AN OBSESSION WITH SILVER
Start of a 14-page bass fishing special.
Bass must surely rate as one of the most sporting, beautiful and revered fish in our seas. The sight of a bristling bass with its shimmering silver sides and trademark spikey dorsal fin standing erect in defiance is hard to beat.
It’s not just that they are simply stunning fish, but the amount of time and effort most dedicated bass anglers put in to catching them makes it a very rewarding pursuit when it all comes together.
To some, bass fishing is akin to a religion, and the places it can take you to are often some of the wildest, scenic and remote out there, which holds great appeal for many.
My first bass was caught as a little boy while casting a lugworm into the surf on a family holiday in West Sussex. I remember being very curious about the small, lively fish and a little surprised when it spiked my
hand as I tried to hold it. From that moment, the bass was treated with the respect it is owed by anglers.
It wasn’t until much later in my angling life that I made the decision to specifically target the species. This meant ‘actually’ fishing for them in the most selective way possible to cut down on bycatch and increase my chances of putting a bait, lure or fly in front of a specimen fish. It became an obsession.
I owe a lot to the writers John Darling and Mike Ladle for their influence on me as a bass angler. Most of their writing is still as valid today as it ever was, being a treasure trove of information and well worth seeking out if you have a thirst for knowledge. There’s also a lot to be said for surrounding yourself with successful anglers and immersing yourself in the world of the bass. I have picked up some good tips from other anglers who I have fished with over the years and vice versa. It’s good to share knowledge with others.
EFFORT AND REWARD
As a recreational bass angler, there is the very real possibility of coming into contact with some quality fish. You can find reports in the angling press and on the internet of large bass being caught with some degree of regularity around the UK. It can be done, but its’s not easy and it won’t happen overnight.
With bass fishing, it’s definitely a case of effort equals reward. You won’t catch many bass by sitting at home thinking about it. When we’re allowed, you need to be out there fishing and learning from each and every session – be they successful or not.
Regardless of how you choose to fish for them, there is always something to be learnt. Keeping a diary is a great way of getting an understanding of your quarry. I’ve found looking back over previous entries can be invaluable. Details such as weather, sea state, tides, water clarity, swell and the time of any bites you get relating to the state of the tide are all well worth noting. Eventually, patterns in your notes will start to emerge and this is the secret to cracking the bass fishing on any of your chosen marks.
These fish are creatures of habit and when you start to build a mental picture of what they are up to and when; you can ensure that you’re one step ahead of them. Success will follow.
I have fished the Sussex coast for bass since around 2007 when the bug bit hard, having success on bait, lures and the fly. There’s lots of variety in the methods and techniques that you can use to target these fish, which keeps it interesting.
Whether the conditions are flat calm and clear or we’re in the midst of an autumnal storm, you know the bass are going to be feeding somewhere and you can match your tactics accordingly. It’s never easy and will always test your skills, which makes it a challenge and is a great part of the appeal. You’ve got to work hard for your fish, and I like that.
NIGHT FISHING
Fishing at night has provided my best bass sport. It’s not to say that you can’t catch them from the shore during daylight, but experience has taught me that my chances of success are greatly increased by fishing after dark.
I feel much more confident fishing at night. The bass feel more confident under the cover of darkness too, and will come in amazingly close. At times they can be caught under your feet, so there’s no need for long casts when fishing after dark. A quiet, stealthy manner and keeping your lights to a minimum is the best way to approach fishing from the shore at night.
On those calm, sultry nights in summer when the sea is like glass, I find one of the most exciting ways of catching them is on a freelined livebait. It’s a wonderful experience, being perched like a heron atop a steep shingle bank on a beautiful still summer’s night. With a spinning rod in hand, bale-arm open and the line looped over your finger waiting for a run, the anticipation is electric.
Your senses are heightened in the dark, and when you feel the bait get nervous, followed by a thump as line starts racing through your fingers, it’s a magical moment. The ultimate light-tackle bass fishing thrill, in my opinion, it’s a great way to fish and seems to sort out some of the better ones too.
At the other end of the spectrum, fishing during the autumnal storms provides an entirely different experience altogether. This is my favourite way of fishing for bass and also how I have caught most of my biggest fish to date. There’s just something about being out there in the teeth of a gale, all wrapped up, spray lashing into you with thundering surf crashing down all around – these are classic bass-fishing conditions. All the wind and the wave action is like ringing the dinner bell and brings the bass on to the beaches looking for all the food scoured out by the roaring seas.
MAGICAL SURF
Fishing the surf is just magical and I adore being in my waders, out in the tables up to my knees with a rod in hand feeling for bites. Only the bigger fish can hold themselves in the wild surf; it brings them in and they love it. You’re unlikely to get bothered by small stuff or other species.
It’s very selective fishing – all or nothing. You have to expect some blanks, but if you keep putting in the hours at the right time, success will come. You have to believe. Soaking big baits in circumstances like this has produced some spectacular shorecaught fish for myself and companions over the years. This really works.
On the Sussex coast where I do my fishing, the prevailing weather means that when the storms come up from the Atlantic, we get some excellent onshore surf conditions. Over the years, I’ve experimented and fished many different places, but have nailed it down to a couple at which I now focus my attention. I have proven to myself that bass frequent these spots during a good blow, so why go elsewhere?
One mark in particular, I just knew was going to produce a big fish one day as it had all the right elements. There was a cracking surf at low water, some patches of rough ground, man-made structure and groynes to provide cover and a steep shingle bank that the water steadily climbed up as the tide rose. It had been kind to me over the years and there was always a little corner to tuck away in with fishable water, however bad the wind and weather got. It is one of those places that just felt right and I had got to know its moods.
I fished the mark religiously during the late summer and autumn of 2017, often alone or occasionally with friends and we had some good fishing. It was a particularly stormy autumn and it gave us good conditions for fishing the surf. There were blanks, but on the whole when it was really blowing, this spot consistently produced fish. Rarely were they smaller than 3lb 8oz to 4lb and they topped out at a best of around 9lb.
Interestingly, though, if I was too late to the show and the wind had dropped with easing seas, then the fish were not there. They just loved that full-power, in-yourface wind and surf action.
It got to November and the occasional fish was still coming but the water temperatures were dropping fast, and with it my chances. I cracked on regardless and fished when conditions felt right, hoping for that ‘special’ fish. It had really got under my skin. I gave up in early December after suffering nine blanks in a row.
LOW PRESSURE
The following year was a heatwave. The summer of 2018 broke many records and we had some of the longest uninterrupted periods of hot, still weather for years. With flat calm, warm seas I made good use of my kayak to escape the crowds to find some wonderful fishing along the Sussex coast.
Flicking lures in the clear waters over the inshore reefs provided some nice bass up to 9lb on soft plastics.
It was great sport, but eventually after several months of hot and sultry weather, everyone was ready for a change.
It wasn’t until early September that the weather forecast showed that change was on the way. There was a low-pressure system moving up the channel from the Atlantic and it was predicted to that wind nudging 40mph would hit the South East on the tenth of the month.
These first storms of the year at the end of the summer are a hot time to fish for bass, it drives them wild. I’d experienced this phenomenon before, and with this having been the longest period of settled weather for many years, I felt that this change could provide some great fishing on the beaches.
The evening of the September 10 fortunately coincided with a perfect spring tide. Low water was pretty much bang on dusk and it topped out a little before midnight. The wind was howling, the sea had coloured up and my buddy Mick Deacon and I were down at my spot, waders on and bass rods in hand.
It was a perfect surf. Everything had fallen into place with a combination of all the right factors. We were feeling optimistic and both ready for our first bait session of the year. The conditions couldn’t have been any better!
Once the tide had started to flood, we waded out into the surf and plopped our large mackerel baits in at short range. It was nice to feel the familiar nod of the rod in the waves and the spray in my face again after many months.
About an hour in, I got my first bite, which came out of nowhere. Setting the hook prompted a lively bass to make a few spirited runs before I could slide it on to the sand for unhooking and release. At around 4lb it was never going to break any records, but it was nice to get my first shore-caught fish of the year. Mick was next in, his fish slightly larger and putting a big grin on his face. Things were looking good.
It was then quiet for a while as the water steadily crept across the sand. Our confidence was still high though because the mark had produced fish previously just after the water hit the stones. This has the illusion of slowing down the tide, but it actually just gets deeper at the bottom of the bank. As soon as there’s enough water in there to the cover their backs, the fish move in and work the gutter area.
NERVOUS MOMENTS
On cue, I rebaited with a whole side of mackerel and flicked it into the steadily deepening water at the bottom of the shingle, tucking the line over my index finger to feel for a bite. Within minutes, the rod was almost ripped from my hand and I struck hard, driving the hooks home. Then I was almost pulled into the water as the fish took off against my tight drag, the power was incredible.
This was like no bass I had ever hooked before, it was ripping line from the reel and thumping away. My heart was pounding and I eased the drag a little, hanging on as the fish kited to my left. This was a big one.
I ran down the beach following the swimming fish, taking up slack line as I went until I was in front of it again, putting the pressure on once more. It was close in and getting sucked back by the swell and waves as they retreated down the shingle. If the waves pulled the fish then I went with it, keeping tight to it at all times. The last you need at this stage is a dreaded hook-pull.
There were several nervous moments in the breakers, but my steady, smooth pressure soon started to win the battle. Then, as if by magic, one big wave deposited the biggest bar of silver I have ever seen at my feet. I was gobsmacked!
The fish was huge, I could barely take in what I was looking at and slid it up the shingle while calling Mick at the same time. He ran over and immediately proclaimed “that’s got to be a 15-pounder right there! Congratulations!”
I was shaking with the adrenaline and excitement. We grabbed the weighing gear, slipped her into the sling and hoisted it up to take a look.
The needle of my trusty Avon scales settled
“This was like no bass I had ever hooked before, it was ripping line from the reel and thumping away”
at 14lb 4oz, a new personal best by a country mile and a fish of a lifetime. I was blown away! After a few quick photographs, I waded out and held the fish in the water until it kicked away strongly into the gloom. What a special fish that was, I never thought I’d get my hands on a bass like that. It’s hard to describe the feelings and emotions after so many years passionately targeting these creatures. It was the ultimate natural high. We fished on until high water and managed another couple of fish, and even lost a couple more. The best of those nudged 6lb, which would normally be considered a cracker, but it looked tiny compared to the giant we had just witnessed. What a night’s fishing and all on home turf too. I’ll never forget it!