South West Was it a gilt?

[Plaicehunter]

The water was clear but still cold when I set off yesterday aboard 'Piranha' in search of the first gilt of 2021. Fishing the whole of the ebb and the first hour of the flood, I dodged about trying favourite spots. Three rods were baited with lug, rag and peeler crab.
Bass in the Tamar are still apparently not taking lures due to the low water temperature, but that didn't stop a couple of dozen schoolies to around 1.5lb nailing my various baits. Pests!
Early in the ebb I missed a gilt-type bite on crab: several sharp knocks followed by a pull-round.
Later I thought I'd cracked it as the crab rod nearly took off out of the boat, but the hoped-for gilt turned into a bass of around 1-12.
Then another good bite on the same rod saw me battling a really heavy fish which banged about down deep. Was it a decent gilt or a big wrasse? Alas! I will never know as it came off the 3/0 crab hook just as I was thinking about the landing net.
I was probably silly to go, as the main run of gilts is probably a couple of months away, once the water has warmed, but if you don't try...
Back on the Tamar tomorrow, this time after conger and rays, maybe even a cod! PH

 

[Shirleycodlin]

Good luck on the cod hunt?

 

[Cfish]

Hope you get a cod!!!! Fathercfish used to get cod up the tamar by the pontoons up to 20lb!!!!!! Not codling under 10lb that we rave about.

 

[Flipper]

Great session, well done. Larks has had monster gilt already and heard from one of the shops that another couple have been caught, so they are around.

 

[Trampster]

Great report Graham - shame no Gilts but you certainly did well on the Bass! ??

 

[Plaicehunter]

The water was clear but still cold when I set off yesterday aboard 'Piranha' in search of the first gilt of 2021. Fishing the whole of the ebb and the first hour of the flood, I dodged about trying favourite spots. Three rods were baited with lug, rag and peeler crab.
Bass in the Tamar are still apparently not taking lures due to the low water temperature, but that didn't stop a couple of dozen schoolies to around 1.5lb nailing my various baits. Pests!
Early in the ebb I missed a gilt-type bite on crab: several sharp knocks followed by a pull-round.
Later I thought I'd cracked it as the crab rod nearly took off out of the boat, but the hoped-for gilt turned into a bass of around 1-12.
Then another good bite on the same rod saw me battling a really heavy fish which banged about down deep. Was it a decent gilt or a big wrasse? Alas! I will never know as it came off the 3/0 crab hook just as I was thinking about the landing net.
I was probably silly to go, as the main run of gilts is probably a couple of months away, once the water has warmed, but if you don't try...
Back on the Tamar tomorrow, this time after conger and rays, maybe even a cod! PH

Postscript: I started the day with a conger of 7-8lb on half a mackerel, lip-hooked and T-barred off. Thought I was in for a hot session but it then went completely dead. At half-ebb I moved downstream where it was equally unexciting, but when I gave up to go home I found a half-pound whiting on the pennell. So a fish on the first cast, one on the last cast and zip in between. The water is still very cold and March is probably the worst month of the year for me, so things can only get better.
This is what I caught last March - but it was in Lanzarote! PH

 

[Plaicehunter]

bet they went a bit get it on spinning tackle?

unlucky on the gilt hunt like the way you put bass as a pest lol but your not far wrong they was more about through the winter months than cod around here
Good luck ?

This bonito went 11lb and I had another around 9lb next day, both on a bass spinning rod and 4000 reel, although on freelined livebait not a lure. I've never had a fish run so far and fast repeatedly.
There seem to be a few gilts around the Plymouth area but not enough to be worth targeting yet in my opinion. The water is still too cold.
I love catching bass of all sizes on lures because I fish barbless and they are easy to return undamaged. Small ones are a bit of a nuisance when bait fishing for gilts, and even when I get a decent one I wish I'd caught it on a lure! PH