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Dwindling bass quality?

Mr Fish

Mr Fish

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Did anyone notice if the past year was a bit poor for quality bass?
Was wading through one of the endless threads elsewhere about bass stocks, commercials and angling returns and it got me to thinking my past season was pretty poor.

So I know all this is anecdotal and just one person’s experience, but I must have had 8-10 good surf beaches bass sessions last summer/autumn, which is about normal numbers.
I think my biggest bass was about 2lb 8, plus a fair few schoolies.
Usually I’d get at least one 4lb plus bass every other trip and the previous year it was pretty much every trip.
Normally I’ll keep two or three a season and anything over about 4lb 8 goes back, unless it’s so badly hooked I have no choice but to keep it.

This is all bait fishing, btw. I realise there’s nothing scientific in that as it could simply be coincidence that last year was poor, just bad luck, not quite the right spot, missing bites that would have resulted in better fish etc etc, there’s so many variables.
I must admit I didn’t feel the tide times were the best when I went last year and bright moons were an issue a few times, so that could have compounded things.

Just wondered if anyone else who does similar fishing found last year was poor, or good?
 
I didn't get to fish anything near as much as I'd hoped last season, for many reasons, but the bass I caught along with those of the rest of my crew of mates indicate both falling sizes and numbers in comparison to the comparatively good years of 19/20/21. We have to hope it's cyclical and that the commercial slaughter is somehow tempered
 
Topwater said:
I didn't get to fish anything near as much as I'd hoped last season, for many reasons, but the bass I caught along with those of the rest of my crew of mates indicate both falling sizes and numbers in comparison to the comparatively good years of 19/20/21. We have to hope it's cyclical and that the commercial slaughter is somehow tempered
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That’s interesting, so wasn’t just me then? As you say, let’s hope it’s a natural cycle rather than commercial pressures
 
I was getting one or two most sessions on the BC from May to August. Average size 3 to 5lb, with a few smaller 1lb fish thrown in. Definitely down in size and numbers from around 10 years ago, when locally the average was 5 to 9lb, a mate of mine landed 50 over 5lb that year. These fish aren't targeted either, just general fishing or targeting other species....
 
Oddly round locally here the weights were higher than average, as areas I think of as just schoolie areas with fish upto 3lbs, was throwing up 4s and 5s and I had a local pb of 7lbs 4 from a spot where I hadn't had one about 4lbs in over 10 years of fishing it regularly.
The areas that the bigger fish showed don't get hammered commercially, and I'm hoping that a bloodline of bigger fish are moving into areas they have found safe for years if that makes sense. Hopefully they will return again and last season wasn't a one off.
 
Mr Fish said:
Did anyone notice if the past year was a bit poor for quality bass?
Was wading through one of the endless threads elsewhere about bass stocks, commercials and angling returns and it got me to thinking my past season was pretty poor.

So I know all this is anecdotal and just one person’s experience, but I must have had 8-10 good surf beaches bass sessions last summer/autumn, which is about normal numbers.
I think my biggest bass was about 2lb 8, plus a fair few schoolies.
Usually I’d get at least one 4lb plus bass every other trip and the previous year it was pretty much every trip.
Normally I’ll keep two or three a season and anything over about 4lb 8 goes back, unless it’s so badly hooked I have no choice but to keep it.

This is all bait fishing, btw. I realise there’s nothing scientific in that as it could simply be coincidence that last year was poor, just bad luck, not quite the right spot, missing bites that would have resulted in better fish etc etc, there’s so many variables.
I must admit I didn’t feel the tide times were the best when I went last year and bright moons were an issue a few times, so that could have compounded things.

Just wondered if anyone else who does similar fishing found last year was poor, or good?
Click to expand...
Yep.....
 
On the south coast all schoolies.

SW Scotland stamp went up in size this and every year, biggest 72 9lb. I put this down to lack of commercial pressure, my increased knowledge of the marks, recognising the habits of the fish in different weather conditions etc.
To me the South coast is doomed and hardly worth the efforts and if it wasn’t a short trip I wouldn’t bother.
 
Where’s Wally said:
On the south coast all schoolies.

SW Scotland stamp went up in size this and every year, biggest 72 9lb. I put this down to lack of commercial pressure, my increased knowledge of the marks, recognising the habits of the fish in different weather conditions etc.
To me the South coast is doomed and hardly worth the efforts and if it wasn’t a short trip I wouldn’t bother.
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I think its just me last year, I think Tatunka had a good year and I know of a couple of mega catches on lures.
For the first time in many years I just did not get on them at all.
 
chesilpete said:
I think its just me last year, I think Tatunka had a good year and I know of a couple of mega catches on lures.
For the first time in many years I just did not get on them at all.
Click to expand...
Yep Tat did well and much like you I usually catch a reasonable amount of sizeable fish.
It could simply be bad luck/coincidence that I wasn’t in the right place and right time when I did go.
Although there were a few sessions when I would have said conditions were perfect but I just wasn’t catching.

See what happens later this year I guess!
 
We have bass spawning grounds off Seaford area, the trawlers found them an annihilated the stocks. The area should be out of bounds permanently.
 
Mr Fish said:
Yep Tat did well and much like you I usually catch a reasonable amount of sizeable fish.
It could simply be bad luck/coincidence that I wasn’t in the right place and right time when I did go.
Although there were a few sessions when I would have said conditions were perfect but I just wasn’t catching.

See what happens later this year I guess!
Click to expand...
Usually you can just chuck a mackie head in the gutter on chesil and that will work so maybe we were a bit lazy....... other thing was amount of wind and that does mess me up on chesil I like to put a bait at 10 yards.
Will go back to my 2018 approach later this year then we will see!!!
 
chesilpete said:
Usually you can just chuck a mackie head in the gutter on chesil and that will work so maybe we were a bit lazy....... other thing was amount of wind and that does mess me up on chesil I like to put a bait at 10 yards.
Will go back to my 2018 approach later this year then we will see!!!
Click to expand...
Different sort of terrain for me, as you know, I don’t usually even try for bass at chesil as generally I can target them at home.
But surf beaches can be very hit and miss - even if you’re in about the right spot I think they move around a fair bit. Unless you can find an obvious feature but it’s always changing….
 
Mr Fish said:
Different sort of terrain for me, as you know, I don’t usually even try for bass at chesil as generally I can target them at home.
But surf beaches can be very hit and miss - even if you’re in about the right spot I think they move around a fair bit. Unless you can find an obvious feature but it’s always changing….
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Its odd on chesil they will turn up anywhere, back in the Solent area you had to use your loaf to find them but they were predictable down here on Chesil you dont know they are there until your rods bent in half.
 
chesilpete said:
Its odd on chesil they will turn up anywhere, back in the Solent area you had to use your loaf to find them but they were predictable down here on Chesil you dont know they are there until your rods bent in half.
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I’d guess they patrol the gutter because of stuff getting chucked back and when the mackie are in close?

Whereas at Saunton Sands I have three miles of pancake flat beach and usually just have to pick a spot lol.
Better up the end but I don’t have a 4x4 these days and I’m not walking that!
 
Mr Fish said:
I’d guess they patrol the gutter because of stuff getting chucked back and when the mackie are in close?

Whereas at Saunton Sands I have three miles of pancake flat beach and usually just have to pick a spot lol.
Better up the end but I don’t have a 4x4 these days and I’m not walking that!
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About 200m west of where i was fishing when we last met works really well after dark..... its one of my faves on a 1am tide.
 
chesilpete said:
About 200m west of where i was fishing when we last met works really well after dark..... its one of my faves on a 1am tide.
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Good to know, thanks Pete. I get confused by west and east down there as you’re facing the wrong way (😂😂)
So that would be towards the car park rather than away from it? Or am I getting confused again? 😂
 
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