I’m not a frequent blogger, so it’s unusual for me to post so soon after my last one. It’s also unusual for me to dedicate a whole blog to a single topic, but the events described below are quite special for me, so I hope you’ll indulge me.
Never stop learning
I’m constantly amazed at how we never stop learning in bass angling. As I discussed in my last blog, in the last 12 months I’ve discovered how to catch bass on creature baits. As I’m sure you know, this is a hot topic at the moment, and many discussions are taking place around it , not least on the online BASS forum. These discussions have led onto the subject of sight fishing, and I’m particularly indebted to Keir Sims for sharing his thoughts and experience of this.
Sight fishing
Inspired by these discussions, the desire to catch a bass by sight fishing began to take hold. But the idea of catching a bass on a lure cast to a specific fish seemed about as remote a possibility for me as catching a bass on the moon! In the first place you’ve got to see them. Despite regularly fishing in the daytime, particularly in estuaries, I’ve seen very few fish that I would confidently call bass. Perhaps, as my mate Paul says, my eyes just weren’t tuned in to seeing them – and he knows a thing or two about sight fishing for freshwater species,
That was until recently; I don’t know if it’s because I’m doing more fishing earlier in the year than usual, whether there is something different about this year, or it’s just that I’ve been wearing polarising sunglasses more in the sunny weather we’ve been having, but I’ve started seeing fish which are obviously bass – some of them of good size. Interestingly I’m not seeing that many mullet yet. Does this mean that these bass are moving through, the resident population yet to return, along with the mullet.
A glimpse of a bass
Take the other day for example. I had already caught a 54cm bass on a paddletail, so I knew there might be some reasonable fish about.
Things went quiet after this, so a change of approach was called for. I headed for an area where the tide was starting to cover the weedy margins, and switched to creature baits. Wait – what was that splash? Too late, I had spooked a bass about a yard out; I did manage to get a glimpse of it though – probably about 3-4lb. I cast out in the general area where I had seen the fish, but with no sign of any interest I decided to move on.
Casting problems
I worked my way along, casting as I went. Nothing seemed to be interested – perhaps I was casting too far? As I reached an area where I have seen bass on previous visits this year, a bass of maybe 5-6lb came into view. It just seemed to be mooching about, going from weed patch to weed patch, in about a foot of clear water. I tried casting the lure in the general vicinity of the fish, but completely cocked this up, landing virtually on top of the fish! Needless to say, it didn’t hang around. My normal casting accuracy is not bad, but I hadn’t realised how difficult it is to cast to a fish that’s so close.
Despite the frustration of missing this fish, I was enjoying myself in the sunshine and beautiful surroundings, but with a reasonable fish caught, plus two more seen, and a bit more experience of ‘sight fishing’ gained, I was happy to call it a day.
On it in an instant
As I made my way back, rod still assembled, I literally gasped as a large bass appeared about a rod length out. It looked bigger than either of the two I had already seen that day. I stopped, and considered how best to approach this one. A normal cast would almost certainly have gone too far, and probably landed nowhere near where I wanted it to. Try an underarm cast, I thought, and gently flicked the lure out, hoping it would land about a yard in front of the fish.
I barely had time to decide whether it had done so, when the fish was on the lure in an instant! I quickly wound in what little line was out there, and landed the fish. I couldn’t believe it – a stunning bass, perfectly conditioned with a lovely dark back, lay at my feet. Thoughts of big bass caught in the past came flooding back; it isn’t often we’re graced with such specimens these days.
I tried to get a photo of her laying on the BASS competition tape, but she wouldn’t keep still. I was anxious not to keep her out of the water any longer than I had to, so decided just to measure her with the normal BASS tape, and take a quick photo of her as she was. She went 70cm – the longest bass I’ve caught since 2019.
A special moment
This was a special moment for me – my best bass for ages, and my first caught by sight fishing – on a creature bait too, only feet from where I stood. My glass was overflowing, and I decided that would be my last cast of the day. Seeing really is believing, and now that I’ve had my first success with sight fishing, I can feel a new obsession coming on. I hope I catch a few more like this with this method – without having to go to the moon!
That’s all folks. Thanks for reading,
