded until the tide dropped a little ?. There was only one thing to do and so I fished on for another 45 minutes, just to pass the time, until eventually I was able to safely negotiate my way back to the car.
So that was the first session of the week over and done with, and another blank was avoided, just!
. After quickly getting kitted up I made my way towards the shore and once there I found lovely calm conditions, things were looking good .With the tide being almost the biggest of the cycle, I was able to see some features which are usually submerged, so I took a few quick snaps on my phone for later study before I began the hunt for silver.
As I expected, despite trying a selection of usually reliable lures, the first couple of hours were very quiet, but once the light levels started to drop, my confidence increased. About 30 minutes after sunset, I switched the Patchinko for a Ruf Manic, in at attempt to gain a little more distance on the cast and finally I saw the first action of the night, when my lure was hit at maximum range ?. Now I couldn’t be sure, but from the initial take it felt like a half decent fish, so I carefully played it towards shore, but just as I began to think that I was winning the fight, the sneaky bugger dived headfirst into the weed, and I felt that horrible sensation of everything doing solid ?. In an attempt to free the fish, I kept steady pressure on the line, but when I eventually freed my lure, the fish was gone and the chance to beat the blank was missed ?. I was of course gutted, but there was nothing else for it but to keep trying.
Knowing that there were bass out there gave my confidence a big boost, and I hoped that I wouldn’t have to wait too long for another take, and sure enough, 5 minutes later my lure was hit again. Determined not to lose another fish in the cabbage, I kept the rod tip as his as possible but this time, for no apparent reason the fish somehow spat the hooks halfway in! ? I was getting very annoyed by now, but I had the chance to make amends immediately when my lure was hit yet again on the very next cast. Again, I kept the rod tip up high as I gently played the fish towards shore, and this time it seemed to be working. After a minute or two the fish looked beaten and I was sliding it across the surface towards me, when no more than 2 rod lengths out it gave one last flick of its tail and was gone! ? Hoping for another chance, I cast out again immediately but sadly, the bass had moved on as quickly as they had first appeared ?.
The next hour was quiet and I moved a few hundred meters along the shore, hoping to locate the bass again, but it seemed like I might be out of luck. I kept moving though and eventually I reached a spot where a strong flow ran across in front of me, and against the prevailing wind. This resulted in some seriously lumpy water and concerned that a smaller lure might be overwhelmed in the turmoil, I decided to beef things up a bit and I clipped on a Hunt House 155. Next I began casting this diagonally uptide and allowing it to swing around in an arc, covering a serious amount of water in the process, and a few minutes later this technique paid off. If wasn’t a classic bass strike, more a gradual increase in resistance, but within a few seconds of that, the rod began to bounce around in my hands and I knew I had a fish on. I could tell straight away that it was only a schoolie but they all count when trying to avoid the blank ?, so I reeled in as gently as I could. It took a while, but eventually my care paid off I was able to safely land my first bass of the night ?. Being on the small side, I wasn’t about to waste time wading back to shore for a picture, so the fish was shaken off the hooks in the water and I got straight back to the fishing.
After my earlier lost fish, I hoped for something better now, but sadly the schoolie was to be the last interest I had in my lures. With the tide being so big, it brought with it ever increasing amounts of loose weed now and barely a cast went by without me snagging on some. I would normally have called it a night at this point but it wasn’t that simple, as I just happened to be stranded until the tide dropped a little ?. There was only one thing to do and so I fished on for another 45 minutes, just to pass the time, until eventually I was able to safely negotiate my way back to the car.
So that was the first session of the week over and done with, and another blank was avoided, just!
