Cutting the festive cake

At the moment I'm reminded that it is nearly Christmas time almost every second of every day. Radio adverts, TV adverts (am I alone in wondering how a scentless film of a perfume bottle, sells perfume?). The shops are full of boxes of Quality Street and my wife is stressed. Even the dog is wearing a look of fear as it worries over the imminent arrival of the dog sized plastic rain deer antlers. Last night I tried escaping to crew training at the village Lifeboat House only to be bombarded with need to make my starter, main and pud choices the forthcoming Christmas meal'? Bah humbug...

I am not alone. I am quite sure that others suffer the same affliction. So why then am I making the same mistake and pestering you with Christmas greetings? Well partly because we just have to do it. It is within our culture, our society, our inherited persona to pass on seasonal greetings to all whether we feel cheery or not. We have to send Christmas cards, we have to pull crackers, suddenly we have to like bread sauce, we just have to be  festive; ok!

Mostly though I write because this time of year heralds (no Christmas pun intended) the beginning of the next fishing season. And frankly this is something to very be cheery about! This is fun, this is fishing!

Next season 2015 we will start fishing in Mid March. March and April is spurdog time and these feisty sharks are great fun. 2014's best went over 20lb and we intend to beat that fish in spring 2015. My main spurdog marks are sat there quietly developing and untouched. Can't wait to get a piece of squid trundling across them.

Early spring is also king Whiting time. We had some lovely hauls last year with plenty of 2lb + fish popping up. I like whiting fishing, they are plentiful and the eat superbly. I will deep fry mine gutted but whole, no flour just in the fryer they go. They come out crisp and juicy and a squeeze of lemon and a spoon of tartar sauce turns them into fish meal heaven.

The fist bass will arrive in April, the first Mackerel in late May and then the summer is up and running. We will be pollacking on the offshore wrecks, breaming locally. Grabbing hold of the rods and holding on for all we are worth when the first Tope arrives. As the summer months wear on so the fishing just gets better and I can not wait.

I love Christmas. Let the feasting begin, let the angels sing and praise the new born king because soon after comes the best time of the year. Time to go fishing.

Happy Christmas all.

The bass crisis

I have just learnt that scientific advice in 2013 asked for a 36% cut in bass catches, which was not acted upon and now the latest advice from the International Council for the Exploitation of the Seas (ICES) released June 2014, advises that an 80% cut in catches of bass across the EU is required in 2015! 

I am becoming more and more afraid that increasing commercial bass fishing is pressurising the bass stock rapidly to the point of no return. The estimated six thousand commercial fishermen remaining land £160 million worth of fish 80% of which are of little direct interest to us anglers. Of the remaining 20%, £32 million is made up of those same fishery resources upon which the £1.23 billion sea angling industry is dependent and include £5 million worth of commercially landed sea bass. 

A £1.23 billion recreational angling sector and a £32 million commercial sector? It is immediately clear where the benefit to the UK lies and yet over fishing continues. It is a deeply worrying trend and one that can only be addressed through politics. I'm going to write to my MP and my AM. You should too.

What gave the hardest pull this year?

 Whether the day is just breaking and we are on passage from the harbour,

or whether we are on the way home just coming onto the pier, thoughts naturally turn to the best fish of the day.

The hopes and aspirations at the start of the trip are matched equally by the pleasure of memories of fish caught during it. So what did give the hardest pull this year? To be honest I'm not really sure. A big ray kiting across the tide can be a beast to deal with and there has been some muscle straining action as a wise old Thornback is pumped up. Tope, now when they are in the mood they seriously pull. Funny fish tope though because at times they will come to the boat like dogs on a lead, whilst at other times the first adrenalin filled run is like hooking a steam train, In fact my best analogy is its like tying the reel line to the collar of a Labrador, throwing a ball and yelling fetch. Unstoppable.

Then there is the mighty bass, a good one on light tackle is a different prospect to anything else we fish for here in the UK saltwater. They pull hard. The surprise of the early season were the bountiful spurdogs that use guile and muscle to put a cracking scrap into any effort to boat them. The seasons best went to 20lb and my word did it fight. Similar in so many ways are the smooth hounds but they pull harder still. If the Labrador analogy works for tope then smooth hounds are grey hounds. Keep up with them if you can. But perhaps the thing that pulled the most was this boat. Broken down and in need of a helping tow, 3 Fishes knew she had a scrap on!

So here is the list.... enjoy.

Bass - 9.5 lb

Tope - 51 lb

Spurdog - 20 lb

Ray - 10 lb

Smooth Hound - 7lb

Huss - 15 lb

Cod - 3.5 lb

Pollack - 4.5 lb

Gurnard - 2.5 lb

Whiting - 2.5 lb

After this the list gets almost endless and includes, flounder, plaice and dabs, coalfish, mackerel, herring, 3 species of gurnard, 2 species of weaver, launce, garfish, 2 species of wrasse, scad, pouting, 2 species of eels, dogs, dragonet, etc etc.

Q. When is a fish not a fish? A. When its a shellfish

Lucky me. I get to take you fishing for fin fish and when I'm not doing that I'm either fishing for them myself or hauling my Lobster pots in the hunt for something wonderfully tasty! Under current legislation anyone can 'fish' five Lobster pots on a hobby basis (i.e. you do not sell your catch). The rules are that you must have a 'hobby' licence from the Sea Fisheries people and you should not land more than two legal size Lobsters a day. Your buoy's should be clearly marked with your issued hobby licence number and as a courtesy to other boat users leaded buoy lines are necessary. After that its up to you to chuck 'em in somewhere good and hope!

This summer I fished four lobster pots for fun and for food. I would have fished five but my stock had diminished and I felt too tight to spend £60 on new ones. A problem I have now solved by salvaging four perfect storm blown pots off a local beach recently. Five pots next year! The game is so simple I find it endlessly surprising that more people don't do it. Add its simplicity (bait, drop, leave, pick up again) to the fact that its great fun and I'm even more amazed. Maybe its the fear of eating something that needs some preparation. Lets face it buying a pre boiled frozen thing from a discount supermarket that was caught in Canada probably a year ago seems so much easier. It comes in a nice clean package probably complete with instructions!

But then I'm a hunter gatherer and like all of my ilk, I enjoy both the hunt and then I enjoy the proceeds. Cooking is a part of the process. A spicy fragrant salad of lime, garlic, palm sugar and fish sauce and salad leave tossed into still warm lobster takes some beating. Here as well as on a south Asian beach! By the way the stunning Spiny Lobster that I found on a beach yesterday was under size and returned to the sea. If the miracle happens and I catch it again in a few years time it will still be returned. Too beautiful even for this hunter gatherer.

What did it for me? The definitive Shallow Runner list

If there is one question I get asked more than any other it is; 'where can I catch bass?'. And it is a question that I'll politely avoid answering. It is after all a significant part of my trade - the where to find fish thing. If you are a client then there are no secrets, I'll happily point you at shore marks but catch up with me on the harbour wall with a 'eer mate, eard you no were to catch bass local like' and I'll tell you little.

So marks are off limits (unless you like to geek my photography - yes some do - for the occasional background clue). However I am happy to talk lures. This is a big mind set change for me and one that didn't come easy. I've had to learn that keeping lure secrets is pointless. After all one man's dream catcher will be another man's dead loss. Added to that fact is I believe 'the be all and end all' is in the instant in time that a lure swims past a fish. No one can replicate that as the variables are too endless. Think about it in this way; you will never fish the same spot for the same fish in the same conditions ever. So mimicking my lure choices will do little to enhance chance.

The important issue is one of confidence. Buy a lure online 'blind' and you will have no faith in it and if it has not caught in 20 mins of fishing, it will rust in the bottom of the box. By a lure online that you know others have caught with then your faith and therefore confidence will grow. So my advice is clear don't listen to those that say 'try this'. Listen only to those that say...'I have caught plenty with this'.

So here it is season 2014 Shallow Runner 'plenty of fish' catchers. In no particular order of preference but all caught well. Remember please that this is not a list of every lure that caught fish this year, just the ones that caught consistently.

1. Rapala's subtle but oh so effective Max Rap. Casts poorly by today's standard, swims slowly and they love it.
2. Luckycraft's Flash Minnow 110. Welcome to lure heaven. Fake and burn it or simply wobble it home either way its deadly in any ones hands.
3. Rapture's Momoko 120. The surprise of the season. Fish it slow'ish'. Fed up with £25 lures then this is the baby. Get 5 for the price of 1!
4. Rapala's xrap. No good in a head wind but want depth (c.2.5m) and this little lure is unbeatable. Yes unbeatable.
5. IMA Sasuke - the Ferrari of the shallow runner world. All glitz, all poise, all expense.. But hell it catches.

Next time = top water and here, as a tease, is one of the sexy ones!

I love it when its calm

A couple of mornings ago, before the N wind returned, I went fishing. A rare and beautiful event as I hardly ever go fishing just for myself. Corrine, the dog, 3 Fishes and me. Of course we chose the best day of the season (don't worry guys that's best day of the season so far). The sea was glass calm as the picture proves better than words.

We left the harbour at first light and headed straight to a great HW hotspot. I had slept listlessly the night before as I practised how I would position 3 Fishes on the mark so that Corrine could fish it to its maximum. My wife is a surface lure aficionado. Truth be told its hard to get her to fish anything else and this particular spot is a surface lure dream. As the light came up I crept 3 Fishes up to the mark and C fished it beautifully without moving a single fish! Sammy let us down. There was only one conclusion - the bass were not there. And as bassing is all about location, location, location (without Kirsty Allsop) we moved on.

There is a special spot where a shallow reef extends out of the coast. Its not known locally and one that I cherish and keep under wraps. No one has seen me fish it (other than customers) as if there is a boat around I'll not go near. As we cruised into the ground we saw fish move, and then a boil and then another. A dense area of fairly gentle fish movement was just outside of us and I used all of my field craft and 30 odd years of sea fishing experience to identify as mullet. Good news as open water mullet equals bass. We watched this large raft of fish drift slowly away from us and made no attempt to follow them absorbed in our own ground.

And then for no apparent reason the drifting and gently boiling raft of fish came alive. Suddenly sandeels were scattering like mini air born missiles and the boils became wallops and splashes. Shit they're bass you plonker!

I dived into the wheel house fired one of 3 Fishes wonderful engines up and gave her a quick shunt towards the fish. Engine off again and 9m sprint to the bow and my rod. C casts and hooks up on the sammy instantly on lure splash down, I cast and hook up on a flash minnow. Double hook up!

C boated 5 and I boated 2, one of which went to 6lb on the boga. And then they were gone.

Bass heaven, seen, experienced and banked in the memory for all time. Forget fizzing Henry, I love it when its glass calm!

You've seen the big ones

Look the fact is, no matter how much I spin it, not every bass I catch is a big fish. Oh I wish, no I really do wish they are but they are not. And I don't believe that its any longer the point. Bass are now too scarce to be fussy about any catch. I'm fairly firm with anyone who steps aboard 3 Fishes only to exclaim when they get a hook up 'oh that's a small one'. To me a bass is a bass. Too many chef's have made too many TV programmes cooking sea bass fillet and they are over persecuted often illegally simply for the quick buck that a carcass brings. The ultimate insult to such a proud and noble fish is to drown it in a gill net, sell it for cash in the black market and give the cash to the local landlord. As meaningless and pointless as over exploitation gets. So getting a hook up and a fish aboard is an achievement to be celebrated and enjoyed, no matter its size. And whilst I'm on the bass fillet thing let me tell you this. Eat Mullet; there is more of them and they taste nicer (yes really).

That said its also true that we all like looking at big fish so I'm keen to post pics of the big ones and the other superb achievements go unheralded. Until today when I celebrate the small ones! Although the one above actually isn't that small but its somewhat helped by the fact that Noah is a small person.

Fishing is a strange sport. get one and you want another, get another and you want a bigger one, get a bigger one and you want a bigger one still! Its part of its mystery and the drug that is fishing - what will take next!

What am I catching on?

The stonking amazing beautiful and still swimming bass that a client had yesterday was a fish of a lifetime. And I am choosing my words carefully as 8lb is the new 10lb when fish of this class are involved. The thing is that this fish measured out on Bass Anglers Sport fish Societies weight length tape at over 10lb but boga'ed at 8.5lb. It looked bigger but bass and indeed fish often do. For years I carried only the BASS tape as a succession of scales proved unable to with stand the wear and tear (and salt). In fact the tape did all I needed of it firstly because anything over 55cm always go back (take two bass limit per person on 3 Fishes) and secondly because its quick and easy to use. However with the boga revolution seems to have come a handy durable and reliable tool and thus far I'm happy with it. It weighs light but I'm happy! 

As I handed Paul his catch like a proud and relieved mid wife handing over a baby I was chuffed to bits for him, for those on the boat that got to see this ultimate predator and myself for delivering the product (again!).

I had said to the guys aboard and got disbelieving snigger's in return as I said it....'bass are in fact bloody easy to catch, just bloody difficult to find'. The point was proved yet again as we had only a cod (2.5lb'er) and some baby pollack off the first four locations we fished and there on the fifth was this baby and four others. 

Ok I here you saying get to the point - what did it take? It took a Rapture Momoko 120mm shallow runner but the colour I'm keeping to myself and the lads at Rapture (ask them). I will however tell you this about the colour.... I've made a loud and clear point blogging about it in the past, so if you follow what I do online and in Sea Angler mag you'll be there.

I'm liking these lures more and more now.They mimic some IMA stuff that Henry Gilbey is very fond of but come in at around 25% of the price. They are catching, that's reason enough. They cast well enough and their action is tight and sweet. Clearly a fish puller. I've just ordered more.

Here's the cod and proud captor Lee.

Rapture capture

If you follow my Facebook ramblings you'll have spotted that the lads from Trabucco UK flew in (yes posh I know but they really did fly in to Aberporth just down the road) last week. They came to give their bassing gear a work out and were particularly keen to give the new Rapture series lures a swim.

The bottom line is that the lures catch. Indeed they catch well. Now let be be clear and up front with you about this. I am not in Trabucco's pay (other than they paid for the day aboard 3 Fishes as anyone else would) and I have no 'deal' with them its simply a good working relationship. The came, they used, I put them on the fish and I watched. Seems fair enough.

I like the look of what I saw and can find no better thing to say about the lures than since that day I have been giving them to clients to use! In the pics associated to this blog are a couple of strong lures that clearly catch fish. The big selling point for these fellows is the price range (as well as the fact that they catch).
The Chartreuse Monomo 120 below retails at £7.99. Yes that's right there is no numeral 1 missing from in front of the 7. Nice kit, good price and it works.

Dope

Sorry for the typo in the title bar clearly I meant to write rope as in this pic taken only a couple of days ago it seems that this Tope is attached, using the word very loosely, to a slack piece of rope. So what is going on here? Other than the screamingly obvious fact that this is a stunning fish coming up towards 3 Fishes and a group of thrilled anglers.... well what you can see is a 100lb rubbing leader.

What you will not know, unless you have ever handled one of these babies, is that they have extremely abrasive skin. Its shark skin and shark skin makes short work of anything softer than it; which of course is just about everything! Indeed I took the precaution the other day of asking a shirtless angler to don his T again before cuddling his 50lb'er. A wise precaution I felt otherwise he would have had the closest chest shave he's ever had (its a new men's fashion, don't ask a 40 something year old why!). And what is worse still he then would come out in a prickly heat/nettle rash which hurts. Loads of bacteria in the skin I believe....can anyone tell me more though as I would like to learn?

So my 30lb nylon mainline is in trouble very quickly if one of these shark chooses to roll on it (and they do roll). So you add a metre + of 100lb leader to take the rub. They roll because they will both tear at food by rolling and in defence. You will have seen, I'm sure, underwater film of shark rolling on prey and indeed the same thing is done by crocs (not that there are any crocs here other than those worn by those who really should know better).

Yes I've been on the tope and bass this week. Lure casting for sea bass is my passion and what makes my blood flow free. Going after tope is my dirty secret hobby. I think it is the shock and awe (aka desert storm - and that was successful wasn't it?) moment. Not the shock that I feel but it is that seen in the faces of those who have never caught a shark. Its is a wow moment, a life memory; put simply it is epic.

Ever caught crabs?

Ok clearly I know this is a lobster, a chunky full power male lobster. But if you have come to here via the link I posted at www.facebook.com/bassfishingtrips then you will have seen the clonking spider crab that the title perhaps better relates to.

What you may not be aware of is that as well as fishing trips we run crab fishing trips. We have taken the all time family favourite harbour side family holiday game to a new level and gone extreme (well at least epic) crab fishing. With baited nets the size of large bicycle wheels and a local shellfish covered reef to drop the nets down to, this is deep water crab fishing of a whole new world.

Its a game of endless excitement as a) you never know what is going to come up and b) its always a surprise when it does. From blennies to whelks and octopus to starfish just about anything and everything does come up. People get on with varying expectations for some its about the fun, for others its about the education and for many its about a shellfish dinner!

Whilst we are on shellfish dinners; of the beasties that are caught and can be taken (limits apply) are velvet crabs (the Spanish drool over these feisty critters, visit a tapas bar in Barcelona and you'll find them boiled, cracked and covered in deliciously garlicky extra virgin olive oil and chopped vine ripened tomatoes = lovely). Brown crabs are the Brits favourite but spider crabs are better as they are sweeter and full of white flaky meat and less rich. Eat them warm on sliced bruschetta with fresh basil and a squeeze of lemon. Or how about prawns? The wonderful humble British prawn. A pint pot full, a crusty brown loaf, good quality proper salty butter (hunt for some small scale produced local butter or think french) and some rocket leaves to nibble on = wow.

And then there is there is the beautiful, prehistoric and much sort after lobster. For me they are at their worst boiled. With lobster I advise you to look east, to south east asia to be specific. Wok fry them from blue in ground nut oil with fresh ginger, garlic, green chillis and coriander or half them and slap them on a grey coaled BBQ. Then drizzle with lime juice, fish sauce, chilli and sugar. The classic Thai flavours of sour, salty, spicy and sweet. You have not eaten lobster until you have eaten lobster cooked like this.

Ok enough. I didn't expect to reveal my love of preparing cooking and best of all eating the great British shellfish found on our coast. So come crab fishing this summer and you too could be going home with something very special. www.facebook.com/crabfishingtrips.

Up close and personal

One of the many wonderful things about 3 Fishes is the control I can place over her. And lets face it how many of us have any control over anything female! She is a fabulous boat and with her feminine lines and stunning good looks other vessels in the harbour are very much the ugly sisters! Although I'm happy to admit that we all love our own boat, dog, baby, intimate body parts etc!

Anyway back to the point- control. With the kind of control that I able to place over 3 Fishes I am able to put her in some real tight spots and its the real tight spots that often hold bass! I've learnt that her twin Suzuki's are both quiet and responsive allowing positive but near silent low rev manoeuvring and thus I can put her nearly anywhere.

Yesterday I took the excellent Australian lure caster Korg out on the lures. We caught, as those of you that follow my facebook page will have seen. And truth be told (and I always do; tell the truth) we didn't get the fish in the tight spots. The thing is we could have and we tried. I knew from the outset that I could not offer the fishing that Korg is able to enjoy in his 'land down under where women glow and men thunder' (are you old enough?). No there was no way in this world was I ever going to give him 20kg Spanish Mackerel, 40 kg Yellow Fin Tuna (note the T Shirt) etc.

But what I could give him was the most stunning of fishing surroundings. I think; no I will go further than that and state, I know that he was in awe of what he saw. The beautiful, stunning, dramatic Welsh coast line up close and so personal that at times he could have stepped off 3 Fishes and onto the rocks! I put him in places where no one has ever fished before (lie many of my clients have) but I tell you this for sure. No one, not modern man or ancient man will have ever stood let alone cast a lure to!

And that's the magic of 3 Fishes she can do time travel. Or at the very least she can take you to places to throw lures that are truly unexplored!

Lure hoarder?

Are you a lure collector? Has the online shopping bug bitten and your lure collection grown into new lure boxes after new lure boxes? It’s a compelling game and why not, it’s fun and can be very beneficial. After all you may just buy the perfect bass lure, the one that never fails, the one that will become ‘the one’ forever.

The likelihood is though that you will always have your favourites and those will simply be the ones that catch. The trick I believe is to boil your lure collection down to a proven few bass catchers and only ever take those out bassing. It is very easy to carry too many lures on a shore side outing and I suggest that this will have a seriously negative impact upon your lure fishing. For a start too many lures are clumber some and just more stuff to carry. These days if you are lure casting from the shore you really need your kit attached to you somewhere as movement along the ground whilst fishing is essential. Take a look at some of the belts, bum packs, belly packs and back packs that are designed for the job. This doesn’t apply to me aboard my wonderful bass lure casting boat 3 Fishes as I can pretty much carry what I like but you are unlikely to have the space and flexibility that a 9m Cat brings.

More importantly though too many lures equals too much choice and too much choice in turn weakens’ focus. The mantra of, ‘I’ll give this one a go now’, is all wrong when lure casting for bass. A small, well chosen, selection of lures will bring many more results. So what do you need? Well here follows my honest, no holds barred and no secrets; top tips for a strong lure selection to take on any general outing.

Two surface sliders and one small surface popper. The sliders should be of similar type but differing sizes. One at around 100mm and the other at 120mm, (yes size matters). To be specific I would look at the Luckycraft Sammy as my go to slider and a small Storm Chug Bug as my popper. Only fish the chug bug if you are facing one of either of these two scenarios when you reach the water:  1. The sea is too rough to fish a slider on the surface; or 2. You have found bass on the feed! Surface lures have two clear colour options. In the daylight think bright; whites, chartreuse or silvers and in the dark think black.

Next you will need three shallow running divers that run back at three varying depths; strong options here are the IMA Komono for just below the surface work, the Luckycraft Flash Minnow to get you 1m down and the Rapala Xrap as your deeper water selection. These lures are all proven bass catchers and will work any ground that you may find in front of you. As for colour think natural (silvers, browns, greens and blues). 

And finally I would suggest a pack of softies. For me the breadwinner, season after season has been the Slug Go 7.5 inch. Its casts, is incredible in the water and catches. What more reasons could you possibly need! That is it; that is your session lures in a nutshell, or more specifically in a nice small lure box that fits tidy onto you somewhere. Take anymore and they are just more to carry and more to distract you.

Keep in mind though that this small selection does need to be radically altered if the environmental conditions you are facing are not ideal or if it is dark. In the dark, think dark colours. In dirty water think either hot bright colours or dark colours (the jury is out on which works best) although for me, I favour shiny silvers in cloudy or dirty water.

The final point I’d make on lure collections is, if you aren’t using it, sell it. Lures that sit in boxes that you pick up and look at but never leave home should be sold. They take your energy and focus and fill you with indecision. Sell them and buy ones that you will take bassing, after all that is what they are made for; fishing.

The bass are here...

Yes they arrived this week. Well truth be told I had a first serious crack at them this week and hey presto up they pop. Not the biggest you have ever seen photographed but very welcome non the less. Indeed Colin and Jason were well chuffed to get a couple (four in total) in a fairly quick session at that. We simply headed out to a local mark and found them. Its easy when its easy. I then debated whether to stay where I was or go hunting more and better. In the end I moved away and tried two more spots but found nothing so headed back to the original location and they were still there. It can be a devilishly hard game being a bass guru!

What did we catch on....? Hard plastics for all and the Rapala took the trophy with both the xrap and the max rap doing the business. As always the colour Ayu seemed to be the favourite.

We then got the LRF kit out and tried for some reef fish. Ace sport with little pollack hammering Maryuku worms like plastic is going out of stock. The new Tronix Rockfish revolution LRF rods came out and I'll blog more about this fun trend in sea fishing soon again. Here's a teaser pic below. Fish on!

Why can't I catch some fish?

What is more disappointing than catching a stone? Well catching nothing! And truth be told this is not exactly a stone, as its a stone with sea anemone attached and it is the creature of the deep that got caught. He (or she) just decided to bring its stone home up with him (or her).

It is however a picture that better describes the fishing at the moment than I can do with words. In short the fishing is hard (and not just because of stones). We are at the seasonal change point; the time that the winter species head off to new pastures and the summer species arrive. So what is going on and what if anything can we learn from it?

All fish migrate to a greater or lesser extent but lets concentrate on bass for a moment (after all they are the things that most 'float my boat'). We all know that bass move steadily up the coast of the UK as the summer progresses - moving from their winter spawning grounds in the southern channel. Both lengthening days and warming water encourage the fish to move northwards. They are a warm water species and though comfortable tolerating cold water they prefer warmer water. Indeed they will bask in it. It is classic to suggest that bass will work up the foreshore as the tide floods hunting food items that have been stranded and possibly died, as they were beached by the previous ebb. What is little understood is the fact that they will do this deliberately to seek warmer water. A hot sunny day here on the west coast of Wales (yes it does happen and with global warming it happens more frequently than ever now) is a trigger to hunt fish in the warm margins. If the tidal sequence produces a big spring LW tide during a warm day and then gently floods into the evening - I'm interested. Target the newly flooded warm shallows! These pockets of warm water can be small and isolated - it is worth the hunt. Remember swimming in the sea as a child? We used to joke that someone had pee'd because suddenly the water felt degrees warmer. That is actually a warm pocket of water and their you can find bass.

Back to that seasonal change. I can read it happening right now by the fishing and the wildlife. In fishing terms the sea is devoid of mackerel, the whiting are getting smaller, the spurs have vanished and I'm still sitting on my hands where bass are concerned. They are not worth the effort - yet! In wildlife terms I've hardly seen a gannet and as exclusive hunters of pelagic fish (mackerel, launce, herring) they are a bloody good indicator that the warm water fish are here. Here in New Quay we get Dolphin sightings daily now. There are here to entertain tourists (I'm convinced that they do deliberately do just that, putting on evening displays close to the pier) but they are also here to feed. They arrived with regularity about three weeks ago and this I believe is because they too are awaiting the summer migration.

Cardigan bay is a flat shallow sea. Its nutrient rich as any wave action and all tidal action constantly churns the sea bed and releases nutrients. Nutrients = algae, algae = plankton and the food chain explodes upwards ending in Dolphins (nice but not very interesting) and Sshhhaaaarks (bloody interesting).

So when is it going to happen? When will it all start and the summer fishing take off. My records indicate 10th June. What do yours say?

What lure colour caught the most bass in season 2014?

I've written about lure colour before but the 'proof of the pudding' is in the eating as the saying goes. So here are two of my recent lure purchases. Fresh off the plane from the US and I Love Hard Bait Ebay store these babies are shaking with anticipation as they sit next to me on the office desk. I can't resist picking them up and giving them a wobble; they rattle and shine enticingly and I just know that they will catch.

That is because they are trendy. Bass like trends or seem to anyway as trendy lures catch plenty of bass. I only have to mention the patchinko and anyone who knows about them (and we all do now) knows that they catch. Or the slug go or the Fiish minnow, red rods or for that matter yellow rods (2015) etc etc. It boils down not to bass adapting their modus operandi - ok lads its 2014 now lets get into the next big thing - no its simply because a certain lure type or colour gets used more frequently. Photographs get taken and posted online or in angling mags. The pics then get talked about in online lure casting forums that are generally inhabited by people who don't or can't fish but believe they do or can and hey presto a trend is born. We all go out and buy them and we all use them - I will (or at least my clients will) this season.

The colour trend of 2014 is cotton candy (like these beauties) or its sometimes known as frost candy or anything candy. Get a lure in this colour now because I promise you this; no I'll go further than promise - I'll guarantee it - they will catch a shed load of bass this year. What are they? - Well gold star if you recognise them and if you don't just ask and I'll tell you. Hit the comment link as below....

So sure am I of this bass forecast that I will post more than 1 pic of bass with one of these lures in its mouth this season.

Fact: you have to hook 'em before you can unhook 'em

Ok; yes I said ok! I know I'm stating the bleeding obvious. Clearly you can not unhook a bass until you've caught a bass. So what is my point? My point is the points on your hooks - just how sharp are they? The thing is that getting a hook up on a bass is a rare thing (I see hundreds a season but when you factor in the time spent achieving each hook up it works out to a lot of time spent per fish landed). I'll tell you exactly how long if you ask by commenting below this blog. For those of you that only get out a few times a year to chase the wonderful sea bass then your chances of a hook up will be depressingly few.

And there is one thing more depressing than not getting a hook up and that is getting a hook up and then promptly losing the thing that you have just spent so long trying to hook up on. What's the answer? Well make sure your hooks are sharp. After every time you clip a stone, pull through sand, cast poorly and smack a lure into a dry barnacle clad rock (yes I do it too); stop and sharpen your hooks.

That's the easy answer - very difficult to do in practise though as we are out bassing and bassing is the action of trying to hook a bass. It is not stopping every five mins to sharpen a hook. There is then a better answer and that is arm your lures with good quality branded fine wire hooks and change them regularly.

Expensive but much more practical as this can be done at home on the comfort of the kitchen table, the sofa or the wifes' lap (or is that just me?). No lost fishing time and no missed hook ups. My tip here is to buy abroad. The UK's treble hook market place has become over priced and I now look East for my trebles. They may take a while to arrive but arrive they do and with a little pre planning - aka order in the winter - they are always ready to go. The only other essential item is some split ring pliers. For me anyway it seems that what I once did with finger nails and teeth is no longer possible. Both body parts (along with several other body parts) are no longer as strong as they once were. Oh and do use the wifes' lap as a handy equipment store but don't (ever) use her finger nails. The dog house will not be good enough if she breaks one.

Buy fine wire hooks. Bass are great, amazing, wonderful predators but they are not Barracuda and fine wire hooks are fine (pun). They will not bend and they will not break and they will puncture a bass mouth and give you a hook up. There is some silly thick wired stuff out there - get rid of them if you own then. A big bass eats hard shell crab. They crunch and munch shell, claw and all. A big cock velvet crab is armed with spines all around his carapace and yet he too will be munched. Big bass have mouths like the inside of scrap car crushers. Hard, steel hard.

So if you want to unhook a big bass use fine wire super sharp hooks. Its almost as easy as that!

Ever asked a bass why?

Ever asked a bass why he took a soft plastic lure? Nope neither have I as its likely to be a pointless exercise; although I use the word 'likely' carefully because having never actually asked a bass why its a little premature of me to assume that he won't answer. Its a moot point anyway as I believe I know what he would answer if he did. Still with me?

He would say either that he took it because it represented a likely food item that was impossible to resist or because it annoyed him or because pure inquisitiveness got the better of him or simply because he could. Only four potential replies exist and having determined that and as to avoid going completely mad I will never ask a bass why. As we already know the answer...

So which was it on this occasion (the occasion of the pic above). Well this Gary Yamamoto worm is kind of like a lug worm I suppose and could be mistaken for a worm drifting in the current. To ensure that this was the answer your retrieve would need to be zero because otherwise the thing is swimming and I don't think lug worms have evolved sufficiently enough to swim (yet). I was fishing it up tide and bouncing it back down towards me, doing little else than keeping in touch or control. This fits the lug worm scenario. However at the time I was fishing a very rocky reef where no lug could possibly exist and for one to drifted in the tide to that location for real it would have to have done so for half a mile over further rock and weed and remained unscathed. Doubtful this as a lug is steak and chips to everything, crabs included. So this bass had either fed on lugs before or had some pre programmed understanding of what lugs are; we have to conclude that he was not hunting them

Or did the lure just annoy him. A get out of my patch moment...like a riverine salmon taking a hairy mary? I don't buy this theory either as this lure is not in the least bit offensive. Since when has a watermelon annoyed anything? Its soft, its plastic, its shaped boringly and coloured in a dull fashion. No, its simply not annoying. Apart from to me when its not catching!

Inquisitiveness; is this the answer we would get? No. I do not see this either... if bass were prone to inquisitively chewing on anything, then they would be full of plastic litter because the sea is full of plastic. I kill precious few bass in a season but those I do (to the order of 2) are always treated with the utmost respect cleaned out and eaten. I have yet to find anything other than food items in any bass. Sorry, as I write I remember finding a stone once. Stones do get ingested but this happens as the bass hits a crab. Its an accident not a choice.

The answer we will get; if the bass ever answered us...'I did it because I can'. And this is the both the frustration and the thrill of lure fishing. No matter how lifelike, how much of a tease, how exciting your lure is it will only get hit if the bass wants to hit it and in the end that choice is entirely his and his alone!

Huss'tastic

The great thing about the Greater Spotted Dog Fish or Bull Huss, (much better name don't you think?), is that it pulls. My word does it pull. A true shark and bottom dwelling, this beast of our coastal waters grows to shock and awe proportions. The best I've seen is well over 20lb and one day I'll have a useful set of scales aboard to prove it. Its a sad but true fact that scales and boats don't go together. Firstly the rocking platform makes the feat of actually weighing, difficult and secondly they are forever getting damaged - modern scales can't handle being at sea.

They are always slow in appearing and its generally half to three quarters of an hour into a trip before they show. A nice two knots of tide is my preferred day with the scent trail from the baits running down the tide. How far these fish will travel up a scent trail is anyones guess but I think it could be as much as a mile. And if you got chum down to the bottom and keep adding new I think they'd come from further than that.

I love to see them; I love people to catch them and I love even more the expression on peoples faces as they try to hold onto one! Talk about strong, when they twist a big one is a real handful. I rig simple running ledgers to a 30lb trace of about half a metre and make sure that all aboard are fishing hard on the bottom. That's where these fellows are....

The greater spotted is different from its smaller relative the lesser spotted (doggie) in that its really quite edible. The rock salmon in a chippy and its almost worth the effort to prepare it. I say almost because skinning them is a devils own job unless you are experienced. A commercial fisherman will do it in seconds but without that kind of practise its really not worth the effort - well for me anyway. I like them simply because they impress me and those that re lucky enough to catch them. Huss'tastic fishing.

Too hot to handle in bass world

You will know that I inhabit planet bass. I'm not adverse jumping into my millennium falcon, doing a bit of space travel and visiting to planet spurdog, whiting, etc., but I'm most at home on planet bass. The bass world is fast changing with trends ending as quickly as they start. Take for instance lure rods. 'I wouldn't be seen dead without red'. Not any more as the rod colour of season 2014 will be yellow. Not that I will be trendy. I've never felt the need to enhance my man hood with cars, clothes, yellow rods or anything else.

So what's hot right now? Where is the bass lure casting world going? What is the next trend going to be? Well whilst we are talking colour it is not yellow but cotton candy. Yes rainbow coloured shallow runners will trend this summer. Those in the know will tell you that they have been on to them for a few seasons but the secret has been well kept until now. There are some particularly fine examples of the colour scheme made by IMA and Luckycraft. For the ultimate in bass lure porn try the ebay shop I Love Hard Bait. Hmm I know its a little concerning naming a lure store in such a fashion. But let your concerns rest easy because these American guys are good, cheap and for me thus far, reliable. In the UK www.basslures.co.uk have some lovely looking stock to drool over.

There is some sense in this candy colour as not one of us know how bass see. How does thick sea water refract light and what colours do bass pick up? I know this though, catch many bait fish species and as they come fresh out of the water they are iridescent of rainbow colours. Did you know that a freshly caught mackerel belly is pink!

The lure of 2014 will be the IMA hound series. Nothing particularly shocking in the way the things swim. Indeed I don't believe they have a better action than many others. No the reason why they will trend is because they cast. My oh my do they fly. It will take shore lure casting to the next level and if you haven't tried one yet I suggest you do. The Fake being the best of the lot.

And whilst on cast ability there is no equal to the DOT crawler. Its a softy with class. It will out fly most hard baits - yes really. If you fancy giving them a go this summer then don't get tempted to put action into them. No its rod up slightly, point at the lure and wind slow, dead slow. Odd at first but the moment you get a hit you will wonder why you have been doing what you have been doing up until now.

So there you are. We will check this out in the autumn and see how wrong (or possibly right) I have been.

Dirty water - go fishing!

With the continuing dirty water conditions I've held off having a stab at a bass with lures. Its early yet as well although I am hearing that bass are being caught. There was a report of five off Cei Bach (a local beach) on bait, three from the local fish factory outlet (smelly place to fish but well there seems to be bass there) and twenty odd from a gill net in Cardigan.

So we have targeted huss and spurdogs with keeper whiting the prime fish and doggies pestering as normal. The added bonus has been a couple of codling and a sprinkling of dabs. Its great when the huss run  through as they turn up in packs and this week on one occasion we had four on at once!

For me the thing that really gets me interested is the whiting. The spurdogs pull hard and are big fun but its the whiting that make me salivate (literally). Leave them whole, clean them out, scissor off all the fins and pan fry in butter and oil. Plenty of salt and pepper, a squeeze of lemon and you have yourself one of the best tasting white fish in the sea.

And I'm not alone in liking fresh whiting as it seems so doe Cardigan Bay's predators! I use live whiting as tope bait in the summer, its a sound strategy as it works; well. But whiting fillet at this time of year catches the big dogs... And big dogs are fun even if you are only 9!

Y this boat?

Y this boat? I'm often asked how I get too and from 3 Fishes on a daily basis? And here is the answer; my superb hero ex Royal National Lifeboat Institution Lifeboat. She is a Y Class lifeboat and found active service in the RNLI for eight years. Mostly housed in the back of Stromness's All Weather Lifeboat for use as a rescue craft when the big boat couldn't get close enough to do the job.

She is a proud little craft with a big heart and I love her to bits. Small enough to carry (just), made to weather the worst of weather and built to last she is now over ten years old and going strong. I've managed to get hold of her active service log from the RNLI and I though I'd share just some of the things she has done in her life! The list is long but here follows some choice memories!

Tuesday 13th April 2004

The Stromness A.L.B was launched at 16:45 BST to assist in the recovery of a young woman who had fallen from the cliffs at the west side of Scapa bay. The injured woman was recovered from the beach using the lifeboat's "Y" boat and was transferred to a waiting ambulance at Scapa Pier. 

Saturday 8th July 2006

The Stromness ALB was launched on Saturday at 20:53 hrs to assist the Stromness contingent, Northern Fire Brigade to attend a reported fire in the generator shed on the Inner Holms Stromness. Tidal conditions made this the only approach available. The firemen were transferred to the location by the lifeboat with the final deployment and recovery done using the lifeboats "Y" boat. 

Thursday 24th August 2006

The Stromness ALB was launched on Thursday at 15:00hrs to go to the assistance of the creel fishing boat Challenger which was reported aground in Hoy Sound, west of Muckle head on north Hoy. Because of the position of the casualty and the sea swell conditions the Lifeboat deployed its "Y" boat to rescue the two crewmen from the Challenger. The two men were unhurt but the Challenger itself could not be recovered

Tuesday 19th September 2006

On Tuesday the Stromness ALB was launched at 17:55hrs to go to the aid of a 7m sailing dinghy which was adrift with 1 person on board, and in danger of grounding in the vicinity of No1 barrier. When the lifeboat arrived at the scene the casualty had grounded, however the lifeboat crew managed to attach a towline using the "Y" boat and the casualty was re floated and taken alongside the pier at Holm.

Tuesday 17th April 2007

The Stromness Lifeboat was launched at 12:20 BST following an accident at Graemsay Pier with a person reported in the water. The lifeboat deployed its "Y" boat to assist but sadly the casualty did not survive.

Saturday 16th June 2007

The Stromness Lifeboat was launched at 01:10 BST following the reported sighting of a red flare in Hoy Sound. An overturned Dory was found and an extensive search was undertaken covering Hoy Sound and its approaches, nothing further was found. The search was coordinated by HM Coastguard and assets used were the Stromness and Longhope Lifeboats with their respective "Y" boats deployed, Search and Rescue Helicopters from Lossiemouth and Sumburgh, and coastguard teams from Stromness, Hoy, Kirkwall and Deerness.

Wednesday 11th July 2007

The Stromness Lifeboat was launched at 17:45 BST following a request from Shetland Coastguard to assist 4 adults stranded on the Brough of Birsay by the tide. On arrival at the brough the lifeboat deployed its "Y" boat and used it to get the people from the Brough to a safe landing on the mainland. 

Summer 2011

Reacting to yells for help I was able to pull a lady out of the water in New Quay harbour after she had slipped and fallen off her yacht. The little Y Class is still saving lives!

Gone to the dogs

Well I haven't quite got there yet - there's life in the old dog yet. But as they say in the movies when the going gets tough the tough get going....so faced with terrible bass fishing conditions yesterday we went after the dogs or small sharks to be precise.

The first trip of season 2014 could not have been better, the sun came out (weakly), the sea was calm (ish) and the fish bit! Tactic was to anchor in a strong tide on the edge of some rough ground just to see what was patrolling the margins. I thought whiting, what we got was way better than that.

A pack of big spur dogs were at home and what fun they proved to be; big heavy females - one weighed out at 11.5lb and hard fighters too. Both Mark and Kate had a real battle trying to get them aboard and out came the landing net. It is always nice to wet a net!

These fish are great eating but we put them back. It just seemed too much to kill in pup dogs. There will be more swimming for another time. A double hooked trace with one bait hard on the bottom and the other on a boom 50cm up and big chunks of ammo squid were the bait. I would have loved to put a live whiting down but one never came up...

The water is warm, much warmer than this time last year. Reaching 9.2 C on my sounder...hmm,. nice. This is going to be a good season!

Season 2014 is here!

If it is going to be the first time fishing with us this summer, where an earth have you been? If you are a regular then it will be great to see you again!

Shhaarrkk

Lucky me or perhaps lucky you. Why lucky me? Well, I get to go shopping for fishing tackle for my job - or a least a small part of my job! Why lucky you? Well, you get to use the kit I go shopping for! And let me introduce 3 Fishes Porbeagle shark fishing kit.

Before I get into the detail I should start by pointing out that all the kit I carry aboard 3 Fishes is nice stuff. The thing is I'm a fussy sod. My lovely wife Corrine rightly moans at me for being so but I can't help but like things right. I'm as happy eating fish & chips as I am Sashimi but they both just have to be good. And so my kit (or at least 3 Fishes kit - as I see it as her's) is good. I've been on charter boats that hand over old tired tackle of mixed vintage and heritage and my heart has always sunk. Even before I have left the harbour I know what is coming and that it is unlikely to be great! I recall one time being in Thailand having at great expense (c.£700.00 worth of expense) chartered a trolling trip for sail fish and tuna. I'd not seen the boat beforehand and as we walked down the pier I could already tell how the day would go.. well even at that late stage one still hopes! Two hours of diesel fume filled chugging later we arrived in open ocean and out comes the kit. Well the only positive thing I can find to say about the kit is that it may once upon a time have been Penn. Rusty, broken rings, replace reel handle, worn line, rusty hooks... ouch. We did see a couple of sail fish. We caught one suicidal 3lb barra and sun stroke!

3 Fishes shark kit is a lovely 6'6'' Okuma cortez rod at 30 50lb, paired with a Shimano TLD 25 lever drag reel which is to be loaded with 60lb nylon. This brand new shiny kit will give us the edge when we hook up. And I'm certain we will hook up because Cardigan Bay is a porbie hot spot and no one is chasing them. We'll hear more than one yell of sshhaarrkkk this summer and I can't wait!

'Bass on'

Getting a 'bass on' is a lovely feeling. That first micro second when the take comes and you realise that you have a 'bass on' is a heart stopping moment. It is why we fishermen and women fish. I had this discussion with a very famous (now retired to somewhere a hell of a lot warmer) TV angler once. What was the single most exciting part of fishing and he concluded after much thought that it was the take. And I agree with him totally.

It matters not whether you are a quiver tip man on a bream filled gravel pit, or a tench man studiously watching a float as it sits motionless next to a lily pad, or the pike guy riveted to the sight of his bung swimming gently to the tune of a live roach, or the beach guys studying a rod tip 13 ft in the air for the vibrations caused by a six inch dab. No its the bite or take that is the drug. Its the point at which the fish takes, the quiver quivers, the float dips and the bite comes that our hearts bang, our adrenalin surges and our dreams come true.

When bass lure casting the ultimate thrill is to bring a wild and wily bass to the surface to Muller our top water bait. That way we get to see, hear and feel the take. When fishing the shallow runner its all about the slam, the hit, the rod wrenching hit when you know its on - next question how big is it? Is it the 10? So shallow runners are about feeling the thud of the take, soft plastics are about feel as well but the feeling is totally different. A take to a soft plastic is subtler, cleverer even and perhaps more thrilling because of it. What generally happens, although this is fishing and therefore there are always exceptions, is that the line goes gently tight almost as if you have pulled into a snag. Most of the time though its a fish swimming away with your softy. This has the massive advantage of making the actual pulling into a snag fun and exciting as it could be a bass!

But its on the top surface lure fishing where the real fun lies. Simple really because when fishing below you can only feel the take. Up top you see, hear and feel the take and that makes the whole experience triply more exciting!

Rapper

Rapala's X-RAP is a clever little lure. Well if the definition of clever is catching bass then it is an Albert Einstein of the bass lure world. It has only two weaknesses; firstly it is quite light and can be a trouble to cast into a breeze and  secondly it swims at around three metres. Both of these critical factors never made it a star choice for me when I was working the shore. I was often fishing significantly less water than three metres and nearly always are you casting into or at least, across a breeze.

However from a boat this little 10cm lure is a rap king. It loves to be trolled if trolling is your thing, its not mine nowadays as I prefer the activity of the cast but if trolling is your thing then get one. Indeed a trio of a J11 (or J13), a sliver and an x-rap is an all you need trolling kit - it seems that Rapala dominates the trolling scene. 

The xrap is best being cast and retrieved and its a bumble bee of a lure on the retrieve. Its buzzes back with an action that I have never seen on any other lure; it is tight in its wobble, fast and buzzing, creating noise and disturbance. Bass must feel this thing coming from metres away and that may be a big part of its success. But colour is key as well; so the fish obviously like what they see as well as hear. I like the one that has a mackerel livery and I like the spotted minnow and all the rage at the moment is the Ayu as seen above. Its the wanted one and a really tough find on the internet. I was lucky enough to get my hands on two recently and I can't wait to swim them. Size 10cm is the one - the bigger one simply doesn't fish; or never did for me anyway.

There is two simple ways of working this baby: - 1. Fake and burn it. Make it buzz back then stop it dead and then start again. Remember my golden rule though never stop any hard lure for longer than it takes to say the words 'stop and start again'. 2. Steady retrieve then short sharp rod tap to accelerate the little fellow for 6 to 8 inches (its a critical distance in many ways). Short and sharp... the thing is with bass if they are following a shallow runner back (and they like to do this) then you need to provoke the hit. All the provocation they need is a simple tap of the rod tip, this induces a dramatic increase of speed on the lure, the bass thinks hello its getting away and bang....................

No flies on me

Truth be told I'm covered in them; well at least there is around 100 bass flies aboard 3 Fishes. From poppers to clousers and deceivers to shrimps they are there awaiting a salty swim. The wet one in the mouth of the bass in picture above is of the Belgium fly maestro Guido Vink who fished with me a couple of years back. My god could that guy throw a fly; mind you I shouldn't have been surprised as I believe he was right at the top of his game and represented Belgium across the world.

A few years ago I did a hell of a lot of fly casting for bass but now I do less. Over time I have found that the severe limitations of casting a fly at sea on a boat make the game almost too difficult. When I say this I must caveat it by also stating that fly casting for bass remains extremely effective on its day. Give more shore based opportunity I'd probably have continued but boats are tough.

This comes as a surprise to many of my clients as those that enjoy the fly often start the day believing that they are more than capable of getting a fly out there swimming. Indeed they are normally. However a pitching, yawing and rolling boat on the open sea  is a very different platform - even to the closest inland example of the expanse of Rutland Water (been there, done that). The sea moves in a different way and this movement is less predictable and therefore more difficult to balance on when standing. And you have to stand at sea because those clever boys at the Maritime Coast Guard Agency make it a legal requirement that boat railings (for passenger carrying boats) are over 1m above deck level. You simply can not sit and cast over a 1m railing. In one or two localities the MCA allows County Council Officers to authorise boats for passengers and a watered down set of legislation is applied. So there is a couple of guy offering trips aboard tiny boats with no railings and sitting and casting is there a possibility. Even there though life is never simple and you have to wear a bulky lifejacket the entire time aboard. Not on the spacious and safe 3 Fishes though.

So the physical activity is challenging but as I said earlier, it can be very worthwhile; especially if you have found some bass. The movement of a bass fly through the water is more natural and the fish seem easier fooled. This is something that I will at times exploit when lure casting by rigging a teaser about 3/4m above a hard lure can be bloody successful. And these two reasons are why I have flies aboard  3 Fishes. Teasers and when I'm on them (and have a fly caster aboard); out comes the fly gear.