Wanted: One Medium Bass

[Ballscratcher]

Hi All, Just registered today on this forum. I have never caught a Bass. I first went sea fishing with my Dad a long time ago. Mackereling on holidays in Devon and Cornwall. Later with a club in Brighton and charter boats out of Newhaven until drifting away in my late teens (as you tend to do). Introduced my own kids to the joys of catching pollack and codling and mackerel in Ireland and Devon, and now attempting to catch one of these beautiful fish for myself. As a diver and snorkeller I have seen these fish underwater and they are extremely wary and powerful. I can imagine on the right tackle they must produce a real fight. I have just bought a Shakespeare Salt Spinning rod with a Penn Captiva 5000 reel and a selection of recommended plugs and lures from WFS with the intent to try the rocks from some of the small coves near Lannacombe on my hols next month. I have an old beachcaster setup as well if the spinning doesnt work. I was wondering if I might need a landing net or pick up some tips or advice on other methods of ensuring I do not lose fish (assuming I get lucky and hook one in the first place). As for the beachcaster, the amount of rigs available are confusing. It all seems to have moved on massively since I was young, so some advice on what to use on the beachcaster would be greatfully received. Thanks

[scottish_and_mental]

With regards to the 'beach' outfit i would suggest a single hook rig made up of 70lb trace body -a 30 lb clear hooklength and a 3/0 hook ..keep it simple and use the best bait you can get be it fresh rag in bunches on the hook or peeler crab..Live eel will pick out the decent bass as will fresh mackerel and chunks of raw bacon even !
As long as you are using a shockleader is see no need for a landing net if you can comfortably reach a fish by hand.Piers etc may require a different approach so its up to you whether to invest in a standard landing net,drop net or neither one - its all down to where you plan on doing most of your fishing.
To safely beach a bass place your thumb and forefinger in its mouth and hold it by the bottom lip...there are serious spines on the dorsal fin and also on both gill covers so this is the safest method for you and the fish..
Keep the spinning to days when its fairly calm and the water is reasonably clear and fish baits on the bottom at night for best results..keep noise and any light source to a minimum as fish can be as little as 10ft in front of you and always patrol the same routes ..
Steve

[moxhog]

70lb rig body? bit extreme lol
i use 30lb for my rig bodys, 1m trace with 6/0 hook with live sand eels from my kind fisherman friend.
I take a landing net as well as they thrash like hell when near shore, nobody likes losing a big bass, especially after the fight to get them that far.
And remember to keep the line tight as they've got a tendancey to spit hooks, ive lost a few that way myself.
Good luck on your bass hunt
Mark

[scottish_and_mental]

Originally Posted by moxhog

70lb rig body? bit extreme lol
i use 30lb for my rig bodys, 1m trace with 6/0 hook with live sand eels from my kind fisherman friend.
I take a landing net as well as they thrash like hell when near shore, nobody likes losing a big bass, especially after the fight to get them that far.
And remember to keep the line tight as they've got a tendancey to spit hooks, ive lost a few that way myself.
Good luck on your bass hunt
Mark

30lb rig bodies ? .. and what breaking strain is attatched to that monster 6/0 lol ?



if you look at any 'shop' bought rig or try to buy any rig mono you won't find any under 50lb as anything less stretches which is no good when you've crimped swivels and bait clips into place
now the hooklength.....thats another story ....

[moxhog]

Never had no probs with the 30lb line, use the same for the trace.
hook size........i only go for medium/big bass, and using nice sized green sandeels u need a big hook

[moxhog]

Will take all you said into account tho if i start to have problems, i never refuse a bit of friendly advice

[scottish_and_mental]

Originally Posted by moxhog

hook size........i only go for medium/big bass,

HAHAHA ...Yeah don't we all lol

When i fish for Bass and Pollack on the wrecks with live eels on a Portland rig i always use Varivas big mouth hooks ..perfect sized gape - razor sharp and strong as buggery ..hook in through the mouth and out the gill cover ( without actually hooking the eel ) , then lightly nicked through the belly ..swims for ages and means a fish hitting it from any angle is in trouble ....

If 30lb works for you don't change it fella

[moxhog]

Thats how i hook my eels, if there's a bass about they'll go for it and like u said they're in trouble

[moxhog]

I also fish close range, in the gutters, as bass have a habit of patrolling these areas for food.
It seems a lot of people cast over them and wonder why they have no joy

[Ballscratcher]

Great discussion fellas. I guess like most things there is more than one way of acheiving it.
I will experiment and adapt but I do like spinning and will probably do more of that. I will get myself a net as well as I wouldnt want to lose one or drag it over the rocks if I was intending to return it. I am determined to catch one and looking forward to getting it on the BBQ if its the right size.
I may try a bubble float as well as I can imagine that couuld be a good way of presenting a bait to a patrolling bass.