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Sea Bass

Well i will be targeting them for a week whilst at weymouth for the week so i might get a few pictures to put on

should get a day or two in the portland race :D


Sean
 
The schoolies are a bit easy though aren't they, I had a bash off a beach near East Wittering last year while I was camping down there with my family. It was a fish a chuck while the tide was coming in on simple legered frozen sandeel.
 
yeah, if you are where they are they can be a bit of a nightmare, but there are often better fish amoungst them you just have to play the numbers game to get at the 2lb plus fish, and who knows...the next one may be a 5lber. Although the better fish don't start showing untill late august.

right place and the right time though...if you went down to that bay again...there is a very good chance you wouldn't get a touch...thats the nature of bassing, they are very mobile, its all about predicting where they're going.

you never have to go any more complicated than simple ledgered frozen sand eel...indeed my second biggest bass was taken that way...live sandeel is the dogs as far as i am concerned though.
 
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I must be honest I was chuffed to mintballs, living in Shropshire I don't get allot of chances to fish the beaches and when I do it's normally just a snatched few hours on weekend breaks so when I found I was in the right place at the right time I took advantage and carried on until I ran out of bait.
I took one of the larger ones, (around 3lb) for the pot and we had it for lunch the next day. It was delicious filleted and pan fried with some new spuds and a bit of salad.
 
I was fishing a spot in Sussex last week that has a reputation for big bass but is very shallow throughout. At one point I thought a shoal of mackerel had come in so cast a flight of mackerel feathers at them in the hope of catching my dinner, only it turned out that they were a shoal of small bass. My Brother and I both took them on the mackerel flies and this got me thinking that by rigging up a soft plastic bait or a redgill on a paternoster with a 4oz lead, I could cover a lot of water with a chance of catching some of the bigger bass that were obviously there? Anyone with any experience of using this method I'm all ears?
 
George Maltby said:
yeah, if you are where they are they can be a bit of a nightmare, but there are often better fish amoungst them you just have to play the numbers game to get at the 2lb plus fish, and who knows...the next one may be a 5lber. Although the better fish don't start showing untill late august.

right place and the right time though...if you went down to that bay again...there is a very good chance you wouldn't get a touch...thats the nature of bassing, they are very mobile, its all about predicting where they're going.

you never have to go any more complicated than simple ledgered frozen sand eel...indeed my second biggest bass was taken that way...live sandeel is the dogs as far as i am concerned though.
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George, I've located a supplier of live sandeels and I'm keen to get them a go. I was wondering how hardy they are for casting?... and what are the best rigs for presenting them in very shallow water? Any info you might like to share on this?
 
I had a go on one of our local Wirral beaches Saturday after reports of lots of schoolies around. Not a sniff to around a dozen anglers. Guess they're either there in numbers or not at all. Think I'll stick to barbel fishing!
 
Chris Turnbull said:
George, I've located a supplier of live sandeels and I'm keen to get them a go. I was wondering how hardy they are for casting?... and what are the best rigs for presenting them in very shallow water? Any info you might like to share on this?
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They will take a good strength overhead thump...if hooked correctly, but will not stand any high inertia casts lika a pendulum or OTG style...they may also not stand a very heavy overhead thump...especially if it is not smooth.

The way to hook them on is to pass the hook point (2/0 widegape such as a sakuma manta or mustad viking), without actually piercing the eel, into the mouth and out one of the gill openings, pull the hook all the way through so that the hook trace is going in the eels mouth and out the gills. Then measure the length of the hook shank on the flank of the eel and pass the hookpoint through the white underbelly on one lower flank, bringing it out in the same place on the other flank. This should be done far enough down the flank so that the eye of the hook rests just behind the gill openings. Don't knick the eel on too lightly or it will fly off, but too heavily and it won't stay alive for half as long.

The rig i EXCLUSIVELY use for live eel is the running patternoster. (like a normal patternoster but with the lead link running on the line (almost like a running ledger but with a very long lead link (1/3 to twice as long as your hook trace).
If there is very little movement in the water I will use a running pat again but with a short lead link (10'') and a much longer hookling (3ft-5ft) but only if i am sure the water is still enough to not tangle it up (like a sea version of a link ledger).

or you could always float fish them chris, you can also get giant sea controller floats these days for fishing live baits right under the surface (or use a bubble float)
 
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Chris Turnbull said:
I was fishing a spot in Sussex last week that has a reputation for big bass but is very shallow throughout. At one point I thought a shoal of mackerel had come in so cast a flight of mackerel feathers at them in the hope of catching my dinner, only it turned out that they were a shoal of small bass. My Brother and I both took them on the mackerel flies and this got me thinking that by rigging up a soft plastic bait or a redgill on a paternoster with a 4oz lead, I could cover a lot of water with a chance of catching some of the bigger bass that were obviously there? Anyone with any experience of using this method I'm all ears?
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It can be done chris, running lead on the leader, then a swivel, 3ft of mono/fluoro, then a lure like a shad, sidewinder, or redgill/eddystone eel.
never used it myself but the puffs of sand aledgedly attract the fish...like plaice fishing.
If you think the fish are up in the water the lead can be replaced with a 3/4 full bubble float.
 
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Thanks for getting back at me on both points, George. Re. the redgills, when I say shallow water, I mean very shallow.... perhaps 6 feet deep at 70 yards out and shallower still closer in.... hence the long casting. The bottom here is mostly large pebbles and stones and my main concern is not so much that the rig wouldn't work but more that the cluncking of the 4oz lead against the pebbles could spook the fish as I reel it in?
 
I'm off to the Isle of Wight for a few days next week and gonna try my hardest to sneak some lure fishing time. Bass would be great, but anything on the lures would be welcome.
Can any locals give advice on rock marks or good lures etc?

Steve
 
Chris Turnbull said:
Thanks for getting back at me on both points, George. Re. the redgills, when I say shallow water, I mean very shallow.... perhaps 6 feet deep at 70 yards out and shallower still closer in.... hence the long casting. The bottom here is mostly large pebbles and stones and my main concern is not so much that the rig wouldn't work but more that the cluncking of the 4oz lead against the pebbles could spook the fish as I reel it in?
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an interesting point chris, you may just have to try it and see, bass are often attracted to noise, hence why many favour lures with rattles...although this noise would be louder...the vibrations may act as an attractant, if you find that you are not catching, then try the bubble float trailing a redgill.

to be honest though, as it is very shallow, I would go down just before the witching hour and fish at night, with two rods and the live eel, fish one rod close in and one further out, start the short rod at 30-40yrds, and if you do not find the fish keep coming in closer and closer. Do not be afraid to go VERY close, my friends PB came at less than 10yrds out! in water around 2ft deep. After dark they only need enough water to cover their backs...less than that sometimes.
The darker the night the better. Go down at low tide during the day...and scout out any features that may attract the fish, then fish in these areas (gullies, rocky patches, deeper pools etc, anything that may collect food rolling with the tide.)
 
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George Maltby said:
an interesting point chris, you may just have to try it and see, bass are often attracted to noise, hence why many favour lures with rattles...although this noise would be louder...the vibrations may act as an attractant, if you find that you are not catching, then try the bubble float trailing a redgill.

to be honest though, as it is very shallow, I would go down just before the witching hour and fish at night, with two rods and the live eel, fish one rod close in and one further out, start the short rod at 30-40yrds, and if you do not find the fish keep coming in closer and closer. Do not be afraid to go VERY close, my friends PB came at less than 10yrds out! in water around 2ft deep. After dark they only need enough water to cover their backs...less than that sometimes.
The darker the night the better. Go down at low tide during the day...and scout out any features that may attract the fish, then fish in these areas (gullies, rocky patches, deeper pools etc, anything that may collect food rolling with the tide.)
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Very useful stuff this, George. I am determined to catch a big bass from the beach... but the mindset involved is a huge leap for a freshwater specialist. If only it were as simple as taking a bag of pellets, eh!
 
After catching an 8 pounder from his boat while tope fishing my brother in law swears by free lined joey mackerel livebaits for the bigger bass.
But to paraphrase Mrs Beaton's recipe for rabbit pie, you must 'first catch your Mackerel'.
 
Adrian Williams said:
After catching an 8 pounder from his boat while tope fishing my brother in law swears by free lined joey mackerel livebaits for the bigger bass.
But to paraphrase Mrs Beaton's recipe for rabbit pie, you must 'first catch your Mackerel'.
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Yes and the same applies to live sandeels, live pout, live prawns and fresh crab.... and that is one of the main problems with being a part-time bass angler, unless you have the means of keeping your bait in tanks? Plus when fishing from the beach the mackerel often only come within casting range at high tide and it is impossible to hold on to a supply of live mackerel in a bucket before they all die. Luckily the same is not the case with prawns, pout or sandeels!
 
I bought a selection of rubber based lures for the Bass including Red-gills, Sidewinders and the Slug-go's. However I really can't get on with them to be honest as I find I need so much weight to get them any decent distance from the shore but then the weight takes them down too quickly for shallow water unless the bottom is clear. You can get some great plugs like the Tackle House Shallow Feed, Chase BW or Megabass Minnow etc all with suttley different profiles and swimming actions that cast like a dream and I think would cover water around 6ft more effectively.
 
David Oates said:
Chris, this link should be useful. The forum is very helpful too.
http://www.worldseafishing.com/lures/
for soft bait i can recomend slug-go lures. when rigged properly they are weed free and bass love em. best way for large bass is live bait though.
dave
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Yeah, its a good forum (if you don't mind bickering!), lots of usefull tips on there.
I bought loads of slug-gos and had tons of follows, but no takes (apart from a solitary sea trout), Took them on the boat the other day for jigging for cod over rough ground, 7.5'' sandeel colour...they absolutely nailed the cod, outfished hokkis, perks, and shads 6 to 1! they absolutely nailed the sluggo, wish bass did the same.
The maria chase BW is a great plug.
Just think of the sea as an enormous river chris...when you get used to the size it can be read in a similar manner, feature, currents, eddies etc.
 
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Hi Matthew
Sidewinder Sand eels are very good, apart from the red tails getting bitten off(better than being ignored), and chuckbugs are also good, and very exiting to fish. You can get them a way way out with the right gear, braid and 20-45 gram casting weight rod. However there is a magic word you can use to cast for miles and catch Bass, 'Patchinko'. £18 if you lose one. ''The Horror''
 
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