Andy 1965
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2020
- Messages
- 410
- Reaction score
- 3,703
- Points
- 93
- Location
- North Wales
- Favourite Fishing
- Lure
After a busy few days in Penzance, fishing the sandbanks off Land’s end for various rays and other species, followed by a day spent drifting in deep water, during which time we brought 21 blues to the boat, topped off by a magnificent male caught by Steve and estimated to weight 200lb ?.
It was time to get back to the lure fishing on Tuesday night.
With just 4 bass needed to reach the ton, and with what I thought were perfect conditions, I was feeling confident.
The presence of loads of baitfish in the shallows further boosted my expectations and when I got off the mark after only half an hour ?, I couldn’t see how I could possibly fail ?.
As it happened, failing was easy and in the remaining 2 hours of daylight, I could only add a solitary mackerel to my bag
.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, I felt a little more positive again but as the light finally began to fade, a bright and almost full moon began to rise directly opposite the fading glow of the setting sun ?.
I have caught before in bright moonlight, but on this occasion it just wasn’t to be and over the next 2 hours, the only signs of life were 2 small taps on my lure ?.
It was getting late by now and I still wasn’t fully recovered from my busy weekend ?, so rather than waste any more time chasing bass that just weren’t there, I decided to call it a night at 23:30, saving my strength for Thursday night instead.
After another couple of days to recover, I was out early on Thursday evening and by 18:30 I was wading out into the calm clear water and having seen a splash among the weed as I rigged up on the shoreline, I was feeling confident.
The tide had already started to flood and as I backed up slowly in the waist deep water, I fanned out my casts to cover as much ground as possible and after only half an hour, my Swimish was hit within seconds of it splashing down ?. After an exciting couple of minutes, during which the fish tried to escape into a patch of weed, I had it beaten and rather than waste time wading back to shore I took a quick snap of bass number 98 in the water, before shaking it off the hook ?.
With only 2 more bass needed and several hours of fishing ahead of me, things were looking good for reaching my target and when 5 minutes later, a bass hit my lure right under my rod tip, sadly without hooking up, it was surely only a matter of time.
Unfortunately, just like on Tuesday evening it looked like my confidence might have been misplaced and for the next 4 hours I fished on without a touch, through what I consider to be the hottest part of the tide at this particular mark ?. With high tide approaching and the current easing, I thought my chance had gone and I was just about to sit down for a 5 minute breather, when suddenly my lure was hit hard ?. The fish put up a great scrap in the remaining flow and having waited so long to hook it, I played it as carefully as possible, so as not to lose it, then eventually I was able to slide bass number 99 ashore, a nice looking fish of bang on 50cm ?.
With the ton now almost within reach, I forgot all about having a sit down ? and I fished on excitedly but the bass must have been a loner, as things were now very quiet again. For the next hour I fished several spots along the shore, in an attempt to find out where the bass were hiding, and I tried tempting them with several different lures, but I didn’t get a single touch
.
It was getting late by now and with the tide ebbing quite quickly, I decided to head back to my original spot for the last half an hour. As I waded out again, I wasn’t expecting much but it turned out to be an inspired move, as on the very first cast my Mishna was smashed! With so much at stake, my heart really was in my mouth as I played the fish, and it put up a cracking fight, but eventually it tired and I was finally able to land my third, and at 52cm my biggest fish of the evening, and at long last my 100th bass of the season ?.
To say I was chuffed would be an understatement and I was absolutely buzzing, but there was still fishing to be done, so after a couple of snaps and a quick kiss ?, I released the bass to grow bigger.
After finally reaching my target, I wouldn’t have been bothered if I get anything else but I decided to give it another 10 minutes, just in case the bass were belatedly coming on the feed.
As it happened, after another few casts I was in again ? and bass number 101, the smallest of the night this time at 41cm was soon beaten
.
With the bass apparently feeding better than they had been all night
, I couldn’t possibly leave now so I decided to give it another 10 minutes, which of course stretched to 20 ?, but eventually I decided enough was enough and with the century reached for the third time in the last 4 years, and at the earliest date yet, I headed for home.
It was time to get back to the lure fishing on Tuesday night.
With just 4 bass needed to reach the ton, and with what I thought were perfect conditions, I was feeling confident.
The presence of loads of baitfish in the shallows further boosted my expectations and when I got off the mark after only half an hour ?, I couldn’t see how I could possibly fail ?.
As it happened, failing was easy and in the remaining 2 hours of daylight, I could only add a solitary mackerel to my bag
.As the sun dipped below the horizon, I felt a little more positive again but as the light finally began to fade, a bright and almost full moon began to rise directly opposite the fading glow of the setting sun ?.
I have caught before in bright moonlight, but on this occasion it just wasn’t to be and over the next 2 hours, the only signs of life were 2 small taps on my lure ?.
It was getting late by now and I still wasn’t fully recovered from my busy weekend ?, so rather than waste any more time chasing bass that just weren’t there, I decided to call it a night at 23:30, saving my strength for Thursday night instead.
After another couple of days to recover, I was out early on Thursday evening and by 18:30 I was wading out into the calm clear water and having seen a splash among the weed as I rigged up on the shoreline, I was feeling confident.
The tide had already started to flood and as I backed up slowly in the waist deep water, I fanned out my casts to cover as much ground as possible and after only half an hour, my Swimish was hit within seconds of it splashing down ?. After an exciting couple of minutes, during which the fish tried to escape into a patch of weed, I had it beaten and rather than waste time wading back to shore I took a quick snap of bass number 98 in the water, before shaking it off the hook ?.
With only 2 more bass needed and several hours of fishing ahead of me, things were looking good for reaching my target and when 5 minutes later, a bass hit my lure right under my rod tip, sadly without hooking up, it was surely only a matter of time.
Unfortunately, just like on Tuesday evening it looked like my confidence might have been misplaced and for the next 4 hours I fished on without a touch, through what I consider to be the hottest part of the tide at this particular mark ?. With high tide approaching and the current easing, I thought my chance had gone and I was just about to sit down for a 5 minute breather, when suddenly my lure was hit hard ?. The fish put up a great scrap in the remaining flow and having waited so long to hook it, I played it as carefully as possible, so as not to lose it, then eventually I was able to slide bass number 99 ashore, a nice looking fish of bang on 50cm ?.
With the ton now almost within reach, I forgot all about having a sit down ? and I fished on excitedly but the bass must have been a loner, as things were now very quiet again. For the next hour I fished several spots along the shore, in an attempt to find out where the bass were hiding, and I tried tempting them with several different lures, but I didn’t get a single touch
.It was getting late by now and with the tide ebbing quite quickly, I decided to head back to my original spot for the last half an hour. As I waded out again, I wasn’t expecting much but it turned out to be an inspired move, as on the very first cast my Mishna was smashed! With so much at stake, my heart really was in my mouth as I played the fish, and it put up a cracking fight, but eventually it tired and I was finally able to land my third, and at 52cm my biggest fish of the evening, and at long last my 100th bass of the season ?.
To say I was chuffed would be an understatement and I was absolutely buzzing, but there was still fishing to be done, so after a couple of snaps and a quick kiss ?, I released the bass to grow bigger.
After finally reaching my target, I wouldn’t have been bothered if I get anything else but I decided to give it another 10 minutes, just in case the bass were belatedly coming on the feed.
As it happened, after another few casts I was in again ? and bass number 101, the smallest of the night this time at 41cm was soon beaten
.With the bass apparently feeding better than they had been all night
, I couldn’t possibly leave now so I decided to give it another 10 minutes, which of course stretched to 20 ?, but eventually I decided enough was enough and with the century reached for the third time in the last 4 years, and at the earliest date yet, I headed for home.
