Client Catches – Summer Synopsis (Part 2 of 3)

Client Catches – Summer Synopsis

(Part 2 of 3)

As I commence writing this on the 8th July, I have just completed a two highly successful, back-to-back 3 Day Packages – so I’m glad to be sitting down as it pours with rain outside (my garden is happy!) so that my aching limbs can recover enough to go fishing myself this evening!

I don’t fish when I am guiding of course, although the pattern of late has been that if one my clients says “have a quick go Marc” I invariably end up catching one! Tut, tut I know! And this was precisely the case with the formidable-looking brute above, that obliterated the Patchinko 125 (what else!) attached to a clients’ line.

I felt bad, and a little embarrassed about catching this lovely fish on a ‘client rod’. But it only came about because Alan (my client that day who had travelled down from Cumbria with his friends Dave and Ian), had just landed the equally stunning bass below, and was taking a short break in order to ‘take in’ the moment.

After three casts I said to him “Here, take the rod back mate.” But when he replied that he was “enjoying watching me fish”, it was almost inevitable that on the very next cast and retrieve something would attempt to destroy it!

Same lure – different venues…

Two more significant bass to the insanely reliable ‘Patch 125’ then, the virtues of which I will cover in Part 3 of this series, in conjunction with continuing to highlight the numerous catches that my clients have achieved with it so far summer. But as intimated within the list of headlines in Part 1, in quite a contrast to my/our catches achieved at this stage last year, although it has been the same lure that has accounted for the vast majority of the bass landed in daylight (whilst often using a variety of lure types alongside it at times) it is the variety to the types of locations in which I/we have found the bass feeding that has been especially noteworthy.

Of further significance, is that within the initial and advanced planning stages to my guided and personal sessions, as well as contemplating the weather, the tide times, tide height, wind direction, its strength, and its affects on the sea state and overall clarity, a further consideration has related (and regularly so) to whether it is my intention to chase ‘territorial’ or ‘transitory’ bass…

Moving in/out, or just moving through…

In case you’re wondering what on earth I am banging on about here (although you’ll know precisely what I mean if you’ve read my second book: ‘Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective Volume 1‘) my interpretation is that ‘territorial bass’ are just that. They are resident, be it for a few weeks of the year, or perhaps within a specific region for the whole year, whereby they can and do stick to a predetermined route and/or timetable when conducting their hunting – moving in or out, of what is more likely to be rocky and weedy terrain (inter-tidal regions on the open coast and within the inner estuaries) where a great deal of natural ‘cover’ is apparent.

A ‘transitory bass’ on the other hand, is one or a number (which is more likely to be the case) that is moving through the area, generally within areas where there is significant current and/or where the seabed may be cleaner in nature (headlands, tide races, and large estuary mouths that may incorporate sandy or shingle/gravel beaches) and where the bait fish (sand eels, sprat, sand smelt, mackerel) are more likely to be shoaling.

The twist…

As a brief aside before I move onto what has been another significant feature of, primarily, a summer of ‘surface lure slaying’ in the nicest possible sense, and I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to a gentleman called Rob (the grinning client holding the magnificent bass above), as if I can climb, walk, scramble and fish as hard as this lovely bloke did over the three days of guiding 27 years from now I will be a very, very happy man! Massive respect!

I wrote about a ‘twist’ to proceedings this summer within Part 1 to this series (here) so here it is! I was asked recently within The Lure Fishing Podcast that I completed (here) about my thoughts on why bass seem to disappear from certain venues for couple of years, or indefinitely in some unfortunate cases. Well, my answer to that question was that I personally find that if one area becomes relatively or comparatively devoid of bass, then another venue, perhaps only a few hundred metres away and that may have been experiencing a period in the doldrums, will be ‘back on form’ as it were. It balanced out essentially.

Diverse

Whether you’re an avid reader of these pages, or if you’ve discovered me and my South Devon Bass Guide business today whilst reading this post, I am sure you’ll be able to pick up on the fact that the south Devon coastline is not only beautiful, but that it is also incredibly diverse in nature. Headlands, shallow sandy beaches, deep, shelving shingle banks, huge expanses of intertidal reef, numerous estuaries and a plethora of inlets and creeks adorn the landscape and seascape, all of which my make life a lot easier when it comes to seeking shelter from inclement weather.

Furthermore, due to our geographical location, it also explains why I am fortunate enough to be able to target bass on lures, and successfully too, all-year-round. Indeed, to be in a position where I can guide clients on and within multiple types of venue, all with a very realistic chance of ‘pulling out a donkey’ each time we head out is extremely exciting for me – even though I’m not actually fishing!

To elaborate on the above, I’ll leave you with the capture below then, as it’s captor, a brilliant bloke called Craig who’d only ever caught a couple of small bass on a lure prior to partaking in one of my 3 Day Packages, was desperate to make my ‘wall of fame’ (hahaha bless him) alongside learning how to ‘fish’ as many different types of venue as possible over the six sessions. There you go mate, you made it – with yet another 4lb+ bass to the Patchinko 125, landed from yet another type of venue: a sandy beach of all things. And you just for you Craig – a la Predator, “if you lose here, you’re in a world of hurt…”

My Books

(including my most recent release: ‘Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective Volume 2)

My new title ‘Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective (Volume 2)’ is IN STOCK and available to purchase. Details of the contents within each respective book in the image above can be found in the blog post that I wrote recently here, in addition to the various PayPal payment options applicable to each book.

Furthermore, my two previous titles: ‘The Lure of The Bass‘ and ‘Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective Volume 1‘ are also BACK IN STOCK for what I imagine will be a limited time only judging be the huge number of enquiries I’ve received! Therefore, if you would like to reserve and pay for a copy of either of these, books, or my latest, and you would prefer to pay by Bank Transfer, you can contact me via the Contact Form below or directly at southdevonbassguide@yahoo.com and I will answer as quickly as I possibly can. Thank you.