‘RECORD’ BASS

Charter skipper returns monster Isle of Wight fish

The story of a boat-caught monster.

Charter skipper Lee Hall has caught and released what would have been a British record for a boat-caught bass. The owner and skipper of Black Rock Charters, which has two boats out of Yarmouth Harbour, Isle of Wight, had taken a customer on a last-minute cod session when he boated the 20lb bass.

The fish, which was weighed, witnessed and then released, would have beaten the record of 19lb 9oz 2dr, caught on August 29 1987 by Paul McEwan, off Reculver, Kent.

“I had a call from a regular customer, Peter Hall, who asked if there was a trip out the following day. Peter, who is retired, and has fished all his life, had never caught a cod, so I thought this could be the last chance this year to find the elusive fish. It was too late to get any other customers, so I decided to go out just with him,” said Lee.

It was a very slow day, with only dogfish and congers to show for their efforts, but, on the ebb tide, they moved to a mark only a mile off the Needles.

Fishing with two rods each, Lee used a pair of Penn Rampage 30/50lb-class boat rods with Penn Squall LW reels. His big catch came to the rod with a reel loaded with 60lb braid and carrying an 80lb trace with a Pennell rig made with Fladen size 5/0 and 8/0 circle hooks baited with Andy’s Baits frozen medium-size cuttlefish.

“Fishing in 25 metres of water, the bait wasn’t down long and I saw a few strong tugs,” said Lee. “I picked up my rod and again felt another couple of strong bites. I thought we had cracked it – finally a cod.”

He let out some line and felt another heavy bang on the rod and a few nods that made him think it was a big cod.

“Then this massive strip of silver appeared – I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “Peter struggled to get the big fish in the net, but eventually we landed it and couldn’t believe our eyes. It was hooked perfectly and I got the hooks out with ease.

“When I put it on the scales, we knew I must be close to the record. It weighed in at 20lb exactly.”

The sea was flat, so it was easy to weigh. Due to the bass regulations, it was then released. Lee’s previous best bass was 12lb, caught from the eastern end of the Island.

Reflecting on the fact he can’t claim the record, Lee said: “It’s a shame, but I know that I have caught the biggest bass. That’s good enough for me.”