Tuesday 24 June 2014

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.


Wednesday 18 June 2014

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.

Tuesday 10 June 2014

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!

Thursday 5 June 2014

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.