COLD-WEATHER BASS
Even during March you can transform yourself into hunter mode and search for small pockets of fish in shallow water
It is now understood that bass will migrate in a search of consistent water temperatures in order to spawn – but what if the water temperatures in the English Channel remained consistent, would the bass remain closer to our shores throughout colder months? If so, could they be caught on lures?
When I was a young, inexperienced angler, I read everything I could get my hands on about the how, where and when of catching bass from the shore, particularly if it involved catching them on lures.
One of the many things that struck me was the consistent message that the bass was a summer species that could only be targeted successfully between April and October.
Granted, small, undersize bass have remained present, and always will, in and around many estuaries throughout the entire year, but these aren’t the spawning stock. I’m talking about the 3lb-plus fish that many anglers will target from the open coast marks (weather and sea conditions permitting, of course), or even the ‘lunkers’ that many believe remain inshore all year round.
MARKS TO TARGET
Bass will not be anywhere near as mobile in cold weather as they are in, say, August. Therefore, you have to transform yourself into hunter mode. By this I mean the bass will generally be holding up or positioning themselves at the base of rocks, close to the seabed, rather than chasing small fish around at mid-water level.
You’re searching for small pockets of fish, so I would advise casting into different locations, maybe only a few yards between each other; at least you’ll keep warm through the constant moving around. Rock marks over low tide, close to the extremities of beaches, where you’re casting on to sandy patches stand out in my diary entries as consistent areas, and if the bass are there, you’ll get hits almost immediately.
Look for shallow water of less than 6ft. Indeed, I’ve also hooked bass over very, very shallow reefs (in 1ft of water) on the ebbing or flooding tide in March and December.
One other type of mark to contemplate is the tidal creeks often found well up into large estuaries. Lots of immature fish inhabit these areas, so it makes perfect sense that bass will remain here too.
LURE TYPES
For the very shallow reef marks, consider lures such as the Tacklehouse Feed Shallow or weightless, weedless shad-style soft plastic lures retrieved very slowly.
For the slightly deeper marks, I reckon nothing beats bouncing an articulated paddletail, such as the Fiiish Black Minnow, HTO Artic Eel or Illex Nitro Sprat around on the sand. Similar lures trotted around slowly in the flow of the tidal creeks are the way forward here.
As I write, the water temperature in South Devon is between 11-12 degrees, the seagulls are hammering baitfish 300 yards off the rocks, I’ve scraped ice off of my car every morning this week, and yet bass are still being caught both here and along the Cornish coast. I wonder just how far out into the Channel they are and when will they return with a vengeance?