- Joined
- Oct 4, 2020
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- Location
- North Devon
- Favourite Fishing
- Shore
I haven’t as such targeted bass on the surf beaches yet this year - have put the odd bait out for them but was more focused on ray or hounds.
But I love autumn bassing, September to November or at least while it’s not too cold.
Partly because imo it’s the best time to target them on the surf beaches but also because the darker evenings mean you can fish the right tide windows without starting stupid late once it’s dark and without staying out until 4am!
Friday night I had Saunton beach in mind until I realised the tide was all wrong, but it was perfect for my favourite bass beach and (in theory) not a terribly late night.
A strong NW wind also produces the best surf down there although not the most pleasant to stand out in and sometimes weed is an issue but the weed situation is usually a lottery - you just have to go and try and if you have to pack up early, so be it.
I parked up on a completely empty promenade and the wind blew my head off when I got out of the car, but the surf looked lush.
I hurried down and tackled up quickly, with a rather skanky small bluey on one rod (to use it up during the quieter part of the tide) and squid on the other.
I had the beach to myself and the neap tide meant I didn’t need to constantly be on the move either, which is always nice.
It was quiet for the first hour or so, and by then I had half a decent bluey out, which obligingly nodded a few times then the rod went right over!
‘Bass!’ I thought. And it was a decent fish, giving a good account of itself on the way in.
So I was a bit surprised to see the glowing eyes of a ray coming through the surf towards me…
I was going to weigh it, but it was bleeding unfortunately so decided to get it back as quickly as I could. It was lip hooked but possibly the hook had pulled through from deeper.
Given the feel and size of it, I’d have said 7-8lb.
Blank avoided at least!
It wasn’t long before I was getting bites again on both rods. One looked like a smaller ray and I walked it down to the surf, then was dismayed to find the line from my other rod was blowing everywhere.
I was bringing both in but was there a fish on?
It was a right mess but yes, there was quite a good sized dogfish on one and a small ie 1lb huss foul hooked on the other.
I released both fish, untangled one trace then set about trying to unravel the mess.
There were clumps and coils of 15lb line wrapped around me, the tripod, the other reel, all over the place
By carefully retrieving and untangling each mess as I came to it, I managed to fix the mess and get the line back on the reel where it belonged.
Which was good as I didn’t have a spare reel or spare line, so cutting wouldn’t have ended well.
Then things went quiet for a while. I had another even smaller huss that looked deeply hooked but coughed up the whole squid without a hook touching it, result!
By now I was approaching the part where the beach narrows, with a gully behind that fills up. It’s not dangerous per se but there is a danger your box can float away so much vigilance and moving of gear is required.
I had a reasonable bite on the second small and slightly manky bluey I was using up, which resulted in the target fish at least.
It was I’d say under 2lb and was lip hooked so went back quite happily.
By now I had time for one last cast before I was pushed off the beach. Water was already beginning to swirl around my ankles.
I was watching a nibbling, twitchy bite that turned into nodding and I was thinking schoolie.
Then the rod went over quite slowly but deliberately and I struck into what was clearly quite a good fish.
The initial contact felt very wriggly and I was fairly certain it was a big eel.
I’ve had them up to high teens on this beach so it’s relatively common, especially in autumn.
It was a strong fish. The 15lb line was singing and I was quite careful as I eased it towards shore.
Then it was gone
You never know with fishing but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a bass. It had all the hallmarks of an eel, from the delicate initial bite, the strong slow take and the sheer power.
That was it for the session. I had one last chuck but it was wishful thinking as the gully behind was filling rapidly and I soon brought both rods in as made a hasty retreat.
Still, not a bad start to the campaign. No big bass but target acquired and a few other fish to boot.
Also the weed wasn’t too bad. Some clumps and inevitably some on the leader knot but a result, given the conditions.
But I love autumn bassing, September to November or at least while it’s not too cold.
Partly because imo it’s the best time to target them on the surf beaches but also because the darker evenings mean you can fish the right tide windows without starting stupid late once it’s dark and without staying out until 4am!
Friday night I had Saunton beach in mind until I realised the tide was all wrong, but it was perfect for my favourite bass beach and (in theory) not a terribly late night.
A strong NW wind also produces the best surf down there although not the most pleasant to stand out in and sometimes weed is an issue but the weed situation is usually a lottery - you just have to go and try and if you have to pack up early, so be it.
I parked up on a completely empty promenade and the wind blew my head off when I got out of the car, but the surf looked lush.
I hurried down and tackled up quickly, with a rather skanky small bluey on one rod (to use it up during the quieter part of the tide) and squid on the other.
I had the beach to myself and the neap tide meant I didn’t need to constantly be on the move either, which is always nice.
It was quiet for the first hour or so, and by then I had half a decent bluey out, which obligingly nodded a few times then the rod went right over!
‘Bass!’ I thought. And it was a decent fish, giving a good account of itself on the way in.
So I was a bit surprised to see the glowing eyes of a ray coming through the surf towards me…
I was going to weigh it, but it was bleeding unfortunately so decided to get it back as quickly as I could. It was lip hooked but possibly the hook had pulled through from deeper.
Given the feel and size of it, I’d have said 7-8lb.
Blank avoided at least!
It wasn’t long before I was getting bites again on both rods. One looked like a smaller ray and I walked it down to the surf, then was dismayed to find the line from my other rod was blowing everywhere.
I was bringing both in but was there a fish on?
It was a right mess but yes, there was quite a good sized dogfish on one and a small ie 1lb huss foul hooked on the other.
I released both fish, untangled one trace then set about trying to unravel the mess.
There were clumps and coils of 15lb line wrapped around me, the tripod, the other reel, all over the place
By carefully retrieving and untangling each mess as I came to it, I managed to fix the mess and get the line back on the reel where it belonged.
Which was good as I didn’t have a spare reel or spare line, so cutting wouldn’t have ended well.
Then things went quiet for a while. I had another even smaller huss that looked deeply hooked but coughed up the whole squid without a hook touching it, result!
By now I was approaching the part where the beach narrows, with a gully behind that fills up. It’s not dangerous per se but there is a danger your box can float away so much vigilance and moving of gear is required.
I had a reasonable bite on the second small and slightly manky bluey I was using up, which resulted in the target fish at least.
It was I’d say under 2lb and was lip hooked so went back quite happily.
By now I had time for one last cast before I was pushed off the beach. Water was already beginning to swirl around my ankles.
I was watching a nibbling, twitchy bite that turned into nodding and I was thinking schoolie.
Then the rod went over quite slowly but deliberately and I struck into what was clearly quite a good fish.
The initial contact felt very wriggly and I was fairly certain it was a big eel.
I’ve had them up to high teens on this beach so it’s relatively common, especially in autumn.
It was a strong fish. The 15lb line was singing and I was quite careful as I eased it towards shore.
Then it was gone
You never know with fishing but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a bass. It had all the hallmarks of an eel, from the delicate initial bite, the strong slow take and the sheer power.
That was it for the session. I had one last chuck but it was wishful thinking as the gully behind was filling rapidly and I soon brought both rods in as made a hasty retreat.
Still, not a bad start to the campaign. No big bass but target acquired and a few other fish to boot.
Also the weed wasn’t too bad. Some clumps and inevitably some on the leader knot but a result, given the conditions.
