With my 2nd Guide Joe only just embarking on his guiding journey for the new season this week following what was a memorable first few months of the year (via the capture of 60cm open-coastal bass in January here and the magnificent near 7lb lure-caught Gilthead Bream in March here) I began with my clients in earnest just last week.
So following a couple of frustrating sessions in which we received follows, dodgy hook ups (resulting in a lost fish) and the capture of a couple of small ones ‘off the top’ it was very pleasing to be able to assist an experienced fisherman who’d travelled down from Dorset to be with me, but one who is very new to this arena to catch his first ever ‘Creature Bait Bass’.
The Brief
“I’d love to ‘sight-fish’ a bass on a creature Marc” was the brief from my client Adam – something I 90% achieved for him, via his perseverance, and a touch of tenacity on my part as his guide and instructor for the day…
A primarily sunny sky and a howling easterly, that buffeted us to the extent we had to seek shelter behind his van to shake hands greeted us as we exchanged pleasantries upon meeting for the first time. But despite what many would perceive as ‘difficult’ conditions to lure a bass, I was very confident that we’d hook one..
The Tactics
When a client requests that he or she would like to be taught a tactic that is in fact the ‘perfect’ one for the conditions and time of year, it makes my job a lot simpler! And so following a few tweaks of his retrieve style (he was moving the Megabass Sleeper Craw far too quickly, to the extent that it wasn’t remaining on the seabed during the move/pause recovery and was in fact practically swimming) I gestured towards and explained how he’d be searching out every single nook and cranny over approximately a mile of wrack-ridden foreshore!
Timed to coincide with what I surmised would be the ‘best’ period in the tide in which the bass would be ‘positioning’, our trump card would be to really scrutinise any zones where the trees cast a shadow over the areas he was fishing, or indeed to really try to take full advantage of the moments when the Sun would become occasionally hazy due to the high cloud.
Success!
So with more and more bait fish (sand smelt I believe) infiltrating the sheltered margins in conjunction with the sunshine and clear water present, I believe the bass a relishing the fact that they have more of a choice than just a ‘crab diet!’ However, what this means for the angler and guide is that, unlike the depths of winter when they are more predictable in their behaviour, there are now clearly times when they ‘want’ a small fish imitation, and then other times when something resembling a crustacean will garner a more positive approach…
Clearly, it is up to me to try and ascertain what they do want, which isn’ simple when I am completing a 1-2-1 session, when I do not fish myself while guiding
A swirl! Within a clear gap in the weedy margins that I’d asked Adam to ‘search out’ as it looked exceedingly ‘bassy’ to me, just as he was about to make a cast it appeared to me (under the shade of a wooden-backed canopy) that a bass had attempted to ‘take’ a mouthful of smelt.
“Lob it in mate, and retrieve it with quarter turns, and very short pauses straight through that gap”. An under arm cast ensued, and about halfway through the short recovery his Major Craft Tidrift 862LML walloped over! Oh yesssssss.
From Adam…
” This was my first session with a Guide, and I was very surprised how subtle tweaks and prompts were able to completely change the way I was fishing, and the way the lures were being presented. Very excited to take these lessons forward, and to apply it to my fishing this year… ” Thanks Marc!
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Thanks for reading.
Marc Cowling
Owner/Director – South Devon Bass Guide Ltd
South Devon Bass Guide Ltd 