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!