Local Bass Lure Fishing UK
Unbelievable, Incredible bass lure fishing UK, how fortunes can change. July & August had been pretty grim if I have to be honest.
Typically, the week the kids go back to school we seem to have a mini heatwave. Along with the sun we have had wind directions to die for. No, that’s not Mexico, Riviera Maya in that picture (below) is bloody Ramsgate. Incredible.
So my fishing buddy Steve Wood and I had taken advantage of the late-night high tides and the crystal clear water that we have been blessed with.
Unfortunately, I still haven’t managed to get a Matt Yellow Hound Sonic 100 for love nor money. But it wasn’t the end of the world I still had the pure White version (although it doesn’t seem as good) but It had taken the odd fish before.
Trusty Drop Net Rotted
Unfortunately, my trusty drop net had rotted into bits and was obviously broken. So luckily Steve Wood had another that he’d repaired. Good job, you definitely need one where we would be fishing. That’s how I’d previously lost the Sonic. The line had snapped winching a bass up the wall. incredible. In fact, I’d also snapped on another occasion in a hurricane trying to land a bass. I always double-check those knots now. But in my defence, I’ve never lost a fish like that before. Been snapped round a rock, not via a knot.
Whilst we were fishing the ebb at another venue the most bizarre thing happened. I’d been using my old Majorcraft Zalt. Yes, unfortunately, my craftsmanship on the Shimano Luminis had failed and it snapped again.
We’d been fishing for a while but to no avail. It was total darkness but the water was gin clear. I’d been using some different soft plastics but nothing, no fish. I was sure there must be fish around even though it was a crap tide.
Shoreline Shiner Copy? Are you Sure?
So I stuck on a Shoreline Shiner copy (I’d just lost the proper one the R50+SSR the trip before). So I thought I’d give it a go. Then would you believe it, first cast on the new lure and bang! I was in. At freakin last. It felt quite a good fish my Zalts was bending like a goodun. Then just as I could sense the fish was close I saw a tiny bass emerge on the surface on its side. Then it catapulted out of the water towards me.
There was no way on Gods-given earth that was the fish I’d been reeling. It was tiny. I reckon a bigger fish was also hooked and got off – right at the moment the other smaller fish emerged out of the water. I have previously known someone to catch two schoolies on an IMA Salt Skimmer but apart from that, I’ve never seen it before. Strange.
Fish Of The Week
Over the week, the fish above was the biggest. The best lure that week for me was an IMA Hound Glide 125 (not the Sonic). The funny thing is I’d seen the lure on eBay, I’d been looking for a Matt Yellow Sonic but settled for its big brother the 125. Unfortunately, when it eventually turned up (about 3 weeks later) it wasn’t what they said on the box. It was a bone colour. Unbelievable. But still, it worked so who cares.
Ironically, Steve Wood has the Matt Yellow Sonic but wasn’t caught using it that particular night. He’d taken that 57 on an IMA Sasuke 140 Repa. Typical, I’d sold mine lol.
The only thing that puzzled me was that the fish we had caught were not that big. They were all probably around the 2lb mark. Surprisingly, this venue has always produced fairly good fish before. This is why we use a drop net. But normally, we would fish here earlier, like June. Last year, we had nothing when we returned later in the season.
First Light Mission For Bass
My mate had fished our red-hot venue at first light one morning but never caught on that occasion. It’s a nighttime venue. But as he was fishing away he noticed a fishing boat ‘close in’ to the shore, hauling their nets.
A few days later I had returned to this venue to have a quick scour around the rocks. I had lost a brand new Yellow lure from Japan that (I thought) was like the Hound Sonic. The trouble is this was a sinking lure. Therefore, even though it looked the part it sunk too quickly and I lost the bloody thing after about two or three casts.
On my way out (by my front door) I saw my fishing rod perked up in the corner and thought ‘Sod it, I’ll take it and have a few casts off the surface’ You never know. So I just took one lure, a brand new Axia Asturie copy thing that was still in the plastic box that you get them in. Perfect, I won’t get the hooks stuck in my pocket.
As I got down to the area where I’d lost the lure I noticed how ridiculously close the nets were off the rock. If I’d had my waders I could have easily got to them no problem. I mean It’s not the first time I’ve seen nets that close in but come on, these were close,
So I pranced over the seaweed-covered hazardous rocks and then noticed a seal had popped up its head to say hello. Great, confirmation it was only going to be a short trip anyway. WARNING! DO NOT TRY AND TAKE YOUR LURE OUT OF ITS BOX WHILST WALKING OVER THE ROCKS. Yes, before you knew I’d slipped arse over tit into this seaweed gorge. Marvellous. My first reaction was to see if any ‘dog walkers’ had seen me fall. But I was ok just a little winded and a bit wet.
Now questions run around my head when I think of what is going on here. They are:
- Why are the fishing boats so close to shore?
- Are they intentionally going after bass?
- Should we be angry? Or are they just trying to make a living?
Frustrating as it may be. The fishing boats have always been aware of the bass feeding in and around our rocky shoreline. Funnily enough, It’s a good sign if the ‘boats’ are there, this means that there must be bass around that area. But why so close?
We must try and keep our venues a secret guys. Yes, you can still take a picture of the fish but just be a little bit mindful about the scenery that is going to be in the picture as well. The bass seems to be here one minute and gone the next. So when they’re here, we want to catch them.
