EARLY-SEASON BASS VENUES
1. ESTUARY MOUTHS
Due to the intense cold during the winter of 2017/18, and the below-average sea temperatures, the start of the regular bass season was delayed by between four and six weeks in most locations. The first type of location where I found them in numbers (during the final third of April) was at various large sandy-bottomed estuary mouths at dusk and into darkness. These were sub-2lb bass, and it took until the first week of May for me to land a proper one.
The lure that appealed above all others was the Savage Gear Line Thru Sandeel. Interestingly, as far as I knew there weren’t any sandeels in residence at the time. Could this have been a classic case of immature bass instinctively chasing a sandeel when it appears in front of them, even though they weren’t actively searching for them?
2. CREEKS, MUDFLATS AND LAGOONS
From mid-March onwards, sheltered tidal creeks, mudflats and lagoons, whether they are a stone’s-throw from the open shore or upstream, are where the first signs of spring life will blossom.
Worms, crustaceans and fry will all thrive alongside the tiny creatures they eat, which in turn means that bass will be in hot pursuit. All those nutrients hidden in the mud, within a safe and calm environment where the bass can cruise in among the mullet, mean it will be worth a fishing session.
Although it may seem like an odd choice of lure, I believe the Whiplash Spittin Wire, and its ability to be worked slowly and cast into the channels (splitting the mudflats) is a tactic worth exploring. Following the capture of a 7lb bass in December by employing such a method, I’ll be trying it again. Providing the lure is turning, popping and splashing on the surface, very delicately so and with the flow of the current, then even if the water is only centimetres deep you could end up being pleasantly surprised.
Another lure worth considering is the underrated Savage Gear Pop Walker, again due to its ease of use and subtle movements.
3. HEADLANDS
Very early in the season, fast-flowing bodies of deep water shifting around headlands really aren’t the places to seek out a lure-caught bass, although you may get lucky. Not only is it potentially dangerous (from a rogue wave perspective), but it will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
However, fast forward to when sandeels are present and this is where large shoals of this staple bass food, and the bass, will most certainly shoal up.
This is when the superb Daiwa Shoreline Shiner Z97 or Z120F series come to the fore, primarily due its stability in the water and its casting potential. If I could only take one hard diving minnow-type lure with me it would be one of these.
4. SMALL SANDY BAYS
I’m not thinking huge surf beaches, but along the lines of a cove that may only be 50-150 metres wide with rocky extremities and with shingle on the high tide line, leading on to sand on a very low spring tide.
Early in the season it is all about finding a zone where the bass will either congregate or become concentrated. A small to moderate surf breaking on to a flat sandy seabed is where various molluscs and worms are at risk of being scoured out of their homes, and represents a possible location to lure an early-season bass.
Lure selection would be dictated by the distance the bass are away from you. A spinner/small jig, a line-thru lure of some description or a needlefish could all work.
Last season, my clients regularly caught bass in the surf at night on ‘needles’ and sometimes only a few metres out and where the water was between 12in and 24in deep. ■