Mr Fish
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2020
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- Location
- North Devon
- Favourite Fishing
- Shore
My autumn bass efforts are well underway now and I’m aiming to hit the surf beaches as much as I can when time and tide and health allows.
Last night was a neap tide and high at half hour after midnight so ideal for Saunton beach.
This beach is as flat as feck and very very long. Neaps are really the only option as the tide comes in - and goes out - so fast.
I had been meeting someone there at 7ish but he couldn’t make it so I held off a bit later.
Timed it about right as the last of the surfers were walking off the beach as I headed down.
Not that it matters, the beach is huge and plenty of room, but at least you know you’re not gonna put a weight into someone in the dark.
Those with 4x4s drive to the opposite end and I used to, but I can’t do that with a Peugeot estate!
I walked up for a few minutes just to get away from any after dark dog walkers or late night revellers but it was windy with a fair bit of rain and I didn’t expect to see many. I saw one dog walker! Two anglers had driven down the end but I could still see their lighthouses
Anyway, tacked up well back from the water but once I was ready, saw I didn’t need to move as the surf was now close - it comes in quick!
Out went a largish squid on one rod and a whole small bluey on the other.
I just about had time to get my weighing sling/mat ready, have a coffee and dig out and bait up spare traces when the squid rod pulled over slowly and took a bit a bit of line.
Weed maybe? But no it pulled tight a few more times, looked like the classic ray bite.
Oh btw in that 40 minutes or so I’d already moved back twice, so quite a lot of line out!
Lifted into it and there was a fair bit of weight. I wasn’t sure at first but felt the odd kick, definitely a fish.
It had ray written all over it but pulled harder in the shallows and I was beginning to wonder if it was a knackered bass that had been on there a while.
I slid it up the sand to see. Eugh. A big fat slimy muscular toothy fatty slimy thing
As many of you know, eels aren’t my favourite fish, at any size. It’s not that I’m worried about getting bitten, but they’re a pain to deal with, you don’t want to eat them and everything gets slimy and tangled.
I’d rather we just left each other in peace but clearly this one had other ideas!
It was obviously a double so I decided to weigh it, but what a faff trying to get it in the sling, getting covered with sand and slime - eventually I got an approx weight of just under 14lb. If anything it felt heavier, but approx was enough!
Eugh…
The hooks had gone (cheap large Aberdeens I was using up that rust if you look at them sideways so hopefully the fish will shed them fairly quickly) and the trace was shredded and so by the time I’d moved the gear again and got the spare on and out again, the other rod with bluey was well due to be brought in.
This also had a little weight on. Weed? Dogfish?
Turned out to be a small ray under 2lb.
That previously clean rag had been fecked by the eel
Still, two casts, two fish! You don’t actually get that many casts on this beach because you’re moving back so fast and unusually for bassing, the better fish tend to come when you’ve got 150 yards or more of line out.
The next hour or so was quiet except for moving everything back every 10-15 minutes or so - even on a neap you need to move a lot!
Then without warning the squid rod dipped once or twice then deliberately pulled over.
I struck that hard because I’ve seen bass do this on occasion, though usually they give a faster bite, but it’s not unknown.
But no kicking and again this felt like a ray (or an eel)
As I drew it close I could see it was indeed a ray and actually gave a good account of itself in the shallows.
At first I thought about 5lb but it had a fair bit of weight to it when I lifted it up.
I got a quick pic and carried it back out to deeper water, a fair walk. By the time I got out there my arm was really aching and I’d guess it was somewhere towards 7lb. It clearly wasn’t a specimen so I didn’t worry about getting an accurate weight for the club (it wasn’t a comp either).
Returning to the other rod, which by now had a whole joey on, that was pulling and twitching slightly way down to the right.
This DID look like weed and so I thought until I pulled in yet another ray. That one was a little smaller than the one I’d just put back so I didn’t bother with a photo.
It was now within the last hour to high and clearly showed that the ray do push up the beach, whereas traditionally we’d target them for the two hours either side of low.
In fact I’d messaged someone earlier saying I doubt I’d see any ray as I was there too late in the tide.
It just shows that what you think you know isn’t always the case!
High tide came and went with no more bites and I packed up. I’d had enough anyway but there’s just no point chasing the tide down there, it’s just too fast and you can’t really fish it properly unless you want to reel in every 10 minutes.
The bass campaign continues. I can’t fish next weekend as there’s family stuff but might try for a cheeky midweek session if the tides are right…
Last night was a neap tide and high at half hour after midnight so ideal for Saunton beach.
This beach is as flat as feck and very very long. Neaps are really the only option as the tide comes in - and goes out - so fast.
I had been meeting someone there at 7ish but he couldn’t make it so I held off a bit later.
Timed it about right as the last of the surfers were walking off the beach as I headed down.
Not that it matters, the beach is huge and plenty of room, but at least you know you’re not gonna put a weight into someone in the dark.
Those with 4x4s drive to the opposite end and I used to, but I can’t do that with a Peugeot estate!
I walked up for a few minutes just to get away from any after dark dog walkers or late night revellers but it was windy with a fair bit of rain and I didn’t expect to see many. I saw one dog walker! Two anglers had driven down the end but I could still see their lighthouses
Anyway, tacked up well back from the water but once I was ready, saw I didn’t need to move as the surf was now close - it comes in quick!
Out went a largish squid on one rod and a whole small bluey on the other.
I just about had time to get my weighing sling/mat ready, have a coffee and dig out and bait up spare traces when the squid rod pulled over slowly and took a bit a bit of line.
Weed maybe? But no it pulled tight a few more times, looked like the classic ray bite.
Oh btw in that 40 minutes or so I’d already moved back twice, so quite a lot of line out!
Lifted into it and there was a fair bit of weight. I wasn’t sure at first but felt the odd kick, definitely a fish.
It had ray written all over it but pulled harder in the shallows and I was beginning to wonder if it was a knackered bass that had been on there a while.
I slid it up the sand to see. Eugh. A big fat slimy muscular toothy fatty slimy thing
As many of you know, eels aren’t my favourite fish, at any size. It’s not that I’m worried about getting bitten, but they’re a pain to deal with, you don’t want to eat them and everything gets slimy and tangled.
I’d rather we just left each other in peace but clearly this one had other ideas!
It was obviously a double so I decided to weigh it, but what a faff trying to get it in the sling, getting covered with sand and slime - eventually I got an approx weight of just under 14lb. If anything it felt heavier, but approx was enough!
Eugh…
The hooks had gone (cheap large Aberdeens I was using up that rust if you look at them sideways so hopefully the fish will shed them fairly quickly) and the trace was shredded and so by the time I’d moved the gear again and got the spare on and out again, the other rod with bluey was well due to be brought in.
This also had a little weight on. Weed? Dogfish?
Turned out to be a small ray under 2lb.
That previously clean rag had been fecked by the eel
Still, two casts, two fish! You don’t actually get that many casts on this beach because you’re moving back so fast and unusually for bassing, the better fish tend to come when you’ve got 150 yards or more of line out.
The next hour or so was quiet except for moving everything back every 10-15 minutes or so - even on a neap you need to move a lot!
Then without warning the squid rod dipped once or twice then deliberately pulled over.
I struck that hard because I’ve seen bass do this on occasion, though usually they give a faster bite, but it’s not unknown.
But no kicking and again this felt like a ray (or an eel
) As I drew it close I could see it was indeed a ray and actually gave a good account of itself in the shallows.
At first I thought about 5lb but it had a fair bit of weight to it when I lifted it up.
I got a quick pic and carried it back out to deeper water, a fair walk. By the time I got out there my arm was really aching and I’d guess it was somewhere towards 7lb. It clearly wasn’t a specimen so I didn’t worry about getting an accurate weight for the club (it wasn’t a comp either).
Returning to the other rod, which by now had a whole joey on, that was pulling and twitching slightly way down to the right.
This DID look like weed and so I thought until I pulled in yet another ray. That one was a little smaller than the one I’d just put back so I didn’t bother with a photo.
It was now within the last hour to high and clearly showed that the ray do push up the beach, whereas traditionally we’d target them for the two hours either side of low.
In fact I’d messaged someone earlier saying I doubt I’d see any ray as I was there too late in the tide.
It just shows that what you think you know isn’t always the case!
High tide came and went with no more bites and I packed up. I’d had enough anyway but there’s just no point chasing the tide down there, it’s just too fast and you can’t really fish it properly unless you want to reel in every 10 minutes.
The bass campaign continues. I can’t fish next weekend as there’s family stuff but might try for a cheeky midweek session if the tides are right…
But they do prevent a blank i suppose. Back to your session, nice mixed bag and lovely pics too, nice one mate...
