Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective (Volume 2)

‘Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective’

(Volume 2)

97,000 Words, 306 Pages and 4 Chapters: I only wish writing a book could be accomplished as quickly as it took took to write this sentence! Joking aside, I can honesty say that it’s been a very pleasurable experience preparing, planning, and piecing together what I wanted to incorporate into my third title, and of course, what is the second instalment of the ‘Guide’s Perspective Series’…

So what did I want to ‘achieve’ in writing Volume 2, just over two years after I released Volume 1, and four-and-a-half years after what I envisaged at the time would be the only book I’d write (The Lure of The Bass) was revealed and unleashed to the bass lure fishing fraternity?

Before I answer that question in full there are a lot of people I need to thank! Sincerely, I would like to take this opportunity say ‘Thank You’ to all of my clients, and to the readers of this blog, in addition to every single person who has purchased either of my previous publications. Furthermore, I would especially like to wholeheartedly thank those of you who have taken the time to email or message me over the past 5-6 years with the fantastic stories of the marks you’ve discovered, and the marvellous bass catches you have achieved – many of which you’ve very kindly attributed to reading, digesting, and then utilising the information contained in my previous books. Your encouragement and positivity really does spur me on and I am very grateful – thank you.

You are my inspiration. And it is this, alongside witnessing those many, many magical moments with my clients, when these beautiful fish are caught and released, that serve to keep me focussed during the long hours it takes to ‘cobble together’ what are my memoirs in affect, and that act as an ever evolving commentary to the wonderful fishing journey that I am on, along what is a spectacularly varied and diverse coastline that I am very fortunate to call ‘home’.

‘Context, Objective and Theme’

Onto the second part of the answer, in addition to outlining what is encompassed within Volume 2. If you have read either or both of my previous and respective releases then you would have noticed that there is one or a number of strands or themes running through them. For example, ‘The Lure of The Bass’ is ‘instructional’ in nature, with concise accounts of the more significant bass from early in my education, and is very much a ‘user manual or reference book’ (as described very kindly by the Bass Anglers’ Sportfishing Society review here) that specifies the components and framework that comprise successful bass lure fishing tactics to the angler who ‘knows one end of a fishing rod from another’, but that isn’t overly acquainted with catching these most mercurial of creatures.

It is both ‘scientific and systematic’ in the way each of the requisite constituents are presented: which equipment and lures to obtain and how to utilise them in the varying conditions you’ll encounter, plus the behavioural traits of our quarry (the positioning and patrolling aspect especially) and ‘how to find’ bass marks from primarily an open coastal rocky and reefy viewpoint. I then move onto determining ‘when’ the bass are more likely to be present on these marks via the precise recording of the relevant data (sea temp, wind direction, water clarity, tidal range, etc.) and how to decipher the patterns, alongside further chapters associated to what was my burgeoning successes whilst lure fishing in darkness, plus a conservation section. It is, essentially, the ‘nuts and bolts’ and how to screw them all together based on 27 years of how I taught myself to catch these wonderful predators on lures, prior to becoming a full-time, professional bass lure fishing guide.

You can read the original post describing what is contained within ‘The Lure of The Bass’ that I wrote upon its release here.

Quite simply, Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective (Volume 1) was a book that I needed to write due to the ‘information overload’ that was occurring in my head! My primary objective here was to write a follow up that would ‘teach’ the reader how to catch bass within an all-encompassing array and inclusive combination of situations, conditions and venues. Alongside the rock and reef marks where I’d earned my stripes as it were, Volume 1 centres around shingle and sandy beaches, the estuarine environments where I spent 40% of my time leading up to writing the second book, plus the headlands and of course, something that I have come to specialise in – catching bass on lures in the darkness.

In a nutshell, Volume 1 is a collection of events that catalogue and chronicle everything that I had learnt in relation to bass lure fishing since becoming a pro-guide four years prior, and that I’d successfully transferred into my guiding by virtue of the catches my clients and I achieved, with a further aspiration of mine being that I wanted it to be easier to read, understand and digest. As such, it is more anecdotal in nature, whilst providing the reader with a series of learning points within each account specific to the planning, strategy, methods, tactics and lure types that were utilised. Above all though, I wanted to place the reader ‘in the moment’ so to depict just what it is really like to be attached to a beautiful bass whilst being guided on this equally beautiful coastline. The ‘confessions of a bass lure guide’ is how the Bass Anglers’ Sportfishing Society commenced their very positive review here.

The ‘consequential catches’ that shaped many of my new found approaches, the ‘manual and natural’ triggers that the angler needs to be aware of or can administer to maximise their chances, how I have perceived the many ‘patterns and anomalies through my continued note-taking and guiding adventures, and my favourite client stories all feature. Moreover, in addition the biotic and abiotic factors that influence my year-round bass lure fishing escapades, my enhanced appreciation pertaining to ‘bass movement’ is a theme that is highlighted throughout my second self-published title.

You can read the original post describing what is contained within ‘Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective (Volume 1)’ that I wrote upon its release here.

Acknowledgements and Content

In addition to adding some context, and more especially, to highlight just how much I continue to learn in relation to these awe-inspiring, and exceptionally unique sporting sea fish, the reason I have elaborated on the contents of my previous releases is because it was my aspiration and ambition, that in writing Volume 2 I could present a piece of work to you that is a combination of them both. As the blurb pronounces in the images below: ‘Volume 2 is a coalescence of detailed instructional information relating to the major advancements and progression I’ve made as a professional guide, in addition to the confirmed hypotheses, real-life events and bass captures we’ve achieved to ‘blend the analytical and the credible, with the incredible’.

And this is where I need to acknowledge my exceedingly determined clients again. Because it is their effort, tenacity, and receptiveness that has earnestly assisted me to accumulate and then contemplate our findings – to the extent that it has expedited my understanding of numerous techniques, methods, approaches, lure types and types of venues way beyond my imagination in many respects. And it is this personal progression, all of which is deliniated and exhibited within this book, that I am extremely excited to reveal to you, with the watchword ‘don’t just think like a fish, think like a bass’ never far from my thoughts…

Of huge significance I feel, has been the capacity and capability to guide two or three anglers on the same venue(s) and within the same session on a consistent basis. It is their skillset and assimilation, that I take great pleasure in facilitating and intently enhancing, that has enabled me to directly compare, evaluate, and then quantify my findings and theories via not only my achievements with a rod, reel and lure, but also through the many splendid catches achieved by these anglers and very nice people too I have to say. Yes, I am teaching and guiding them, but at the end of the day, they are ones holding the rod and casting and retrieving the lures…

As I have alluded to within the respective narrative(s), although you would have seen and read about many of the captures via the ‘My Recent Catches’ and ‘Client Capture’ blog posts over the past coupe of years, these only tell a small proportion of the story, as it was and will remain my intention to provide the complete details within my books here, and going forward with any future publications. Indeed, contained within the 306 Pages of Volume 2 are the detailed accounts and intricate technicalities behind, among many other significant captures, the ten separate 70cm+ bass (“a fish of a lifetime Marc” my happy client tell me which is lovely) that my clients and I have landed over the past two seasons, and since I released Volume 1.

Foreword and Preface

Volume 2 opens with a Foreword very kindly written by esteemed angler, journalist, and BASS Chairman Steve Pitts (thank you Steve!) followed by a Preface in which I depict the monumental capture of my first double figure bass of 12lb 2oz that I landed and released back in November 2021. This initial segment of the book is symbolic, not only because I tell the complete story of my personal best bass for the first time, but also because it acts as a precursor for what is contained within each of the further representations of the many ‘crocodiles’ my clients and I have landed, each with the intention of consolidating on the instructional information that is sandwiched between what I hope you will find are enlightening and exhilarating depictions of some truly marvellous moments.

Chapter by Chapter

Dialling down and delving even deeper into the intricacies of what it takes to consistently catch a bass on a lure, if Volume 1 was effectively moulded around my improved understanding of ‘bass movement’ and their localised migration, then the overriding theme within Volume 2 pertains to garnering ‘a reaction’ out of these extraordinary fish via fact-based analysis, real-time events and a selection of personal and client based stories that bring a smile to my face and that I cannot help but reminisce over time and again. Of note and that I hope is helpful, is that I have presented the order of the chapters in such as way that they build upon each other. So onto what is contained within the four chapters then…

Chapter One – ‘Overcoming Adversity’

Chapter One – Overcoming Adversity contains 121 pages of how I have encountered and ultimately learnt to prevail (not only myself, but with my clients also) having consistently circumnavigated and overcome what were, and in many respects are still considered to be sea, weather and tidal conditions far from ideal in which to target bass on a lure, to the extent that in many of the naturally occurring scenarios covered below, I have also learnt to embrace and harness their affects. Occurrences such as:

• Bright, sunny overhead conditions
• Water that is highly transparent (in daylight).
• Water that is exceptionally murky (in daylight and darkness).
• Atypical wind directions and strengths.
• Bright/High and/or Full-Moon.
• Cold weather conditions (in winter).
• The Small Neap Tide mindset.
• Floating and suspending weed.

In addition to the numerous ‘get arounds’ associated to the items above, as I intimated earlier in the post, within each chapter you will discover real-life stories that connect and reaffirm many or all of the principles I cover, whilst also confirming many of the hypotheses I propose. The six indelible events depicted alongside the multitude of instructional information in the ‘Overcoming Adversity’ chapter are:

• ‘The Water and The Lure’ reveals the thought processes and the methods utilised that enabled a 72cm/9lb client capture in extremely shallow water that I knew would become murky as the depth decreased towards low water – something I/we used to our advantage via utilising a white paddle tail lure under a bright sunny sky. There’s a few comical moments in this one!

• ‘Meant To Be’ is my account of a beautiful 6lb+ client bass landed in exceptionally clear water this time, via the crafty use of a natural-coloured soft plastic lure retrieved to make brief contact with the seabed so to create a ‘smokescreen’ that only a bass would know how to take full advantage of!

• ‘The Window of Opportunity’ recites the events of what were, by far, the worst weather conditions in which I have guided anyone, yet, through the hard-won knowledge of a particular venue, and matching the tactics and lure type to the overall environment, saw my clients prevail in water clarity that was bordering on ‘hot chocolate’ – oh, and it was in complete darkness too!

• ‘The Hunter’s Moon’ summarises two significant client PBs for the same angler, on the same mark, on the same series of tides yet a year apart, the second of which (at 6lb+) was successfully accomplished thanks to a ‘ploy’ I administered to vanquish the effects of one the largest and brightest Moons in the Lunar calendar.

• ‘Pity Taken’ takes in an exceptionally frosty December night, when my clients not only had to overcome the cold, but also over the ‘floodlight in the sky’ via the use of what could be classified as an atypically-coloured lure… Black.

• ‘U571’ is an accurate representation of the largest bass that I personally landed and released (at 8lb) in the 2022 season, following the planning, exploration, and experimentation during what is historically perceived to be a ‘difficult’ period in which to catch most sea fish – the very smallest neap tides…

Chapter Two – ‘Templates For Success’

The inspiration for this chapter was the hour-long presentation that I formulated and presented for the 2022 BASS AGM titled ‘Finding The Features’ that you can watch here. Expanding and elaborating on this, through the use of photographs, images, diagrams, illustrations, and comprehensive descriptions, the next 71 pages that form Chapter Two – Templates For Success’ describe the extremely specific topographical and intertidal features that I look for in the seabed and how the current interacts with them, divided into nine Inner Estuarine and seven Open Coastal settings. These ‘templates’ comprise a varied selection of what I have used, and that I continue to rely on in my continual quest to increase my portfolio of the 200+ proven bass marks I currently have at my disposal.

Again, blended into the narrative are two enduring accounts that encapsulate and summarise the components relative to the corresponding environments above. These client captures are:

• ‘Coalescence in Colour’ conjoins the majority of the very specific features that I look for in an inner estuary mark, as well as overcoming the issue of ‘dirty’ water. Here, I recount the moments leading up to and following handing my client a very bright lure, whereby he extracted a stunning 6lb bass – I’ll never forget his face!

• ‘Zero to Hero’ describes a collection of sessions in which, again, the problem of murky water and bright sunshine was bypassed, before the main event transpired – a whopping 70cm bass being the cherry on top of a day that commenced with a talented young angler never having previously caught a bass on a lure. What a fish!

Chapter Three – ‘Marginal Gains’

The third chapter in my new release is titled: ‘Marginal Gains’. Building upon and linking into the information contained within the first two chapters, within the subsequent 69 pages I divulge the advantages associated to all lure types by means of eight differing retrieve styles in conjunction with the natural occurrences around us that can be achieved by applying innovative and considered judgements and adjustments to our mindsets and skillsets.

Inclusive of the impressive array of venue types that I fish and guide upon (beaches, rocks, reefs, creeks, lagoons, headlands) both in daylight and darkness, the emphasis is on how we, as anglers, can gain every conceivable advantage over our inherently wary quarry. All of the small things either add up, or one of them will make the difference within a session – this is my mantra, and some of my findings linked to the reactionary nature of these amazing creatures or how I’ve learnt to counter their reticence or reluctance to take a lure have served to blow my mind!

As per the previous chapters, the information contained within the third segment of the book is predominantly instructional and educational, with the two stories embedded with the text incorporated to showcase how even the infinitesimal or miniscule adjustments to the retrieve style or angle can or do make a massive difference to the catch rate:

• ‘The Boxing Day Bass’ is the first of the two factual accounts that sets the scene in relation to how a very specific action applied by the angler (me!) resulted in the capture and release of a 71cm bass that was the highlight of my Festive period I can assure you!

• ‘Talking The Stalk’ is, in essence, the second part of the ‘Zero to Hero’ recital in which another ‘client PB’ was achieved within conditions and on a venue that, even three years ago, I would never have looked at – thus demonstrating the learning that has taken place over a comparatively short period of time within my bass lure fishing erudition.

Chapter Four – ‘What The Future Holds’

None of us ever stop learning, and added to my penchant for deciphering how I can catch bass from as many differing environments as possible, whilst utilising newly learnt methods, tactics and lure types, the fourth and final chapter ‘What The Future Holds’ is reserved for how I see my bass lure fishing and professional guiding operation possibly developing over the next few seasons. Moreover, and rather excitedly too, the chapter also details the environments in which I have only recently discovered where, when and how to catch what is an ‘intelligent species’ in my opinion – the future perhaps, with possibilities that I cannot wait to explore, relish, and reveal in Volume 3 of course!

Just the one account opens the chapter here, but it is one that facilitated a number of fundamental enlightenments that, consequently and positively, have altered to my entire outlook:

• ‘You Couldn’t Write It’ portrays a quite remarkable chain of events that culminated in the capture and release of a mesmerising 74 cm lure-caught bass that I landed in late-March 2021 on the very first cast of the session. However, it is what transpired in the lead up to this event that is especially noteworthy, and almost unbelievable!

Ordering/Purchasing details

As it stands on the day of releasing this blog post (30th March) I am still in the process of emailing everyone who has purchased either or both of my previous titles, despite having already sent out well over 2200 individual ‘invitations to purchase’ so far! Therefore, if an email from my southdevonbassguide@yahoo.com account isn’t immediately obvious, then it may have ended up in your SPAM box or you should receive something from me over the next few days. Further, please can I thank those of you who have already pre-ordered and paid for your books – I believe I have replied with confirmations of receipt of payment to all of you yesterday and this morning. The books will be posted during the week commencing 3rd April.

In addition to providing the opportunity to purchase ‘Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective (Volume 2)’, I have taken the liberty of commissioning a further print run of both ‘The Lure of The Bass’ and ‘A Guide’s Perspective (Volume 1) meaning all three books are currently available to order (they will be posted as per the information above). Please find below an updated price list, as well as some further details related to placing an order:

Price List

Prices include the postage and packaging to a UK Mainland/IOM/Northern Ireland/Channel Island address. However, if you are looking to purchase from a Republic of Ireland/EU or Worldwide address then please contact me via the Contact Form at the bottom of the page as I will only send via TRACKED postage to destinations outside of the UK.

Please note that as of 24th May 23 The Lure of The Bass and A Guide’s Perspective Volume 1 are OUT OF STOCK.

Option 1. The Lure of The Bass – £20.99 *** OUT OF STOCK ***

Option 2.    Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective (Volume 1) – £22.99 *** OUT OF STOCK ***

Option 3.    Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective (Volume 2) – £23.99 *** This is my new book ***

To purchase Options 1 and 2 – £42.99

To purchase Options 1 and 3  – £43.99

To purchase Options 2 and 3 – £45.99

To purchase Options 1,2 and 3 (all three books) – £64.99

Queries and Contact

If you have any queries or questions, or if you would just like to confirm what you should be paying for what, then please do not hesitate to contact me via the form below, or alternatively, via my email at: southdevonbassguide@yahoo.com

Thank you for reading.

Marc Cowling