Andy 1965
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2020
- Messages
- 367
- Reaction score
- 3,374
- Points
- 93
- Location
- North Wales
- Favourite Fishing
- Lure
After failing to find any bass on 3 out of my last 4 sessions, including the last 2 outings in a row, I was beginning to wonder if my season was over, but with decent enough conditions this week, it seemed a shame not to give it another go 
. The tides weren’t ideal, either in size or time, but there was only 1 way to find out if the bass were still around .
First off was Tuesday evening, and after an early dart I arrived at my chosen mark just after high water. As I hoped, conditions were pretty decent, with a light breeze blowing over my right shoulder and a relatively calm sea with just a small swell, and a slight chop. The water clarity was excellent too and I was hopeful of a successful evening. Being so late in the season, it was difficult to tell with any certainty how the evening might turn out, but I was very pleasantly surprised when my lure was hit on only the 4th cast of the evening
. After a short but spirited scrap, I beached my prize on the wet shingle, bass number 160 of the year at 48cm 
.
I was absolutely buzzing to catch so quickly, but this early bass seemed to be a loner and no more hits were forthcoming. I carried on fishing though, and an hour later came a sign that the bass wasn’t as solitary as I had feared. Though I missed them both, my confidence was boosted by 2 hits in 5 minutes
.
90 minutes later and I had some more action, with another 2 hits in quick succession, and this time there were no dramas as I successfully landed 2 more bass, almost carbon copies of the first, at 47 & 49cm
.
10 minutes after this and things got very interesting when my lure was hit again, and this time the attacker felt like something half decent. It didn’t exactly make any screaming runs, but it did take a couple of meters of line off against the drag, and unlike the earlier fish, which soon came up to the surface, this one stayed deep. I kept the pressure on though and eventually, after the fish swam up-tide and back down-tide again, I was able to draw it towards the shore. I was just starting to edge my way backwards towards a safe landing place, when without warning the fish somehow threw the hook and the lure pinged back over my shoulder, just missing me in the process!
I was of course gutted to lose what felt like the best fish of the night 
, but there was nothing I could have done about it 
.
Encouraged by the knowledge that there were some better fish out there I carried on trying, but things were now quiet again.
I wasn’t ready to give up yet though, and 45 minutes later my lure was hit yet again. Once again, the fish felt quite decent, though not as good as the one I lost earlier, but this time there was to be no drama and when I finally landed my prize, I was more than happy with my best fish of the night, at 57cm
.
I fished for another hour but the bass had moved on, so eventually I called it a night just before midnight, more than happy with a 4 fish haul so late in the year.
The following night I returned to the same mark, well I would have been silly not to
, and with the tide a little bigger, and later than the previous evening, I had high hopes for a repeat performance.
The only real difference from Tuesday evening was the weather, which was a bit more unsettled. The breeze was fresher and blowing more along the shore than the previous evening, but despite the choppier conditions, the water clarity was still excellent. As well as the breeze, I also had to fish through a series of heavy, blustery downpours, but these were forecast to ease later in the evening, so I simply zipped up my jacket and turned my back to the worst of the conditions.
This time the fishing started off quietly and it was to be 3 hours before the first bit of action. When it did come it resulted in a decent enough fish of 52cm, and I was chuffed to bits to avoid the blank again
.
Hoping for a similar result to Tuesday, I fished on excitedly but again I had to be patient. It was to be almost an hour before my next hit, and this fish put up quite a scrap before I was able to subdue it. At 55cm it wasn’t particularly big, but these November bass seem to be fighting really well for their size.
Over the next 20 minutes I missed 2 more hits, but after that it went all quiet again and despite me fishing on for another hour, I couldn’t add to my total.
So my recent struggles are behind me, for now at least, and my total is up to 165, but though the numbers are very pleasing, I’m still whiting for that illusive 60cm fish. Hopefully I’ll have a couple of weeks yet to achieve that target, but even if I don’t see another bass this year, I’ll still be very pleased with how well 2023 has treated me.
. The tides weren’t ideal, either in size or time, but there was only 1 way to find out if the bass were still around .First off was Tuesday evening, and after an early dart I arrived at my chosen mark just after high water. As I hoped, conditions were pretty decent, with a light breeze blowing over my right shoulder and a relatively calm sea with just a small swell, and a slight chop. The water clarity was excellent too and I was hopeful of a successful evening. Being so late in the season, it was difficult to tell with any certainty how the evening might turn out, but I was very pleasantly surprised when my lure was hit on only the 4th cast of the evening
. After a short but spirited scrap, I beached my prize on the wet shingle, bass number 160 of the year at 48cm .I was absolutely buzzing to catch so quickly, but this early bass seemed to be a loner and no more hits were forthcoming. I carried on fishing though, and an hour later came a sign that the bass wasn’t as solitary as I had feared. Though I missed them both, my confidence was boosted by 2 hits in 5 minutes
.90 minutes later and I had some more action, with another 2 hits in quick succession, and this time there were no dramas as I successfully landed 2 more bass, almost carbon copies of the first, at 47 & 49cm
.10 minutes after this and things got very interesting when my lure was hit again, and this time the attacker felt like something half decent. It didn’t exactly make any screaming runs, but it did take a couple of meters of line off against the drag, and unlike the earlier fish, which soon came up to the surface, this one stayed deep. I kept the pressure on though and eventually, after the fish swam up-tide and back down-tide again, I was able to draw it towards the shore. I was just starting to edge my way backwards towards a safe landing place, when without warning the fish somehow threw the hook and the lure pinged back over my shoulder, just missing me in the process!
I was of course gutted to lose what felt like the best fish of the night , but there was nothing I could have done about it .Encouraged by the knowledge that there were some better fish out there I carried on trying, but things were now quiet again.
I wasn’t ready to give up yet though, and 45 minutes later my lure was hit yet again. Once again, the fish felt quite decent, though not as good as the one I lost earlier, but this time there was to be no drama and when I finally landed my prize, I was more than happy with my best fish of the night, at 57cm
.I fished for another hour but the bass had moved on, so eventually I called it a night just before midnight, more than happy with a 4 fish haul so late in the year
.The following night I returned to the same mark, well I would have been silly not to
, and with the tide a little bigger, and later than the previous evening, I had high hopes for a repeat performance.The only real difference from Tuesday evening was the weather, which was a bit more unsettled. The breeze was fresher and blowing more along the shore than the previous evening, but despite the choppier conditions, the water clarity was still excellent. As well as the breeze, I also had to fish through a series of heavy, blustery downpours, but these were forecast to ease later in the evening, so I simply zipped up my jacket and turned my back to the worst of the conditions.
This time the fishing started off quietly and it was to be 3 hours before the first bit of action. When it did come it resulted in a decent enough fish of 52cm, and I was chuffed to bits to avoid the blank again
.Hoping for a similar result to Tuesday, I fished on excitedly but again I had to be patient. It was to be almost an hour before my next hit, and this fish put up quite a scrap before I was able to subdue it. At 55cm it wasn’t particularly big, but these November bass seem to be fighting really well for their size
.Over the next 20 minutes I missed 2 more hits, but after that it went all quiet again and despite me fishing on for another hour, I couldn’t add to my total.
So my recent struggles are behind me, for now at least, and my total is up to 165, but though the numbers are very pleasing, I’m still whiting for that illusive 60cm fish. Hopefully I’ll have a couple of weeks yet to achieve that target, but even if I don’t see another bass this year, I’ll still be very pleased with how well 2023 has treated me
.
.
.