WHAT IT ALL MEANS

A number of things are apparent from the five examples. Firstly, it is clear that bass are versatile and feed over a wide variety of shores from shallow, muddy estuaries to pounding surf beaches and rocky, weedy tide races.

In each of these situations, the state of the tide, time of day and the weather (both when you are fishing and for a day or two before-hand) make a big difference to your chance of a catch. The only effective way to find out the best combination of conditions for catching bass at a given place is lots of time spent fishing.

Secondly, anyone who has looked at the stomach contents of bass must have noticed that crabs and fish predominate. Crabs usually seem to be swallowed whole, despite being hard and shelly, and by far the most frequent mouthfuls are shore crabs, swimming crabs and even edibles.

When it comes to using crabs as baits, soft or peeling versions are the most effective. The species of fish eaten vary, usually depending on venue, with sandeels, rockling, blennies, wrasse, sea scorpions and flatfish all popular. Whether crabs or fish are top of the menu, there is little doubt that a big mouthful is most likely to tempt that double-figure fish. Interestingly, items such as prawns, shrimps, squid and cuttlefish, although they may at times be excellent baits, rarely figure as a major part in the diet of the fish.