Herm revisited

When good fishing friend Simon De La Mare invited Angela and I to spend a weekend with him and Michaela on Herm, I jumped at the chance. It was great to visit this wonderful place again in all its stormy autumn splendour. Bad weather delayed our Ferry crossing from Portsmouth to Guernsey, meaning we lost the first day of our holiday.

Sunday morning saw us catching the Trident ferry over to Herm. Angela is not the best sailor in the world, but good egg that she is, she happily (?) boarded a  second boat in 24 hours! Fortunately things weren’t too rough at that stage.

Back on Herm

As we landed on Herm we were met by Simon, and staff on the island who transported our bags up to our cottage, ‘Sea Holly’, on the back of quad bikes – the only vehicles, apart from tractors, which are allowed on the island.

A quick plugging session over dusk, after a nice lunch and cake at the Mermaid Tavern, produced several bass to the Herm meister (diddly squat for the Herm novice!).

Big bass?

Later that evening I was retrieving a white Swimsenko in the pitch-dark of the new moon, and pouring rain, when I thought I saw a large white shape approaching the rock I was standing on. Dismissing this as a figment of my imagination/less than 20/20 vision, I carried on winding. Suddenly there was a great splash practically at my feet. Big bass? Interestingly Simon had a similar experience.  Alas, that was to be my only fishy experience on the island, although Simon did catch a couple more.

Return to Guernsey

After a rough, and wet, ferry ride back to Guernsey on Tuesday morning, we returned to Simon’s excellent self-catering accommodation   which he kindly let us use for for the remainder of the week. Michaela and Simon were the perfect hosts, both on Herm and Guernsey; spending time with them really was the highlight of the holiday. Simon even gave Archie a complimentary wash, blow dry and trim in his dog grooming parlour.

It was good to be back on Guernsey, with the fond memories this brought. I couldn’t pass up the chance of meeting up with good friend and GBASS President Bryn Le Poidevin while I was there. Wednesday afternoon saw us down on the beach for a bit of bait fishing in the surf, followed by a nice ‘brew’ at his place while we mulled over fishing politics .

 

Thursday saw Simon and I out on the rocks fishing with plugs on a beautiful afternoon. Simon’s expert local knowledge paid off this time, with us both catching fish. I managed a couple, the best being this one.

Our return trip was delayed slightly by some weather complications. I’m looking forward to the late run of bass, which should see some good fishing in Cornwall until the new year – that’s if any get past the nets!

Recent catches – in Cornwall

Things have been pretty quiet for me lately – a combination of bad weather and being away. I did manage this one on a freelined mackerel fillet at the end of October in an estuary. I just love this technique – sitting/standing there, bail arm open, with the line running through your fingers. I’m beginning to appreciate the difference between the hesitant, short runs of huss, and the definite, quicker runs that bass make.

Well Hooked Sea Angling UK

I’ve been having some interesting correspondence with Simon Attley (aka slosh). You can read about some amazing sessions he’s had , and how big bass come very close in here.

Simon and I have both been influenced by Mike Ladle, who has extolled the value of pilchards/sardines for catching bass. As soon as I can, I’ll be trying these on a beach somewhere.

That’s all for this month folks, thanks for reading.