Bass still around..

[fishypaul]

my number one bass bait has got to be a whole calamari,you don't have many problems with small fish,its too tough for the crabs and the bass love em

[wellyfish]

i would say calamari too,ive had all my bigger fish on them....

[kiwimarty]

Well…….I think we have just about covered all the bait we all use for sea angling here. What we are really not touching base with here, is why we don’t seem to catch Bass at the drop of a hat, like many other species.

Kev (Wellyfish) and I love; I mean love our Bass fishing. We spend a fair amount of time on foot, scanning the many different fishing areas we have here in Devon. I would say without question its all about habitat and the food that is available in that habitat. OK, I agree that it may seem that some baits work better than others but I don’t think that this is necessarily the case. We instinctively know whether a mark will hold Bass or not and this only comes from years of experience and trial and error. In the end you get a feel for a place and even then if we fish that place and blank, it will not be written off. We go back again in maybe slightly different conditions with maybe a different method. The times we have looked at a possible mark, looked at each other and said “Bass country”.
Only the other night Kev pulled two nice Bass out using whole calamari and yet ‘the norm’ would never consider this deadly bait for Bass and dare I say, out of season how.
At the end of the day if there is a regular food source and fish are hungry they will eat just about anything. As for habitat we know that bass will feed very very close inshore, particularly after a storm when shell fish and the like have been smashed open. I don’t think a Bass or any other feeding fish is going to say, “Oh there’s a mussel but I won’t eat that, I only want crab”!!

In essence the biggest reason people have not caught this much sought after fish is because they cast right over them. No matter what bait you are using, cast over them and you will never get them. Secondly, gather as much evidence of where they are caught, forget the bait issue. Get to the mark and fish it. Oh and thirdly…….shut up. Yep, keep ya mouth shut. Go stamping and shouting around a mark, will spook them big time.

Enjoy.

Kiwi.

[devondave]

yep i totally agree and also when you do find a mark that produces well dont go blabbing to everyone especially tackle shops of where this mark is or you will go down a couple days later and find half a dozen ppl already fishing your mark.
its unfortunate if you fish a mark with memebers of the public walking past all day long who can see where your fishing and what your catching you cant keep these places secret but the other places where you have to climb up and down cliffs keep them secret and dont tell anyone other than the people you go with.

also after looking at kev's bass the other day i think i may start trying whole hardback crab for the bass.
there is no way the ones kev caught had swam along looking only for a crab to pop out holding a banner saying IM PEELING.
they are a predator they will eat anything that moves!

[tommy a]

Well youve managed to convince me so I think I will dissappear down to Cefd Sidan or Worms Head a week on Monday and spend my day off trying to catch one of the buggers.

Cheers

[fishypaul]

i agree with you lads,when you think about it there is a lot of similarities between my two favourite species,pike and bass.
they are both predators who will not turn down a meal,
where the prey fish are,they are not far away and something you should never forget,
don't forget the margins.

[JuanPablo]

once again cant agree more - very wise words. The main reason that anglers use peeler crab is because it is easier to present. For two reasons the 'moulting' shell peels off easily when u are gonna put it on the hook - with a hardback crab i find trying to peel the shell off reveals far less juicy meat and because the shell is so secure it also rips flesh away with it.
Of course the ideal is to remove some of the crabs legs and fish the bugga whole. perfect bait for wrasse, bass, smoothhound perhaps even rays but how to hook them?

for bass and wrasse fishing you can just wrap an elastic band (pick a very snmall one and make sure when wrapped round the crabs body it is extremely taught and then pin the hook facing skyward on the back of his hard shell. You need to remove some of his legs (i know its cruel ) but if you dont he will quite happily wedge himself and your rig underneath the nearest rock!
I said this is fine for bass and wrasse coz for these fish u dont normally nee d to cast far!
But be warned - if u do need to cast the crab is the complete opposite of aerodynamic! It spins like hell and tangles the rig. Also the 'hooking method' isnt good for casts - the elastic band will probably slip off his back and the crab will be free!

i also agree with devondave. the school bass seem to migrate into our estuaries quite often during winter. they are there all year - of course in smaller shoals but they can withstand our winter temperatures! i have never seen a bass washed up in the dead of winter. i have heard of wrasse and conger and thousands of triggerfish dying but never ever a bass...
and of course we all know that double figure bass get caught every month so they appear to be more prolific further north all year through than in the 70's. their furthest northern reach at that time was documented as the wash through to north wales.
either the seas are warming up (apparently they are) or the bass have adapted to our temperatures. in my opinion the latter is true. because cod dont seem bothered by the warming seas - they are still caught across the uk and english channel so i believe the bass are altering their migratory tendancies.
as kiwi said the bass fishing in the channel islands is brilliant all year round! even with plugs if the water isnt too coloured!

in the future i think that spawning for bass will takeplace in our waters (offshore) rather than further south in the baltic? (i may have that location totally wrong!). thats if theres any bass left to spawn in the future though hey!? Last week I joined the Sea Anglers Conservation Network - completely free but makes me feel like Im contributing to protecting our stocks for the future - even in the slightest respects!

tommy have replied to ur PM. we can do worms head but we need crab. if we cant get crab its not worth the tackle loss!
if anyone else wants to join us for a late season bass session in the next 2wks - weather permitting u r more than welcome!

[fishypaul]

good info jp.
interesting what you were saying about peelers,
in my teenage years i spent many wonderful days on boat and beach fishing for bass and smoothounds,
i was always told by my mentor(a boat skipper of many years)that the most important thing with peelers is to keep the bait looking natural,all i ever did was take the shell off the peeler,leave the legs on and just flick it into the surf,or just drop it down when afloat,
i realise that for casting purposes you have to wrap the bait up,but i still stick with what i was taught and have had some very good results as well,
i wonder if anyone else does this,i certainly never read about it.