Client Catches – Breathtaking Bow Waves!

Client Catches – Breathtaking Bow Waves!

Welcome to another ‘quick fire’ blog post!

It’s getting to that time of year when the majority of the micro-bass begin to disperse and disappear – to where I have no idea! And in tandem with this occurrence is the increasing probability that one of ‘our’ clients (and by that I mean myself and my 2nd Guide Joe who is doing brilliantly I must add) latching into something very tasty, within water that is so shallow that it routinely borders on the ridiculous!

Inland creeks and channels, that meander through some of south Devon’s most beautiful and tranquil valleys, and where we regularly land good-sized bass five, six, seven, or more miles from the sea are the haunt of some serious ‘monsters’ from now until the New Year and beyond…

Lure Choice

As their guide within such environments, the lure choice will be dictated by a number of facets to include:

• Water clarity (clear, murky, or in between).
• Sea state (ice-rink calm through to choppy).
• Strength of the current/tide/flow.
• Overhead conditions (sunny/bright or cloudy/dull).
• Depth of water (waist, knee, or ankle deep!)
• The amount of suspending weed fragments.

In a nutshell, if the water is very fast moving, dirty/cloudy, choppy/rough, and there are weed fragments to contend with, then I will be looking to attach a soft plastic paddle tail of some variety, rigged onto a belly weighted hook so to occasionally ‘tap’ the seabed on the retrieve. My favourites in these scenarios are currently the following:

• Savage Gear Gravity Stick 140
• Megabass Spindle Worm 4″ or 5″
• Sawamura One-Up Shad 4″
• Keitech Easy Shiner 3.5″ and 4″
• Pirate Lures Teaser 120

In contrast, if there is a modicum of clarity to the water (especially within the margins where the bait fish and fry will look to avoid being swept precariously into the flow/current), the water is calm, and the current is flowing at a slow to medium pace, then whether the sun is blistering or the rain is pouring down, my thoughts will shift towards attaching a small (70-110mm) surface popper or slider…

Currently nestling inside my personal and professional lure boxes are the following patterns:

• Patchinko 100
• IMA Chappy 80
• IMA Pugachev Cobra 90
• Fishus Espetit 95
• Fishus Ubuntu 70
• Tackle House Feed Popper 70

Reaction

I mentioned the margins earlier in this post, and clearly this is where the water will be exceptionally shallow. But trust me when I say that, in my experience, there is a greater chance of a bass walloping a diminutive surface lure by either casting parallel to the shore, or indeed, by targeting the far side of a channel over retrieving it right down the centre of it.

Importantly, if you do decide to cast the lure practically onto the opposite side of a bank or mudflat (yes, some of these channels are less than 20m wide towards low tide) then my advice is to commence retrieving the lure the very second it hits the water – the reason being that this is the best way to garner an instinctive reaction or ‘follow’ from one of our spikey friends.

Bow Wave City…

Ahhhh the follow! Remember that we are talking about water that is generally less than knee-deep here… Because what this means is that when a bass decides to arrow in on your zigzagging or spluttering piece of hard plastic, its back, and that spectacular dorsal fin will very often be breaking the surface, with the momentum of its body creating a ‘wake’ like that of a torpedo about to smash into its target. Yep, ‘Bow Wave City baby!!!

When you witness a quality bass ‘turn’ on your lure with the intention of barrelling into the back of it, or even better, a disturbance suddenly and intently tracking your offering it really is a sight to behold, and one that is breathtakingly exciting if or when it ‘sucks it in’ (as the big mommas do) or chooses to sideswipe it in one vicious motion…

What a way to catch any fish, let alone one of these sublime predators, within surroundings that I love to investigate, and that are the domain of some seriously big bass at certain times of the year – and that time is now!

The Lure of The Bass – The Final 100 Copies

I have a limited number of the final 100 copies of my first book ‘The Lure of The Bass’ remaining before I embark on writing a ‘Revised Edition’ over the winter. Of note, is that this final batch is individually numbered and will also be signed by myself.

To discover what is encompassed within the current version of ‘The Lure of The Bass’ (as well as my two other publications ‘Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective Volumes 1 + 2‘) you can follow the link here – My Books: A Description of What’s Encompassed Within Each.

Further, to purchase what may well become a ‘collectors item’ one day (so I’m told!) you can utilise the PayPal facility below. Alternatively, to pay by Bank Transfer (BACS) please contact me via the Contact Form at the bottom of the page, or directly at southdevonbassguide@yahoo.com and I will send you the relevant details required to proceed.

• NOTE – For EU and Worldwide customers I will only post TRACKED for an additional cost of £10 – you will need to contact me directly in this instance also.