Author: Robin Bradley

Summertime – who said that! Just when we thought we were set for a long hot one, things have gone seriously downhill. But if the weather forecasts are to be believed things should improve soon.

The fish are jumping though – especially in the estuaries, with fish spraying all over the place around dusk as they chase their hapless prey. Not exactly sure what they are though – the only fish I’ve managed to catch when this was happening was a small scad.

Recent catches

My recent catches show a mixed picture of good sessions and poor ones/blanks, on both coast and estuary. Things are becoming a bit more consistent as we move into August though. I’m seeing fish around the 30cm and 50cm+ mark, but not much in between. Shows the effect that year classes can have; the 50cm+ fish are probably from the best class we’ve had in recent years – 2014 (but nothing like the really good classes of the past e.g. 1989). As this class grows, we should see more 60cm fish in our catches next year or the one after, although the numbers will fall as a result of natural predation and commercial (and to a much lesser extent recreational) exploitation. I’ve still only had one 60cm fish this year. Hopefully the chances of something bigger will improve as we go towards Autumn, but I’m not holding my breath!

Focus

Despite telling myself I was going to focus on proven marks more, I have been doing some exploring – to good effect I might add. My increasing experience of shore fishing in estuaries, and the fact that fish seem to behave more predictably in them than on the open coast, has helped – not to mention the fact that the resident fish seem to be in properly now.

One new mark I tried was particularly memorable. After an hour or so of fruitless casting my attention was waning, and I was beginning to think I should have gone to somewhere I’ve caught fish before. About 10 yards out, just at the edge of a bank of weed, there was a fishy-looking boil. My piscatorial reflexes took over, and made me stop winding and pause for a second. As I started winding again, a dark shape came out from the weed and snaffled the lure. It was like a slow-motion movie, the image now burned in my brain. Seeing a bass (46cm) actually taking a lure is not something that happens every day, and this memory has made this a special place for me.

Perseverance pays off

Buoyed up by my success at a new mark, I decided to try another. I was coming to the end of the session, with nothing to show for my efforts other than a few knocks from what I assumed were small fish. My enthusiasm was waning, and an earlier-than-planned finish looked on the cards. But this was a good tide, and I decided to persevere, and rotate through the various lures I had brought.

The solunar effect was definitely working on me, let alone the fish, as the moon poked in and out of the clouds. But nothing seemed to be working – that was until a 58cm beauty latched onto a 125mm Soft J Shad in Black Neon Sprat   from Bass Lures UK. They usefully describe the best conditions to use each lure colour, and they were spot on this time! “I think it’s the combination of being a black lure with the added neon strip in the belly” says Matt.

If you’re thinking of buying some lures from this company, now’s a good time as they’e offering a 10% discount in August on their already very competitive prices. Just quote the code BLUK10 when you order.

Stuffed with whitebait

This year I have been keeping the odd fish for the table, to help with the Supper4science project (see later).  I always like to look at the stomach contents of any bass I keep. This is fascinating in itself, and can be useful from a fishing perspective. For example, both the fish I caught on separate sessions at the same mark on the coast were full of fish. In June these were mini-sand eels; in July these were whitebait, suggesting that lures would be an effective way to catch fish at these times – as was the case. In fact, I don’t know where the second fish thought it was going to put the 6″ DoLive Stick that it took – its stomach was full to bursting!

Hungry bass

This 51cm bass must have been hungry, by the way it smashed the little surface lure I was using. There was no messing about, or repeated slashes at the lure – one second it was ‘walking the frog’, the next it was gone!

As with all my plugs, this one was fitted with single hooks – in this case  size 1 VMC 7237 Light inlines.

Whenever I’m using plugs in estuaries, where catches of multiple small fish are possible, I make sure to crush the barbs, or use barbless. Even a small hook can look big in the mouth of a 25cm bass and make extracting it difficult with barbed hooks (especially trebles) – no sense in damaging the potential ten-pounders of the future.

Juvenile bass surveys

Our juvenile bass survey group now has its own name – Cornwall Bass Investigations Group. We also have our own website. We’ve tried to make this a central point for sharing reports, photos, news and general information. Many thanks to fellow volunteer Peter Maddern for building the site. We are commencing surveys again as I write this, so if you live in the area and would like to get involved, or just passing through and fancy an interesting  afternoon, do get in touch.

Bass FMP consultation

Perhaps the most important development in bass fishing and management ever is the development of a new Bass Fisheries Management Plan. Defra have produced a draft for consultation  (along with some other interesting documents) which can be found here.

Definitely worth responding to this. BASS and the Angling Trust will be producing some guidance if you need help.

Supper4science

This important project is an opportunity for anglers to get involved in research which will help to restore and maintain bass stocks in the future. Essex University need bass heads from around the English coast, so if you are keeping one for the table they would love to have the head. Just pop it in the freezer and await further instructions. You’ll need to let them know you’re interested by emailing seabasstastic@gmail.com

JHaM Cam

Another of the FISP (Fisheries Industry Science Partnership) projects that BASS (and Cornwall Bass Investigations Group) are involved in is looking at how juvenile fish use estuaries using a novel camera developed by Plymouth University. Read all about it here. Exciting times ahead!

That’s it for this month folks. Tight lines and thanks for reading,

Thanks to Ben Harris for the featured image photo.

I love bass fishing, whether from an estuary, or from the open coast. But a bass angler’s life is about so much more than just fishing.

Take the BASS Fish-in last weekend. The fishing was tough, but these get-togethers are as much about socialising, and sharing experiences and methods,  as actually catching. Just setting up camp was a challenge to someone who hasn’t set up a tent since my youth, and brought a modicum of satisfaction in itself. With thanks to Richard Brandon for the loan of his tent.

While in the area, I took the opportunity to look up Matt Burgoyne from Bass Lures UK.  It was great to finally get together after numerous exchanges on Twitter, and a nicer guy you couldn’t wish to meet. His business is going from strength to strength, and it’s so good to see a local entrepreneur, who provides an excellent service and products, doing well.

Recent catches

The fishing has been patchy, but is slowly improving. I managed a couple of fish on a lure session earlier in June, including this muscular 55cm fish which put up quite a battle, falling for a 5″ T-Tail in purple flash from Bass Lures UK.

When bass maestro Steve Ainsworth suggested a north coast beach trip with live sandeel, I jumped at the chance to take a trip down memory lane. This was my favourite bait back in the nineties – I even had my own live eel tank in the garage.

As I threaded the hook through the eel’s mouth and out from its gill cover before nicking the hook in the belly, thoughts of memorable nights standing in the Cornish surf came flooding back.

I was soon jolted from my daydreams though, when a feisty bass of 48cm signalled its presence with a hefty bite. I know that lure fishing is so much more convenient than bait fishing, but doing both really adds to the complete experience of bass angling.

The best session of the month came right at the death. On this occasion lures did the business, producing 5 fish to 55cm in a little over two hours. Once again Matt’s lures featured prominently, with the largest fish taking one of his 4.5″ Soft J Shads in black neon sprat, the fish almost completely engulfing it.

Supper4science

One of the projects I’m involved with, on behalf of BASS, is Supper4science. You can read more about this in this BASS blog.  We need as many anglers, from as many different areas as possible to get involved, so if you can help, please let the folks at Essex Uni know by emailing seabasstastic@gmail.com.

I have my own personal slot size of 50-60cm, but each person can decide for themselves what size to keep (as long as it’s over 42cm). Here’s the head and fillets from a 54cm fish I caught last month on a Pulse Tail Gravity Stick. The head is now residing in my freezer;  the fillets were delicious!

Juvenile bass surveys

We’ve reached the midpoint in our programme of juvenile bass surveys on the Fal and Helford (and now Camel).  Alas our fears that 2022 was a poor year in our survey area were realised, with few 1 year-olds being seen.

At this point we pause, to allow the incoming post larvae, or ‘0’ groups as they’re known, from this year’s spawning to grow a bit, so that they can better withstand the rigours of netting. Some have already reached our shores, and this is the earliest we’ve ever seen them. This is possibly linked to the marine heatwave we’ve recently experienced, and having the hottest June on record. We’re looking forward to  resuming surveys at the beginning of August; let’s hope this early arrival of ‘0’ groups is the sign of a good spawning year.

If you are interested in helping with the surveys please let me know by commenting on this blog, or via the contact page on this website.

That’s it for this month folks. Thanks for reading.

I’ve long had a passion for bass angling. I’ve also had a lifelong interest in marine biology. My role as Science Lead for the Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society brings these two things together, and I’m delighted that BASS has been asked by Essex University to partner them on this very important research project.

This is a great opportunity for anglers to get involved in research which will fill some of the gaps in our knowledge of the life history of bass, thereby helping to restore stocks and maintain them in the future.

You can find more information  here. Please support this project, either by keeping bass heads or forwarding the link to this blog to friends and contacts, or both.

Tightlines.

Is anybody else getting that special feeling when summer arrives, and the bass fishing starts really picking up? Late nights and sunny afternoons – they’re part and parcel of my fishing at this time of year,  evoking many happy memories of sessions in years gone by.

With the sea temperature nudging 14°C and rising around Cornwall, things are also warming up on the fishing front. My own fishing has seen a definite upturn this week, and I’m hearing regular reports of bass being caught by others, so it’s a good time to get the gear out if you haven’t already started. Right on cue too – just look at the foxgloves coming out.

Hope for the future?

I’m also hearing reports of big shoals of bass around the 30cm mark. These are probably from the good 2019 year class; when I say good, it bears no comparison to some of the great classes of the past (1959, 1976, 1989). These four year-olds will be leaving their native nursery areas to begin the free-ranging adolescent phase, when they adopt the area they will return to every summer for feeding.

The other night there were plenty of little bass taking surface lures. From the length (25cm) I guessed they were either two or three year-olds, and some scales I took appeared to show they were just starting their third year, so spawned in 2021 – a reasonable class according to our surveys. They may not have been the bigger fish we are after, but at least it gives us hope for the future. Let’s hope that lots of these survive both natural predation and man-made activities; at this size they should escape the nets and any caught on rod and line can be returned.

Favourite surface lure

It was great to catch these fish on surface lures, the little (9cm) Arms Pencil (about 1/3 of their  length!) doing the business. This is my all-time favourite surface lure. Like all good things, they’ve stopped making them – although you might be lucky if you search online under Silver Dog 90. Mind you, there are lots of similar ones now available, like this IMA Pugachev Cobra.

With all my plugs I replace the trebles with singles. In this case I was using barbed size 1 VMC 7237’s, with my usual ‘walk the frog’ technique (see this earlier blog). Even though the size 1 hook is small, it looks quite big in the mouth of a two year-old bass, and I was having a bit of trouble extracting it from some of the fish. I don’t like damaging fish any more than necessary, so the barbs have now been flattened on these.

Check out this great short video giving tips on handling striped bass for catch and release; I’m sure this relates just as much to the  bass we catch in the UK. I am indebted to my BASS colleagues for posting this on the online members forum.

Veterans

A recent session with fellow veteran angler/old scrote Steve Ainsworth saw us scaling the cliffs in a very age-inappropriate way. We were returning to an old favourite haunt that has been good to both of us in the past. ‘Must be over thirty years since we first fished this mark’ said Steve. I’m not one to accept limitations, but the fact remains that we’re not getting any younger. The tricky rope descent, and sketchy walk across the slippery reef seemed harder since the last time we did it; sadly I think this may have been our last visit to this special place. At least we have some wonderful memories of bass fishing at its finest to treasure. Don’t bring the Zimmer frame out just yet though!

As to the fishing on the night – they hadn’t read the script. Just one fish between us – to me as luck would have it – a rather nice, but not exceptional for this mark, 60cm bass on crab (alas no photo).

Soft plastic success

Another session produced some success on  soft plastics. I was using a 5″ Easy Shiner and before long  felt a pluck on the line, then another. Next instant – wallop! as a 54cm bass took off with the lure. This was followed by another of 41cm ( I measure all my fish for the BASS Catch Recording scheme). Curiously the next contact, a good bang which nearly took the rod out of my hands, didn’t connect. It was only when I checked the lure for weed a few casts later, that I realised the paddle tail had been bitten off!

With my only Easy Shiner out of action it was time to try that one that the nice folks at Bass Lures UK had given me to try – two bass to 48cm later I was convinced!

A return to the same venue the next night was oddly quiet. Apart from a slightly brighter moon, everything was similar. I cycled through a range of different soft plastic lure types and colours, including the Easy Shiner, to no avail. It was only when I put on the T – Tail from Bass Lures UK, which worked the previous night, that I had any action.  The 50cm bass you can see in the featured image (and another of 49cm) were the result. Was it the speckles picking up the moonlight? Matt from Bass Lures UK certainly thinks so. Another interesting observation was the ‘mayweed’ clinging to the line and clip. It was only a small bit, but I had always thought than any weed on the line or lure killed its action. Scales I took from this first fish showed that it was just starting its 9th growth year – so from the good 2014 year class, which dominated catches last year.

Juvenile bass surveys

Speaking of year-classes, 2022 doesn’t look great. We found very few of last year’s fish (this year’s won’t have arrived yet) in our juvenile bass surveys on the Fal and Helford recently. This supports our initial assessment of ‘poor’ for the 2022 class. That’s the problem with bass recruitment – good years can be offset with bad.

That’s it for this month folks – thanks for reading.

After the winter break even Archie’s looking forward to going bass fishing regularly again. The jobs have all been done, the gear’s all been checked and topped up/replaced, and I’ve even got a new reel (Shimano Vanford C3000 – thanks for the recommendations Tony and Ben) to go with the  rod I acquired last year (8’2″ Tailwalk Dageki  3.5-24g) . This combo is a treat to use in estuaries, and the shorter rod length will be useful when casting up against the trees at high water.

Among my Spring purchases were these beauties , my most consistent lure last year, from Cornwall-based Bass Lures UK. They do a wide range of lures and give great value for money.

First choice on the menu

I decided that I’d target the bass with crab early on in estuaries this year in anticipation of some good fish searching them out. This seems to be working so far – three trips in and I haven’t blanked yet. No monsters mind, but peelers do seem to be first choice on the menu, with just the one fish on soft plastics. I suppose that makes sense, given the amount of peelers usually around at that time – not that my traps are producing that well yet. Bass can find any amount of small hardbacks throughout the year, but it’s the Spring peel which seems to coincide with the arrival of the bigger fish.

Focus

I caught fish on 41% of the trips I made last year. One of my targets for this year is to try to improve on this (that’s if the fish are there to catch), so my plan is to focus more on a smaller number of proven marks at the peak times, in good conditions, and using  lures and methods I’m confident with. I really want to try to gauge just how bad (or good) the stocks are, and if I don’t catch, it’s more likely to be that the fish aren’t there, rather than me not fishing it properly.

As I get older, I’m beginning to appreciate the benefits of fishing closer to home, at places I’m familiar with,  and enjoy being at  – even if it means  reducing the chances of catching bigger fish.

Tight Lines

I attended the Tight Lines meeting this week. What a great venture this is! There was an interesting talk from a couple of GP Practice staff about Social Prescribing. For those not familiar with this, it’s basically about signposting people who may be struggling with their mental health to groups like Tight Lines as part of their recovery.

We also heard from a couple of guys from the Porthleven Coastguard team. So good to meet the folks who provide this great service – on a voluntary basis. Reassuring to know that such folks are ready to come to our aid, should we need it, but let’s do all we can to avoid this by taking well-known basic precautions.

Award

At the recent BASS AGM I was presented with the John Leballaur Restoration Award in recognition of our juvenile bass survey work in Cornwall, and my Science work for the society.

This award is greatly appreciated and valued, particularly given the esteem in which I held the man himself. I wrote this in my book back in 2019:

“In 2000 and 2001, we were involved in a tagging programme with CEFAS. We were trying to build on the earlier work of Donovan Kelley and others in unravelling the movements of bass. The late John Leballeur, then Chairman of BASS, organised teams of taggers from around the Country. John was a genuinely decent man – patient, kind and helpful, and he inspired many people with his dedication to the restoration of bass stocks. The ‘John Leballeur Restoration Award’ for the individual, group or organisation which has made a major contribution to bass restoration in any given year, is a fitting tribute to his memory.”

Juvenile bass surveys

Speaking of juvenile bass surveys, we are just about to start this year’s programme. It’s always exciting anticipating what we’ll find. I’ve been keeping a watchful eye on the temperature and wind, as this can affect the success of spawning. I’ve learned not to be drawn into making any premature predictions, but I’ll keep you posted as and when things become clear. We’re always looking for more volunteers, so just send me a message if you’d like to help.

All the best, and tight lines!

 

That’s one of the concepts behind the recently completed Fish Intel project, summarised in this press release . This short video shares the thoughts of some of the key personnel involved.

Bass, as shown above (Image: Keith Hiscock), are one of the species being studied by scientists from the UK, France and Belgium.  I, and other members of BASS,  have followed the project with interest since it’s start in 2021, and I was keen to hear all about it at the conference held  at  Plymouth University on the 2nd March.

There are gaps in our knowledge and understanding of the movements and habitat preferences of bass at different stages in their lifecycle, and projects like these aim to add to this knowledge. In this way, areas and stages in their lives when they are especially vulnerable can be identified. This in turn can  lead to ‘smarter’ ecosystem based fisheries management which takes these things into account. Not only this, but other things like the interaction of fishing methods with other species, such as dolphins and seals, and the abundance of prey species that support bass.

Inspiring

I found the presentations enjoyable, informative and inspiring in equal measures. The main findings of the project are currently being written up, but researchers have already discovered that some seabass travel from the south coast of Devon to the coasts of Belgium over the space of a number of months.

We seem to have grown accustomed to ‘virtual’ or online events, but it was nice to be able to attend in-person again, especially in the presence of such eminent authorities in their field. It was a great opportunity to meet the people involved in the project and other stakeholders.

Riding with fish

The idea of tagging fish, so that we can ride with them as they move about the seas, has always fascinated me. Back in the early 2000’s, I, and other members of BASS, was involved in a major bass tagging  project looking at Migrations, fishery interactions, and management units of sea bass in Northwest Europe.

This project used tags which simply record the release and recapture site (where this is available), and not the journey in between. Being able to track fish implanted with sound-emitting acoustic tags using a network of receivers as they move around, gives much more comprehensive information. This network will remain in place, even though the project has closed, thereby continuing to record the movements of fish which have been tagged.  The network is expanding too, enabling movements over an even wider scale to be picked up, and the network is being shared by scientists working on other species and projects using similar types of tagging systems.

Happy place

As I arrived for the conference at the Marine Station at Plymouth University, it felt like I had reached my happy place. I was immediately transported back in time to Bangor University, where I attended a vacation course in marine biology as a youth in the late sixties. All these years later, I can still remember the field trips towing for plankton, and looking for seaweed in the Menai Strait. I was truly inspired by this, but at the time employment opportunities in this field seemed limited, and life took me in another direction.

My love of the sea started when my father’s RAF career took us to Malta. Daily visits to the beach, swimming and snorkelling in the mediterranean, somehow embedded the sea in my psyche. But it wasn’t until I got a job in the Haematology and Blood Transfusion Lab at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in the early eighties, that this love affair was finally consummated.

Living, and raising a family in Cornwall, coupled with a passion for sea angling, fuelled this interest in all things marine, but it wasn’t until retirement that I was able to indulge my interest in the more scientific aspects.

Messing about on the Fal and Helford rivers surveying juvenile bass with  Derek Goodwin, was the perfect way to combine my passion for bass angling with a love of the practical aspects of marine biology, the seeds of which had been sown in Bangor all those years ago.

That’s it for this month folks, soon be time to get the rods out again.

Thanks for reading,

I know many bass anglers get the winter blues at this time of year, having gone into fishing hibernation, and can’t wait for the new ‘season’ to start. They miss the enjoyment  of fishing, and the many benefits to our physical and mental health it brings.

Tight Lines

I know only too well how fishing can help you deal with the stresses and strains of working life, and its healing powers when things go wrong. So when Justin Keight asked me to give a talk on bass fishing at the opening meeting of his great new venture, Tight Lines, I was very happy to help. Thank goodness people no longer feel ashamed or embarrassed to talk about mental health issues, and Justin’s new venture brings this new outlook to angling. I wish him and his colleagues well.

Recent catches

As most of you will be aware, January can be a mixed month on the bass. I have had some very good fishing just after New Year in the past, but not this year.  I only managed three trips for the whole of the month, and a couple of blanks on the weekend of the 21st/22nd brought an end to proceedings for me, having yet to catch my first bass of 2023.

I didn’t hear of much else being caught in January either – except for my Guernsey mates, who had a great weekend’s fishing on the beautiful island of Herm. Bryn Le Poidevin bagged this near-7lber on bait while he was over there.

Mackerel (and anchovies) seemed to be around in prolific quantities  in January. Surprisingly, this doesn’t seem to have resulted in large catches of bass by anglers – shore or boat. Mind you, I suspect that angling effort will have dropped away. The bass were around, as evidenced by the high level of commercial catches being made, but presumably not taking bait or lures, due to the presence of so much natural food in the water.

Fishing plans

2022 taught me not to be too prescriptive when it comes to making fishing plans for the year ahead. I couldn’t have foreseen the way that estuaries, and free-lining big baits opened up to me.

Sometimes it’s best just to see where things take you, and this year my plan is very simple – catch more fish. I want to be more focussed, and try to get the number of blank sessions down. But at the end of the day, you can be as focussed as you like – if the fish aren’t there you won’t catch them!

What plans have you got?

Bass off the top

Angling buddy Ben Harris has been trying out his new drone (what a great bit of kit!). Watch this awesome short video he’s produced  showing a 60cm bass hitting a surface lure last summer.  I’m looking forward to his next one.

What3words

I was lucky enough to receive a new iphone and a new watch for my birthday recently.  The phone has a better camera than my last one did, so hopefully I’ll be able to take a few more ‘grip and grins’ of all the big fish I’m going to catch this year (I wish!). I’ve downloaded the what3words app so that I can give Angela bit more precise information about where I’m fishing (in case of emergency) than SWOSC (SomeWhere On the South Coast)! Thanks to Simon Willey for suggesting this.

More than just a timepiece

My new Garmin Instinct Solar watch is more than just a timepiece. Not only can I actually tell the time without my glasses on – even at night with its backlight function, it has all manner of useful functions. One very useful one is the GPS function. I can save the GPS coordinates of the bit of shoreline I’m fishing or exploring, and when I go back there in the dark, just press a button and it will take me back to within 5 yards of this. Awesome!

Like many tide tables, it will also tell me when sunrise and sunset are. But the really useful information it gives is the twilight time. This is the time when I would want to start fishing, just as the light is going (or coming if you fish early mornings). Usually about half an hour after sunset (or before sunrise).

I can even see the moon phase, and times of moonrise and set. According to the Solunar Theory, these correspond to ‘minor periods’ of increased fish activity which last for about an hour. ‘Major periods’, when the moon is directly overhead (lunar transit) or below our feet (opposing lunar transit), are thought to be when fish activity is greatest, and last for about two hours. The times of moonrise and set are about 12 hours  apart, with the lunar transits falling roughly halfway between these.

Sickening

That’s how people described the death of seabirds trapped in a gill net left on a Cornish beach.

Rather ironically,  the net was found in a Special Protection Area  for overwintering birds. Tragically, there were also a number of dead cetaceans, showing signs of having been caught in nets, recorded in this area in January. I recorded this young common dolphin for the Marine Strandings Network at a neighbouring beach a few days earlier.

Of course we can’t be sure which fishery is responsible for this, but reports from this area seem to have slowed since the commercial bass ban came in on February 1st.

This net was presumably set to catch bass, even though it is currently illegal to target them with nets. It’s unclear if the net was set where it was found (as opposed to being washed in), but if it was it would have been illegal, since in this area (this doesn’t apply to all areas) net headlines must be at least 3m below the surface at any state of the tide.

Every year we see tonnes and tonnes of pre-spawning bass being landed around Cornwall (many of which are likely to be first-time spawners) during the late autumn and winter. Depriving these fish of the chance to reproduce and replenish stocks, is short-sighted folly. As an angling friend and fellow bass researcher put it “it’s a bit like a farmer killing all his cows just before they calf”.  Let’s hope the Bass Fisheries Management Plan (due out later this year) can do something about this.

Supper for science

That’s the theme for a new research project which the Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society are helping the University of Essex with. The project aims to discover where the bass we catch were born and grow up, so that the most productive nursery areas can be better protected, and the less productive ones can be restored. Ultimately this should lead to the increased recruitment of bass to the adult spawning stock, and better bass stocks.

With the kind permission of David Mitchell, I can share this article about the scheme  The Appliance of Science 32-33 BASS 619_JH  which appeared in the latest issue of Sea Angler magazine.

The more people that can help, the better. So whether you target bass, or catch a few when you’re fishing for other species, and keep the odd one or two for the table, please contact the university by emailing seabasstastic@gmail.com. You’ll just need to keep the head(s) in a bag in the freezer, ready for collection. All anglers are welcome.

That’s all for this month folks.

Tight lines,

Always at this time of year people (like me) post about how their fishing has gone over the previous twelve months. Mostly these reports are about how well people have done, and I guess it’s understandable they may not want to talk about things when they haven’t gone so well. But I think it’s important to give the true picture, warts and all.

As you may have guessed, my fishing in 2022 was disappointing, at least if you just consider my catch statistics. For as long as I can remember, I’ve kept a fishing diary and computer record of my catches. For the last couple of years I’ve kept records as part of the BASS Catch Recording Scheme. This is a great scheme, which produces data tailored to the needs of bass anglers. The more data we get, the more information we can provide, so please take part if you aren’t doing so already. You’ll have to be a member, but what better value could you get for the £25 membership fee?

The records I’ve kept for this year don’t tell a very inspiring story:

188 trips (I’ve recorded mixed bait & lure sessions as separate trips, and sessions at different marks on the same day as separate trips)
111 blank trips (59% – glutton for punishment!)
150 days fished (crikey, that’s nearly every other day!)
413 hours fished (how did I get away with that!)
148 fish caught – with an average size of ~43cm. I managed just 3 of 60cm and over, the biggest 65cm.

Too many marks?

What do these figures reveal? Well, they will reflect the state of bass stocks for a start, particularly how bigger fish are becoming harder to catch. But that’s not the whole story, as I know others did better than me last year (some much better). A friend of mine who’s a top bass angler recently said to me “you’ve got too many marks”. I think he was saying that I need to focus more on the ones I know well, and which have proved themselves. He’s probably right, but I’m a sucker for trying out new places and things.

Last year was a good case in point. Having got into estuary fishing, I was presented with a whole new world of possible marks, which just had to be checked out. And when I started fishing with Simon Willey later in the year, free-lining big baits, a method I have always fancied, suddenly came into the mix. I didn’t see that coming. I guess that’s part of the allure of fishing – you never know what’s around the corner.

So with all this experimenting, I guess a certain amount of non-productive fishing time is only to be expected (that’s my excuse anyway!). I just hope it pays off in the long run. But even though I may have lost out in terms of my fishing results, I have gained in other ways – like fishing in some beautiful settings, with nice people, and getting to grips with new methods. I will try to be more focussed this year though!

A great start

Things got off to a great start when this 64cm beauty grabbed my 4″ Flash J Fish Arrow Shad, which I had put on to match the fry which are about at this time of year.

 

Early June saw me catch what was to be my best fish of the year on a white 6″ DoLive Stick (see featured image). In the same session I caught my first ever sea trout.

Apart from those odd early successes, things didn’t really get going until August. This seems to be a regular feature of my fishing in Cornwall now – we used to get good fishing in June, but it seems to have slipped back. A session on the 1st August produced 9 fish at a proven mark, and for once I decided to cash in and fish the area again, producing another 12 fish in two nights.

Patchy

I hoped this was the start of some good fishing, but as the months unfolded it just didn’t happen for me. The fishing was patchy at best, and of course we had that long run of rainy southerlies in the autumn which seemed to go on forever. The moral of that story is make the most of any good fishing while you can!

Thank goodness I had the option of fishing in estuaries, but the much-anticipated run of better fish in late November didn’t materialise. And between the bitterly cold spell with icy roads, the Christmas Festivities and picking up a couple of horrible bugs, December was a non-event, fishing-wise.

An eventful year

Despite the fishing not amounting to much, it was an eventful year. I continued my recording work  for the Marine Strandings Network, became the Conservation Officer for the Cornish Federation of Sea Anglers and got to grips with being a general member of Cornwall IFCA.

In June I met up with the guys from BASS on the Cornwall Fish-in based around Rame Head.

I was pleased to represent BASS again at the Cornish Lure Festival this year.

Bass research

It was a busy year on the juvenile bass surveys in Cornwall. We’re continually striving to do more, and increase the recognition of our work in scientific circles. Our finding of very few ‘young-of-the year’ bass, was particularly important at a time when future bass management plans are being considered. One of the highlights was meeting David Kelley, whose father, the late Donovan, a keen bass angler himself, initiated bass surveys in the Southwest; he did so much to increase our knowledge of the recruitment and migrations of bass.

These surveys are only possible because of the efforts of our brilliant volunteers. If you’d like to help do get in touch. 

The year was very rewarding in working with scientists from several Universities as Science Lead for BASS. We were approached as partners on several  research project bids; one has been approved, and is already underway. These should give us much-needed cutting-edge information about the biology and lifecycle of bass. Fascinating stuff, and so important.

Campaigning

A good Fisheries Management Plan for bass is long overdue and vital for the restoration of our bass stocks to a healthy level and age profile. Much time has been taken up with this, including submitting this report on the standard of bass angling in Cornwall , attending a drop-in session at Newlyn, taking part in an online’ Collective Intelligence’ debate and completing a ‘Co-refine’ survey. Let’s hope for a good outcome; if the countless hours of effort put in by my BASS colleagues on our behalf is anything to go by, it should be.

Personal milestones

Late in the year I sold the 300th copy of my book A Bass Angler’s Life. A hugely satisfying achievement.

I finished off the year with my 70th birthday. I’ve been remarkably lucky with my health, and so far it hasn’t restricted what I do. I’m still a twenty-something in my head, and as long as the bones hold out, I’ll keep doing what I do.

Thanks for reading, and a happy and successful new year to you

If anybody asks you why we anglers love to go fishing, just show them this photo. Ben Harris’ face is a picture of joy, and my photobombing dog Archie looks pretty pleased too!

On a crisp November morning, good friend and fellow bass researcher Ben caught this beautiful 58cm bass on his favourite Espetit surface plug. I heard the ‘slap’ as the fish launched itself at Ben’s plug.

It wasn’t the only fish that Ben caught that morning. We had arranged to meet at 0645, for what would be one of my few early morning sessions of the year. When Ben turned up he casually dropped into the conversation that he had caught a 65cm fish already! He woke up earlier than planned, and decided to have a try before we met.  Great fishing Ben!

Bloody weather!

That bright, sunny morning seemed a rare event in an otherwise wet and windy November.  I had intended to focus on estuaries, after some good results there last November, but still make the odd trip to the coast during the first part of the month, when I’ve traditionally caught my best fish of the year.

I’m afraid my days of battling eight foot waves are behind me, so the rough seas meant that I didn’t make a single trip to the coast. At least I was able to fish in the relative peace and tranquility of estuaries. And with the flexibility of retirement allowing me to fish around the worst of the rain (I’ve become a right fair-weather fisherman), I was able to get out most days.

Nothing spectacular

Despite all this effort, I can’t say that my results have been spectacular though.   Most lure sessions produced the odd fish or two. This 58cm fish was the best of the bunch, the rest being made up of fish around the 50cm (2014 class?), or late 30’s (2016 class?) mark.

Earlier in the month I caught this (rather slim) 54cm fish on a Dark Sleeper lure. This was at a spot where I have previously only landed smaller bass using float-fished live prawn, so encouraging for future fishing there.

Bass Lures UK

I don’t have commercial links with anyone, but I do like to promote businesses, especially ones based in Cornwall, who provide a top quality product and good value for money.

One such business is Bass Lures UK . Their 120mm Shads   have become a firm favourite of mine, having accounted for many of the bass I caught in estuaries during the day this year, including the one below. The very reasonable price of £8.48 for five lures made from a very supple, yet resilient, plastic includes two hooks and free postage.

The 58cm bass pictured above was also taken on one of their Shads in black neon sprat. These lures have smaller paddle tails than others I have used, and I must admit to being a little disappointed when I first opened the packet. But it’s become clear to me that sometimes less is more, and there are occasions, for example when the water is gin clear and smooth as silk, when a slightly more subtle approach works best.

Free-lining mackerel

Having got a taste for free-lining with mackerel, I’ve continued to try it as often as I can. Most times I’m mixing things up with both lure and bait fishing in the same session. This does require a bit of extra gear, but by using the same rod for both, simply clipping the mackerel trace on and off the lure clip as required, this really only comes down to a couple of swivels and hooks, line (20lb Amnesia), bait and knife.

I’ve now had several bass doing this, like this 49cm fish. Not huge I know, but I think this is more a reflection of what’s around than the method.

Runs can vary. With this fish I felt a bump, then line going out. When the line stopped I looked down at the water too see a small seabird popping up, and assumed this had nudged the line. As the bird moved away, the line started moving again, then stopped. After giving it a couple of minutes, I wound in to find a nice bass attached. This was in complete contrast to the other day, when the fish took off like an express train. I (somehow) managed to maintain my composure, and timed putting the bail arm over to what I thought was perfection. Wrong! There was a momentary resistance before all went slack. Apparently bass dropping the bait like this happens quite regularly.

I’m doing this partly because I’ve always liked the idea of free-lining big baits, and because I’m hoping it will improve my chances of getting a really big bass. The simplicity of this very natural approach really appeals to me, and it’s clear from Simon Willey’s catches that the average size of bass caught by this method is significantly higher than on lures. I’m not saying that you can’t catch big bass on lures, but Simon’s average size of 4.5 – 5lb shows that the chances of getting a big one are higher on big baits. Further evidence of this comes from Mike Ladle’s online fishing diary, where he describes a recent session where he caught bass of around  4lb and 9lb using this method – in twenty minutes!

That’s it for this month folks. I hope you all have a great Christmas, and if you’re stuck for present ideas, why not buy a copy of my book? Don’t leave it too long though, with all these postal strikes.