Late summer 2017
I thought I would pen a few thoughts re this season so far, although please be aware that I am continually keeping the Facebook page regularly updated throughout the year so you can see the catch reports and conditions we are dealing with throughout the season, please see https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bass-fishing.couk/587651444611650 for daily griff.
“Summer Bass for mike Cuel”
Once again we may be finding a rhythm to the beat when it comes to an early season bite as the 1st 10 days of April saw water temperatures low enough for the herring to still be present on the east marks (13/14 degs). The latter part of April saw water temps spike and the Bass departed, but good fish to 4lbs were present but no trophies. May was a little more consistent as was June with a total of 600 Bass to fly and soft-bait combined, many in the 2-3 lbs range which seems to be the school Bass stamp when the marauding shoals park up.
“Martin Speller on the last mark”
The early summer weather was a joy to work in and when you get those sultry summer mornings backing out at 5.00 am you just know the Bass will accommodate your line, white Deceiver flies tied with cockroach fared very well as did "Albie Snax" when the wind didn't allow the flyer to push his line. Average ambient temperatures were high and buffs were on to protect from the heat. Generally we find that the first few hours are productive before the sun really gets up and many clients saw multiple hook ups to 40-50 Bass per session - we hit the 1000 Bass to the net by late July and then the wind started to disrupt the schedule which is unusual as by that time of year the water temperatures have maxed out, the on shore sea breezes tend to drop.
“Michael Langford & Martin with a pair of flood caught Bass”
One of the larger marks this season has so far yielded some cracking fish and by more luck than judgement we found specimen Bass up to double figures at a state of tide unfamiliar to me with this area and more interestingly the area they were feeding in was quite some way away from the actual rip/over-fall which means they must have been hunkered down in a lower channel or gully as the C120 only showed a slight undulation in the grey line but that just goes to show that they don't need much of an ambush point to shoal up to. The average size was 60-65 cms and the biggest going 72 cms plus. So far, just before we start again for the autumn run, this mark has produced over 60 Bass of good size so it will be interesting to see if this continues during the latter run this year.
An observation this year has been the correlation between the "Speed over the Ground" (SOG) and the activity of the Bass. Generally over slack water we see more movement in the mid to upper layers, almost as if Bass leave their ambush positions and chase bait to the top layers, whilst as soon as the tide starts to strengthen they hunker down and hold their position as if waiting for prey to get swept through. This is common enough but what is more interesting is that we have noticed a lull in activity when the tide is really racing through on the Spring cycle, generally the activity builds from approx 1 knot to 2.5 knts, if the SOG continues to build above this we have noticed the bite drops - has anyone else noticed this as it may be that even the Bass find if difficult to manoeuvre themselves in this tidal hurricane?.... when the tide curve starts to drop back a little you get another bout of activity, until the action slowly fades away.
“Phil Spratt with a good looking wolf”
Connecticut this year was very productive but never before over the decade I have been guiding over there have we needed to work between 3 tropical storms. All I can say is the wind did push a lot of food into the inshore and almost onto the beaches and what with the wind direction being North we were able to very successfully find a lee on this bank. On one day one of the boats managed to hook up to 100 Bass in a single session, mostly double figures and some up there nudging 20 lbs.... well done to David Sproston who picked up the fly rod and managed to hit three small tunny to the fly rod in 48 knots of wind speed!!. Paul Drake and Pete Simpson found many False Albacore and Simon Shaw got the largest fish at a shade under 20lbs, a cracking looking good condition Bass off Plum Island.
“David Sproston, Paul Drake, Pete Simpson and Simon Shaw with Connecticut Stripers”
If you are travelling this winter or early spring and need either 8,9,10 or 12 weight 4 piece rods then just give me a call as the "Seawolf" range of rods is tested to record weights and are priced competitively at £295 for the whole range - "You are better equipped with OCEAN STICKS", see the rods at www.oceansticks.com
Next season will see the new vessel parked up on G6, which will be coded and kitted out ready for the spring assault, wider and longer and a more comfortable ride for us all. Labrax will be sold at the end of this season so if anyone wants a coded and fast Bass boat, fully maintained and ready to go then just let me know.
“Labrax – Good to go”
For now that's it, the season has been good so far, a little more wind than normal but some cracking fish to boot. The autumn run is just around the corner and the water temperatures are up there still at 17 degrees so we are waiting for the first frosts to push them lower. If the Herring turn up then the bite will be good - let's wait and see.
Tight Lines.
Justin
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