“Placing something that is looking like and acting like what a bass is looking for, within a setting and a scenario in which they expect to find it is, quite simply, successful bass lure fishing encapsulated.”
The above is line from the ‘Introduction to Lures’ chapter of my most recent title: The Lure of The Bass – The Revised Edition. And the reason I have used it as the title for this post is because it is the perfect way to summarise what was a wonderfully satisfying session, not only for my client Dan, but also for me as his instructor and guide.
One lure… Still
Before I continue, I do appreciate that the use of this type of lure could well be ‘switching people off’ of my more recent posts. However, as a Pro-Guide, I have an obligation to not only place bass on the beach (or mud!), but to also teach my clients what it is they would like to learn, both whenever prudent and indeed possible.
Anyhow, Dan would be using the Megabass Sleeper Craw Creature Bait during the majority of this session for a number reasons. Primarily, it was what he really wanted to catch a decent bass on having broken his ‘creature cherry’ with me during my final guided session of 2025 back in early December.
Furthermore, with the air still on the cold side during this session, I surmised that the bass were still feeding hard on the seabed in their search for crabs considering the lack of bait fish, added to the fact that nothing had touched his Patchinko 100, IMA Chappy 80, or OSP DoLive Stick earlier on the ebbing tide…
Stood on the mark – literally
The low tide period arrived, and after snaffling our local Farm Shop pies I decided to stand Dan literally in the precise zone amongst the weed clumps in which I’d later be asking him to ‘dump’ the Craw… Moreover, once he was in position, I explained and demonstrated the equally precise trajectory that I knew from experience, the bass would navigate along and through in their relentless search for a crustacean lunch…
This brought back memories of when I used to routinely stand my clients into rock pools, ravines, gullies, and depressions set amongst sections of Sun-baked reef during the late-afternoon period – telling them that this was exactly where they’d be lobbing their Wave Worms and Needlefish into once the tide had flooded in, and darkness had offically fallen.
Double Act
After ‘sighting’ two bass myself only moments before, as I sat, perched with Bertie the Border Terrier on my lap, a shout of “Marc!!!!!!!!!!!!” from 30m up-creek of my position alerted me to the fact that he’d ‘nailed’ one! An experienced angler, Dan knew the drill should I be more than 10m away from him, which was to essentially drag the bass out with the rod held low in those final, crucial seconds, as they attempt to thrash on the surface and ‘throw’ the hook(s).
By the time I’d clambered to him, what I knew instantly was a ‘beast’ and without a doubt his personal best was resting on the wrack. What a fish indeed. What’s more, although he did try to tell me as I slipped into ‘photo, film, and release’ mode, upon bringing his prize into the margins, a bass that he estimated to have been a couple of centimetres larger than his 64cm PB buster had swam with it until the very last moment. Amazing!
Double Tap
In addition, and indeed in conjunction with the above occurrence that is fairly common I have to add, Dan said that he ‘felt’ an initial ‘tap’ reverberate through the Seabass Custom rod I designed with Major Craft about a quarter of the way through the retrieve. From there, he stuck brilliantly to the brief I’d given him – which was to keep doing the same thing and NOT strike!!!
Sure enough, following another couple of sets of ‘turn the handle a half-turn and pause a second’ another harder ‘tap’ and the rod whacked over to the tune of what I can only presume was a couple of bass in competition with each other. If Dan’s bass had been a ‘loner’ I’m not entirely sure it would have taken another bite at the Sleeper Craw, but with another fish (that may well have been part of the same shoal once upon a time) by its side and equally eager to feed, one of them was going to eat it!
Dan’s Words
“In Marc’s words, I’m the “man who runs over black cats for a living”, such has been my luck with bass. Thanks to Marc that has very much changed. Coming from a freshwater background bass have been beating me up and I’ve been leaning heavily on Marc and his fantastic books to learn everything from typical bass behaviour to lure types/retrievals, and how tides affect each mark differently (basically everything!). Marc has been relentless in his efforts to not only give me the best chance of catching during our sessions but also passing on his wealth of knowledge about all things bass related.
It’s a long trip down from the Lincolnshire Fens and this time I was keen to get to grips with bass on creatures. Marc dropped us on fish straight away, in the most picturesque estuary location, and I did my best to make his job difficult…but in his typical optimistic and confident manner the encouragement continued. As the tide flooded in Marc’s instructions changed with it, highlighting the area he knew bass would soon be patrolling and then the bite came; a tap, a pause, a second tap and the rod bent over. There was no messing about getting her in and I was amazed to watch as another bass of a similar size followed her all the way to the shore. A stunning, black backed, bronze flanked beauty of 64cm, easily a new pb, was soon being unhooked and returned. On a creature!
This session felt like a culmination of lessons coming together. Thanks to his guidance my eyes are well and truly opened as to WHERE bass will search out food, HOW they will hunt their prey and WHEN they are likely to be doing just that. I’ve walked away from our latest session with the most memorable catch, far exceeding my expectations and a far deeper understanding of bass. His passion and deep understanding of bass shines through every time he explains something to you, always in ways that make it easy for you to understand, no matter what your level experience. Thank you Marc, for an incredible session.”
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Thanks for reading
Marc Cowling
Owner/Director – South Devon Bass Guide Ltd
South Devon Bass Guide Ltd 