Confidence is Crucial
Last week I journeyed out to Ireland for a quick visit and as usual the trip produced a whole bunch of things to think about. I would have relished the chance to chuck a fly, but the remnants of a hurricane dispelled any real chance of success using that method so the lure was the way to go.
Cian from Absolute Fishing has been fishing Wave Worms recently and so I decided to give them a go. First session and I pulled a fish, using a weightless soft plastic. Instantly I had confidence in the method and fished it hard throughout the session. But I am convinced that those fish knew the weather was on the way, because we all struggled for the rest of the day.
In fact the weather got so bad that we opted for bait during the next couple of days. I am into all sorts of fishing but so used to the active characteristics of fly fishing that two solid days without a fish (I was very good at missing bites!) meant that I was keen to get back to lures. Then Nick Roberts of Topwater Lures turns up and nails a fish on a Komomo 2. That was it; I would be stringing up the lures the next day.
Highly experienced lure angler Nick Roberts with an lure caught Irish Bass taken in murky water conditions - photo by Henry Gilbey
We arrived quite late in the morning to coincide with a decent tide and I was ready, tooled up with a new rod from Megabass (The Blackshadow) which to all intents and purposes is a fly rod which will cast lures. The water was dirty so I went for a White Wave Worm incorporating a pimped out Chartreuse back … colour bleed from another Wave Worm. Carefully wading into the shallows I cast hopefully towards fish movement which I assumed was Mullet, hoping that maybe there were Bass amongst them. Most of the fish spooked.
I continued fishing and then suddenly there was a huge bow wave heading straight for the worm, but no take? Was it a Mullet perhaps; spooked and rejoining a shoal? Nothing else happens for a good hour and by now both Nick Roberts and I have covered a fair bit of ground. I started changing lures, hoping to find the winning formula. I tried a Chartreuse Wave Worm in an estuary flow and did have one hit, but my confidence was dwindling. More lure changes.
Moving to some moorings (the same area in which Nick had caught the day before) my confidence climbed once more, especially as I had tied on a Komomo 2. Within a few minutes Nick had called over “crank it slower, feel for the action on the rod tip.” Really confident, I followed his advice and then I noticed a loop in my braid. “Damn, why now!?” At which point Nick hooked a fish on some kind of rubber minnow … my mind was all over the place. I didn’t have minnows, the worm had not worked and was I really fishing the Komomo correctly? Confidence back down and a tangle to sort.
He does it again - James Barry with a Bass on a Wave Worm. Photo by Henry Gilbey.
Then James Barry turns up and I begin inching closer to him as he throws a few casts. Fish with this guy and you will know this is wise; he rarely blanks. It was no surprise to see his rod hoop over and I set off to Boga a good fish for him. And guess what it had eaten … yes, a White Wave Worm! I was kicking myself! Why had I not just gone with my instinct and stuck to the method … suddenly the bow wave in the weeded margins seemed more likely to have been a fish.
The worm went back on and when James got back to fishing I watched his every move and asked questions. “What speed should I wind, should I add movement via the rod tip etc” As with all the guys over in Ireland including Cian, Ger and Paul they are only too willing to help. I learned a lot from watching James and once again felt confident, especially when he got hit again, tearing the worm clean off the hook.
Heading towards some rocks we had a particularly exciting few minutes when we could see Bass momentarily in the waves, gliding through murky water little more than 2 feet in depth. One of these fish rushed my lure but refused at the last moment. We continued fishing, following the tide and hopefully the fish, but even James wasn’t getting a take. We must have lost them.
I have fallen in love with Irish Bass this last year and catching them on soft plastics is just so much fun. Photo by Henry Gilbey
The rocks began covering and then my radio crackled into life as Henry explained that they were heading back to drive to a new mark. I could see them about half a mile away and said I would continue fishing until I could see them nearer the car. Waist deep in water I wasn’t confident that we were with the fish and began wading back towards the rocks, there had to be fish hugging this feature! A Tern dived nearby and I turned to shout to James … he was already shouting to me and motioning that I should get a lure in there. The Wave Worm goes out; I give it a moment to sink and then crank steadily, gently flicking the tip of the rod to impart movement, confident that any moment I will hook up. There is slight resistance; I just keep winding and then the fish hits. What a feeling, total satisfaction … confidence had once again won the day.
White Wave Worms, Bass love them! Photo by Henry Gilbey
It’s what I love so much about fishing; it’s about learning,observing, listening, trying stuff, using a bit of instinct and above all being confident. My instinct had been correct (the White Wave Worm, the rocks and the Tern) and who knows, had I stuck with my original plan maybe I would have caught a bunch more fish? That doesn’t really bother me, what does is becoming confident in a method and the only way to do this is to listen and observe those who already have confidence/experience in a technique… then try it for yourself. The result will be that you catch more fish! I have a lot of guiding coming up over the next couple of weeks but at the earliest opportunity I will be throwing a Wave Worm at a Devon Bass; I have total confidence in them!
25 Hour Bass
It’s been a mad few days. On Thursday I was up by 6am for last minute Ireland preparation before heading off to look after Hugh Caslake and Martin Baum. These guys are regulars and make an annual pilgrimage to the Exmoor area to indulge their growing addiction for fly fishing. It is awesome to see how they are improving with Hugh now making a move towards double handed Salmon fishing … he was popping some sweet loops. Meanwhile Martin got to grips with the finer points of hauling to improve casting accuracy while river fishing.
I left the guys fishing by 3.30pm and headed off for Bristol Airport and my evening flight to Dublin. The meet and greet parking was brilliant as usual, but I could have done without the £80 overweight baggage charge levied by Ryanair. Perhaps I should have taken the ferry? Too bad, the Irish Bass are worth it and I kind of forgave the airline company because the flight arrived 20 minutes early! There was to be no lonely trip down towards Dungarvan either because Florida fishing maestro Rodney Goodship was there to meet me for the journey. On a break from his Fish the Dream operation, he was about to sample something quite different, Irish Bass Fishing. The last time I met up with Rodney for a fishing trip was several years ago in Miami so the chatter was nonstop during our 2 ½ hour drive.
We arrived in the wee small hours of Friday morning and after catching up with the guys various members of the party including Henry Gilbey, Andy Bignell and Rodney quite sensibly retired to bed. That left Cian of Absolute Fishing and me. After trying to talk ourselves into getting some much needed shut eye we took the slightly insane decision to put our waders on instead. Cian had been up since 7am too and it was now 2am the following day. Rods were thrown into the car and we set off eager for a fish; we could sleep later. We fished hard but drew a blank, even though conditions seemed perfect. Some thanks for our effort! We had to be back to catch up with the other guys by 4.30am, at which point we did a U turn and set out for a favoured mark that produced fish during our last trip in July. But once again sport was slow and I have to admit that I was starting to feel the effects of 24 hours with no sleep.
The wonderful Wave Worm soft plastic - Bass love them!
Local Bass fishing junkie, Ger, came to the rescue. He had joined us for the morning session and managed a Bass of around 5lb using his favourite Feed Shallow lure. I fished my Wave Worm soft plastic with renewed anticipation, a method of lure fishing that shares many characteristics with the world of fly fishing. Rigged to swim weedless without any weight, I cast into some mouth watering gullies adding lots of tip flicks, pauses and other movements to simulate life. I got it right on one of the occasions and was hit hard by a Bass of 4lb. This was a fish to be savoured, not only because it was my first ever on a soft plastic but also because it looks like the next few days could be no good for anything except bait. Not to mention the fact that I had now been awake for over 25 hours!
The 25 Hour Bass!
The weather is now horrendous! At one point the barometer on my Casio Protek just crashed signalling the arrival of massive South to South West winds and driving rain, interspersed with periods of relevant calm, even sunshine. But the weather has taken its toll and many of our intended marks are now unfishable. Frustrating yes and the forecast doesn’t offer much comfort, but time spent in the company of like minded anglers is just as good and I am sure we will find some more fish in the days to come. Andy has been doing just that and I am constantly amazed at this guy’s ability to extract fish from about every location we go to such as this fish taken on Crab. Hopefully we will get some more fish for Henrys camera soon. Writing this blog late on a Sunday night I should probably do the sensible thing and get some sleep!
Andy seems to extract Bass everywhere we go - despite the weather!
My First Lure Caught Devon Bass
I had an entirely different blog post lined up for today. However it is fair to say that right now I am buzzing. The buzz that only fishing can give you. To be honest I really should have been sat at the fly tying vice sorting some sand eel patterns for James & Cian of Absolute Fishing … but instead I went fishing. Sorry guys!
Heading out to the North Devon coast with long time angling buddy Wayne Thomas the goal was to catch a Bass, not with flies, but with lures. It might seem like stepping backwards, using lure tactics when I have caught a stack load of Devon Bass with fly. But that’s not what this blog post is about. If you want to know my feelings on fly/lure crossover fishing then have a look here.
For this inaugural Devon lure outing I could not have been in better company. Wayne is a well known all round angler with a few books to his name and regular articles in the angling press. This guy knows his stuff, so much so that last week we aborted the trip because a strong North Westerly had “blown” the area we had hoped to fish. Believe me learning all about tides and weather systems is all important if you fancy tackling the salt; that is with fly or lure. So if you can find a sea fishing mate as knowledgeable as Wayne, hang on to their every word. There is a safety aspect too.
Wayne found us some awesome looking ground
All that stood between the mouth watering looking ground and our lures was a pretty impressive near vertical climb over a series of jagged rocks. I followed Wayne very carefully! It was well worth it as he had dropped us right on to some of the ground that I have come to know as Bass country through my travels to Ireland with Henry Gilbey. This place looked just right!
A "Basslet" got the session off to a good start. Wheres your mama?!
Within 5 minutes Wayne had landed a Bass on an IMA Komomo SF-125 in the Plasma Candy colour. OK, so the lure was almost as big as the Bass, but it was a great start in my eyes! At least there were some fish around. And then he moved! Always willing to experiment Wayne had gone off to have a play with some soft plastics, so without any hesitation I jumped into his spot and gave the area a bit of a pasting with a Feed Shallow (or is that a Shallow Feed?!) No joy.
Now that is one hungry little Bass!
Looking into the depths of my new Shimano lure box (thanks to James Barry for the heads up on that) my eyes settled on the Megabass X-140 GG in what I think is the Inakko colour. Don’t ask me why it is called Inakko, it doesn’t matter. All I do know is that it reminds me of a Sandeel, has a really nice action and is easy to use for a lure beginner like me. There was a fair bit of water clarity too so I felt that something not too garish which I had confidence in would be worth a chuck. It was!
I am not too sure who was more surprised, me or the Bass! What I did know was that it was a good bit bigger than the lure as it stuck a lovely curve into my Mazzera 742, (just 7’ 4” and a dream to cast) an ultra lightweight rod that offers real sport with these fish. Making sure the fish did not dive and cut my braid I soon had it on the surface, caught a wave and it was mine! We reckoned it was 3lb, a school fish by most standards, especially Ireland. But I did not care one bit and the fish might even have been 2lb. I wouldn’t have minded if it had been even less although I had better get myself a new BogaGrip, just in case!
My first ever lure caught Devon Bass - stoked!
I will always remember that fish it because it was my first lure caught Bass, on the coast of Devon. The light was not great for pictures but I think the grin says it all, moments later the fish was back home possibly wondering how it had been so daft as to take an X140 dangled b y a newbie! For the rest of the session I kicked myself that living so close to our glorious coast line that I have not been out there pounding the mile upon mile of wonderful ground available. Our session did not start and finish there because we had some more follows and in one excellent spot where the water really came to life as the tide flooded we rapidly increased our tally to 4 fish apiece. These were small schoolies up to a pound and a half although I connect briefly with another half reasonable looking specimen that shook the lure and we had a real thrill seeing fish chase the lures to the rocks.
Devon is home to mile upon mile of stunning Bass ground
Could I have caught these fish with fly? Quite possibly and next time maybe I will give it a go especially as the long range casting qualities of the lure fishing gear had helped to show where the fish hang out. But I have to say that once again I cannot thank Wayne enough because it was his knowledge regarding where to find those fish that was so important, leading to my first Devon Bass on a lure. We must have been on the right track as we bumped into Joel Squires who has had some serious Bass this season and operates a lure guiding service. Anyway I had better shut up waffling and go and do some work … and tie those flies … although I might just sneak a look at the tides first. Er Houston “we have a problem”.
Picking & Choosing in Ireland
Since we began stocking a bit of lure tackle at the shop we have had mixed reviews. Opinions seem to range from “why have you got this in a fly shop” (the phrase “going over to the dark side” has been heard being quietly whispered in a corner) through to those who see lure fishing as a method with characteristics not too dissimilar to fly fishing … and are keen to give it a go.
If you fancy targeting Bass with light tackle, then it is the definite way forward. Take a look on the internet and you will find any amount of blogs, forums and general banter related to this exciting form of angling. And I think we fluff chuckers should be taking note. Make no mistake that during my current visit to Ireland I am longing to catch as many fish with the fly as possible. On some marks the fly has even out fished the lure. But there is a “But”. Had I decided to head out early this morning with just fly gear then I would have been in deep trouble.
Henry photographs James Barrys huge Bass caught on lightweight lure tackle
For sure looking out over the coast things looked just perfect, light winds, mixed clouds and sun, just the conditions which produced fish to the fly earlier this week. Arriving at a stunning looking set of ledges I reckon I could have spent around 10 minutes comfortably casting and not with a #8, no it would have required a #10. Soon afterwards I would have been sunk, that is unless I was carrying a lure rod.
Chucking a stunning bit of plastic known as a Feed Shallow with ultra fine braid and a super lightweight 7’ 6” Mazzera lure rod I would love to say that I went on to bag up as the wind steadily increased in strength whipping up a substantial surf. My efforts were rewarded with a follow early in the session but our conclusion was that the drop in pressure and temperature had taken effect, leading to slow fishing.
James Barry with 5 1/2 lbs of Irish Bass
But it’s not just about the fish. I had a thoroughly enjoyable session in the company of James Barry of Absolute Fishing, chatting tactics, weather conditions and hanging on to his every word regarding technique. These guys are just so willing to help. But this session was only possible because I was carrying a lure set up … now is that going to the dark side or plain practical? Fishing is very personal of course and some anglers just love casting flies so much that nothing else will do, but if you are struggling at times to cope with conditions while fly fishing for Bass I urge you … grab yourself a lure set up! I have some thoughts on this subject with regard to the similarity to fly fishing but that is for another blog.
If you are thinking about it, but are not quite convinced then I urge you to head over to Henry Gilbeys blog and check out a simply sublime session that we enjoyed yesterday, Bass maestro James Barry scoring a trio of stunning fish including a double.
Mixed Fishing & Mixed Emotions
The day got off to a great start on Friday when Lewis latched into a small jack Pike within our first few casts. We were awaiting the arrival of Piking Pirate as he has started to nickname himself …. aka Danny Parkins, although “Piking Pillock” is closer to the mark after his run in with a little green crocodile the day before. During the release of a small jack Danny had been pinned good a proper and spent most of the day bleeding.
So much so he ended up in casualty that night and they found that one of the teeth had in fact reached the bone …. Ouch! All joking aside Danny is an incredibly experienced angler with 20 years of Pike fishing behind him so if he can get it wrong so can anybody. Take extra care when unhooking Pike!
Lewis kicks the day off with the little Jack Pike on fly
After quite a bit of general piss taking it was into the truck and off to fetch Danny’s lure gear before a quick dash up the M5 in search of Perch. Danny had some wicked looking mini Cannibal Shads which he had just taken delivery of and we felt certain that a few stripeys would put in an appearance, with Lewis and I giving it a bash with the fly. Sadly the Perch venue which shall remain nameless is under attack …. we visited a short while ago and had our suspicions. Back then I found a couple of Carp skeletons and one of the lakes which normally hooch’s with juvenile Perch seemed devoid of life. Unfortunately I think our suspicions have now been confirmed …. Otters have moved in and destroyed the venue. We found 5 large Carp bodies, two of which were very fresh. These were fish approaching double figures so one would assume that the smaller Perch had been picked off and so the Carp are next on the menu.
It was very sad to see our second venue has been the victim of uncontrolled predators
Monday morning is no time for politics but why cant this country get things into balance? Personally I love to see Otters in the wild and get pretty cross at those who believe they should be wiped out to allow them to enjoy “their Salmon fishing”, like it was their god given right. However it is no use reintroducing and growing populations of predatory Otters and then not controlling them. Just a few months ago Danny was enjoying incredible sport with the Perch on this venue and now it looks as if they have been wiped out. Head over the Atlantic and this kind of thing would never be allowed to take place …. what ever happened to nature in harmony? Otters are not the only problem, just a few days ago Danny found two set lines on Tiverton canal baited with Lamprey and a phone call to the Environment Agency met with the usual apathetic response.
We were obviously disappointed but our adrenalin started flowing once more when we found some well conditioned Pike in a nearby canal that would have made low doubles. However they were obviously in a spawning frame of mind, laying in shallow water and spooking if we so much as breathed! So it was back in the truck and a drive South to the Tone. Plenty of fly anglers will know this as an excellent Pike venue, but for me it was my first visit as somehow I always seem to drive past on my way to the King Sedgemoor Drain. Situated close to the M5, several supermarkets and a Mac Donalds this was proper urban Pike fishing with an old submerged bicycle adding to experience! The flow was shoving through and the fluff chuckers were under gunned …. in fact both Lewis and I agree we need to experiment a lot more with lines and flies on these river venues. Meanwhile Danny did get a couple of follows on a mixture of Magic Swimmers and grubs …. we should have taken the spare lure set ups. Other than that our only excitement was a walk along the M5 hard shoulder and a few curious looks from commuters heading home from a day at work!
A pleasant walk along the M5 hard shoulder to our next swim!
Our carbon footprint was becoming a little excessive but we needed another Pike and wound up back on Tivvy canal. Our day had been full of laughs as usual, despite the disappointment of the Perch venue and Danny had come close to nailing a couple of fish. Arriving in time to see the sun set we all agreed that spring is in the air and that pretty soon the fish will switch on and sport will liven up. Just recently it has been so up and down although the Piking …. oh go on then …. Pirate did winkle out a half reasonable fish to save the day on you guessed it …. a soft Magic Swimmer.
Last knockings and the Piking Pirate works his Magic Swimmer spell on another Tivvy Pike
