East Kent Coast Sea Fishing Compendium

Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

The smaller school bass along the south coast can be caught throughout the year, though there is a downturn in numbers during February the coldest month. The east coast adult fish arrive in May and stay until early December if the weather remains warm without prolonged frosts.

On surf beaches bass can sometimes follow a route along the slightly deeper gullies that run parallel with the beach, but they will also be side tracked by areas of boulders and weed growth, shingle banks, and again areas where a stream flows into the sea.

Deal Pier holds bass. They come in to feed on the smaller pouting etc, that are feeding on the rubbish and old bait that anglers throw over the rail.

Over rough ground and surf beaches bass numbers will decline as the neap tides reach their lowest peak. This is because the lack of tide fails to disturb sufficient food for the bass to feed on. On the beach the best tides are the mid-sized ones and those just prior to the very biggest springs. The biggest springs themselves can be disappointing, though bass can still be caught.

Bass like rough weather - not full blown gales, but those days when onshore winds are a steady force 3 to 6 creating a series of rollers that push across the sand and rocks and expose food. Offshore winds that clear the water push the bass out to deeper water where they feed on sand eels etc. The other good time is just after a strong gale when the sea has been really rough and the surf is full of weed. Bass will work within a few yards of shore in these conditions. Bass will feed by day if the sea is coloured or carrying a good surf.

Generally, the fishing is best at night, especially dusk and dawn, but bass respond more to the state of the tide than the darkness of the hour. Bass show over rough ground beaches only at set times. It's usually low water and the first two hours of the flood, then the hour either side of high water. Outside these periods bites are few and far between.

Long casts are not necessary. Dropping a large crab bait at about 40 yards or less will usually find the fish. But you need to hold the rod at all times and feel for the bites being transmitted through the rod. Bass mostly register on the rod tip initially with a couple of gentle knocks, then pull the rod tip hard over. You need to strike as the rod is pulled away from you.

On surf beaches in rough weather and heavy surfs, use a wired lead to anchor the bait in position, but hold the rod and feel for bites. Start by casting out to medium range, then if no bites are forthcoming shorten the casts until you're working only 40 yards out, and if this fails to produce fish do not hesitate to put a bait as far as you can.

Bass are not always close to shore - bass are where the food is and, on occasion, this may beyond even the best casters.

In moderate seas and steady surfs it pays to use a plain lead and to let this roll downtide and inward. The bait and lead then find all the depressions and gutters that the bass are likely to be feeding in.

For most rough ground bassing and for average surf conditions a blank between 11 feet and 12 feet casting 2-3ozs is needed. Ideally, it should have a supple but not stiff tip, with power increasing quickly through its mid section to a fairly stiff butt which gives sufficient power to turn and play fish away from snags. Because the rod should be held throughout the session, it should not weigh much more than 15ozs. Add a multiplier and load this with 15 to 18 lb line, depending on how rough the ground is and how likely line abrasion will be. In calmer seas you can drop down to a spinning rod and just 1-2ozs off the beach. Fixed spool reels and 10-12 lb line make for a balanced outfit.

Keep the rough ground rig as cheap and as unobtrusive as possible. Take 30 inches of 20 lb line and tie a loop in the bottom by tying two granny knots. About 18 inches above this tie in a blood loop to take the hook length. Use either a swivel or oval split ring as a main line to trace connector. The hook length should be 15 lb line and about 9 inches long; the hook size between 2/0 and 5/0. Tie a short length of 8-10 lb line to the loop at the base of the rig and tie the lead to this so that the lead will break free if it gets stuck.

Surf beach rigs are similar in design. Use 30 inches of trace line strong enough to handle the size of weight. Tie an oval split ring at the base and add a small bait clip above if longer distance is required. Use crimps and beads to trap a small swivel about 20 inches above the split ring. Finish with a strong swivel at the top of the rig. The hook length should be about 18 inches ending in a size 1/0 to 5/0 hook depending on bait size. Use a three way swivel to rig an artificial Red Gill eel. Tie the main line to the top swivel eye, use a 12 lb hook length about 30 inches long tied to the lower eye, and add a split ring to the middle eye which takes the weight. This casts quite cleanly and presents the eel well.

Bass working the rough ground beaches will just as readily hit an artificial lure. The best are the Dexter Wedge and the Red Gill artificial sand eel. Simply casting and retrieving the lure over the rough ground will catch bass. Plugs work well, too, especially the slimmer bodied floating ones in silver and jointed ones that give off vibrations.

"The Art of Angling, Rock and Sea Fishing: with the Natural History of River, Pond and Sea Fish" (1740) Richard Brookes at pages 76 & 77

Of The Bass

The Bass, in Latin Lupus, from its greediness sometimes grows to the length of a yard and a half; yet, according to some, they are thought to be of a large size when they weigh fifteen pounds. They are shaped pretty much like a Salmon. The colour on the back is of a dark dirty blue; on the belly silver. When young they have black spots on the back and lateral lines, which, as they increase in bulk, quite vanish. The scales are of a middling size, thick, and adhere very closely. The mouth is large, and full of small teeth. In the palate there is a triangular bone, and there are two more in the throat. The tongue is broad, slender and rough, there being a rough bone in the middle. The eyes are large, and of a silver colour, with dark cloudy spots; a small circle next the pupil is yellow.

The intestines have nothing very singular. It is a very voracious fish; and yet the flesh is of a good flavour, and very wholesome. They will live either in the sea, rivers or ponds; but the Sea-Bass are best, and next to them are those that are taken in the mouth of large rivers. The way of catching them is with nets. Sometimes they are caught with an angle in fishing for Mullet.

"Prose Halieutics or Ancient and Modern Fish Tattle" (1854) Reverend Charles David Badham M.D. at pages 124, 125 & 126

Chapter VIII

Percidæ or Perches

The Labrax

As regards the capture of the basse, both poets and fishermen agree that he is not easily taken prisoner, proving a troublesome customer, and well skilled in artfull devices to perplex and elude alike the man of boat and meshes and him of rod and line … When hooked by the angler, he will shake his head, tussle a little at the line, and after enlarging the wound, slip away, leaving the disappointed fisherman to readjust his tackle …

It is not therefore unadvisedly that Aristophanes calls this perch the wisest of fish … since he thus cleverly escapes from imminent dangers by fore-thought and address; but every one has a weak point to lead him astray: the lupus's foible is an inordinate greediness, which, when choice food can be obtained, renders all this promptitude and cunning of no avail; and his death is often brought about by means of a very insignificant enemy. Enjoying a dish of prawns exceedingly, and not caring to anticipate consequences, the lupus, on meeting with a shoal, opens his mouth, and at a gulp fills it with hundreds of these nimble and prickly crustaceans, who no sooner find themselves on the wrong side of the barrier and going down "quick into the pit" of their enemy's stomach, than they fasten on with all despatch, and running the sharp serrated rostrums of their heads right into his palate and fauces, stick to their victim, who, unable either to detach or cough them up, dies ere long of spasmodic croup, or in the more lengthened anguish of an ulcerated sore-throat ! "Prawns," says Oppian, who tells precisely the same story as Ælian, (and they can't both be wrong !) "though small creatures and weak withal, yet by subtilty will often kill their enemy the labrax, that greedy fish, who so well deserves his name and his fate." Oppian then relates how, when the labrax has hastily filled his mouth with these pigmy creatures, the little jumpers, placed in this perilous position, unable alike to resist or retreat, spring and bound about for some time unheeded within the jaws of their voracious and unsuspecting victim, who, only intent upon taking in fresh supplies, suffers himself to be pierced and wounded in the tender parts of his fauces and throat by their beaked foreheads, till at length, by oft-repeated punctures and lacerations, they choke the labrax, and so destroy their destroyer:

Oft has the wolf the bearded squadrons fought,
And of the luscious food too dearly bought:
No pity to the shelly race was shown,
'Twas therefore just their fate should prove his own.
They wound with pain, what they with pleasure fill,
Subdue their conqueror, and dying, kill.
(Oppian)

"Sea Fish & How to Catch Them" (1863) William Barry Lord at pages 45 & 46

The Basse

Although the name of sea dace has been at times given it, the basse is a sea perch, resembling in many of its habits the perch of our fresh-water rivers and lakes. It is at times an exceedingly greedy feeder, taking small fish or spinning bait very freely. These fish, like the grey mullet, are fond of creeks and estuaries leading to large rivers, and are particularly fond of frequenting the positions occupied by old hulks which have been long moored in one place, feeding on the mussels and marine insects which are to be found adhering to the weed which collects round old timber. They are far more on the alert for food late in the evening or at night, than during the day, when the largest are generally taken. The neighbourhood of landing places, where pilchards or other fish are cleaned, will be found often visited by basse in considerable numbers, attracted by the small pieces of fish offal floated off by the tide, at which times a piece of pilchard or pilchard gut is a pretty sure bait. Great numbers are taken with bolters (vide "Bolter"), baited with pilchard, cuttle, sand launce, or other small fish. Excellent sport may often be had by fishing with the rod (full length) from any convenient point or headland. The trace should be of strong gimp, about a yard long, mounted with two swivels; hook, No. 3 or 4 Limerick pattern, light sinker, and large cork float. Bait: pilchard, pilchard gut, launce, or mud-worms, or, in the absence of these, mussels or shrimps may be at times used. They are frequently taken high up large rivers emptying themselves into the sea, with the white fly … particularly the small or shoal basse, as they are called by fishermen. The tackle for basse fishing should be well examined and very securely put together, as they are very powerful fish and fight hard. Basse may be drawn together in considerable numbers by sinking in a convenient spot, near where they are known to frequent, a piece of old fishing net containing a stone and as much fish entrails and offal as can be conveniently managed; fish about a foot from the ground with either your rod or hand-line, and the basse, duly assembled, will not be long in paying you a visit. A gaff or landing net should be kept at hand, as "weighing out" is always a risky operation, and, with a basse of any size, not easy of accomplishment. It is to be met with on the greater part of both the southern coast of England and Ireland, depositing its spawn in the summer as near fresh water as it can reach.

"Sea-fishing as a sport" (1865) Lambton J. H. Young at pages 78, 79 & 80

Fish

The bass, a marine perch, with two dorsal fins is abundant in the Mediterranean and was well known to the Greeks who named it … and esteemed it highly. It was also well known to the Romans who called it "lupus", on account of its voracity … this fish is sometimes taken of the weight of fifteen pounds and one is said to have weighed twenty-eight pounds; but the general size is from twelve to eighteen inches in length, and then the fish is excellent food … they have been retained with success in Mr. Arnold's freshwater lake in Guernsey, and are said to gain much in flavour by the change. Their food consists generally of living prey, the sand launce and small crustaceous animals particularly the "oniscii" in pursuit of which it ventures among the rocks in the midst of a tempest as at that time these insects are frequently washed from their hiding places; they are captured at sea by various means and give most excellent sport to the amateur especially when whiffing with pilchard gut for bait or in the dusk of the evening with a fly made of white pigeon feathers, the boat being rowed very fast through the water, and some sixty yards of line out, the fly being near the surface of the water. Good sport can be had by fishing for them from the rocks when there is a little swell coming home, or else by anchoring the boat on the edge of a current during flood tide. In this way I have, during an evening, caught a dozen fine bass, weighing from five to twelve pounds each; the struggles of the fish to get away are of the most determined kind, they being nearly as strong as a salmon. At Ramsgate and on the Kentish coast the bass is called the sea dace. They can be taken also with salmon or trolling tackle from the rocks at harbour mouths in the autumn, either with flies or bait.

"Fishing gossip; or, stray leaves from the note-books of several anglers" (1866) H. Cholmondeley-Pennell (editor) at pages 39 to 50

A Seaside Yarn

… Few sea-fish there are, perhaps, more generally misunderstood and coarsely fished for than bass, and few are there with whose habits I am acquainted that feed so differently according to the position and circumstances under which they are placed, thus affording a wide scope for the skill, ingenuity, and research of the fisherman, who shall, if he pleases, accompany me on a short voyage, and peep, Asmodeus-like, at the bass "taking his divarsions" in his own sea-garden, and lend a hand at ensnaring him.

Let us then, drift quietly away, with the flowing tide, to one of those old sunken hulks, so much like Noah's Arks retired from business, beneath whose submerged timbers lie crag and rugged ledge, gorgeous with many an animal and vegetable wonder. Upward like giant flag and rush stream the fronds of the Laminaria digitata and countless whip-like lashes of the Chorda filum; whilst groups of corallines and algæ glitter about like brilliants in a sapphire setting. Here too, amongst the secret crannies of the soddened oak, might be seen, if we could look close enough, creeping annelids, little lurking gobies, and other pigmy haunters of submerged leviathans. Tiny crabs, shrimps, and other crustaceans scramble in and out, through what was once the window of a state cabin; whilst clusters of mussels, and whole beds of serpeda and balanus, grow everywhere around.

Here, then, is one of the chosen hunting-grounds of the bass, and here we will watch him engaged in what is to him the main business of life - the chase; thrusting his strong nose by a sudden upward dart into the tufts of weed, and then by a sweep of the tail, retreating on winnowing fin ready to pounce on the dislodged prey. Catching him when thus engaged is by no means as easy as it looks, but may be thus attempted - A strong rod of average length (almost any strong rod will answer the purpose), fitted with a large winch, having plenty of fine strong prepared line on it, should be used. To this append a six-foot trace of strong twisted gut, armed with two No. 3 Limerick trout-hooks, after the manner of a common paternoster; with a sinker or lead at the end, light enough to be carried by the run of the tide well under the hulk, but of sufficient weight to keep your line tight.

Bait with a small fish, such as a sand-launce, smelt, or sprat, or in lieu of these a strip of cuttle-fish; a couple of large mud-worms, which will be found figured in my little work, Sea-Fish, and how to catch them; or a strong strip of pilchard gut, hooked by the hard end. These tempting morsels should then be allowed to sink away, quietly carried by the run down which you are fishing until well among the bass, then by a series of short "lifts" bring your bait back again; when, if fortune favours, and the fish prove a large one, some little care and management will be needed. Bear well in mind that fish are not "hosses" or you will come to grief to a certainty. Keep the top of your rod well up, and don't give an inch of line unless it is taken. A wide strong landing-net is far better than a gaff for this kind of sport, and it should be always at hand. Large polluck, and a variety of other fish, are taken when fishing in this way; and here perhaps a few words touching the question of the superiority of fine over coarse tackle may not come amiss before proceeding to other branches of our subject. I broadly assert then, as I have elsewhere expressed it, that "the finer the tackle is, consistently with the requisite strength to hold the fish, the greater will be the chance of testing its powers." Fine tackle is not necessarily weak tackle, neither is a straw band of a goodly size as strong as a small wire rope. Some of my readers will no doubt remember a most amusing account of an experimental fishing-match by my friend, Mr. Frank Buckland - "Fine versus Coarse Tackle" which appeared in the columns of The Field, I think last August - champion knights, Mr. Cholmondeley Pennell, fine gut paternoster, dressed silk line, and jack-rod: Mr. Frank Buckland, ordinary coarse tackle and hand-line; "Robinson Crusoe", ditto. The results were, as our friends who find "Jordan such a hard road to travel," would say, "the tallest kind of caution;" - the knight of the jack-rod and gut-line being triumphantly victorious, and beating both his antagonists, together with the united crews of two boats anchored near them, out of the lists !

… The mouths of rivers, open beaches, and sand-bars, are favourite resorts of the bass, where, feeding in with the coming tide, at times barely covered by the creaming surf, he may be successfully fished for with rod and "ledger," "hand-line," or "ground-bolter." Spoon-bait trolling may also at times be practised, with considerable success, near his haunts, particularly in the evening, when bass are most disposed to feed.

A rising tide is by far the best for sea-fishing. Each feathered roller of the young flood, as it thunders on the strand, tolls the dinner-bell of our scaly gourmands the fish, and in they come accordingly. Curious it is to watch the extreme state of bustle, wriggle, and hungry activity that this same flood-tide brings with it. Our submarine acquaintances have evidently decided, one and all, that "the good time coming, boys" is, on this occasion at least, in the present and not the future tense, and as the first inward rush eddies round the stony pools, cunning old crabs, of acquisitive but unsociable habits, bolt from their hiding-places like misers out for a holiday. Prawns and shrimps sail about "promiscuously," making their appearance as if by enchantment from the deep clefts into which they retired as the tide went out. Myriads of tiny mouths and star-like discs open, and the flowing water is filled with waving arms and fringed legs. Now will be the time for us to enjoy a few hours' sport, at anchor on some good set of "marks" laid down from former observation. And here let me give a word of advice. Mark well fruitful spots by conspicuous objects, such as rocks, headlands, or buildings on the shore, noting the season and state of tide when good takes are secured. A great variety of fish may be taken when fishing from a boat anchored on good ground, and as a number of modes may be had recourse to at the same time for ensnaring them, much variety and amusement are often the result.

Some diversity of opinion prevails as to the particular strength and arrangement of the tackle requisite. As already stated, however, I have generally found salmon-gut strong enough to hold anything in reason, provided a landing-net is used. When there are not too many in the boat, a short stiff rod, fine prepared line, and strong gut paternoster mounted with hooks No. 2 Kirby trout-pattern, will be found in tolerably skilful hands as destructive an engine as can be well devised. In using it the great point is never to let the line slacken - indeed the point of the rod should always be kept a little bent by the strain on the lead. When fish of moderate size are hooked, the line should not be reeled up but drawn in from below the first ring above the winch by the hand, keeping the rod well up. The weight of the sinker must be proportioned to the current of the stream and depth of tide running, and different depths should be tried if the fish cease biting as the tide rises. "Chop-stick lines" are also used for boat fishing.

Without any comparison, the best bait for all small fish, as generally fished for on our coasts, is, in my opinion, the mud-worm (Syllis monilaris). These should be kept in water-tight wooden boxes, lined with pitch, which may be easily run into the seams with a hot iron. The ordinary puzzle-box shape is best, and the sliding cover must have a few small air-holes made in it. Clean sea-water, just sufficient to cover the worms, should be poured into the box every day, after thoroughly cleansing it, and removing every dead and injured worm. A little bit of wood nailed under one end of the box, so as to raise it about an inch, will be found advantageous, as it will keep the water always at one end, and enable the worms to crawl high and dry if they think proper, thus prolonging their lives and improving their quality as bait. In the absence of worms, strips of cuttle-fish, or small portions of any other fish, may be used. When fishing at anchor, it is well at all times to lay out one or more float-lines (i.e. without any sinker); these should be composed of fine prepared line mounted with yard traces of strong salmon-gut and one No. 5 Limerick trout-pattern hook each. This, baited with a "lask" or strip, cut from the tail of a mackerel, should be allowed to drift away with the stream to some considerable distance from the boat. The inner end may be conveniently held by one of the cane "gunwale blocks," described in my little work, Sea-Fish, and how to catch them. In fitting all my sea-lines, large or small, a brass swivel at the union of the trace and line is never omitted; an arrangement which I can strongly recommend. To the allurements of ground-bait sea-fish are by no means indifferent; and to its enticements many a scaly victim owes his fall, or rather rise. It is to be prepared thus: - A piece of old worn-out fishing-net must be procured - say of about three feet square. Into this put all the fresh fish offal, refuse bait, etc., you can get, provided that the net will hold it; mix this with about a gallon of bran, and beat them well together with a stout stick; put a heavy stone in the middle, tie it up after the fashion of a dumpling compounded with a view to tickling the gustatory nerves of an ogre, and sink it by a piece of line to within three feet of the bottom, and be assured your trouble will not be thrown away.

Click Fishing gossip; or, stray leaves from the note-books of several anglers to read the entire text online

"Guide to Sea Fishing and the rivers of south Devon and descriptive catalogue of their prize river and sea fishing tackle, cricket, archery, croquet, umbrellas, parasols &c" (1875 - 7th edition) J. N. Hearder & Son at pages 86 to 91

Part Second

Sea Fishing

Fly fishing and spinning for bass and pollack from a boat

There is still another mode of surface fishing to be described, and not the least interesting, on account of its alliance to the noble sport of salmon fishing, which it closely resembles as well in its manipulation as in its results. The bass is in the sea almost what the salmon is in the river. He takes the white or green fly and the sole skin bait as well as the different forms of spinners, and when hooked by any one of them shows game by fighting hard, leaping out of the water and sheering right and left in true salmonic style. As he ranges frequently from three to fifteen pounds in weight, he becomes a fish worth notice, especially when, as is sometimes the case, as many as 70 or 80 have been taken in a morning before breakfast with a single rod and one of the writer's indiarubber sand-eels (page 30).

Before describing the modes of taking the bass, it may be as well to consider his habits and whereabouts.

He is, then, always found in estuaries, making his way in with the flood tide, sporting chiefly near the surface of the water, though he is not unfrequently found at the bottom grovelling for ground-bait; frequently he feeds by night; and dozens are occasionally caught after dark from the Pier at Millbay, Plymouth. Shoals of the smaller bass, from half a pound to three pounds in weiglit, may be seen as the tide runs up over the sandy flats scudding along with their backs out of the water, eager to gobble up the little creatures that unsuspectingly emerge from their sandy retreats to receive their accustomed rations from the flowing tide.

Abundant though the bass is, and his periodical visits always to be depended upon, yet the mode of capturing him appears to be only now gradually unfolding itself. Hitherto it has been the practice to whiff for him after the manner before described for mackerel and pollack, using the same kind of gear, namely, flies and spinner (page 15), and occasionally some fine fish are caught in this way.

More recently the writer's indiarubber spinning sand-eel has been welcomed as a valuable addition to the list of artificial baits, but of these more hereafter.

If the fisherman be bent on whiffing for bass, he must attend to the following instructions. Choose a day when there is a smart ripple on the water, and do not whiff in the same direction with the tide, for bass are shy fellows, and do not care to follow in the wake of a boat. If you pull against the tide, you meet the fish and disperse them all, and your bait astern receives no visit. If you pull with the tide, and fast enough to keep your line trailing astern, even then you may frighten the fish, which are very likely to be keeping as far ahead of the tide as you are. Whiff, then, across the current with a long fine line, neatly supplemented with but few appendages. A spinner or jim crow bait and a sand-eel or sole skin bait, or a couple of flies, but not more; or perhaps you might even do better by terminating your line with a spinner only, or with a single fly, or sand-eel, or, if you can get it, with a live sand-eel. By this means, as your bait passes across the noses of a variety of fish, it is a chance if one or the other does not feel tempted occasionally to take it. When hooked, deal with him gently, not hurriedly, for he is strong and wayward; if he will have line, let him have it, but not too easily; and when at last you get him alongside, have your gaff or landing net ready, or his last desperate effort to escape may be successful if you trust to a gut snood.

At best, however, this kind of sport falls very far short of what is now recognised as bass fishing par excellence, namely, fishing with a rod and line from a stationary boat or rocky headland, either with a sand-eel or plano-convex minnow No. 3. The salmon fisher requires no instruction for this class of sport; already au fait with the minnow and fly on the river or lake, he is at home with their representatives on the sea, but the uninitiated may require a few hints, and for him the following remarks are penned.

First, then, let him provide himself with a rod not less than 14, but better 16 or 18 feet in length, tolerably stiff, but pliant enough to make a cast with a sand-eel, fly, or spinner, at the end of 30 or 40 yards of line. The rod may be of hickory or cane (page 25), the latter combining lightness with strength. It should be furnished with upright rings, so as to allow the line to work freely. A general rod, such as is described in page 41, is a convenient rod, since, in addition to the more slender top for casting the fly, it is furnished with stiffer tops for fishing from piers and rocks with a float line. The next essential is a large, strong winch, capable of holding 80 to 150 yards of fine but strong line (see winches page 25). This winch is fixed in the ordinary way by a sliding ring to the butt of the rod.

Next comes the line. Some prefer the standard salmon line of eight-plat silk (page 11), prepared with waterproofing varnish, or the less expensive eight-plat flax line (page 11), which may be waterproofed or not. If economy be the order of the day, Hearder's super-fine flax line (page 10) combines this quality with efficiency. It is extremely strong, very fine, and has no tendency to kink, and is therefore free from all the disagreeable objections, so common to the much vaunted cotton lines, and may be had in lengths from 30 to 120 yards at 8d. per score plain, or 1s. waterproofed.

The line is to be supplemented by a fine bnt strong trace of twisted, or, still better, platted gut (page 11). This trace should be about three yards in length, and is better for having a swivel inserted about a yard from the end.

To this trace is attached the fly, plano-convex minnow, or indiarubber sand-eel, as the case may be. Lines with these appendages are to be found at page 13.

Bass seem to prefer different baits in different localities; in some places they take the fly, especially the green one, with silver body, from its close resemblance to the brit; in a greater number of situations they take the sand-eel, but the plano-convex minnow, No. 3, appears from all accounts to surpass the whole as a universal killer. Thus equipped, the fisherman chooses a day when there is breeze enough to raise a white crest upon the wave, and anchors his boat in the tideway, just in the course bass are known to take. Here he casts his line right and left as far as he can well throw it, drawing the bait towards him across the stream, occasionally using a small pipe lead just above the swivel, to sink the bait a few inches below the surface. By this process the writer is credibly informed by experienced bass fishers that ten times more bass can be taken than by any other.

When pollack alone are sought for, the stiff breeze is not so much a sine qua non as when the game is bass, and the rocks may be approached more closely.

Spinning and fly fishing for bass &c from rocks and jetties

Comparatively few persons appear to be aware of the excellent sport to be obtained by spinning and fiy fishing from the bold rocky headlands with which the British Isles abound; but this admirable sport, which has the capital advantage that it can be followed when the sea is much too rough to render boat fishing a pleasant amusement, is rapidly developing itself all around our coasts. All surface fish, such as mackerel, lythe, bass, pollack, billet, &c, are now taken most freely from the rocks with precisely the same tackle and mode of using it as that described in the preceding article. In September mackerel are taken by hundreds round the coast of Ireland, and on many parts of the English coast, and what is not a little surprising, codlings of considerable size are taken at the bottom by the plano-convex minnow, used wiih rod and line from the rocks. The plan for pursuing this last sport, is to throw out the bait with 30 or 40 yards of line, let it sink to the bottom, and then draw it smartly in. At Filey Brigg, in Yorkshire, and on some parts of the Welsh and Irish coasts, this sport has been most successful.

A word or two on the flies and sand-eels as bass and pollack baits may not be out of place here, as it is a subject much discussed amongst fishermen. The writer has always been of the opinion that fish take the feathered hooks not for flies, but for small fish; hence his original fly was made to resemble the fish as nearly as possible by enclosing the hook between a pair of feathers. Following up the impression, Hearder and Son contrived their indiarubber sand-eel, with its various modifications, and the accounts which they daily receive of its success warrant them in recommending their drab Indiarubber sand-eel as the best bait yet out for bass, second only to the plano-convex minnow. They have also introduced a red sand-eel, which appears to be, from all accounts, an extraordinary killer for large pollack, lythe, billet, and coal-fish, probably from its resemblance to the lug worm. It is extensively used round the coast of Ireland, as well as round the coasts of England and Scotland. Amongst the various modifications of their compound baits for bass and pollack, they would call attention to the combination of the spinner with the sand-eel or sole skin, namely the jim crow (page 30).

This bait can also be used with mud worms, pork rind, or any natural bait as a supplement to the spinner.

The Illustrated London News (4 July 1885)
"Bass-Fishing on the South Coast"
Richard Caton Woodville (1856-1927)

"Angling in Salt Water: A Practical Work on Sea Fishing with Rod and Line from the Shore, Piers, Jetties, Rocks and from Boats" (1887) John Bickerdyke at pages 64, 65 & 78

As a general rule, the best bass fishing is had during spring tides in the strongest currents. Bass feed right in the surf, where no one but a bass fisher would expect to find fish of any kind. On calm days they may be seen basking a little way off the rocks, and at such times it is useless to fish for them; but immediately a breeze from seaward springs up causing waves to break on the rocks, disturbing the myriads of small marine creatures on which bass feed, then, knowing that food is within their reach, they at once commence to search for it, and may be successfully angled for … A breeze from seaward, it will be noticed, gives the angler the best chance of success; but it should be borne in mind that, after a continuance of windy weather, bass, as a rule, cease to feed on the surface, and are to be taken in deeper water, close to the bottom. From eleven in the morning until five in the evening is, generally speaking, the worst time for bass fishing … If, however, the day is calm, and a breeze springs up from seaward, the bass, if they are off the rocks, may feed whatever the hour may be. The exact position of the fish may often be determined by watching the seagulls, for these birds follow and hover over shoals of brit, on which the bass feed, often at the height of the flood tide.

The bass is a very ravenous fish, and its food is of the most varied description: fry of almost any kind, small crabs, and sea-worms, probably form its staple diet. The live sand-eel is a dainty morsel which it can hardly resist: and in its feeding generally it much resembles its handsome inland cousin, the perch. In or near harbours it eats garbage.

Fly fishing for bass, which has been practised for about half-a-century, is, when the fish are feeding close to the surface, by far the most sportsmanlike and pleasurable method of catching them. The sport afforded is, indeed, little inferior to salmon fishing, for the bass are almost as strong as salmon, and what little they lack in strength they fully make up for in numbers.

… When the sea is calm and clear and the day bright, bass fishing is almost hopeless … The angler need never be at a loss for bait, for the bass is a foul feeder, even preferring a piece of doubtful squid or bloater to fresher baits. The entrails of rabbits or chickens will do when better baits are wanting.

"Sea-Fishing on the English Coast" (1891) Frederick George Aflalo at page 66, 68, 69 & 80

June

To the Margate fishermen, bass was, until recently, a word unknown, salmon-dace being its local sobriquet.

… All your tackle must be thoroughly reliable, as the bass is a very powerful fish, and you will require to keep a taut line on him, in order to steer him clear of the rocks and piles, round which he has an awkward trick of breaking your line. The hooks, too, should be long in the shank and very sharp; for the bass being a leather-mouthed fish, the hook should pierce well. You should also have by you a cloth with which to handle the captive, otherwise its spikes may inflict some nasty wounds while you are unhooking it.

The favourite spots for bass are at the mouths of rivers, round dock-heads, and off wooden piers and breakwaters. They feed as a rule on the sand, but are also found on the rocks. The best time to take bass is in moderately rough weather, in sea-breezes, and choppy water. Dull days, too, seem to be preferable, though this is immaterial in the case of bottom-fishing. Morning and evening, and about high water, are the best times for surface-fishing.

August

… Bass, too, have been seen at the top (Littlehampton) as late as August 21st; but this is, I believe, exceptional. Any coldness or storm will send them to the bottom. Our south and south-east coasts generally enjoy some lively weather with south-west winds during the first week of August: I have got to look upon this as the signal for bass to leave the surface, and this supposition has been warranted by my catches both before and after. The methods of taking bass at the surface have already been described. When they go to the bottom, they may be angled for with the paternoster. This should be made very strong … and have large hooks.

"The Sea and the Rod" (1892) Deputy Surgeon-General Charles Thomas Paske & Frederick George Aflalo at pages 68 to 71

Chapter III

Individual Species: The Bass

Next in scientific order of attainment is the method of "spinning", including that of dragging or towing after the boat the artificial sand-eel, that has not necessaiily a spin in its composition, or a strip of glistening skin from the side of a bass or mackerel.

In imitation of these simple, and often most effective, contrivances, anglers have devised all those highly complicated and artistic representations of "minnows," "babies," "phantoms," "devils," "spoons", etc., whose name is legion, manufactured from all manner of substances in the mineral, animal, and vegetable kingdoms.

My own particular favourite is an exceedingly good likeness of a fish carved from the mother-of-pearl handle of a fruit-knife, and presented to me by a friend some years ago. So naturally does this well-armed bait spin through the water, and such a streak of silvery light does it emit when in motion, that I firmly believe the sphere of its attractiveness to extend to mid-channel; and I can quite understand the predatory instinct that has prompted many a fish to follow my bait and not "be happy till he gets it", like the boy in the picture. The bass is, I fear, of a low order of intelligence among fish; carp and mullet are much more wary.

… From some piers and rocks very exciting and profitable sport may be enjoyed by throwing on the surface the artificial sand-eel, generally composed of vulcanized india-rubber, armed with a stout hook, and, so unlike the beautiful silvery launce itself that our surprise merges into incredulity at the clumsiness of the deception. Nor is this all; the species it is intended to portray will attack it, clinging on and allowing themselves to be drawn to the surface, rather than relax their hold.

… In cold weather and on dull days, bass find their nourishment at the bottom, where also the baited hook must lie, carried thither by a leaden weight, adjusted with regard to the strength of the current. If the bait, however, rest quite on the bottom - whether the latter be composed of rock, sand, or shingle - it will soon be reduced to a dirty, unpalatable-looking substance by the repeated intrusions of innumerable small crabs, a source of great annoyance to the angler, especially in the neighbourhood of piers.

By a contrivance already alluded to, and admirably adapted to almost all kinds of bait-fishing at sea, this nuisance can, in a measure, be obviated. The "paternoster" - the appropriateness of whose title is best known to its sponsor - is a deadly implement, consisting of three hooks attached to a couple of yards of stout gut, or patent gimp, to the end of which is fastened a pear-shaped lead. A fourth hook, for ground fish, is sometimes attached to the ring of the lead, but is of course liable to be unbaited by hungry crustaceans, which, not indeed infrequently, climb up the gut and bestow similar attentions on the other baits, should these get twisted up with the main line. The hooks revolve about the main line, and at some distance from it, by an arrangement of swivels and brass wires. This tackle enables you to fish the bottom and various other depths simultaneously; nor is there any reason why, in deep water, a greater number of hooks should not be added, saving that the angler must never place himself on the level of the "pot-hunter." I do not say "descend" to it, since what is but a pastime for him is with thousands a legitimate means of living.

"Hints and Wrinkles on Sea Fishing" (1894) "Ichthyosaurus" (A. Baines & Frederick George Aflalo) at page 23

Natural History and Sport

Bass come in-shore about June, and return to the deeper water in August or September. On warm evenings they may be taken at the surface with fly or spinner, the best bait being, however, the live sand eel. They are generally found near harbours and estuaries, and in such situations the live sand eel is almost indispensable. After retiring from the shallower water they also go to the bottom, where they will take cuttle-fish, soft crab, or pieces of herring. The only bait used with success at Tenby is ray's liver. There were some useful hints on baiting with mussel for these Caermarthen bass in the Fishing Gazette for 31st March last.

"Days of my life on waters fresh and salt, and other papers" (1895) John Bickerdyke at pages 162 & 163

Angling in Salt Water

The bass is, generally speaking, more difficult to catch than the salmon, being extremely wary. He is somewhat nasty in his tastes, and when all other baits fail may occasionally be caught with a piece of dead fish which is strongly tainted.

Skate's liver, a most difficult bait to keep on the hook, he is particularly fond of; and tainted baits, in which may be included the entrails of chickens and rabbits, are especially effective in the neighbourhood of harbours frequented by fishing-boats, where a large amount of none too fresh refuse is thrown into the sea, and acts as ground bait. If the sea is excessively clear - so often the case on the rocky coast of Devon and Cornwall after a long spell of fine weather - it seems almost impossible to catch bass, except at night. I was talking over this subject with a very successful bass-fisher in South Wales, who laid down so many conditions which ought to be satisfied before bass could be caught that, if his views had been absolutely correct, these fish would only find their way into the angler's creel about once in a blue moon. In the first place, said he, the water must be a little thickened by wind from the south-west. Then, it must be the period of spring tides; and, in addition, the tide must be rising, not falling, an hour before daybreak. Moreover, nothing could be caught unless it so chanced that the trawlers were bringing some skate, from which liver could be obtained for bait.

Of course these conditions were somewhat local; but, generally speaking, it may be said that the best bass-fishing is during the period of spring tides, when the water is a little coloured; and the angler should be on the warpath at daybreak.

"The Badminton Library: Modern Sea Fishing" (1895) John Bickerdyke at pages 20, 21, 82 to 84 & 317 to 323

Chapter I: Introductory - Charts, Tides etc

I met with this … fisherman … and he told me that if I would be successful with the bass of that particular place, I must wait until I could obtain certain conditions: In the first place, there must be a spring tide; secondly, the northwest wind must have been blowing for three days to colour the water; and, thirdly, I could not hope for success unless the trawlers had been catching skate, whose liver I was to use as bait; and, fourthly, I was to get up exactly an hour before daybreak and sit patiently on a rock, waiting for the bass to come by. I do not doubt for a moment that the advice was very good. It was excellent; that is unquestionable. Just before daybreak is a deadly time for bass. It is certainly desirable to fish during spring tides; and no one can dispute the statement that skate's liver is a first-rate bait in many places. But I was tempted to ask how many times in a century I was likely to obtain all these conditions … To show how uncertain is fishing, two years after I had received this excellent advice, bass suddenly reappeared in great numbers, and afforded some of the best sport ever known at that part of the coast.

Chapter IV: Baits

Bacon Skin - This is by no means a bad bait for bass and pollack, either for whiffing or casting, and may be cut out of either a thin-skinned piece of bacon or salt pork. It should be soaked and scraped. No fat should adhere to it. Either a triangular piece three or four inches long and an inch wide at the base should be used, or else a narrow strip half an inch wide and three or four inches long, slightly rounded at the end next the hook and brought to a tapering point, where it should be scraped thin and split … Bass are fond of bacon or pork skin, which, owing to their partiality for a semi-putrid bait, is sometimes soaked for a day or two in weak soda water to render it a little gamey.

Bloater - There are two fish which will take a strip of moderately salted bloater, viz. bass and eels; but this bait is not so killing as others which may be used. In some places, however - Poole Harbour to wit - bass will take a very corrupt bloater with gusto.

Chapter XI: Surface-Feeding Sea Fish

The BASS, the labrax of Aristotle, and lupus of Pliny … They have various local names: in Kentish waters are often termed sea dace, while at Herne Bay they are dignified by the name of white salmon … It is said that a bass of 22 lbs. was once netted near Herne Bay Pier.

For angling purposes bass may be divided into two classes: those which run from about two pounds to five pounds, and may sometimes be seen in immense shoals, hunting sand-eels or fry; and the large and more aged fish which, in the dusk of early morning, will be seen swimming in stately fashion in little companies of two to five in number, or thereabouts, close to the edge of steep rocks, round wooden piers and jetties, and among the old woodwork of harbours. It is these large, shy, old fish which the enthusiastic bass fisher feels it an honour and a duty to catch. They are the Thames trout of the sea. But for lively and continued sport commend me rather to the shoals of smaller bass when well on the feed. On many days even these cannot be caught, though to all appearance they are savagely and hungrily chasing their unfortunate prey. As in freshwater fishing, much depends upon the weather. If it be very bright and sunny the fish are scared by the line, and are not to be deceived into deeming a piece of india rubber band a succulent worm or a baby eel. Under such conditions baits to be tried are the curb-chain spinner … or a white unvarnished sole-skin phantom with silvered head. The angler, however, will catch nothing unless he keeps out of sight and the boat is worked noiselessly.

… Sometimes they are feeding on the surface, sometimes on the bottom. While the youngsters play about in the sharp running water and perpetrate fierce onslaughts on shoals of innocent sand-eels and herring fry, the more elderly fish, as I have pointed out, coast round the rocks, and enter harbours and other places where there is plenty of refuse for them to feed upon. In such situations their tastes appear to degenerate, for they will often scornfully turn away from a delicate sand-eel presented to them alive, while a malodorous piece of oily ray's liver they will suck in greedily.

There are few baits bass will not take at times; but, as I have pointed out, where fish develop a taste for scavengering, their tastes must be pampered, and if ray's liver is not available the entrails of chicken or rabbit (if somewhat high so much the better) may often be used with success. Of squid, cuttle and octopus they are particularly fond.

… But to return to the bait question. Among the shoals which are feeding in some tidal race during the best of the flood tide, the bait should certainly be somewhat similar to the fry on which they are feeding. A strip of fish skin, the Sarcelle bait, a sand-eel, or a very small mackerel, all these may be tried.

Sometimes the fly fisher meets with great success. Among the many flies which may be used, I doubt if any are better than the Whitebait fly … But bass fishers generally tell you that a piece of fish skin gurnet belly for preference cast like a fly is more killing than feathers and tinsel.

For fishing from rocks or piers the live sand-eel may be tried, or ray's liver, lugworm, squid, a piece of mackerel, soft crab, small flat fish, or other of the many baits already mentioned. Where the fish can be approached, some ray's liver should be placed in a coarse sack and fastened to a cord and sunk by means of stones. The perfumed oils emanating from this scent packet are very likely to attract the fish to the spot, where, if they find a tenderly arranged morsel of ray's liver awaiting them, they will surely appreciate the thoughtfulness of the angler and meet his wishes in the matter.

For use on the bottom with a leger, as, for instance, on the sandy shore of an estuary, there are few baits better than a strip of squid, but ray's liver is equally killing in some places. For these and some other baits the large round bend hook … is suitable. If the fish run small, or the bait is insignificant, use two or three sizes smaller. It may be either round bend or the Pennell-Limerick … A round bend gets a better hold round bones and cartilages than a narrow hook of abrupt angle.

In considering what tackle and baits to use, the angler must look at all the conditions of depth, colour of the water, nature of bottom, distance from the fish, &c., and endeavour to decide which of the various methods of angling mentioned will best enable him to put the right bait in front of the fish. There is really no royal road to fishing, and rule-of-thumb work will more often than not simply lead to failure. In the case of bass, and still more of mullet, the angler has to pit his brains against some of the most cautious and cunning of the fish which swim in the sea. Indeed, of large mullet it may be said that, though perhaps not more wary than big bass, they are infinitely more difficult to capture than the highly educated chalk-stream trout or the venerable carp of some ancient fish stew.

"Sea Fish" (1898) Frederick George Aflalo at pages 13 & 14

… the bass is a very foul feeder; and I take this tardy opportunity of retracting, what eight years ago I believed to be perfectly true, that the baits for bass should be absolutely fresh. On the contrary, it has since been demonstrated to me, both by the lobster-pot and the hook, that, in the absence of live bait, a stale or "high" bait is as a rule more tempting to the bass. Generally preferring the neighbourhood of estuaries, and even wandering some miles up rivers [1], this is among the fish that perform regular journeys to and from the deep water, hugging the coast from the middle of June until the end of August, on some parts of the coast rather later.

Through the greater part of its sojourn in the shallow water, the bass feeds, especially on fine mornings and evenings, close to the surface, where it may often be found by following the movements of the gulls that co-operate in the destruction of "mackerel midge" and sand-eels. After a spell of rough weather, however, bass are found just behind the broken water, routing up the sand, and are therefore taken in such spots with a bait pitched into the surf.

[1] Bass are caught with rod and line fully a mile above Arundel on high spring tides. As long as the water tastes salt (a simple test), they will take the bait, a live dace or roach.

"Practical Letters to Young Sea Fishers" (1898) John Bickerdyke at pages 109, 138, 141, 142, 225, 226 & 228

IX: Natural Baits and how to Find Them

Ray's Liver

This bait, which can rarely be obtained except from the trawlers, is in high repute for bass and large mullet. It is somewhat difficult to keep on the hook. Where bass and mullet swim close to the shore round the edge of the rocks, some of this odorous and oily substance should be placed in a small sack with a stone or two, and lowered by means of a light cord a few feet under the surface of the water. I have some reason for supposing it attracts fish.

XIII: Bottom Fishing from the Shore

Among the best baits for bass and grey mullet are skate's liver, squid, mackerel, and the larger sea worms. Bass, which feed near the mouths of harbours and the estuaries of rivers, also favour such delectable delicacies as chickens' or rabbits' interiors, and offal of various kinds. In fact, we have not yet discovered what a bass will not eat, but have ascertained with considerable preciseness that when large, old, and wary he is among sea fish one of the most difficult to catch. If the water be clear he is almost uncatchable except in the dusk of early morning. The most likely times to succeed with this fish is when the water is thick after rough weather …

… There is a method of catching bass in harbours which has proved rather deadly on some parts of the coast where there is no current worth speaking about. The tackle consists simply of a line, a snood, and a large hook. The bait is a small dead fish, four or five inches in length. The point of the hook is put in at its mouth and brought out at its tail. This fish is then thrown out and allowed to sink to the bottom, and some loose coils of line are placed ready, so that when the bass takes the bait he can go off with it and gorge it without feeling any resistance. For this same reason there is no lead on the line. When fishing with a rod, where there is little or no current, it might be worth while working a bait on this principle. I have not yet tried the experiment myself, but hope to do so. With a rod we should probably have a yard or two of gut at the end of the running line, a hook at the end of the gut, and there could be no harm in four or five No. 1 shot placed on the gut a yard from the hook to help to sink the bait. A few yards of line should be run off the reel so that the fish might go off with the bait a few yards before he was struck. For this method of fishing the hook should be certainly well covered with bait.

XII: Bass

Bass usually leave their winter quarters in the deep water and make their first appearance inshore in the spring, mild weather sometimes bringing them in as early as even February or March. On sunny days they may be seen basking, and when the water is clear, and the surface unruffled, swimming round docks, digging their nose into the seaweed, picking up small crabs and other food. They are very gross feeders, absorbing the inward parts of fish and other offal which is thrown into harbours. In the autumn they push up the estuaries for, so it is believed, purposes of spawning. On the arrival of cold weather, they leave for deep water. Sometimes they remain for a time in fresh water - in fact, the Romans are credited with both breeding and keeping these fish in freshwater stews.

In their younger days bass are socially inclined, and swim together in large numbers. When feeding in shoals splendid sport may sometimes be had among fish running from two to five pounds, or even larger. As they get older they incline to a more solitary existence, and on calm bright days large fish may often be seen close to the surface near rocks. These old bass are extremely difficult to catch.

As it is the habit of the bass to feed near the surface, in mid-water, and also on the bottom, there is hardly any method of sea fishing by which they may not be caught …

… when shoal bass can be induced to take the fly - which is not always - they offer the finest sport the seas round our shores afford. When such an opportunity offers, advantage should always be taken of it. The very large bass are not often caught with the fly, but the comparative babies of 2 lb and 3 lb will probably satisfy and perhaps astonish the young sea fisher.

Lastly, bear in mind that bass are exceedingly shy. The large ones are most easily caught at night or in the dusk of early morn by casting out a line from the shore. If the bottom is foul or weedy, it is a simple matter to place a fragment of cork on the hook link to lift the bait off the ground. To catch the shoal bass with fly, or by whiffing or drift-line fishing, it is usually necessary to ascertain just the time of the tide at which they can be seen feeding. The sport then obtained may be fast and furious, but lasting perhaps an hour, or even less.

When big bass are caught in the daytime it is usually when the water is rather thick after a storm.

"Dover as a Sea-Angling Centre" (1900) Deputy Surgeon-General Charles Thomas Paske at pages 40 & 41

Chapter V

… The salmon of the sea, as the bass is often called, may likewise pass that way in search of delicacies … With such a probability dangling before the eyes of the ambitious disciple of Walton, he may devote an evening to this noble and very powerful fish. In this case stronger all round tackle and a different modus operandi will be necessary. A large float with about 4 feet of strong twisted gut below and a bunch of rock worms, squid, the head of a plaice, or mouthful of "good red-herring" attached to the hook, may be allowed to wander about in various directions, now alongside the Jetty, anon further afield.

Size for size, the bass represents one of the most powerful, gamey fish a man is likely to encounter. He tugs at the line in a manner simply alarming, bends the rod to its utmost capacity and fights to the bitter end. Plenty of time he wants and will have. Yield to him; hurry him not and in the end he will succumb. Bear in mind, too, his formidable armature when lying at your feet vanquished, for even in his death struggle he is capable of inflicting very nasty and somewhat dangerous wounds, those being inflicted by his spiny dorsal fin, gill covers as sharp as lancets and teeth studding his mouth …

"Practical Sea-Fishing" (1905) P.L. Haslope at pages 76, 77, 147 to 149, 256 & 257

Chapter VII. Sea-Fish: Their Habits and Methods of Capture

Bass, or Sea-Perch

On account of its sporting qualities this fish is more sought after by the rod-fisherman than any other, but it is often extremely difficult to catch. It displays a great fondness for fresh water, and is therefore found in numbers near the estuaries of rivers. Wherever a small stream finds its way into the sea is always a good locality to try. The larger bass,weighing from 8 lb to 12 lb, which frequent harbours and landing-stages, usually feed close to the bottom, but the smaller ones, known as "scull" bass, are found nearer the surface … Large specimens are frequently taken by the rod-fisherman from rocks and piers, using a rubber eel or piece of pilchard as bait, the best sport being obtained in rough weather.

On a sandy beach it is often a good plan to wade into the surf and cast in the bait, consisting of a dead sand-eel, allowing it to rest upon the bottom. When the tide has commenced to rise a fish will often seize the bait and make off with it, when it must be played with the rod. Always allow plenty of slack line to enable the fish to swallow the bait. If there are any rocks near, care must be taken that the fish does not take the line around them.

The best natural baits are pilchard, soft crab, squid, rag-worms, and live or dead sand-eels, whilst the rubber eel and other spinning baits form excellent attractions. Round-bent or Limerick hooks, Nos 4/0 to 6/0, should be used.

Chapter XI. Rod and Hand-Line Fishing from Rocks and Piers

Bass Fishing

On many parts of our coast this sport is keenly followed, and, from the excitement attending it, has been not unjustly compared with the finest salmon-fishing. From a precipitous rock on a wild part of the coast the angler casts his spinning or natural bait into the frothy water, and drawing it gently along, so as to resemble some silvery fish endeavouring to escape, induces the wily bass to make a dash at it.

When a large fish has seized the lure do not check him too suddenly, but allow him to take a fathom or two from the reel before arresting his progress. Bass are sometimes rather long in swallowing the bait, and if any strain is put upon the line may very likely reject it. The most favourable time for sport is when there is a fresh breeze from the sea, creating "white water" or surf close to the rock. A small sandy cove is a good place for operations on a flowing tide, provided that there is a prominent rock at its entrance from which one can throw bait. In such a locality a bass may sometimes be observed swimming along close to the rock, and by carefully displaying the bait to the best advantage he may often be prompted to seize it.

One of the most reliable lures is a red rubber eel without a spinner, and the size should be rather smaller than that used for whiffing. This should be cast out as far as possible, allowed to sink, and then drawn gradually to the foot of the rock. If there is much wash, the waves themselves will assist in playing the bait without great exertion on the angler's part.

Amongst natural baits the tail-part of the pilchard proves almost irresistible, and Fig. 79 shows the hook thus prepared. Pass the point once through the tail-end, turn the hook over, and just catch the barb in the fleshy side. By this simple plan a fish is not so liable to be missed. For large ground-bass the head of a pilchard is excellent, and so are the entrails of this or any other fish. If pilchard is unprocurable, a piece of mackerel, long-nose, or squid will make a good substitute. Mussels or ragworms will also be readily accepted.

Soft crab is also a deadly bait, and being easily washed off should be affixed to the hook with a piece of silk or an india-rubber band. A small cod-hook, or a Limerick hook (No. 4/0 to 6/0) will be suitable for this bait.

Another capital bait to use when spinning or trolling from rocks is a sand-launce of moderate size, rigged up as represented by Fig. 80. The larger hook is whipped to double gut and is introduced through the fish, whilst the smaller hook (also whipped on just above the shank) keeps the bait from slipping down. It is a very deadly plan to place a sand or mud-worm upon the point of the larger hook to render it more attractive. A good method is to wade into the water as far as possible on a sandy beach and cast this bait, allowing it to remain on the bottom. When the tide has commenced to flow a large bass often comes along in search of dead sand-eels, and will in all probability discover the bait. There should be several yards of slack line so that the fish may feel no strain upon the bait when carrying it off. When there are rocks in the vicinity, the trace should consist of double gut or fine wire. If there is no current a light line may be used, but when spinning it will be advisable to attach a small pipe-lead just above the trace.

In using the pilchard bait throw it out and let it sink near the bottom, then draw it up by degrees. Bass swim at different depths, and if there are any in the neighbourhood, such a bait will not remain long unnoticed. Sometimes a large float is useful, and with this arrangement deeper water may be fished. If possible, an assistant with a long-handled gaff should accompany the angler, to land a large fish; and I must here impress upon the reader the necessity for observing caution, as a slip of the foot may launch the sportsman into deep water, a most dangerous predicament in rough weather.

An old fisherman of my acquaintance used to take some fine bass by placing pieces of pilchard and other refuse into a bag of fine netting and depositing it at low water. Near this he planted his baited line, to which, of course, the fish were immediately attracted, and as the tide flowed he would be almost certain to meet with success. A rod would in such a case provide much better sport than a hand-line.

Bass appear to frequent rocks and landing-stages in preference to piers; but occasionally fine specimens are taken from the latter places, where the water is not much disturbed by boats.

Chapter XIX. Useful Appliances and General Hints

Bass Pie

This is a dish not generally known, and is an excellent method of cooking a Bass, which is usually considered rather an indifferent fish. At the bottom of an ordinary pie-dish place some bread-crumbs, chopped onions, and herbs, upon which lay pieces of the fish cut up into small fillets. On the top of the fish place another layer of bread-crumbs, and continue this proceeding until the dish has been filled, adding plenty of seasoning according to taste. Cover the dish with ordinary flour-paste, and put it in the oven. When about half-baked, cut a flap in the centre of the crust and pour in a cupful of clotted or "Cornish" cream, replacing it in the oven till properly cooked. Any other fish of a soft nature could be utilised instead of Bass, but the latter is specially appetising when thus prepared. "Sea-pie" is composed of layers of paste and meat alternately, which is afterwards boiled, and is a common dish on board ship.

"Sea-Fishing" (1911) Charles Owen Minchin at pages 12, 13, 15, 17 & 20 to 25

Chapter II: The Bass

… On the Atlantic coast of the United States (and now on the Pacific coast also) there is a very closely allied species which has stripes, and is called the "striped bass" [9]. It is a very fine sporting fish, and grows to a much larger size than our native species, and, as it had been successfully transported from the Atlantic to the Pacific and acclimatised on the shore of California and Oregon, there was at one time some talk of endeavouring to introduce it here. Unluckily, the striped bass, which is to some extent anadromous, [10] is very fond of the small fishes which it finds in fresh water, so some alarm was manifested as to the danger, real or imaginary, to the descending smolts of salmon and sea-trout, and it was thought wiser not to run the risk of doing mischief which could not afterwards be undone. It is quite possible that there was no real danger to be apprehended, for it is the opinion of Mr. C. F. Holder, a leading light among American sea-fishermen, that the striped bass would confine itself to a diet of crustaceans and leave the salmonidæ alone; while, on the other hand, Mr. Worth, of the United States Bureau of Fisheries, thought that there would be some risk, and expressed the view that if the responsibility rested with him he would certainly be against the introduction of the striped bass here.

[9] Editor's note: The maximum scientifically recorded weight of a striped bass (Morone saxatilis) is 57 kg (125 lb). The common mature size is 120 cm (3.9 ft). Striped bass are believed to live for up to 30 years. The maximum length is 180 cm (6 ft) and the average size is about 67 to 100 cm (2.2 to 3.3 ft) and 4.5 to 14.5 kg (10 to 32 lb). In comparison, the European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax - "bass") can grow to a total length of over 1 m (3.3 ft) and a weight of 15 kg (33 lb). The largest bass caught from the UK shore by rod weighed 8.958 kg (19 lb 12 oz).

[10] Editor's note: "anadromous" means migrating up rivers from the sea to breed in fresh water.

The bass is pre-eminently a sportsman's fish, considered to be of so little commercial importance that in the best handbook extant of our mercantile marine fishes it is dismissed cursorily after a mere mention of the name. Nevertheless, a good many bass are netted or hooked by the professional fishermen, and, as the fish always fetches a fair price at the waterside, some of these men, who possess exceptional skill or special knowledge of the haunts and feeding habits of bass, manage to pick up quite a comfortable livelihood while the season lasts. Unfortunately, a great deal of netting of the small, immature fish goes on in some of the estuaries of the South Coast, which is a killing of the proverbial goose, for the fish (which grow very fast) would, if left in peace, soon become of dimensions to yield good sport on the hook and be a great attraction to angling visitors, who would be glad to resort to these places if only they were certain of obtaining sufficient amusement with rod and line.

… The large fish of 4 lbs or 5 lbs and upwards are generally called "Channel bass" on account of their habit of keeping out at a little distance to sea; though some of them play round the headlands, and a few trust themselves to run some way up the estuaries on the flood, going out again with the first ebb of the tide. A few big fish - often of the biggest - take to bottom-feeding and come into harbours to root, pig-like, among the offal in the mud. Many old fishermen think that these are a distinct race from the true Channel bass, which, though they may occasionally chase the sand-eels right up to the water-line on sandy beaches, remain always clean feeders on live prey, and are far more lively and sporting on the hook than those which are caught (generally by the local small boy) on a bottom-bait of bloater, skate's liver, week-old wrasse, or something equally smelly. I have been told that in the Adriatic, on the coast of Austrian Dalmatia, where there is a good deal of bass fishing, it is not very uncommon to get a fish of 20 lbs; but such a size would be rather out of the way in this country, where the biggest recorded in any year is usually about 15 lbs or so, and anything above 10 lbs is a good capture.

… In some spots in the West of England there are little sandy beaches, perhaps not many yards in length, where sand-eels resort. If they are there the gulls will be observed feeding close to the edge, especially if there is a little wash. Then secure a few sand-eels and wade into the small breakers as far as it is safe to go in thigh-boots, and cast straight out to sea, using the sand-eel (which must be tied to the hook) as if it were a fly. The same method may be used from any of the groynes from Folkestone to Selsey Bill. There are more bass on this latter part of the coast than is generally supposed, and the weather side of a groyne, where there is most wash and raffle of water, is where they are most likely to be found.

… The line should not be less than 100 yds in length, and if there are any big fish about, 120 yds will not be too much, for it is the way of the bass to make a tremendous run when first hooked and struck. As a general rule it swims away with the tide and quite close to the surface, and before very long the tall dorsal fin shows up; at this stage the fish should not be dragged nor hustled, but a steady strain should be kept on without applying too much force. The weight of the dragging line soon takes effect, and then the bass will turn and begin to work in circles, when it may easily be manœuvred back to the boat-side. On no account should the line be allowed to slacken, for bass are extremely clever at shaking the hook out of their mouths. A fish of 10 lbs may very likely run for nearly 100 yds before it is turned, but that will take most of the fight out of it, though it may still require some time and patience to bring it to the gaff if the tide is running at all strongly. It may be said, however, that the medium-sized fishes of 4 lbs to 6 lbs … do not so much try to make straight away as to bore down towards the bottom like pollack. Perhaps the general shallowness of the water and the absence of current may account for this, for in places where there is a strong current the bass seem to take advantage of it.

… There are three things on which it is known that the "shoal bass" and, to some extent, the "Channel bass" feed habitually. These are the two species of sand-eels, especially the smaller kind (Ammodytes tobianus), usually called "launce"; the common prawn (Leander serratus), and a marine crustacean belonging to the woodlouse family, and much the same shape, called Ligia oceanica. [11] This animal lives among the rocks under water, but often leaves that element to run up the faces of stone piers or similar places; it is about 1½ in long, and in colour a yellowish green, with indistinct black markings. It is easily caught with the hand, and can be preserved alive for a very long time in a box with a little damp sand and seaweed at the bottom; but as the beast is lively and active, the lid of the box had better be kept closed. If either this bait or the live prawn is used it should be hooked (from above downwards) above the last joint of the tail and allowed to swim freely at the end of the long trace … In default of either of these, what is called a "bunter" by the fishermen - that is, a large, berried female of the common grey shrimp - may be tried; but it has less activity than either of the others, and is, consequently, less attractive … The sand-launce is very difficult to keep alive, and alive it must be to make a good bait. A Jersey courge, which is a long, ovoid basket, plaited of very fine osiers, will keep them alive for some days. This can be kept at the boat's moorings and towed astern when wanted; but if towed too long or too fast the delicate launce will be killed by the pressure. Launce will remain alive (or some of them) for hours in a box - say, a fish-trunk - with about 2 in of wet sand in the bottom and filled up with wet seaweed; but, curiously enough, they will not live for more than a few minutes in a bucket, and a metal vessel kills them instantly. To bait with the live sand-eel a Limerick-bend hook should be used, and it should be passed gently in at the mouth and out at the gill without pricking or injuring the bait. Then the point should be passed through the skin of the belly, and the skin only. The operation should be performed as quickly as possible, so as not to keep the bait in the air, and it should then be slipped over the boat's side. Once back in the water it will swim away quite strongly and behave as if uninjured. The best baits for the bottom-feeding fish are a piece of skate's or dogfish's liver - none the worse if a trifle stale - a substantial slip of bloater, a soft crab, or, best of all, a little wrasse, 4 in or 5 in long, which has been left in the sun for a few days to acquire a savour. It is a well-known fact, and a curious one, that the ill-famed conger and the despised wolf-fish are very clean feeders, preferring their food quite fresh, while the wholesome cod will eat nearly everything that comes along, and the game and handsome bass and mullet are often dirty feeders by choice …

[11] Editor's note: Ligia oceanica, the sea slater, common sea slater or sea roach, is a littoral woodlouse. It is a common species, occurring wherever the substrate of the littoral zone is rocky, and is especially common in crevices and rock pools and under stones. It is a nocturnal omnivore, eating many kinds of seaweed, diatoms and debris, with a particular fondness for bladder wrack (Fucus vesiculosus).

As to artificial baits, they are numerous and generally ineffectual; but there are several which may be tried, and sometimes one or another comes off all right. The silk phantom bait used in fresh water is decidedly attractive; but the mountings are liable to corrode in sea water, or to give way under the heavy pull of such a strong fish as the bass; in fact, the bass is such a very much stronger fish than the pike that mountings which are quite strong enough for the latter are liable to be broken like pack-thread when put to the test by whiffing over a reef of rocks, where, of course, a bass when hooked must be held pretty tight. Then the "wagtail", either in blue and silver or in vermillion and green, is a really good lure, strong, tempting and durable; a black and white "challenger" or a plain white rubber-eel will often get a good bass late in the evening. There is also an indiarubber model of a sand-eel, painted so as to resemble the natural fish. This is rather killing if whiffed in jerks so as to imitate the movements of the swimmer; but none of these lures are at all so good as the actual living bait, and, of course, they are all useless unless played in the water by rapid motion.

It is rather the fashion in this country to abuse the bass as an unpalatable fish; but the French know better, and consider it almost the equal of the turbot or the salmon. The small ones are best when simply split open and broiled like mackerel, but the larger ones require (to do them justice) the more elaborate treatment of a court bouillon [12] and sauce piquante, the recipes for which can be found in any good cookery-book.

[12] Editor's note: Court bouillon is a flavoured liquid for poaching or quick-cooking foods, the traditional uses of which include poaching fish and seafood. Court bouillon loosely translates as "briefly boiled liquid" or "short broth" because the cooking time is brief in comparison with a rich and complex stock, and generally is not served as part of the finished dish.

Modern Sea Angling" (1921) Francis Dyke Holcombe at pages 62 to 70

Chapter V Bass

A very sporting and (at times) successful method of angling for bass is by fishing an unleaded driftline from a shingly beach. The term "at times" is used advisedly because, although sometimes very successful, it is rather uncertain in its results, and on occasions the fish seem to go off the feed for days together …

… It can be practised however from almost any of our steeply shelving beaches along the south coast, for bass often come very close inshore at such places, especially when there is some sea on …

… The weapon which the novice may be recommended to use for this fishing is the light spinning rod 10ft or 11ft in length … The hook should be about a 5/0, and the bait which will generally be found most successful is a large slice of mackerel … In default of mackerel a similar piece of either herring or pilchard may be used … The last half of the flood and the first hour of the ebb is usually the most successful time for this fishing. It is not necessary to cast far; the bait … is almost invariably taken in the "curl" of the wave immediately below the breaking crest, and therefore need seldom be more than 3 yards from the beach, and by careful maonoeuvering the angler will find that with the assistance of the tide and the backwash of the waves he will be able to work quite a considerable stretch of beach without recasting; but unless wearing sea boots he will often get his feet wet because … this style of fishing is usually most successful when there is some sea running …

An interesting method of catching bass which is practised from the pier at Herne Bay was fully described in an article in the Fishing Gazette about three years ago, so that there is no need to say very much about it here. A fine silk line and light unweighted spinning bait is used, and all sorts of ingenious devices (such as the affixing of small air balloons, feathers, etc., to the line) are employed to get the lure out to the fish, when they are "schooling" at or near the surface some little way from the pier. In its way this style of fishing is the nearest approach which the writer has heard of in this country to the famous "tunaplane" or kite used by American sea anglers at Santa Catalina, and described in one or two of the late Dr. C. F. Holder's delightful books. The present writer has never fished at Herne Bay, so he cannot say anything about this fishing from actual experience, but he is told by a friend who knows the place pretty well that the bass taken in this way are mostly small.

A very fascinating and interesting method of catching bass is to cast a light spinning bait for them, either from an anchored boat, from a pier, or from the shore; but before he can accomplish this of course the novice will have to become proficient at casting a light bait. Mr. Percy Wadham, of Newport, Isle of Wight, who is very expert at this style of angling, and to whom the writer is indebted for some very useful notes regarding it, says it can be made almost as interesting and scientific as fly fishing for trout, as on some occasions it is possible actually to pick out the desired bass among a shoal when they are feeding at the surface; and as the bait used is always an artificial one it appeals strongly to those sea anglers - of whom there are many - who prefer to delude their fish with such a lure rather than to catch them with a natural bait. As a general rule the bass taken in this way will not exceed 5 lb. in weight, although sometimes heavier fish will be captured. The writer believes that most of Mr. Wadham's spinning is done in the coastal waters round the Isle of Wight, and there he finds the ebb tide the better of the two, while early morning and evening are the best times of the day. As in other styles of bass fishing, the angler should always be on the look-out to see if the gulls are "working", for this is generally a sure indication of bass on the feed; at the same time one can often catch bass in this way by getting the bait well down to the bottom when no gulls are to be seen.

The rod the novice may be recommended to use is the single-handed casting rod, from 5 ft 6 in. to 6 ft in length, and split cane is the most satisfactory material. Of reels suitable for this light bait casting there are many excellent ones on the market, from which the angler may make his choice; among others (to name them in alphabetical order) the "Carisbrooke", the "Cowes", the "Dreadnought", the "Meteor", and the "Roach." … Long casting is generally necessary to success, and naturally the finer the line the farther one can cast with it; but it must also be strong enough to play a vigorous 4 lb or 5 lb bass, perhaps in a strong tide, and therefore the size of line chosen must be in the nature of a compromise. With a line having a breaking strain of 8 lb. Mr. Wadham says he can cast over 40 yds., and if the novice can get out this distance, and possesses "hands", he will be able to kill bass satisfactorily on such a line when conditions are favourable. The best lead to use is an elegant pear shaped one, varying in weight, according to the conditions, from 6 dr. to 1½ oz.; for it will be found in practice that this kind of lead casts well, and travels steadily through the water without "wobble" - which is fatal to success. These leads are fitted with a fine wire ring at the top, and the loop at the end of the trace should be threaded through this, and the blunt end of the lead afterwards passed through the loop and the trace pulled tight, the running line being made fast to the wire ring by the knot the angler favours. From time to time the last yard or so of the running line should be broken off and discarded, as this soon becomes unsound with the continual friction involved in casting. The trace should be about 3 ft. in length, with not less than three No. 8 box swivels … The bait should be a small artificial sandeel, or other small spinning bait, and perhaps the O.K. Flexaloid and "Nature" baits made by Percy Wadham's Specialities, Ltd., are the best to use. Some of these baits are wonderfully life-like in the water.

If the angler sees bass on the feed at the surface, and can anchor near enough to cast into the shoal without putting them down, he will probably get fish, but if none is to be seen on the feed he should search the water thoroughly at all depths; and in order to get the bait well down to the bottom it is a good plan to cast against the tide at an angle of about 45 deg., and then wait for 15 or 20 seconds before starting to wind in. The writer thinks that any sea angler who has not tried this method of fishing for bass will find it a very interesting and sporting way of catching them.

A more restful method of course, and one more commonly followed, is to whiff for them, using tackle similar to, but rather lighter than, that employed in whiffing for pollack - of which more hereafter. Of whiffing baits there are many - rubber sandeels of various colours, wagtails, minnows, etc.; and most of them will kill bass at times. An attractive whiffing bait may be made by cutting once through an ordinary indiarubber band, afterwards painting one side with silver paint, which must be renewed from time to time. Bass may also be caught at times by casting a rubber eel or similar lure from rocky headlands and similar places, either with a spinning rod or a double-handed fly rod … It is perhaps unorthodox to say so, but the writer has proved by experiment that when bass refuse an artificial sandeel they will sometimes accept it when furnished with a "last" of mackerel on the bend of the hook (after the style of the pollack fisherman), although when the lure is garnished in this way what on earth the fish take it for the writer does not know.

… If the angler be making a stay at some place with a suitable beach, and takes to this fishing, it is not at all a bad plan to ground bait a convenient spot (such as a few yards away from a groyne) by planting an old sack containing fish offal, defunct lugworms, etc weighted with one or two large stones, a little above the half tide mark, for this will be found an attraction to bass, and will often cause them to congregate at that place in considerable numbers.

On those parts of the coast where prawn pots are set, bass (often big ones) frequently follow from pot to pot a boat which is "pot hauling" for the purpose of picking up the waste bait which is thrown overboard by the fishermen after they have hauled and emptied each pot; and if the angler can persuade the men to let him accompany them on one of these expeditions … he will find that a judiciously impaled live prawn, on an unleaded and unswivelled trace, thrown overboard with the waste bait, and allowed to sink naturally in the water, with a slack line, will often result in a bass being hooked, and when this happens the fish will frequently be a good one …

As in other styles of bass fishing, the angler should always be on the look-out to see if the gulls are "working", for this is generally a sure indication of bass on the feed …

In playing the fish the novice must be continually on the alert, for the bass is a wily beggar, and up to every move on the board. At the end of a rush he will sometimes double back on his tracks so quickly that it is impossible for a second or two to prevent a slack line, and with a lightly hooked fish this is often fatal. Keep him under water as much as possible, and at a distance from the boat, and don't bring him alongside to the net until he is absolutely played out and on his side.

"Sea Fishing Simplified" (1929) Francis Dyke Holcombe & A. Fraser-Brunner at pages 34 to 41

Chapter VI

Bass

The best fish to be mentioned have been left to the last, and the two hardest fighters in British seas - the mackerel and the bass - remain now to be considered. Nothing will be said, by the way, about the grey mullet, because mullet fishing really isn't worth while unless you have an infinite stock of patience and a first-class knowledge both of local conditions and of the ways of this exceedingly wary fish. After all, most of you, when you go fishing, like to catch fish; and when one is mullet fishing blank and poor days occur very often.

Perhaps the same thing might fairly be said of bass fishing; and probably the soundest initial advice that can be given about it is this: when you go bass fishing, never expect to catch any and then, if you don't, you won't be disappointed.

There are several ways of fishing for bass, but probably the one most likely to be successful is the drift-line, fished either with or without a float, and baiting either with live sand-eel or live prawn - baits which are not by any means always available …

When baiting with sand-eel, pick out one which is a grey colour, as these are more attractive to the fish than those which have a green tint; insert the point and barb of the hook very lightly through the skin on the back of the eel, about an inch or so behind his head, and slip the baited hook into the water at once.

When baiting with prawn, insert the hook from side to side through the last joint but one from the tail. Neither sand-eel nor prawn is of much use as a bait for bass unless in really lively condition; the sand-eel is the harder of the two baits to obtain and to keep lively, for he is a delicate little creature, and will "die upon you" as they say in Cornwall, on the slightest provocation.

An ordinary guard's basket, weighted with some leads fastened to it inside to keep it down in the water, and made fast to the boat by a stout cord securely tied to the handle, is a better receptacle for both sand-eels and prawns than the cigar-shaped basket-work affair called a courge which you can buy in the fishing tackle shops; but you should take care to see that the lid fits tightly. You fish from a boat at anchor, drifting with the tide, or rowed along very slowly, according to circumstance; and the baited hook should be kept not less than 30 yards away from the boat - either ahead or astern, as the case may be. In this style of fishing it is often necessary to use a float, and an ordinary bottle cork, with a slit, cut halfway through it with a sharp knife, for the line to go through makes as good a float as anything; the round, flat corks which come out of the cylindrical bottles containing olives are about the right size and shape.

The advantage of using a float is that, by weighting your line with a small Jardine lead, you can fish at different depths until you find the bass; the disadvantage is that if your bait is a long way from the boat you will find a difficulty in striking, for you have to strike the angle formed by the float out of the line before you can hit the hook into your fish. You must, therefore, be guided by circumstances whether you use a float or not.

Unless you see a bass actually on the surface, fish first at a depth of about a fathom, and gradually increase this, a foot or two at a time. When using a float, it is important that the line should not sink …

When fishing with sand-eel, strike directly you see or feel a bite; if with prawn, wait for a second or so.

When you are bass fishing keep as still and quiet in the boat as you can, and always be on the look out to see if the gulls are "working" - a sure indication that bass or other fish are underneath them and driving the small fry up to the surface. If you are fond of early rising and can start fishing at dawn, before it is quite light, you will have more chance of catching bass than if you just go afloat in the ordinary way, after breakfast.

Bass are sometimes caught by "whiffing" which means towing a rubber eel or other artificial spinning bait behind a boat going slowly along … the rubber eel may be black, red, green or yellow.

Bass are sometimes caught when bottom fishing and a good many have been taken in this way on the south coast … by casting out from the shore into the surf, baiting with soft crab, ragworm, lugworm or a slice of mackerel etc.

In playing the fish, you will have to be cool and careful, for the bass is full of wiles and up to every move on the board. If there is any cover or obstruction near, such as a mooring chain, the piles of a pier etc, he will rush for it at once, and if he gets there you may say good-bye to him. Sometimes, after a big rush, he will double on his tracks and come in towards the boat so quickly that you have to reel in like fury to prevent a slack line; at others, he will "play possum" by hanging a dead weight in the water, making you think, if it happens directly after you have hooked him, that you are only into a big bunch of sea-weed after all; and this will be varied by rushes, some long, some short, in every direction. Keep him away from the boat and as much under water as possible until he is quite "done" and ready for the net. A lightly-hooked fish will sometimes flick the hook out just at the last moment, which is exasperating, but can't be helped; but if he is well hooked in the kind of gristly flap which a bass has on each side of his upper jaw, he is yours if you have a clear field and play him properly, and the boatman makes no mistake with the landing-net.

As food, the bass is an excellent fish. The smaller ones should be grilled or fried, and the larger fish boiled or steamed. Cold boiled bass, with mayonnaise sauce, is delicious.

"The Sportsman's Library: Sea Fishing" (1935) Major D. P. Lea Birch ("Fleur-de-Lys") at pages 85, 86, 87 & 89

Chapter V: Bait

Prawn

The live prawn is one of the most valuable of all baits for the shore fisher, enabling hime to angle in a most sporting way for bass, pollack, coalfish and codling. The description of fish captured depends on the distance from the surface, or nearness to the bottom, at which the prawn is fished.

… The prawn should be hooked through the middle of the last joint but one, from side to side, and the hook should be a short-shanked one. The Model Perfect is as good a pattern as any. It is a mistake to use larger hooks than necessary, as they hamper the prawns in their movements and soon kill them. A comparatively small hook will be found to take hold just as well as a larger one.

Bass are very particular as regards the liveliness of the prawn, and will seldom take one that is half dead …

All that has been said about prawns applies equally to shrimps, which are practically the same class of crustacean, only smaller.

There are some last resort baits which the angler can try when he is at his wits' end for anything better. Bits of tripe can be used as hook-baits, while bass will sometimes accept a lump of aged and lofty kipper.

"Modern Sea Fishing" (1937) Eric Cooper at pages 86, 87, 88, 96, 97, 106, 109 & 110

The Bass

From early classical times the bass has been esteemed as a food fish, its flavour being increased when kept alive for a period in fresh water. Generally considered a summer fish, bass have been taken during every month of the year. In the spring - April to May - according to the locality, young bass averaging about 1 lb in weight appear in-shore in shoals. The larger fish are usually seen from the middle of June to late October. These may either be single fish or small groups of under half a dozen individuals.

In the early autumn the fish come to the mouths of rivers to spawn. This is the time when very large shoals of good-sized specimens may be met with …

The food of the bass when in shoals consists of sandeels, brit and small pilchards; a surfeit of the last-named is said to flavour their flesh with train-oil. The single fish feed on anything that they can get hold of: prawns, any fish bait of an oily nature and worms - either lug or rag. It is not necessary to be particular as to the freshness of the bait; if it has been kept for a time to become high, so much the better.

The methods by which bass can be caught on the rod are: fly fishing and spinning from boat or shore; bottom fishing from the shore; float fishing from the shore; and drift-line fishing either from an anchored or moving boat, with or without a float …

If two anglers are fishing at the same time from the boat, a great problem now arises. Should the angler whose bait is untouched take his tackle in, in order to give his companion free manoeuvring space, or leave it out with the very excellent chance that he also will get a strike ?

Bass in the neighbourhood will be attracted by the commotion in the water from the hooked fish and will congregate round their companion full of excitement. A good lively bait sent down among them will almost certainly be taken. The angler who is playing the fish will not be in two minds as to the answer he would give to this question.

In playing a bass do not attempt to hold it. You have plenty of line on the reel and can afford to let it run 50 to 100 yards if need be. It is not going to make for the bottom, so your line is in no danger of being cut by rock or weed. Unless the rod is kept well up and the line not allowed to become slack, the bass, in doubling back towards the boat, may be able to shake the hook free. This is one of the reasons why a long rod is useful.

Although the fish will be unlikely to foul the rocks, beware of any posts, mooring buoys or boats in your vicinity. Ten to one the bass will make for such objects and run round them. If you have to fish near any obstruction of this nature, strong tackle is unfortunately the only gear to use - a line and trace with which you can hold the largest fish you expect to catch.

In boating your fish, a landing-net is more satisfactory than a gaff. Be prepared to expect a strong final run from the bass as it catches sight of the net.

The largest size bass are mostly caught on bottom tackle cast out from the shore. These fish do not exert themselves in chasing live bait as do their smaller brethren, but feed on any edible matter that they come across. If this food has become high, the greater their appreciation of it. Where sewage is discharged into the sea, a few of these large bass may be expected. On the incoming tide, particularly round about the time of high water, will be a good time for you to cast out your tackle for one of these specimens. A piece of herring, bloater or other strong-smelling fish that has been left lying about for a couple of days, or a piece of skate's liver in the same condition, will be the most acceptable baits.

If you are casting out on to shingle, see to the point of your hook frequently. It will very soon be blunted when washed about on the stones … It is not necessary to cast out any great distance. The bass will come to within a few feet of the shore, provided there is fair depth of water.

A method of bass-fishing which I suggested some little time ago in the Fishing Gazette might be tried from the shore, is to use a kite to carry the bait out to a position which is either impracticable for boat fishing or too far out to be covered by casting. So far I have not had the opportunity of properly testing this method for bass, but see no reason why it should not work. With a light silk line it is quite possible to keep your bait on the surface of the water up to 100 yards from the shore. The kite, which may be of any ordinary type, is allowed to attain a height where there is a steady breeze and where it will not be influenced by air currents set up by any surrounding objects on the ground. A metal ring is then attached to the kite line by a piece of fine silk, which will break at a sharp pull. The baited hook and trace is threaded through the ring and a small amount of lead added to bring the bait down to the water. Both lines can now be let out, and when the bait is over the area you intend fishing, the kite is anchored. The reel line being free-running through the metal ring, the bait can be lowered so as to just skim the surface or to swim a few feet underneath. On the bite of the fish, the silk line attaching the ring to the kite line is broken and the fish played in the ordinary way. A thin strip of about 4 or 5 inches cut from the belly of a mackerel would probably be a good bait to use in this type of fishing.

"Sea-Fishing from the Shore" (1940) A. R. Harris Cass M.B.E. at pages 51, 57 to 59 & 78 to 87

Chapter V

How to Fish

… should the sea be rough, and you long for a big bass, your aim this time will be just beyond the roller that crashes and sends the foaming waters towards your feet: not a long cast for you to achieve, but one that must be accurate.

A bite that resembles a cheery "rap-tap" can be regarded as the prerogative of a school bass: he is a cheeky little fellow, and the "rap" is a preliminary on the edge of the bait, his "tap" the bait itself. Therefore, if you encounter any bite of this description, do not strike at the "rap", but be ready to raise the top of your rod sharply in synchronism with the "tap" …

The final point after catching your fish, is how to land him. Anything up to a couple of pounds will not cause you any anxiety. All that you need do is to reel in steadily and speedily. As the weight mounts, however, the necessity for care increases in direct ratio. If you are into a big fish, and you sense trouble, a good idea is to walk backwards, meanwhile keeping the line taught, and using your reel firmly. Should you be fortunate enough to form contact with a bass of, say, more than seven pounds, you will require all your wits to avoid a catastrophe: he [2] may put up a fight that you pride yourself you can manage, but the test of your skill will come when you have coaxed him as far as the last large roller; there beware, for then he will make his supreme endeavour to escape, and as the wave turns and breaks, he will plunge downwards with it. The resistance of the heavy crashing sea, combined with the power of a desperate fish, is enormous, and if there is a weak spot in your tackle you will not be long in ascertaining where it is.

[2] Editor's Note: Female bass live much longer and grow much bigger than the males. Few male bass over 5 lb are taken and all the really big bass are almost certainly females.

Chapter VIII

When to use Float Tackle

If a heavy sea is running, with big waves pounding the beach, bringing with them a mixture of all kinds of weed, to keep a lead well out is almost an impossibility, while a bite would probably go unnoticed amongst the incessant jars caused by ribbon weed attached to stones constantly fouling the line. At such a time fishing with ordinary weighted tackle is calculated to fray the temper of even the most patient angler, for no sooner is the cast completed, and the line reeled taut, than the strong current and the floating debris bring in the bait. But this is the right moment to change over to float tackle, as now the really big bass are on the prowl, seeking those choice treasures which the tumbling waves stir out of the sands.

Resource should be made, if possible, to stouter tackle; line and trace of a greater breaking strain, and a larger hook, for should a bass favour your bait, you may be certain that your catch in this boisterous sea will, on the law of averages, be something heavier than five pounds; more likely a fish of eight or ten pounds in weight will have to be coaxed ashore; and not merely with a fighting fish will you have to contend, but with the enormous pull of the waves aided by any weed your float, swivel and leads have appropriated …

The bait suitable for this class of fishing is a "snead" or strip of mackerel, or of one of its alternatives referred to in the chapter headed "Bait"; the idea being to suggest a small silvery fish flashing about in the rising and falling waters.

Now, where to place your lure. There is no necessity to make a long cast, as the bass are close in when you are trying with this tackle. Looking out to sea you observe the waves come sweeping in until finally the last one crashes not far from you. Behind this mighty roller is where you must drop your bait, not too close to the climbing wave or the float will be washed in, but just far enough away so that the undertow can neutralize the flowing water. If your first attempt at this mark is not successful, do not hesitate to reel in and cast again, for anywhere but in the right spot is courting failure in your efforts to account for that specimen.

This type of tackle, but of a lighter description, can be employed with every prospect of good results on calmer days, if you can find a suitable position on a rocky ledge jutting out from the shore and where, by casting out either to the left or right of the point, the current will carry your float away from you. Any of the baits previously mentioned may be used for this kind of angling. One spiral lead, however, will prove adequate, and it should be attached about half-way down the cast …

"Sea Angling Modern Methods and Tackle" (1952) Alan Young at pages 59 & 68 to 77

Baits

Kippers

Good bait for the larger bass which have taken to scavenging.

Bass and Bass Fishing

Fish up to 1½ lb are known as school bass or shoal bass. They remain in inshore waters throughout the year … The rodcaught English bass (18 lb 2oz) was caught at Felixstowe. The nest heaviest (16 lb 6oz) was taken at Bangor. When the subject of distribution is discussed it will be seen that these fish were not only exceptional in size, but in place, Felixstowe being outside the normal range of bass, and Bangor being only just within it.

… Angling records prove that big bass are caught inshore throughout the winter months, and although they only exceptionally remain in the vicinity of estuaries, there is reason to believe that much larger numbers haunt sandy bays in the cold months than is usually thought to be the case.

Bass come into shallow water in May, and throughout the summer months they are to be found close inshore. They are always on the move and always searching for food. Their food consists primarily of shore crabs, sand eels, prawns and shrimps, but in addition they eat almost any living creature which comes their way - brit and other small fish, ragworm and lugworm, sand-hoppers, shore-hoppers, and anything else edible providing it is alive or very fresh. All this food, with the exception of brit, lives in the area between the tides, and bass therefore follow the tides in, often penetrating far up estuaries. They nose into rocks and weed patches in search of crabs; they inspect the waters around piles and jetties for prawns; they follow the tide over mud and sand flats ready to consume the numerous creatures which the incoming tide coaxes or washes from their low-tide hiding-places; they investigate wrecks, hulks, sunken pipes, and any other surfaces on which weed grows. They seek their prey along the bottom and in mid-water, but if a shoal of brit or sand eels passes overhead they come to the surface and feed madly while the opportunity lasts. They swim in the breakers, sometimes in only a couple of feet of water, where the breaking waves and the undertow churn up sand and shingle to disclose food. They favour, too, the swiftest water, where the incoming or outgoing tide sluices through a narrow gut.

Gales send bass to deeper water, but as soon as the waves subside a little they return with ravenous appetites to seek the increased quantities of food made avilable by the action of the more than usually powerful waves.

On still, clear days bass rarely come into the beaches. This is generally attributed to their shyness, but it may also be that they know the gentle waves will not dislodge sufficient food to make their journey worth while.

Bass can be caught by day in summer, especially off lonely beaches, undisturbed by bathers and motor-boats, but they feed more freely at night. Dawn is the best of the daylight hours in which to seek them, and the next best time is the twilight of evening. In winter they seem to feed readily by day.

The best state of tide for bass fishing differs in different localities, and can be found only by inquiry or experiment. In many places the two hours before and after high tide are the best. In others the period from the second hour of a making tide is favoured. Anglers often use different marks in one comparatively small area at different states of the tide.

Float Fishing

Float fishing is the most widely practised method of fishing for bass, and it has much to recommend it, for there are no heavy weights to minimize the sporting qualities of the quarry, and it can be employed from a boat, from any projection [2] into the sea, and in certain circumstances from the shore …

From Projecting Points

Piers, groynes, jetties, breakwaters and similar structures which project into the sea are ideal stances for float-fishing. In all such places the current of the incoming or outgoing tide sweeps past, sometimes parallel with the beach, sometimes straight in and out, and sometimes at an angle. In all cases the tactics used are the same as those used in boat-fishing, and the float goes off with the current.

An angler will be most unpopular if he uses float tackle from a position crowded with other anglers using paternosters. The float fisherman has only limited control over his float, and none at all over the direction taken by a hooked bass; and if such a fish chose, as it well might, to head into the jetty and mix itself around half a dozen lines, the consequent tangle would be unsortable. Float-fishing and drift lining should be practised only when they will not interfere with the sport of others …

Drift Lining

In my opinion, drift lining is the finest of all methods of bass fishing, for, except in a strong current when a little lead has to be used, there is nothing but the line between rod-tip and hook.

The tackle consists of the light rod, a Nottingham reel, 100 yards of 6 to 8 lb monofilament or silk line … with a no. 3 or 4 short-shanked hook. A 4ft monofilament trace is attached to the line by a small swivel.

The best results are obtained from a boat, though the tackle can be fished with success from projections and rocks.

An ideal method is to anchor the boat 30 or 40 yards from the breaker line on a rising tide. The drift line is lowered over the side, the hook baited ideally with a live prawn, but alternatively with live sand eel, ragworm, lugworm, or any other of the recognized baits. Line is released, and the bait drifts into the breakers, where it can be held for a considerable time. If there is a boatman, the boat can be drifted parallel to the beach. Float tackle can be used in the same way.

An alternative method, particularly useful in and at the mouth of estuaries, is to anchor the boat off a bass mark where the current will take the drift line to the mark. If the current is strong, one or more ¼oz foldover leads can be added to the line. In a strong current sand eel is superior to prawn, while lasts fish well. This method can be followed at any state of the tide except slack water.

The same method can be employed from projections past which a current runs, but such fishing is only practicable if a landing net or drop-net can be used. The remarks under "Float Fishing" about not causing inconvenience to other anglers, apply equally to drift-line fishing.

Fly Fishing

Fly-fishing for bass is excellent sport, but the occasions on which it can be practised are rare, though school bass can be taken by this method with some regularity.

When bass are found feeding on the surface in shoals (usually in spring), a fly can be cast to them, allowed to sink a few inches, and recovered in jerks. Medium-sized salmon flies and white mackerel flies are favoured, but any fly seems to do. Bass have been caught on a black gnat.

Spinning

… The lures and spinners on the market are legion, but more bass fall to rubber eels than to any other form of lure. Some anglers pin their faith to one colour, but bass are unpredictable fish and it is well to be ready to change the colour of the eel and its size until the right one for the day's conditions is found. Bass have been caught on every one of the many colours in which sand eels are made.

… In summer the best points for spinning are projections and rocks - and such ground formations as sand spits - past which the current runs strongly. The lure is cast into the current, allowed to sink, and then recovered in jerks. It is a good plan to raise and lower the rod-tip from time to time. The fish should be struck the moment a touch is felt.

Spinning from the beach is my favourite form of lure fishing, but I practise it only in the winter when the beaches are clear of visitors and bathers and when I can, if I wish, fish a couple of uninterrupted miles between the headlands. I nearly always use a home-made rubber eel, for actual fish baits soon break up. I cast a yard or two beyond the breakers and, keeping the line just taut, move along as the current carries the lure. There is generally a lateral movement of current and the lure sometimes travels 20 yards before being washed up …

Ledger and Paternoster

Although ledgering and paternostering are not to be compared with float or drift-line fishing if sport be the main consideration, there can be no doubt that the biggest bass are likely to be caught by these methods. Really big bass (12 lb and over) seem to be bottom feeders, and some of the food they eat (stinking bloaters, for example) would be scorned by the smaller members of their species. Apart from a desire to catch big bass, there are occasions when lighter methods are impracticable, and the ledger or paternoster can be used with advantage.

The ledger and the paternoster can be used from the beach or from projections, and the weights should be only just sufficient to hold the bottom against the pull of the current; 2, 3 or 4oz weights are usually sufficient …

In summer the best place is the shore of an estuary; in winter a sandy beach; but in either season the tackle can be fished with hopes of success from almost any spot along the coast except those which have a rough or rocky bottom liable to trap the weight. The lead should be cast only just beyond the breakers.

I have found the best baits, in order of importance, to be squid (or cuttle or octopus); peeler crab and sand eel; followed by ragworm (in estuaries) and lugworm (over sandy beaches). Many other baits - dead prawn, pieces of fish, hard back crab, small live or dead fish such as brit, rockling or dab - have caught bass in this style of fishing, especially in winter, when the fish seem ravenously hungry and search the breaker line for anything remotely edible.

Once the cast is made and the line tightened against the weight, the rod should be held all the time and not put in a rest. Bass rarely hook themselves. The strike should be made at the first indication of a "bite", for there is some delay between strike and hook-setting.

It is inadvisable to use ledger or paternoster tackle from the beach on calm sunny days. Few bass come into the shallows, and those that do are very wary.

[2] Author's Note: To avoid constant repetition of the words "piers, groynes, breakwaters, jetties" etc., the word "projection" has been used to cover everything which juts into the sea from which a man can fish, except rocks and other natural features.

"Bass: How to Catch Them" (1955) Alan Young at pages 1, 2, 9, 10, 11, 42, 43, 50, 51, 52 to 74, 76 to 81 & 87 to 90

Chapter I

The Bass

Bass are not caught to any great extent by commercial fishermen …

Scientifically the bass is known as Morone labrax or Labrax lupus, the former being more generally accepted. Among British anglers it is universally known as the bass, but many fishermen and some fishmongers refer to it as the salmon bass. Its former popular (and very appropriate) name of sea perch still persists in some places.

… as a rule, bass of from 8 to 11in in length fall in the 2-3 age group; 12 to 14in, 4 to 5 years; and 15 to 17in, 6 or 7 years. Most bass of 20in (or a little more or less) are 9-year-olds, weighing usually a little less than 4 lb. A 12 lb bass would probably be a little over 30in in length and perhaps 20 to 22 years old.

Bass up to 1½ or 2 lb swim in shoals and are plentiful. Fish of from 2 to 5 lb are not uncommon; 6, 7 and 8 lb bass are excellent fish, and many anglers who fish exclusively for bass have caught nothing heavier. Double-figure bass are perhaps one in ten thousand, and the odds are still further increased as the weight advances.

The fish itself answers every requirement an angler can ask of a sporting fish. When free, it is unpredictable as to its food; wayward in its movements; and suspicious of too-obvious tackle. When hooked it becomes a tearing fury that taxes the skill of the most accomplished angler. No two bass seem to act in the same way. They will twist a trace around obstructions, dive to the rocks, dash off in a straightforward run or swim towards the angler at a speed that makes line recovery impossible. On rare occasions they will leap, and on still rarer ones they will sulk … The best of bass anglers have many blank days. These fish are not to be caught by casual methods with every cast …

Chapter III

Baits

Bass have been caught on almost every bait used by British sea anglers, but certain baits are regularly successful … brit, crab, lugworms, prawns, ragworms, sand eels; and squid, octopus or cuttlefish.

It is impossible to place these baits in order of value, for much depends on the locality and the position in which the fish are feeding. Bass on the bottom will be eating, in the main, the creatures disclosed by the rising tide - sand eels and lugworms over sand; ragworms over mud; and crabs over weed and rock. Bass feeding in the higher layers will be seeking prawns around the piles of piers, the walls of jetties and weed-covered rocks; and brit and sand eels whenever and wherever these appear.

Some very large bass have been taken on decaying baits of various kinds, and on offal. Not enough is yet known about bass to enable anyone to say whether this is due to deliberate choice or to accident. It may be that some of the really big bass, unable to catch or find enough fresh food, become scavengers of necessity. On the other hand, they may have developed a real taste for "ripe" food.

There is little doubt that such fish will take fresh food when they find it, and these seems to be no advantage in using stale or unusual baits in an attempt to catch the odd scavenger when this means missing the clean feeders.

No harm is done by treating any dead bait with pilchard oil, for it will not discourage clean feeders and it may encourage those bass that have a liking for highly scented baits.

Miscellaneous Baits

The flesh of the razorfish is excellent as a bass bait, but difficult to get. Strips of bacon, strips of tripe, cockles, whelks, mussels, crabs other than shore crabs, shrimps, sandhoppers, skate's liver (a golf-ball size piece is a hair-net) and a score of other baits have all accounted for bass.

Chapter IV

Methods

Before writing of specific methods of fishing for bass it may be well to comment upon the way in which a bass should be played. It is a subject common to all methods and can conveniently be dealt with here.

A bass of any weight from 2 lb upwards cannot be treated with disdain. No matter what the strength of the tackle, the fish should be allowed its first frantic rush with no more restraint than the check or tension of the reel, supplemented, on occasions, by further light braking with the fingers.

During this run the angler can make some estimate of the fish's weight (usually an over estimate) and then play it according to the size of the fish and the strength of the tackle. It may sound ridiculous to say that a bass should never be allowed to take charge of the proceedings, for it often does so by swimming towards the angler at a speed greater than that at which line can be recovered, but as long as the line is taut the angler should be in charge.

I believe in very firm play which will exhaust the fish in a minimum of time, but this firmness does not mean rough handling. Give the fish only the amount of freedom that the strength of the tackle demands. If the tackle is sound and the knots well tied, a great deal of pressure can be exerted even with very light tackle. The fish must be allowed its runs - and there will be many more after the first - but the angler can afford to use successively heavier braking on the reel with every rush. Thus the fish will, as its strength decreases, find itself fighting against increasing pressure.

When a rush stops, efforts should be made immediately to recover line, though the fisherman must be prepared to stop reeling in and to release line instantaneously if the fish is felt to be turning off in another run.

In positions where a landing net or a gaff can be used, a bass can often be landed or "boated" before it is fully exhausted, though when the fish sees the angler it almost invariably starts another rush. When the fish has to be drawn up through the air, or landed on a beach, I prefer to play it right out until it floats on its side. In the latter case I wait for a good breaker and bring the fish in as rapidly as possible on its crest by reeling in quickly and retreating up the beach at the same time.

Paternoster and Ledger Fishing

In the chapter on tackle the arrangement of fixed and running paternosters and of ledgers has been described. The fixed paternoster (with or without booms) can be used in almost any circumstances - from piers and jetties, from rocks and from beaches, though it must be remembered that in beach fishing, especially on shallow beaches, the angle of the line is acute and that the baits will not be fishing much above the bottom however high up the line the snoods are attached; and, since in these circumstances the tackle is fishing almost like ledger tackle, it may be better to use a ledger and benefit from its advantages.

The sliding paternoster can be used to best advantage when the line is straight "up and down" - as from a boat and sometimes from piers and rocks, or up to an angle of about 30 degrees from the vertical.

For the benefit of those who have so far had no experience at all of sea fishing, it may be well to explain here that a bait very rarely lies inert on the sea bed. Except at slack water there is always some movement of the tide, less strong in neap tides than in springs, and less apparent in waters to leeward of the flow of the tide than in the unprotected tideway. The movement is there, however, and it is usually strong enough to lift a bait and stream it out on its snood. In beach fishing for bass, where the bait is cast into or only just beyond the breakers, it is constantly in movement backwards and forwards with the conflicting currents.

From Beaches

Later I shall show how steep-to beaches can be fished with float or spinner, but on the majority of beaches paternostering and ledgering are the only practicable methods. Bass certainly come into really shallow water with the tides, but even water only 2 to 3 ft. deep needs a fairly long cast on most of the sand or sand and mud shores. "Bass water" is out of reach on these by any other methods unless a boat is used. In the cold months they are the most likely type of beach for bass. Although other methods of fishing provide (in my opinion) greater sport, there can be no doubt that far more bass of from 2 lb upwards are taken by paternostering and ledgering than by all other means put together.

I must qualify this by saying that the results are due less to the methods themselves than to the facts that they are more widely applicable than any others; and that, apart from necessity, more anglers fish with paternosters and ledgers than with any other arrangement of tackle.

Steep-To Beaches

On these beaches many good casters cast too far when bass fishing. Bass are likely to be close in, and particularly likely to be exploring the base of the step or steps in which the beach falls. I believe they incline to move parallel with the shore, or at least in the direction of the flow of the tide, and thus a long cast into deep water puts the bait both below and beyond them.

I have found that a good method where there is no foul ground is to cast rather further out than is strictly necessary, i.e. into water just beyond the beginning of the breakers. Let the weight sink and tauten the line. Pause for two or three minutes and pull the weight in a yard or so. Pause again, and continue the recovery until the baits are fishing in what is considered to be the right position, and then settle down to fish it until the changing level of the tide or the need to examine the baits makes it necessary to reel in.

Gently-Shelving Beaches

It is well to survey these at low tide, for in the vast area of an almost featureless shallow beach it pays to find those places which may be particularly attractive to bass. Note the patches which are most thickly covered with the "hole and wormcast" signs of lugworms; ridges of weed which harbour crabs; channels behind rocks or other obstructions; and places where fresh-water scours out a shallow depression on its way to the sea. Note should also be made of any timber or metal constructions that are covered at three-quarter tide or earlier - groynes, piles, outfall pipes, etc. - for such structures, scarce though they may be, are likely to attract bass.

This low-tide study of the beach may be used not only to choose places which can be fished with advantage as the tide advances, but to pick out (and fix by objects above the tide line) areas in which it is dangerous to cast because of obstructions likely to foul the tackle.

On these gradually sloping beaches the aim should be to place the bait in from 3 to 4 ft of water, where it is likely to be found by bass in their advance with the tide. The distance at which this depth is to be found differs with the slope of the beach.

On beaches where the gradient is so slight that the tide goes out for well over a mile (on parts of the Lancashire and Somerset coasts, for example) bass fishing had best be forgotten unless a boat is available.

From Piers and Jetties

Paternosters, running paternosters and ledgers can be used from any projections into the sea. In most circumstances the paternosters have an advantage here over ledgers, for the snood can be arranged to fish any required number of feet off the bottom up to the length of the rod.

I prefer the running paternoster, but this can be used to best advantage only if the rod is held in the hands so that a little line can be freed at the first "knock". If the rod is to be rested against the rail or laid down and allowed to fish for itself, the fixed paternoster is better.

A fixed paternoster can be used with one or more hooks, with or without booms. I do not use booms, since I do not consider their advantages outweigh their clumsiness, but in almost straight "up-and-down" fishing they have their uses. In murky water hungry bass are unlikely to be scared of them. The modern plastic booms are less obvious than brass ones and may be useful in clearer water.

When the hook or hooks of the paternoster have been baited, the apparatus can be lowered straight down or cast into any required position. Unless there is some obvious reason for casting out, such as finding a feeding hole or a greater depth of water (the latter being necessary only when the water at the foot of the projection is very shallow), the paternoster is likely to fish just as well at the base of the projection as farther out. It will probably be even more successful, for bass feeding on or near the bottom still like to nose around piles, walls and rocks.

From Rocks

No angler unfamiliar with the district in which he is fishing should use paternoster or ledger tackle in the vicinity of rocks unless he has had an opportunity of studying the situation at low tide.

Most rocky areas make extremely foul ground which will lead to the loss of leads and hooks. There are, however, sometimes sandy patches among rocks, and if a paternoster can be cast into these (and recovered) without difficulty, they are worth trying. Generally speaking rocky ground is best fished by spinning or with float or drift-line tackle.

From Boats

A boat lends itself so admirably to drift line and float fishing that it might be thought a waste to use it for paternoster or ledger fishing. There are however, many anglers who use no other method; and there are circumstances in which paternoster and ledger tactics are the only ones likely to prove successful.

The common case is when a deep tideway is being fished where the current is so strong that unweighted or lightly-weighted tackle cannot reach the bottom in a reasonable distance.

When bass are feeding in the upper layers of the water, the lighter tackle will catch fish, but if it is thought that they are following the tide in close to the bottom, it is best to use paternoster or ledger.

In such circumstances a heavy weight will be necessary, and the bait will stream up-current and be a moving attraction to deep-feeding fish.

The situation nearly always occurs as a flood tide enters an estuary. Bass come in with the tide and (at least on their upward journey) keep in the full flow of the current. Thus a paternoster fished from a boat anchored in the middle of the tideway stands every chance of success, for as the tide makes bass will appear in the relatively narrow waters of the estuary in much greater concentration than along the open beaches.

The distance to which bass penetrate an estuary depends on its width, depth, food supplies, degree of pollution and other minor factors; but a point to be borne in mind is that they do move in with the tide. Thus the occupants of a boat anchored in the entrance of an estuary at the start of the flood should be prepared to move up the estuary from time to time as they know or think that the bass have passed on upstream.

Drift Lining

Description

Drift lining is, in my opinion, the most sporting method of catching bass or any other fish. The equipment is simplicity itself. Since there is nothing special about it, only the briefest mention of it was made in the chapter on tackle.

A drift line can be fished from several vantage points, but since an anchored boat is by far the best position from which to fish it, I will assume, for purposes of description, that a boat is being used.

It is anchored in a suitable spot where a not-too-fierce current is flowing in an area where bass may be expected. The rod can be a light one, though the action should run from tip to butt and not be concentrated in the top section. Suggestions are a good 10 ft coarse fishing-rod (not a match rod), a light trout spinning rod, or the top two sections of a three-piece ex-aerial steel rod. With any of these, lines from 5 to 8 lb b.s. can be used. It must be remembered that there is in these circumstances practically no wear on the line; few obstructions, if any; and any fish hooked, played and brought to the boat can be netted or gaffed. It does not have to be lifted through the air.

If from inclination or necessity a heavier rod is used, a line to match it will be essential. If the rod cannot bend freely to the pull of a 5 lb line, then a 5 lb line is useless.

I have found the three best reels to be:

1. a 3 to 4 in free-running centre-pin type reel with a large drum or, if small, filled with line almost to the lip. This is large for the type of rod recommended, but quick recovery is essential in bass fishing.
2. A light multiplier reel with a recovery ratio of 3:1 or 4:1.
3. A fixed-spool reel capable of holding at least 150 yards of 6 lb line.

I now invariably use a fixed-spool reel of this type, but I suggest that any angler who has had no experience of them and who now intends to use one for bass fishing should first carefully re-read my remarks on the subject in the chapter on tackle.

When this tackle is set up, the hook can be tied direct to the end of the line, or affixed to a short trace whose strength is a little less than the strength of the reel line. This is a matter solely of personal inclination. When the hook is baited it is simply lowered into the water and allowed to drift off with the current. Line is fed by hand from the centre-pin and multiplier reels; or allowed to coil off a fixed-spool reel.

The bait sinks naturally as it moves and is most attractive. It is allowed to travel as far as the tackle admits of an effective strike. This may be anything from 40 to 60 yards. When it has run its distance it is recovered, and it is advisable to reel in fairly slowly. While this is being done the bait rises to the surface and acts in a somewhat unnatural manner, but a good many bass have been caught during this process, especially when sand eels or lasts are used as bait.

If the current is too strong to allow the bait to reach a sufficient depth in its run, it will be necessary to affix a spiral lead of the weight required (this should never be more than 1 oz - if more is required, float fishing or paternoster and ledger are better methods) to the line or trace some 3 ft from the hook.

"Sufficient depth" is difficult to define. Drift line fishing is designed primarily to catch bass feeding in the middle and upper layers of the water - say from 4 ft down to mid-water. In comparatively shallow water with a moderate current the bait may sink to the bottom within the limits of the manageable run, but generally speaking it is not a method to employ against bottom-feeding fish.

If after a time it is found that bass are being caught at (for example) 18 ft towards the end of the run, a ¼ oz weight may be put on. This will bring the bait to the "fishing depth" nearer the boat, where striking is not so difficult or delayed as when a long line is out.

It needs no imagination to see that this form of fishing provides the angler with the greatest degree of sport it is possible to obtain - a hard-fighting fish of great endurance hooked on light tackle with no clutter of weights, floats, booms or other impediments.

Having discussed drift lining generally, I will pass to its particular applications.

From Boats

I have already mentioned that drift lining is ideally done from a boat. The main reason for this is that an exhausted fish can be lifted from the water in a landing net, thus making really light tackle possible.

There is, however, another really important advantage in drift lining from a boat. When a drift line is fished from a pier or from rocks the angler has no control over the direction taken by the bait. It simply follows the current. It still does this when fished from a boat, but by choosing the position in which the boat is anchored an angler can ensure that his bait travels to any spot he desires.

Piers and jetties, rocks, buoys in estuaries and every other object or feature which can shelter or sustain food creatures have a great attraction for bass. When a drift line is being fished from a pier, the bait drifts away from the most promising place for bass, but a boat can be anchored forty yards "up current" from the pier. The angler's drift line bait travels towards the pier and at the end of its run it is fishing close to or among the piles, where bass are most likely to be, (The distance of forty yards will, of course, be adjusted as necessary to the particular requirements of depth, tackle, current, etc.)

Unless the current is extremely fierce, drift lining from a boat is profitable anywhere in an estuary on the flood tide, but if there are fairway, wreck or other buoys it is always a good idea to anchor the boat so that the bait reaches one of them towards the end of the run. This is not essential, of course, but it increases the mathematical chances of bringing the bait to the notice of bass, for these fish, though unlikely to stay for long, are inclined to spend a few moments in the vicinity of any object that might serve as cover for their prey. At the risk of tediousness I will once again say that the boat should move up the estuary from time to time as the flood advances.

In suitable weather a boat may be anchored an appropriate distance off the beach. This is an excellent though rarely used position for drift lining. The ingoing tide carries the bait into the breakers, where bass may be expected, and there it is swirled about in all directions by waves and undertow, covering much water and rendering itself most attractive by its movements. It is unnecessary in these circumstances often to retrieve the bait. It fishes itself at the limit of the line allowed it. It is an excellent method for anglers who dislike paternostering or ledgering but whose coastline is devoid of estuaries. As for all surf fishing for bass, there must be some surf. Bass are unlikely to go close into the beach on calm days when waves appear to be too tired to break.

On such days it might be well to try the same style of fishing when anchored in deeper water farther from the shore.

From Projections

I have mentioned already that drift lining from projections is inclined to take the bait away from the places where bass may be feeding, i.e. from the piles of piers or walls of jetties, etc. This objection may be more theoretical than practical, for in practice a very great number of bass are caught by this method from these positions.

I have found it particularly useful where two jetties lie in close proximity to each other, when the bait can be drifted down from one to the other.

Projections into estuaries, too, make suitable vantage points for drift lining when the current is not too fierce, and they are ideal for fishing the ebb tide if they are situated where the shores of the estuary merge with the true shore line. Here the tide ebbs gently and bass returning to the sea tend to hug these less boisterous waters.

From Rocks

Much of what I have written about drift lining from projections is applicable to rock fishing, and the method suffers from the same disability of taking the bait away from the rock on which the angler is standing, which may be the one to which bass are coming to feed.

As a general rule, float fishing and spinning are the best methods of bass fishing from rocks, but drift lining can be practised with every hope of success, particularly when it is possible to drift the bait down to some large weed-encrusted rock suitably adjacent; and when there is an area of comparatively calm water in the lee of a chain of rocks, providing there is sufficient current to drift the bait.

Float Fishing

In float fishing one obviously has to have a float and a weight, and to that extent the tackle is a little more cumbersome than the drift line. On the other hand, the method has several advantages in certain circumstances over any other method.

Before passing on to a detailed discussion of float fishing from various positions I will summarize these advantages:

1. Float fishing (with a slider float) will enable the bait to be fished at any required distance from the bottom.
2. Over rocks and weeds the float supports the bait when paternoster or ledger tackle would almost certainly be fouled.
3. Calm, clear water, scarcely fishable by any other method, can be fished with light float tackle with every hope of success, providing the angler keeps out of sight.
4. Bass feeding in sub-surface to middle-depth waters can be presented with baits in currents too strong for successful drift lining.
5. Float fishing from projections enables the bait, at the required depth for the circumstances, to be kept close to the piles or walls where it is likely to be among the bass.

Depth

In all forms of float fishing the bait is fished at a known depth (in sub-surface fishing) or at a known height above the bottom (in deep-water fishing).

Finding the depth at which bass are feeding is not an easy matter. Anglers who know the local waters well can often deduce the level at which the fish are feeding from the hour of the day, the state of the tide, etc.

Without such knowledge an angler must work on trial and error methods. It can generally be said that a proportion of the bass in any vicinity will be feeding near the bottom, so "just off the bottom" fishing usually produces some result if bass are about at all.

The method is, too, usefully employed to keep the bait above the rocks or other foul ground. In these cases there is no problem of depth, for the depth can be plumbed and the sliding float set at the necessary height. If it is desired to keep the bait a fixed distance off the ground it must be borne in mind that adjustments to the float level will have to be made from time to time as the tide ebbs or flows.

Float fishing is more often used in fishing at depths of from four feet below the surface to about mid-water. When starting to fish in this way it is perhaps best (unless the fish can actually be seen) to start near the bottom and gradually lessen the depth, trying a few runs at each depth until a bass is caught. Fishing at that depth should be continued until sport ceases, when greater or lesser depths can again be tried.

Technique

Except in calm and almost currentless water the float will run out with the tide. The greased line remains on the surface. If it sinks and "bags" below water the strike is deadened and often ineffective.

The distance the float is allowed to run is dictated by several factors - eyesight, weight of line, strength of rod, and the extent of the "lop" on the water.

In connection with the strength of the rod I would here refer readers to remarks on float-fishing rods in the chapter on tackle.

The hook, lead and float are lowered into the water. It is very rarely necessary to cast this equipment. The weight takes the bait down to its fishing depth, and, supported by the float, it drifts off with the current, the angler paying out the necessary line. When the end of the run that has been decided upon is reached the line should be checked. The current will then lift the bait through an arc (Fig. 12), and in its upward movement it may be taken by a bass. If this happens two or three times it is an indication that the fishing depth is too great.

From Boats

Much that I wrote about drift lining from boats applies to float fishing. The lightest of tackle can be used, since fish can be taken in the landing net.

The boat can be anchored in such a position off rocks, jetties, buoys and other bass-attracting localities that the float will drift down to them.

One angler with whom I am acquainted anchors his boat off the shore and allows his float tackle to drift into the breakers. He does not use any weight and sets the float about four feet from the hook. This practice differs very little from drift lining in similar circumstances, but the angler claims that the float prevents the bait from being swept too far back towards the boat by the undertow as it may be in drift lining. I have not yet tried this myself, but it may be a good scheme.

From Projections

When a fairly strong current flows past projections, float tackle can be used in the same way as the drift line, but the float often has at least two advantages over the drift line in this type of fishing. Around and under piers and jetties there is usually a swirl of conflicting currents and back-waters close to the piles or walls. A little experiment will show how the float can be fished so that it runs in a continuous circular or oval track, sweeping regularly in its travels close in to the framework of the projection, where bass are most likely to appear as they search for food. This is the ideal way of fishing the float, for it reduces to a minimum the disturbance caused by recovering the float and its appendages. If the water is calm and clear it is desirable that the angler be hidden, but if this is impossible (as it often is in such circumstances), only essential movements should be made, and these should be made slowly.

Conditions such as these are often found in the lee of solid projections even when a strong current or a heavy sea is running.

The second advantage which the float possesses (over both drift line and paternoster) is its ability to fish a bait just off the bottom.

The ground close to projections is often fouled by objects dropped from time to time, by old wires, and by uncleared remnants of war-time defences. These make fishing with a paternoster or ledger impossible without the chance of frequent entanglements. Drift lining is not designed for near-bottom fishing in any considerable depth of water. By plumbing the depth below the projection and adjusting the float accordingly it is possible to fish at a depth which will put the bait reasonably near to the bottom, but at the same time keep it clear of obstructions. Do not forget the constantly changing level of the water.

From Rocks

Rocky ground is usually foul ground unsuited to paternoster or ledger tackle. By using a suitably heavy weight and correspondingly large float, a bait may be fished clear of underwater rocks even in a moderate current. Lighter tackle and a smaller float can be used if the tackle is allowed to drift off with the current or if the current is slight.

On the lee side of the rocks, as in the case of projections, there is often an area of calm water with gentle currents moving in a circle. A very light quill float with a few split shot as weight can be used with advantage in these circumstances. The line need not be more than 5 lb b.s. providing a fish can be netted or gaffed. If it has to be raised through the air a very much heavier line is needed, and this steps up everything in proportion.

When the water is clear as well as calm it is even more essential for the angler to remain concealed than in fishing from projections. Some of the bass may have become used to seeing human beings on piers. They do not expect them on lonely rocks.

Before leaving the subjects of drift line and float fishing I must utter a warning. Both methods can be used from projections. Throughout the summer months these projections will be crowded with anglers, and even in the winter, at week-ends, there will be a great number of anglers fishing from piers and jetties at those resorts within reach of big towns. It is probable that all of them will be fishing with paternoster tackle, using weights sufficient to hold their lines against the pull of the current. To go among them and fish with drift line or float tackle is to invite mishaps and entanglements if nothing worse. An angler has very little control over either tackle, for it moves at the direction of the current. To fish in this way between a number of fixed lines is almost impossible.

Spinning

Under the heading "Lures" in the chapter on tackle, I discussed spinners, plugs, rubber eels and other lures at some length. For the purpose of brevity in this section I shall simply use the word "lure" for all imitations fished by the spinning method, whether they spin or not.

In spinning for bass the object is to present to the fish an imitation of small fish or sand eels. A suitable lure on its trace is attached to the line. It is cast into the sea, allowed to sink to what is considered an appropriate depth, and recovered by reeling in. As it is drawn through the water the lure spins, dives or wobbles according to its nature.

When a bass "takes" there is rarely need to strike. Instantaneous and momentary tautening of the line is usually sufficient to drive home the hook, for bass have no time to hesitate when seizing active prey.

Since the fish that the lures imitate spend most of their time in the upper layers of the water, it is there that spinners must be used. This is fortunate, for fishing a spinner at depth entails heavy weights, and can even then only be done effectively by trailing the apparatus behind a boat.

Spinning can be done from boats, projections and rocks, and there is no object in going into separate detail for these positions since the method is the same in all. It can obviously be practised to greatest advantage when a large proportion of the bass present or in passage are feeding in the upper water - a condition likely when shoals of sand eels or brit are also present. When I have leisure to fish a whole tide, I usually fish by some method other than spinning, but I have at hand a spinning rod with lure already mounted so that I can immediately take advantage of any shoal of brit, etc., which happens to put in an appearance.

In winter I occasionally fish an imitation eel in the breakers, choosing for this pleasant exercise a wide bay where one can walk for, perhaps, a mile or more along the beach without interruption. As the tide comes in I cast the lure into the waves and allow it to be tossed about until it is eventu-ally cast up. This means moving slowly along in the direction of the current, casting every twenty yards or so. Though not so productive, perhaps, as most of the other methods, it catches bass and is a pleasant way of spending a pleasant day - particularly one of the bright days that so often follows a gale.

Weed

Weed can be a nuisance to bass anglers at times, no matter what tackle they are using, but it is particularly a nuisance to spinners. The very action of constantly casting and retrieving a hooked lure invites the collection of floating weed. There is nothing to be done about it except to endure with patience.

Fly Fishing

I have headed this section "fly fishing" because many books on sea angling mention the subject. There may be sea anglers who really "fly fish" for bass. I have never met any, and on the few occasions when I have taken a trout rod and suitable flies with me I have never got within casting distance of bass. As a boy I caught school bass on real trout tackle more than once, but school bass fishing is not bass fishing.

Bass can be caught on feathered hooks, possibly cast with fly-fishing technique, but these flies are designed to imitate small fish, so they should more rightly come under the heading of spinning.

The commercial bass (or mackerel) fly certainly catches fish, especially when it is towed behind a boat or fished deep on the "sink-and-draw" principle. With a fixed-spool reel it can, too, be cast a considerable distance - fished like a spinner.

The lure is not an ideal one, however, even for its purpose, and a lure of the streamer type, common in America but not often used in salt water in this country, is a far more attractive imitation.

Streamer-type flies capable of catching bass can be quite easily made at home. They consist simply of two 2½ in. or 3 in. cock's hackles bound near the eye to the shank of a long-shanked hook of suitable size. I use salmon hooks (see "Hooks" in the chapter on tackle), but effective lures can be made with ordinary sea-fishing hooks (Fig. 13). The hackles can be natural, white or buff or can be dyed in any desired colour. I have found plain white to be as good as any.

Half-moon leads or split shot can be added to give sufficient weight for casting (the fixed-spool reel is ideal for this) and the lure is fished like a spinner.

Trolling

This method of trailing a bait or spinner behind a boat is not often used for bass fishing, but a variant of it provides good sport in estuaries.

Rig up a ledger tackle with a small dead fish or sand eel on the hook, with a trace 7 or 8 ft long, extending beyond the ledger weight. As the tide starts to flood, the tackle is lowered from a boat, and the boat is allowed to drift with the tide up the estuary. The ledger weight moves along the bottom, and the bait on its long trace is swirled about at varying depths.

Chapter V

Time and Place

Tides

Since bass in different areas form different habits, it is impossible to lay down any laws about their actions in tides, but as generalizations founded on experience, wide enquiry, and reading it can be said that:

1. Bass feed better on the flood tide than on the ebb.
2. They are more active in springs than neaps, especially full-moon springs.
3. In estuaries they move up with the tide, so that coast fishing in the locality is best in the early stages of the tide and even for an hour or two before the turn.

It must again be emphasized that these are generalizations which should be checked against local knowledge.

Day and Night, Calm and Storm

These two subjects are too closely related for separation.

Subject to the state of the tide it can be said that bass feed inshore more by night than by day in the warm months and more by day than by night in the cold months. This applies especially to very shallow waters over beaches.

The warm months. Bass are shy fish that dislike entering shallow water when the sea is calm and clear, and to this must be added their probable knowledge that gentle seas will not disturb the bottom enough to dislodge the creatures of which they come in search.

… Those anglers who can fish by night … may reap their reward, for the beaches may be invaded by bass which, unable fullt to satisfy their hunger offshore during the day, come in with the night tide in a truly ravenous mood.

Anglers who must fish by day in these conditions can often achieve some success by fishing from the beach beyond (not necessarily far beyond) the point where crowds and bathing stops. A proportion of the bass will come in to feed.

Gales tend to keep the bass out of the shallows while their full force rages, but they also keep crowds from the beaches. Once the main fury of the gale dies down, but while the weather is still unpleasant enough to discourage all but anglers, bass will come close in to find the plentiful food dislodged by the breakers. Then, even by day and in summer, bass may be caught.

All the foregoing remarks apply to shallow water over beaches.

Bass are likely to come into deeper water by day, whether the sea be rough or calm, clear or cloudy. Such deeper water can be found anywhere by the angler in a boat, or from piers, jetties and rocks by anglers on shore. Piers and jetties are usually too crowded with anglers and sightseers to make bass fishing possible, but from a boat anchored in the mouth of an estuary, or from rocks far enough away from, or too difficult of access for, picknickers, anglers can fish in comfort.

The cold months. The holiday-makers and, unfortunately, a large proportion of the bass have gone.

… some bass remain … some anglers fish specifically for bass in winter and catch bass. I can add only that bass in winter lose their liking for estuaries, and that those that remain are usually caught on sandy beaches …

Place

Feeding Places

… It seems fairly clear that:

1. A proportion of bass are, by preference, surface feeders.
2. A proportion prefer to feed on the bottom.
3. The surface feeders will feed at the bottom if the upper waters contain insufficient food.
4. The bottom feeders - excluding, possibly, confirmed scavengers - will rise to the surface to harry a large shoal of brit, sprats or sand eels. They are unlikely to do so for very small shoals.

A second feeding place is the haunt of prawns. Prawns live at varying depths, but they keep usually in proximity to weed-covered surfaces i.e. the walls of jetties and quays, hulks, the piles of piers, buoys, wrecks in shallow water and rocks covered at high tide. They have a special liking for weed known as serrated wrack. [13]

Where prawns are, bass will come. They feed on the countless other creatures they come across in the same areas, but their main objective is prawns.

The third and undoubtedly the most important feeding place is the ground. I use this expression rather than the more pretentious "sea bed" since it is on ground covered by a shallow layer of sea water - much of it uncovered at low tide - rather than in the true sea bed that bottom-feeding bass find their food.

As the tide advances over sand or a sand and mud mixture, countless lugworms and sand eels emerge, besides innumerable lesser creatures which add variety to the larder. From the mud of estuaries and creeks ragworms appear; and from the seaweed that covers ridges of rock the crabs that have remained hidden come out to feed. The stronger the tide, and the more it is assisted by an on-shore wind, the greater the number of edible creatures revealed by it … bass will advance with the rising tide and take their toll of whatever the ground provides. Clean-feeding bass will take live creatures - notably crabs, sand eels and worms. The relatively fewer but larger scavengers will eat any form of flesh food, dead or alive, stale or fresh, which they find on the bottom or being churned about in the waves. At all times and in all places bass are likely to seize any fish of suitable size that they find, and small flat fish are frequently consumed in this way.

Chapter VI

School Bass

… Opinions differ as to what constitutes a school bass. I usually think of them as bass up to 1½ lb in weight, but one should, if one keeps strictly to the definition, extend it to include all bass that still keep in shoals … and shoals composed of fish up to a little more than 2 lb are not uncommon.

… bass are slow-growing fish, and the majority do not reach maturity until they are five or six years old, when their average length would be some 14-15 in. At this length they would weigh between 1¼ and 1¾ lb.

Season

On most British coasts within the bass range, school bass appear from April onwards. In the south-east they tend to appear somewhat earlier, and in the warmer waters of the south-west some school bass never leave shallow waters.

Habits and Food

School bass, like their elders, feed in shoal water, estuaries and in the vicinity of natural or man-made objects such as rocks or piers.

They become active in inshore waters from April onwards - depending on water temperature and locality - and in addition to the places that attract all bass, they are to be found much higher up the estuaries of unpolluted rivers, sometimes in what is practically fresh water. They differ from mature bass in two other important respects. Firstly, they are less the servants of the tides and can consequently be found at slack and ebb as well as on the flood. Secondly, they venture into clear calm water which bigger bass might be too shy to enter. The careful watcher may often have an opportunity of studying the shoals.

Their food depends to a certain extent on their size. Up to a length of about 12in they feed upon sandhoppers, shrimps and the little woodlice-like sea slaters, supplemented by the smallest of crabs, all types of worms and the countless embryonic creatures and tiny fish to be found in the sea and in estuarial waters. Larger school bass tend to take larger creatures, including crabs, prawns and sand eels.

[13] Editor's note: serrated, 'saw' or 'toothed' wrack (Fucus serratus) is a common 'wrack' seaweed (brown alga) that grows just above the low water mark on sheltered, rocky shores. Its fronds do not have air bladders but have serrated edges, hence the common names.

Serrated Wrack (Fucus serratus)	Common Prawn (Palaemon serratus)

"Sea Fishing with the Experts" (1956) Jack Thorndike at pages 65 to 69

Bass

… School bass, the small of the species, keep in shoals, favouring harbours and piers. The main force usually move in during May, although some extreme southern areas have an earlier arrival if the weather is mild.

Small bass are uncertain fish. A shoal, several hundred strong, may feed one day, but vanish from the spot on the next. Many of the "schoolies" are caught by daylight anglers during summer months, but to find the big fish you have to give up a few hours' sleep. After-dark fishers have most success, for the large fellows lose their caution at night and rove into the shallows.

Autumn is the best time for big bass. They are lone hunters, unlike the small fish, which prefer company, hunting in the breaking surf, searching rocks and pier piles to satisfy their large appetites.

Don't make the mistake of going to the shore in pouring rain. Despite a general thought that this makes the best fishing weather, it is after the storm that big bass come inshore, seizing food churned up by the waves …

Shore baits are varied. Herring, kipper, ragworm, limpet, sprat, squid and cuttle can all be used with confidence.

Length of cast is governed by the type of beach from which you are fishing. On flat beaches bass will be caught behind the third breaker. From steep sloping shores where food is carried into deeper water by the underflow, casts should be longer.

Catches will be doubled if the bait is moved occasionally. Reel in a few yards, uncovering the bait from sand which the surf has churned up. The worm covers a wider area with this method and the movement will be noticed by the fish

Line will zip off the reel when a bass takes the bait. Strike quickly before it has time to feel the heavy lead. When it is played out bring it in on the waves, not through them. A bass finds renewed strength when the shallow water is reached, and the water pressure could help free it. So don't relax until the fish is beached.

Night fishing for pier bass is a thrill not to be missed. Best results come from under the ironwork … Long lines are not necessary and 50 yards of 8 lb breaking strain monofilament will take the strain … Start fishing by finding the bottom, slowly reeling in until a bite is felt. Once correct depth is found the position is kept by counting the number of reel turns from the bottom.

Quick strikes are again essential, but if you miss it keep the bait in the same position for a few seconds. The bass may take a second rush at the remainder of the bait. If there is no second interest, continue fishing with a sink and draw movement. The bait must have movement. If the tail of the worm is nipped off in the first dash this sink and draw method will be sufficient. Normally a lively worm does the trick.

Fish baits should be kept mobile all the time, and often it is a good plan to cut a few pieces of mackerel or herring and let these sink to the bottom before the hooked bait. Sprats are also useful for this purpose.

The Daily Express, Thursday 25 March 1959 at page 15

Worm out the Easter bass

Angling by Tom Float

Easter bass will find ragworms on offer at most seaside resorts. Ugly as they are, these sea worms have already lured 7 lb. bass to anglers hooks at Margate and Penzance.

A local white ragworm tricked the Cornish fish as it scrounged among the surf at the foot of Newlyn beach.

These worms are of medium size and a No. 2 or No. 3 hook is the right armament.

Bolted Down

King ragworm from Southend was hurriedly grabbed by the Margate fish and bolted down.

This very special outsize worm often exceeds 1 ft. in length and is regarded as a special tit-bit by all sorts of sea fish.

A three inch piece of king ragworm cut from just below its head will lure the largest plaice anywhere.

Thread it on a long-shanked No. 4 Kirby or sheck bend hook for the best results.

Flounders and school bass are competing for the local medium-size ragworms due from Poole harbour. They are a favourite bait with the big grey mullet that haunt Bournemouth pier head to be caught on float tackle in the early summer.

Seaton, Devon, is a likely spot for a bank holiday bass. I have never dug big ragworms there, only the little reddish chaps that harbour grey mullet steal off my hooks.

My angling belief is that if giant Southend king ragworms were imported to South Devon resorts, say Seaton, Exmouth, Salcombe or Dartmouth, the local heavy-weight bass would turn up to resist the threatened invasion in force.

Your tackle for this fishing in those districts and on bass-haunted parts of the Welsh coast need be no stouter than freshwater fishers have for pike.

A 9 lb. to 12 lb. line, tough little spinning rod, and fixed-spool or multiplier reel are correct.

Simple one-hook ledger end gear is unbeatable. One ounce of lead is often enough. If your bait tends to drift, follow it along the shore.

Wear rubber boots and take a strong light gaff.

"Sea-Fishing" (1960) Arthur Sharp at pages 41, 42 & 43

Instead of the usual paternoster tackle, there is always a chance of getting a prime bass on a driftline. The tackle consists of a big single hook size about 3/0, a two yard trace, unleaded. For bait a generous slice of fresh mackerel. A small lashing above the eye of the hook will keep the bait in shape.

You pitch the baited hook well out into the rolling billows breaking on shore and allow the waves and undertow to swing and carry the bait around, always keeping the line straight and as taut as possible and the bait in touch. Often good bass are so taken.

Surf fishing … the breaking waves rolling on the sandy or rocky shore wash out the various worms and other food items, set the bass roving and poking their noses about in quest of titbits. Here a spot of ground-bait is of help to the fisher, and if you have a supply of fish offal handy to dump within casting distance it is worth a trial. Some bass fishers make up the ground-bait into balls, which, placed in paper bags with a stone or two to lend weight to aid throwing, are cast out into the breaking waves. Big bass are said to hunt around on their own, leaving the shoals of lesser fish, and that they have a liking for something a bit strong, as, for instance, a well-rotted kipper!

"Tackle Sea Angling this Way" (1964) John Michaelson at pages 74, 75, 76 & 77

8. Bass Fishing

Apart from these orthodox baits, bass have been taken on many unusual ones, such as cubes of cucumber, almost certainly seized not for their edibility but because their colour and texture suggests some natural food. Fish liver is an unusual but sometimes effective natural bait. Success with a strip of bacon fat or a length of chicken intestine, both of which I have heard of taking good fish, seems almost certainly due to their shape, colour and texture deceiving the fish.

Surf fishing for bass does not usually call for very long casts. The bass will be at the point where the undertow, carrying debris from the beach, is stopped. This position is usually further out than appears from the surface movement of the water, varying with the slope of the beach, the strength of the tide and the size of the ground swell, but it is not often more than twenty-five yards.

"Sea Angling" (1965) Derek Fletcher at pages 18 to 20, 23, 24 & 27 to 32

The Bass

The foraging bass feeds on anything that is edible, and the shore angler has a wide choice of baits that can be offered. Soft crab, herring and ragworm are baits that have served me well, but the bass is in no way averse to kipper, bloater, limpet, mussels, sprats, lugworm and squid. Reports have even been made of fish being caught on chicken and rabbit entrails. If you use the fish baits give them generous pieces, working on the theory of big baits for big bass, a theory which has often proved correct.

If you are able to pick your time, the first and the last light of the day are the best times to fish, taking into consideration that bass roam on the incoming tide. Although one can fish in daylight, and often with good results, there is never quite the same eagerness shown in the baits. At dawn one is often able to catch more fish in an hour than is possible in the whole of the remainder of the day.

Bass are found behind many of the breakers, but allowances must be made for the type of beach from which it is intended to cast. From flat beaches leading out to shallow surf the fish will be found in water 9in deep, which is about behind the third breaker. It is necessary to weigh up the size of the surf from beaches of shingle that slope deeply into a good depth of water.

Longer casts should be made during storms when waves are breaking further out. On a calm day, from the same shore, it will only be necessary to cast a short distance. It must also be realized that from a steeply sloping beach small items of sea food are carried out into deeper water by the underflow.

Bass naturally roam where they expect to find the food and, on flat shores due to the lack of undercurrent, this food keeps nearer inshore. From steeply shelving beaches such food will move according to the varying strength of the surf. These are points that should be watched when fishing from new stations.

A great deal of difference will be made to the size of catches by keeping the bait moving. This has been proved many times, but anglers still persist in casting out and leaving the rod supported by a tripod. Labour-saving, no doubt, but do not forget that surf action continually disturbs the seabed and sand soon covers the bait.

By keeping the bait on the move I do not mean to imply that you should be continually reeling in. Simply cast out to the required distance, leave it for a few seconds, then recover the line a few feet, pause again, continuing until the bait is at your feet. This method enables the bait to cover more ground, giving the fish an opportunity to detect it easily.

There is no mistaking a bass bite. It is a headlong dash at the bait and away goes the line, yard after yard. To avoid line tangle the angler should apply sufficient finger pressure to control the reel. At the same time, for shore bass, it is advisable to strike immediately, for as soon as the fish feels the restriction of the lead the bait will be dropped quickly. So strike quickly, or lose the bass.

… Surf again is very important for the rock angler. It can be used to prepare the area for bass fishing, by ground-baiting. A dozen herrings or more should be used and chopped into pieces of about 1in. These should be spread across the rocks, just in reach of the waves. Surf breaking over the rocks will remove some of the herrings into the sea and small globules of oil will run from the pieces that are washed into the crevices of the rocks. This proves very attractive to the bass and can be relied on to bring them on the feed.

Bass ground-baiting is preferably carried out in the late evening and the area so baited fished the following morning. It may be done at all states of the tide, with rougher weather more suitable. Fresh fish are best, because their oil content is higher, but naturally one has to use what is available. Mackerel, too, can be used in a similar manner.

… If fish baits are decided upon, especially after ground-baiting in preparation, cut generous diagonal pieces to put on the hook. Bass have large mouths and show preference for large portions. Arrange the float so that this bait is about 1ft off the bottom and let it ebb in and out of the rocks at will. If fish are not contacted after a few minutes' fishing, bring the bait nearer the surface until the bass are found. The depth they keep varies with temperature conditions from day to day … There is no need to cast the bait out a few feet, for bass usually keep close to the rocks.

Live prawns are a recognized killing-bait on float tackle for bass. Successful use of prawns depends largely on the way they are attached to the hook. It is known that some anglers hook them through the head and catch fish, but I feel that in doing this the prawn must lose some of its liveliness, which is its main attraction as a bait. A bass taking a prawn will swallow it head first and the most effective way is to insert the point of a No. 5 hook up from beneath the third segment from the tail. This will securely grip the bait while allowing free movement. Dead prawns can be used when live ones are not available, but the difference in the sport will be found to be most marked.

… Drift-lining bites are not easily recognizable, and for this reason the angler must keep constantly at the ready. The beginner will lose many fish at first, but experience soon teaches the precise moment to strike. A slight dip of the rod tip, or a quick movement of the line, is the only indication given and an immediate strike must be made. The force of the strike depends on how taut the line is, the distance the bait is from the boat, and the force of the current. A quick mental calculation should tell you what to do, with a stronger strike for every 10 yards that the line is out. Live prawns and large ragworm can also be fished in a similar manner.

Pier-fishing for bass has, I fear, been badly misjudged in the past. True, one can walk along many piers in daylight and find the odd school bass taken between some dozen anglers. But at night, on the same pier, when the trippers are gone and the steamers absent, many an angler thrills to the glistening bass breaking surface. Myself, I write of the local pier, where local anglers have huarded the secret of the late-night bass carefully. Not for the horde of summer visitors they say, and possibly they are right, for night-fishing for bass calls for quietness, which daylight does not give. There are many piers like this. Very little activity in daytime, but in the warm, still, summer darkness a different story can be told.

Pier bass keep to the piles, but like all fish they will sometimes break the rules and at times shoal on the outside. Generally speaking, and where possible, it is advisable to fish inside the pier. That is, to keep as near to the piles as possible. Most piers are built to the same pattern and, mentioning again my local pier, nearly all the fish come from under the inside ironwork. These findings, I stress, are not based solely on the local fishing, but are true of pier-work in general.

Floats can be used, and are indeed by many pier anglers, but it is better to leave off anything which might be a hindrance around the ironwork during the hours of darkness. Those who have fished at night will appreciate this, as will the angler who tries night-fishing for the first time. Again, as in drift-lining, the tackle is simple but effective.

… With weather and temperature conditions keeping the bass at different depths, the position they are in at the time of fishing must be found. Commencing with a large-size ragworm as bait, slowly let your reel run out until the lead is felt to reach the bottom. Slowly reel in, pausing occasionally until bites are felt. Once the correct depth is ascertained, it is wise to keep to this, for bass shoals rarely alter their depth on one particular day. Correct depth can be remembered by counting the number of turns of the reel from the sea-bed. When the first bite is felt and, perhaps, you miss hooking the fish, keep the bait where it is. It is tempting to reel in and examine the bait but it is a mistake to do this and the bait should be kept in the same position for a few seconds. Often the bass will return to take the rest of the bait which, perhaps, was missed in the first rush. If after the temporary pause the fish is not interested, wind in two or three turns of the reel. Possibly the tail of the worm has been nipped off and the liveliness of the bait is not so great, so move it sideways a little and then use a sink-and-draw movement. The bait must be kept moving. Many times I have had several fish, whilst anglers either side refusing to keep the bait moving have had just the occasional one.

Other baits can be used similarly, but for success it will be hard to beat a large lively worm. Some success has been achieved using fish baits, either herring, sprat or mackerel. Even if worm baits are being used it is an excellent idea to cut up two or three herrings, letting the pieces sink to the bottom prior to fishing. They glisten as they slowly sink in the darkness and bring the fish around the hooked bait in a very short while.

Not always has it been appreciated that the changing of the water temperature affects the feeding and distribution of marine fish, particularly bass. My interest in this matter led me to make some personal observations and, with the help of a piermaster and several keen sea anglers, I was able to satisfy myself that a great deal could be added to the knowledge already possessed. The matter is mentioned at this stage because all the fish caught were taken in the manner just described. Accurate temperature recordings were made and together with similar information regarding catches, the following observations were made.

It was particularly noted that school bass of 1½ - 2 lb were most susceptible to the changes. Fishing was confined to the same area and, during the period of experiment, it was found that the lower the temperature the more the fish kept down. Slightly warmer, and the bass were found to surface more according to the difference in temperature.

In the early year, with low temperatures, small fish were contacted just off the bottom. Baits offered above this depth were ignored but, as they were lowered to the first ascertained depth, these were taken. In May, with the water slightly warmer, larger fish were caught at the same depth. A higher temperature in June brought the fish 6 - 7ft from the bottom and baits sent close to the sea-bed were completely untouched time and time again. During July, with the water warming even more, the fish moved much nearer the surface. It was noticed, too, that they began taking fish baits which had previously been ignored by all-size fish. August, with the temperature similar to July, produced the same results. During September, however, a slightly lower temperature sent the bass near the bottom again and ragworm appeared to be the only bait to entice them, although even these were not taken readily.

… So these findings give an idea where to keep the baits to find the fish. The bass were also found to be more on the feed in the warmer weather and dropping off on the slightest colder change in the water. In the daily changes of weather conditions it was always found that a slight wind on a warm day would send the bass down further than they would have normally kept on a similar windless day.

It appears that the bass try to find warmer water. Normally in summer the warmest water is found at the surface, but with the addition of a slight wind the top layer is disturbed and becomes mixed with the underwater. Therefore, bass do not have to seek the warmer regions and find the warmer top layer coming to them with the changing conditions. This fact was even more apparent when it was an off-shore wind that lightly ruffled the water.

Spinning for bass can be interesting, but it is hard work. Although one can spin from rocks and boat, I feel that not enough use is made of our piers for this type of fishing. Some sea anglers regard spinning as ineffective from piers but, providing one has the right type of equipment, good catches can be made. There is no reason why light river tackle should not be used, such as a 7ft light casting-rod with fixed spool reel. Catches with this equipment give great satisfaction and small baits may be cast great distances with ease. The user of such a reel should remember that salt water is a great enemy to all metal reels, and that after use the reel must be washed for a few minutes in fresh water.

… where possible this method gives the opportunity to cover a large area of water. Spoons, plugs, sand-eels, sprats, small pieces of fish-bait have all proved their worth in the past, providing that the weather and sea conditions were right. Warm, calm weather is ideal, not only for larger catches but also because it is much more comfortable for the angler. Spinning in rough weather becomes very hard work for weed is disturbed, natural baits soon split up and, quite often, you will fall into quite another species than the one it was intended to catch. It is very frustrating to catch a species for which you are not fishing.

The type of bait to work depends largely on the depth of water being fished. In some areas summer weather provides clear water and, with such conditions, a sand-eel worked about 18in below surface would be seen by fish at a lower depth and provoke interest. In the same water, thickened by a slight disturbance, a plug would provide a more satisfactory fishing session. Argument about the relative merits of natural and artificial lures is endless. Provided that they are kept moving, both will catch fish.

Most fish are taken on unusual baits at times, and bass are no exception. The following have resulted in bass catches (that is, more than a single fish) on more than twelve occasions. I think that being successful on twelve occasions or more does merit the serious attention of anglers.

Silver paper taken from a cigarette packet may well be tried. Quite easily used, this has accounted for fish, particularly at dusk, from piers where other baits were being refused. The method is to wrap the silver paper round a long-shanked hook and fish in a sink-and-draw fashion. Fish should be struck immediately on interest, for a second attempt to take the bait by the same fish is unlikely after its suspicion has been aroused. Bass have also been caught on small cubes of cucumber, mostly fished near the bottom. Quite what the bass supposes this has to do with sea life is not known, but nevertheless keeping it slowly on the move in an arc-like sweep will arouse their curiosity. Chunks of stewed rabbit, fished mid-water on float from rocks, is another unusual method of bass-fishing. Another astonishing bait is fat bacon. But I have caught bass using this, and so have many anglers who were willing to risk being ridiculed by their colleagues.

"The Sea Angler Afloat and Ashore" (1965) Desmond Brennan at pages 28, 29, 154 - 157, & 160 - 164

The Fishes of the Sea

Bass

Bass of well over 20 lb have been recorded but these are very old fish and the average size is from 3 to 6 lb. A fish of 10 lb or over is considered a specimen, whilst small fish (under 2 - 2½ lb) are known as "school bass".

As a species they are slow growing; a fish weighing 1 lb may be 5 years old, a 5 or 6 lb fish may be 10 to 14 years old and a 10 lb fish 15 to 20 years of age.

On the south coast the bigger bass begin to disappear about the end of October or early November but small school bass probably stay close inshore in river mouths and estuaries in the south through the winter, but they tend to frequent deeper water than was their habit in the summer.

Bass are usually mature and able to spawn when they are five or six years old but there is evidence that the males may mature a year or two earlier than the females. The females live much longer and grow much bigger than the males; few males over 5 lb are taken and all the really big bass are almost certain to be females.

One thing, however, is abundantly clear and that is the folly of unnecessarily killing small bass. The average run of decent sized bass is from 2½ to 6 lb and only a small proportion of these will live to grow to 10 lb or more. If the small fish under 2 lb are indiscriminately killed the potential number of takeable fish is considerably reduced and the possibility of a few really big specimens almost eliminated. Due to their slow growth, bass are a species whose numbers could be seriously reduced or even fished out, and if anglers appreciated this fact, the painful sight of small immature fish taken from beach or pier would disappear.

The bass is a fish of the shallow inshore waters and travels far on the tide in search of food. At times the bass may be found in a foot of water right up on the shore, or again combining with other bass a mile or two offshore to prey on shoals of small bait fishes. Favourite haunts are mixed beaches of sand and rock, the broad mud flats of estuaries, tideways, channels and steeply shelving beaches of coarse sand. The bass can tolerate a certain amount of fresh water and will travel far up estuaries and river mouths on the tide but will not go quite as far as the mullet. The larger and more solitary bass seem to have a liking for a rocky coast, the type of coast which, when the tide strips, reveals rock pools and gullies rich in food.

On steep shingle beaches there is a point where the slope of the beach suddenly drops off into deeper water. When the tide is in, it is along this shelf that the fish will forage and that is where your bait should be placed. In moderate or light surf such beaches may be fished with light bottom gear, for long casts are not essential as the bass may be no more than a few yards from the edge. The same applies to spinning. Do not cast straight out but rather cast at a tangent so that your bait will fish along the shelf and just behind the surf where the bass are feeding. Fish places where the tide or current sets in against the beach or is set off by some projection. Food will be swept along and concentrated in these places and you can also use the run of water to trot a float to places you cannot fish on the bottom or reach by casting.

In beach fishing, as in any other form of fishing, look for places where the fish will come to you, rather than go searching for them. Bass will forage along the length of a beach so that both ends are obvious places to try. There is a sweep of tide along most surf beaches and as bass tend to swim with the tide this narrows down your choice. One end of a beach may be better on the flood, the other on the ebb or perhaps at half flood or half ebb. By fishing these places consistently up and down the tide you will soon get to know the times during which they fish best.

Bass have a definite liking for fresh water and any place on a beach where a stream or seepage empties on to it is always a likely spot for bass. Rocks or rocky reefs, patches of weed on a stony or pebbly bottom or anything that breaks up the monotony of an otherwise featureless beach is a place to try. Patches where sandeels are plentiful are likely fishing spots, as are points on the beach where the surf penetrates a little farther or tends to be a little rougher than elsewhere in moderate or calm conditions.

Fishing on surf beaches normally calls for surf casting tackle, as conditions of surf, depth or sweep of tide may call for long casts or the use of heavy sinkers to hold the bottom. The distance one must cast varies considerably and depends on many factors. Food swept out of the sand by the action of the surf is sucked seawards by the undertow until its progress is halted by the opposing force of the oncoming waves, when it is deposited on the bottom. This usually takes place just behind the last "breaker" and it is here you can expect the bass to be feeding. They will be found just behind the breaker in a line parallel to the shore and you must get your bait out to them. On very shallow beaches at low water or in heavy surf the waves may be breaking a considerable distance out and very long casts are essential if you are to get among the fish. When the tide is well up on the beach near high water and there is good depth close in, the line of breakers may only be 20 to 30 yards away or less and short casts are then the answer.

Do not get into the habit of making long casts just for the sake of doing so because you will find that your bait is often far beyond where the fish are feeding. Granted there are occasions when you must be able to cast 100 yards or more to reach the fish but these conditions are more the exception than the rule and normally with a nice surf running (three nice breakers are ideal) casts of 50 to 80 yards are all that is necessary. On some beaches where the surf breaks a long way out you will find a "table" of water. Here the bass will be inside the line of breakers and you must search the water to find out where they are feeding. These conditions seem to be ideal for flounders, which can make a perfect nuisance of themselves to anglers fishing for bass.

In calm conditions with light surf or near high water in moderate surf, bass will feed right in on the shore and I have seen them run right up a beach and down again on a wave. In these conditions, and also at night when bass come much closer to the shore, it is very easy to overcast as the fish may be no more than 10 to 20 yards out. It is wise to search the water if after some time has elapsed there is no sign of fish where you expect them. By this I mean to cast well out and at intervals slowly move the bait in towards the shore, letting it rest again for a while until you find where the fish are. This is a very useful gambit in calm water with no surf at all when bass are hard to locate or are hard to tempt. You may in this manner bring your bait to the notice of a fish that would have otherwise missed it and, besides, a bass which at times will leave a still bait strictly alone will find a moving bait irresistable and be goaded into taking it.

A fallacy oft repeated among beach anglers is that it is hopeless to fish for bass in conditions of flat calm and crystal clear water. True enough, conditions of moderate surf and coloured water are more conducive to good fishing but calm clear conditions can also be good. Some of my best bass and indeed best catches of bass have been taken on warm sunny days when the water was crystal clear and the surface as smooth as a sheet of glass. Frequently in such conditions bass fishing is slow and the fish may not come on the feed properly until the sun has sunk beneath the horizon but at times they can also be very active and feeding eagerly. It is then a question of finding out where they are. Longer casts than usual may be called for, as the bass may remain further out in deeper water but they can also be very close in and right in the shallows. The next time we are enjoying a spell of anticyclonic weather do not write off bass fishing during daylight as you may be missing some wonderful sport.

If you are fishing a good spot on a beach and are not getting the bites, do not be in too much of a hurry to change even if you see that anglers farther up the beach are getting fish. Bass often sweep down a beach in numbers so that after a long blank period you may, for a while, take fish after fish. The bass may be on their way down to you and should you move at the wrong time you may miss them altogether.

Beach fishing at night can be very productive and has a charm all its own. Most fish swim closer to the shore after dark and are less cautious and wary than during daylight. They hunt more by scent than by sight and for that reason I prefer a bait like lugworm which has a good scent for night fishing. I have found over the years that there is little point in fishing all night and now prefer to fish up to about 2 a.m. or rise early and start about 5 a.m. I have found the middle hours of the night generally unproductive and by the time the fish come on the take again about dawn, that I am tired and have lost the keenness and alertness so necessary in bass fishing. You must know your beach intimately for night fishing and it is essential that you have a good torch and be warmly clothed.

When night fishing you will find a large fixed-spool reel more trouble free than a multiplier, for in the dark when you cannot watch the flight of your sinker it is easy to get an overrun, which can cause a bad enough tangle in daylight but at night when you are unable to see it can be an even greater nuisance.

Sinkers or leads play an important part in surf fishing. They should be streamlined to assist in obtaining distance when casting and the torpedo or pear-shaped leads are excellent in this respect. I do not mind my bait being moved around a little by the surf as a moving bait is attractive to bass, but when there is heavy surf or a strong current or run of tide along the beach, the bait and sinker is swept along too fast, making it quite impossible to fish properly, a grip lead equipped with wire prongs is essential in these conditions. Grip leads are efficient and will hold in all except the worst conditions but for all that I am no lover of them and if possible fish without them. They suffer from two distinct disadvantages: firstly, it is difficult to set the hook in a bass when using an ordinary paternoster trace until the grips have been pulled out of the sand and this, at times, requires a fair amount of force; secondly, the fish does not battle so well when it must also fight the pull of the grip lead as it catches in the bottom.

… Two types of traces are generally used in beach fishing, i.e. an ordinary one or two hook paternoster and a running leger. Hook sizes range from 1/0 to 4/0 but if the fish are small or biting shyly, a No. 1 may be used. When using small baits or worms I prefer to use the smaller sizes but for fish baits or large crabs I use a 3/0 or 4/0 hook. The larger hook gives a better purchase and is less likely to tear out of the fish's mouth on the strike, but of course it is not as easy to drive home. When fishing crab or fish bait I use one hook only but when using lugworm or ragworm I often use two hooks. Not that a two-hook trace catches any more fish than a one-hook trace; but when using soft baits which can be torn off the hook in casting, there is a good chance of one bait remaining on if you are using two hooks. This is especially comforting when night fishing when you cannot see if your bait has flown off the hook or not. The use of more than two hooks is absolutely unnecessary and only succeeds in wasting bait.

"Popular Sea Fishing" (1968) Peter Wheat (editor) at pages 59 to 73

Bass Fishing (Brian Harris)

… All bass are extremely slow growing … While it is true to say the females attain far greater weights than males, there is a new awareness that big male bass do occur; again this has shown up to a greater extent in Kent and Sussex than elsewhere - another pointer in favour of the local community theory - although some big Irish males turned up in 1967 during the survey conducted by The Inland Fisheries Trust led by Dr Michael Kennedy.

It was once a popular belief that male bass seldom exceeded about 4 lb. In the past few years I have taken south-east males to around 8 lb - not just odd fish either. One day in May 1967, while fishing the rocks at Fairlight, Sussex, I landed three males between nearly 6 lb and 7¾ lb ! Big males seem to turn up in rocky, shallow-water areas in spring. The south-east also produces fish which appear to have a quicker growth rate than those farther west …

Fishing Techniques and Tackle

… Bass are predators and they are caught by spinning from shore vantage points, or from boats, using long silver wobbling spoons like 'Toby' and 'Condor', rubber and plastic eels or dead sand-eels on flights, or strips of mackerel, squid or cuttlefish. Other methods include float fishing with sand-eel, peeler or soft crab or prawns or small fish like pouting, wrasse and blennies (especially in rocky gullies) and drifting lightly loaded tackle down a tideway from a boat or shore vantage point. Trolling is also extremely rewarding.

All these methods - apart from the use of float-fished crab baits among the rocks - are only consistently effective in clear seas and are mainly used to catch the smaller, shoaling fish …

… From this point on I shall be discussing the ground fishing techniques which have worked best for me. I have caught bass by spinning and float fishing but I do not do enough of either to be able to offer very much useful advice. Too many writers on angling deal with species of fish and techniques of fishing by plagiarism because although they have little or no personal experience, they feel obliged to pretend they have.

My personal experiences - and the results of many other anglers whose exploits are reported - prove that (as I said before) ground fishing from the shore in one form or another results in the capture of most big bass; this trend includes those areas in which clear water conditions predominate and in which spinning, float fishing, etc., are also carried out more than ground fishing.

The best way to deal with ground fishing techniques as I practise them is to divide the fishing into four kinds: surfcasting, which includes fishing into the more gentle waves found on beaches other than the pure surf beaches washed by the Atlantic; fishing into rocky ground; fishing from piers and similar projections; and fishing estuaries.

Surf casting

First let us examine surfcasting. You are to fish a sandy strand … where, even during calm weather, there will be four or five lines of white-crested breakers rolling in with wide tables of water between them.

This surf … is sometimes increased by onshore wind or ocean storms. Bass love this aerated habitat and roam its mostly clear water in great shoals. They are likely to average about 2½ lb with the occasional big ones. There seldom appears to be much food in the real … surf - but the fish will mostly take lug widely. Other good baits are razorfish or clam and strips of squid or cuttle.

You need the 20 oz rod and 15 lb line with a 3 oz bomb for this fishing. If the surf is heavy and the bomb rolls too quickly into the shallows you can use the same size bomb equipped with 2 inch stainless steel anchor wires.

Sometimes a cast upwards of 100 yards will be needed; at other times, especially when the surf is wild and the day dull, or after dark, a 40 yard lob will put the bait among the fish.

For long casting and to avoid tangling in the turbulent water, I suggest you make up a simple nylon paternoster. Tie a No. 8 barrel swivel to the reel line, using the tucked half-blood knot, then tie an 18 inch length of the same line to the free eye of the swivel. Take another piece of nylon about I yard long and join it to the piece you have tied to the swivel, using the blood knot and leaving one end coming out at right angles about 1 foot long. To this you tie, with the tucked half-blood knot, a fine wire bronzed hook; I recommend the Mustad Round No. 79510. About a 3/0 is right. The remaining end of nylon takes a small simple lead link and the 3 oz bomb. Measurements from the swivel are: to blood knot - 1 foot; blood knot to lead link - 1 foot; blood knot to hook - 9 inches. Load the well-sharpened hook with lug, one large one or several small ones, making sure they lie tail first straight up the shank (the tail is firmer than the head end) to cut down wind resistance and increase casting distance.

Try a long cast first, wading into the surf knee-deep (if you wear thigh boots) or deeper if you have chest-high waders. Take up the slack and stand comfortably with the rod held ready for an instant strike. Some hold the tip high - this is necessary to keep the tackle out there in a big surf which holds floating weed - but in a moderate surf I like to cradle the rod with the tip low and almost parallel with the shore, both for comfort, quick striking, and to receive every movement telegraphed up the line from the terminal tackle.

If bites do not come within (say) 20 minutes, reel in about 20 yards of line, slowly, and repeat the operation at intervals until either fish are located or the tackle is too close to the shallows to be effective.

Once bites come you must remember the distance and cast accurately each time. Bass shoals on surf beaches tend to run laterally along the surf between two lines of breakers.

Bites can be of several types. The most common seems to be a rapid slackening of the line as the fish shifts the lead, and the others are a hard pull, jagging lunge or a sharp double knock. All these should be hit hard and instantly; the slack line bite results in most fish hooked if you strike correctly, and this means moving smartly away from the water, running even, to take up the slack before banging the hook home. Monofil stretches.

Some people still hold the view that only the flood tide is worth fishing, and many surf beaches do fish best at this time, but many also fish best on the ebb. It is advisable, therefore, to get local knowledge before you fish.

Bass inhabit very shallow water, especially when that water is turbulent, and bites will often come when the tackle lies in a depth of less than 1 foot. You will sometimes wade out to cast and have bass flurry away from your feet, or see them swirling behind you. Surf beaches are shallows in the main, and even casts of 100 yards may put the bait into only about 5 feet of water. One comes to learn that depth is not the point to consider where bass fishing is concerned. Surf beaches often have streams of fresh water running across them and these nearly always attract bass.

Other Open Beaches

Fishing the steeper, open beaches, on the south and south-east coast of England, and other shingle or sand beaches which are not true surf beaches, imposes some different problems, and requires a variation in tactics.

The same outfit is used, although lateral currents may be more powerful, demanding the more frequent use of the wired bomb to hold out. The water is likely to be more coloured and, when there is a strong on-shore wind, or after a gale, the rollers are likely to be high, but the extent of the breaking water covers a short distance from the beach. When the water is rough the nylon paternoster used for the true surf beach will suffice, for in these conditions bass will take savagely. But in conditions of relative calm a running paternoster will give better results, for then the fish may sample the bait tentatively before engulfing it in that vast mouth. Failure to give line freely at the sampling stage will often cause the fish to drop the bait.

Make up the pasternoster by threading a No. 8 swivel on the reel line, then sliding on 1 inch of hard plastic tubing or a bead as a stop before tying another swivel to the end of the line. To the free eye of this swivel tie about 1 foot of monofil and your hook. To the swivel running on the main line tie 2 feet of monofil which takes the lead.

My experiences have led me to have little faith in lugworm on these beaches, and not much more in razorfish. Lug attract small bass and flats and other 'unwanted' species, so I give the bass a big bait, such as a whole side fillet of a fresh mackerel, a complete head from a fair-sized squid or cuttlefish, or a strip, or a large crab. I have caught fish on a herring head with the entrails attached and on large pieces of kipper, especially in dirty rough water. Some baits go well in some areas, others in different places - so again seek local knowledge.

Bass have vast mouths and a 6 pounder will swallow, for example, a ¾ lb mackerel in one gulp, so fish your big baits on big hooks. The Mustad pattern mentioned in size 5/0 - the biggest I have been able to buy - works well. Also remember that a big hook carrying a big bait takes a lot of pull to sink it past the barb in the bony maw of a big bass; so use fine wire hooks - always, and keep them sharp. Personally I do not favour stainless steel or nickel-coated hooks for bass fishing; I like hooks of bronzed steel, which blend with most baits and have no 'flash' which may arouse suspicion.

These big baits I recommend may at first look ridiculous but if you want to sort the wheat from the chaff, persevere with them. Of course casting presents a problem and you have to learn how to lob a big bait and a 2 or 3 oz lead some 50 yards with a slow-motion swing of your flexible rod.

Bites in these circumstances can also vary, from a nerve-shattering smash take, which can pull the rod from your hand - or from a rod rest for that matter - to a series of very gentle plucks which may lead to a smooth strikable run away from you, or a sensation that the lead is being bounced on the sea-bed, line slackening at the same time. Both the run and the bouncing slack line should be hit firmly.

When fishing these steeper south-east type shingle/sand beaches with big baits during or after a blow, it is possible to catch bass by fishing the rod in the rest. You really need a monopod to keep the rod nearly vertical so that line is kept clear of surf. Fish a slack line with the running paternoster and have the check on the reel - light clutch as well if the pull of water repeatedly takes line against the check - when the reel is in free spool.

You must watch the rod closely, of course, and pick it up gently when a pluck registers. Sometimes you will get a screaming check-run which you hit, if the line is still peeling off the reel when you grab the rod.

Again my personal experiences on these beaches have been that, although the flood may normally be fished with optimism, these are times when it is fruitless and the fish feed on the ebb. I and my bass fishing friends have taken good fish at all stages of the tide.

A worthwhile point always to remember, I feel, in these days of so-called 'scientific angling' is that it is the bait in the water which catches the fish. In other words, fish hard at all stages of the tide; there is no such thing as a bad time - some stages of tide are better than others … on some days !

When using your light surf outfit for these types of fishing you will - if you have fished alongside any of the heavy-handed brigade - have appreciated how your tackle has held position with only the 3 oz bomb while they have trouble holding with the 6 oz. Your fine line is the answer, cutting the water cleanly - that and your anchor wires when you use them.

Many shore anglers have only one solution to the problems of drifting gear - a heavier lead. If they used finer lines and lighter leads with stainless steel wires they would see the light ! Anyway, slowly drifting gear is sometimes an advantage.

Rocky Ground

Now let us look at rocky ground. It is this type of fishing that requires most skill and results in the capture of most big bass. The best ground is where low, loosely bedded rocks and stones, with sand or shingle patches between them, are revealed at low water. The depth over the fishable area (from the last high-water mark) need not be more than 4 or 5 feet, but try to avoid fishing inshore of unbroken reefs or high banks of sand or stones as these tend to make bass quit the area soon after the ebb begins. Ideal spots are where big rocks reach out to sea in long fingers with ledges up which you may retreat before the incoming tide. If there are cliffs behind, make sure you are not trapped at their base by the high water. In fact the ideal rock fishing situation proves to be the exception rather than the rule and you have to make the best of the ground.

Naturally the first thing to do is to examine the ground at low water. If you arrive towards the end of the ebb you can do your survey and collect crabs for bait at the same time. I like to find boulders - about football size - and flat slabs of rocks with pools of water between when I make a low-water survey. I like to see some weed on the rocks and I like larger scaurs of rock to be close by - but I make sure never to fish on the downtide flank of any seaward projection of rock. This has proved to be a barren area; it is better to fish on the side on to which the current flows so that it forms a food trap.

Most learners at bass fishing over rocky ground make the mistake of looking for snag-free areas. Certainly you should try to find spots where you can drop your bait into gullies or on patches between the rocks and boulders. But do not look for wide open sand patches for the fish will be looking for crabs and small fish in the rocks - and that is where your bait must be. In fact, some of my best fishing, and some of the best fishing I have seen others do, has been when throwing caution to the winds and casting bang into the rocks. Of course you will lose tackle but you can often get it back as the tide recedes and you will get the good fish!

Use the surf rod and small multiplier with 15 lb line and make up a running paternoster, as for fishing the big bait in relatively calm conditions from an open beach. Use a length of nylon of about 9 lb B.S. to attach the lead to the running swivel so that if the lead - it can be any old piece of metal if you don't fancy risking a lead sinker - snags you lose only that and retrieve the hook, together with the bass you might have hooked ! My advice when fishing the rocks is to use the Mustad bronzed hook I have mentioned in size 5/0, nothing less. And keep the hook link short - I often have it less than 1 foot - to prevent the bait from washing under the rocks (or being pulled there by crabs), to aid casting, and most important, to enable you to feel more quickly the first, often subtle, plucking of a big bass.

This is the crux of the matter when fishing for rock-feeding bass; although the odd fish may take the bait with a lunging run, most bites, especially from big fish, will be initially telegraphed up the line to your thumb (which should be resting on it lightly) so gently you may think a little fish or a crab is messing about.

In very calm weather when the water has barely the impetus to break against the rocks and the water is clear, so that you can see the dark patches of weed waving beneath the surface, you may get only a twitch at which to strike - or a slight slackening of the line. Yet, in the same conditions, the first gentle indication may be only the start of the bite; yield slack line to avoid giving the bass any inkling that something is wrong and you may get a firm run of several yards at which to strike.

This is the main problem with rock-feeding bass, especially when using crab baits. They are adept at taking a crab without registering more than a tickle on the line. I don't believe in this oft-quoted sixth sense business, but the fact remains that I have often found myself with a fish on, having struck unconsciously at something. This has occurred with sufficient regularity when I have been fishing close to friends with identical tackle and bait, who have gone fishless, to convince me that a person may, after many years of bass hunting, become very sensitive to tiny movements of the line, or get on the bass wavelength, so to speak.

You have to learn to distinguish between strikable twitches or slack line bites and those twitches which will develop into firm runs of several yards. You have a split second to make the decision: hit it or leave it. You also have to learn that rock-feeding bass only deal with soft and peeler crabs in this pernickety fashion. These big solitary fish will take a squid head, a lead, a large strip or a whole side of fresh mackerel with the sort of rush that a taking tope makes … sometimes, that is !

All the time you are fishing you must retain in your mind the picture of the ground as you saw it at low water. You can cast into that interesting gully or that one, and perhaps try another cast into a cluster of weed-covered stones where you found so many crabs earlier.

A few words about baits are appropriate here. Soft crabs may be simply mounted on the big hook and secured with green elasticated thread (only a few pence a reel at haberdashers') so that the point stands well clear. It should be put in under the V-shaped part of the belly at the back of the crab's body, out and through again. Tie some of the rear legs above the shank of the hook to support it when casting. Some people use treble hooks for mounting crabs, but I do not like them because often two hooks meet the jaw and neither goes properly home.

Peelers must be peeled completely - and that means the panel-like belly shell as well as the carapace. Many anglers remove only the carapace and then wonder why they miss fish. The answer is that bass can bite off the soft body, leaving the belly shell and legs. The shell can also smother the hook point, so peel the whole crab carefully and remove all the legs except one at each side at the back end. Tie these above the hook as with the 'softie'.

After experimenting with various methods of hooking a squid head, I now simply put the hook in through the severed side and out about inch back. With a large strip - say 6 inches by 2 inches - I put the hook in near one end and thread it through about three times so that the point finally emerges approximately half-way along with some of the strip pulled on to the nylon above the eye.

I hook sides of mackerel in the same way, through the tail end first, but tied above the hook eye with elasticated thread.

Piers and Jetties

Few types of fishing appeal to me less than fishing from the heights of piers, jetties and harbour walls. My pet aversion to them, I think, is that they are normally crowded and to my mind pier anglers, on the whole, lack the expertise possessed by many who fish from beaches and rocks.

Most piers are badly placed for bass fishing. On most, fishing is restricted to the pier head while the bass are further inshore hunting the surf line, yet some piers and harbour walls do yield good bass at times. Main points to have in mind are that bass are more likely to be found browsing around the pier supports or among the rubble along the bottom of the wall, so fish close to piles and walls instead of casting out a long way to open sand.

You can float fish with ragworm, prawn, crab or fish strip using the carp-type rod and 10 lb line, or leger with a running lead. One good legering bait from piers, etc., is a small live pouting, fished on a trace between 4 and 6 feet long. Some piers and walls have a tide race off one corner and bass, being lovers of turbulence, will be found there. A bait can be worked down a tide race and cover a lot of ground if the right amount of lead is found to drift and hold, drift and hold, when the rod tip is raised and lowered.

Estuaries

Next to rock fishing I enjoy fishing estuaries. The bass are a mixed crowd usually, with shoal fish running alongside the big solitary specimens. With a few exceptions you will be able to use the lightest of the three outfits and a 1 oz bomb rigged running leger or running paternoster style. Baits as for rock fishing.

Estuaries have great character and each one is a law unto itself. It may be stony or of sand or mud, or a mixture of all three. There may be no weed, or masses of it. The fish may feed best on the flood or on the ebb - or at differing times on different occasions. My favourites are small estuaries that almost dry out at low water, leaving a narrow channel to the sea and being perhaps less than 100 yards wide at the junction with the sea.

"Pelham Manual for Sea Anglers" (1969) Derek Fletcher at page 39

Cucumber

Not a recognised bait but recorded because occasional bass have been reported caught on cubes of it. Fish taken were lured when it was kept on the move slowly over the bottom. Not known what fish mistake it for.

The Daily Mirror, Saturday 23 May 1970 at page 15

Fishing

Fresh approach to the sea

Hal Mount

It's a pretty safe bet that thousands of freshwater anglers, impatiently awaiting the arrival of the coarse fishing season on June 16, will be trying their tackle in the sea this holiday weekend.

Providing both rod and reel are given a thoroughly good wash in freshwater after the day's fishing, they will come to little harm, and there is no reason why the angler who does not possess specialised sea tackle should hesitate to use his carp or pike rod - particularly if they are fibreglass models – for doing a spot of bass fishing.

Use a prawn bait in the more sheltered areas; a spinner in the faster tide rips.

Grey mullet, if you can find them, will provide first rate sport on light gear. Look for these fish in the quieter corners of the harbour, and toss two or three large pieces of bread crust on the water's surface to keep them interested.

Bait up with a tiny piece of bread on a size 12 hook and flick it close to the floating crust.

Slow

Mullet fishing is, in fact, much akin to rudd fishing in fresh water, and if you can catch rudd you should have no difficulty in bagging the mullet.

Maybe you fancy a plaice or two? Stop a small drilled bullet a foot from the hook, use a lugworm or ragworm for bait and after each cast retrieve the line very slowly, dragging the bait over the sea bed.

"Modern Sea Angling" (1970) Richard Arnold at pages 40 & 41

The Round Fishes

Bass

Bass are to be taken at all times of the year. Once upon a time they were fished for in the summer months only, but today the bass often figures in specimen fish awards after September, the month in which they were said to leave our coasts. The best periods for bass fishing are during spring tides, and the best times are early morning and in the late evening.

Very big bass are usually taken in the hours of darkness when they cruise close inshore.

Bass are very accommodating for they may be taken on a wide variety of baits and with a diversity of methods. They will take the fly, they may be spun for. Float tackle, driftlining, legering, paternostering, with live, dead or artificial bait will all account for bass of every size.

By far the best bait is the living sand-eel fished on a driftline, but other good baits are dead sand-eel, live or dead prawn, lasks or lasts of fish, shell-fish, green crab, soft crab, cuttlefish, lugworm, ragworms and mussel. Also, all these baits, and others too, need not be too fresh as bass like their food to be a trifle 'high'.

Ground baiting is a good method of keeping bass in the fishing area.

Large hooks, certainly not smaller than size 1/0, should be used, as bass have large mouths. When the weather is rough, and bass are sought in the surf, even larger sizes of hooks are recommended.

"Competition Sea Angling" (1970) Bruce McMillen at pages 57 & 58

4. Species

Bass

It is my experience, in upwards of sixty years' bass fishing, that the baits most consistently successful when bottom fishing for this species are peeler and soft crab … Probably the next most successful bait is ragworm, followed by lugworm, razor fish and squid. Live sand-eels and live prawns, float fished, or simply allowed to drift unleaded, are very effective baits for bass, although when dead, they are not as good. I have evidence that bass will take whole mackerel fished on a tope trace. Portions of both mackerel and herring as well as kippers make acceptable baits.

… While these fish will sometimes take baits when the water is calm and clear, by far the most favourable time occurs during, or just after, a period of relatively high winds when the sea bed has been well and truly stirred up … Much depends upon whether or not a wind from one particular quarter will result in creating the surf and the water turbulence which is so essential for successful bass fishing.

When bottom fishing for bass it will invariably be found that fairly lengthy traces are infinitely preferable to paternosters, and the more natural movement that can be imparted to the bait the better. For this reason avoid snoods or traces of a stiffish nature. While there is one school of thought which favours using a single hook when bass fishing, I am of the opinion that two hooks will invariably prove more successful. There are of course circumstances, fishing over rocks and heavy weed growth for instance, where the nature of the ground makes it advisable to use one hook only.

Spinning for these fish may be conducted from boats, rocks, piers or beaches and in my opinion the most deadly of spinning lures are the Abu 'Toby', the 'Condor' or the 'German Sprat'. Trolling is also very effective, but this method is not normally likely to be used in competition events. Neither, for that matter, are feather lures likely to be used, which also take bass.

… the most productive period of the tide for bass fishing … the short period just before and after high water, the corresponding low water period and the ebb tide are the time I would choose, rather than the flood … best months, September and October; daylight; mild or hot, but not necessarily calm weather; relatively shallow water; and for bait, choose a succulent peeler or soft crab. These assessments are based on the conditions and techniques under which I have taken a large number of bass from ten to fifteen pounds.

"Modern Sea Angling" (1971) Alan Young at pages 20, 82, 83 & 90

The angling correspondent of a national newspaper wrote in 1951, "Only one bass in 100 weighs more than 7 lb. Only one bass in 500 is a 10 pounder, and anything over 12 lb is a fish in a thousand." [3]

Bass come into shallow water in May, and throughout the summer months they are to be found close inshore. They are always searching for food. Their food consists primarily of shore and other crabs, sand eels, prawns and shrimps, but in addition they eat almost any living creature which comes their way - brit and other small fish, ragworm and lugworm, sand-hoppers, shore-hoppers, and anything else edible providing it is alive or very fresh. All this food, with the exception of brit, lives in the area between the tides, and bass therefore follow the tides in, often penetrating far up estuaries. They nose into rocks and weed patches in search of crabs; they inspect the waters around piles and jetties for prawns; they follow the tide over mud and sand flats ready to consume the numerous creatures which the incoming tide coaxes or washes from their low-tide hiding-places; they investigate wrecks, hulks, sunken pipes and any other surfaces on which weed grows. They seek their prey along the bottom and in mid-water, but if a shoal of brit or sand eels passes overhead they come to the surface and feed madly while the opportunity lasts. They swim in the breakers, sometimes in only a couple of feet of water, where the breaking waves and the undertow churn up sand and shingle to disclose food. They favour, too, the swiftest water, where the incoming or outgoing tide sluices through a narrow gut.

Gales send bass to deeper water, but as soon as the waves subside a little they return with ravenous appetites to seek the increased quantities of food made available by the action of the more than usually powerful waves.

On still, clear days bass rarely come into the beaches. This is generally attributed to their shyness, but it may also be that they know the gentle waves will not dislodge sufficient food to make their journey worth while.

Bass can be caught by day in summer, especially off lonely beaches, undisturbed by bathers and motor boats, but they feed more freely at night. Dawn is the best of the daylight hours in which to seek them, and the next best time is twilight of evening. In winter they seem to feed readily by day.

The best state of tide for bass fishing differs in different localities, and can be found only by inquiry or experiment. In many places the two hours before and after high tide are the best. In others the period from the second hour of a making tide is favoured.

(Bass) … unlike most marine species, are very slow growers. Some examples taken from a long list compiled by Michael Kennedy show that an 8oz bass was three years old; one of nearly 4 lb was nine years old; a 5¾ pounder was 14, and a 11¾ lb specimen had lived for 21 years. With such a slow growth rate the destruction of immature fish can only lead to a steady decline in the number of bass of sporting size.

[3] First quoted in "Sea Angling Modern Methods and Tackle" (1952) Alan Young at page 21

"Estuary Fishing" (1974) Frank Holiday at pages 75 & 76

Chapter Five

Estuary Bass

Feeding and inshore movement

Like all living things, fish eat to live; their behaviour is modified accordingly. Whereas shoal bass or 'schoolies' are content with brit, lesser sand-eels, swimming crabs, shrimps and the like, bigger fish find the effort of hunting these small items in excess of their nutritional value. From the nutritional point of view the energy expended by a hypothetical 25 lb bass searching for small food items exceeds what it is likely to obtain from those items. Other fish of course are in the same position. Research on trout, for instance, suggests that a distinct change of diet occurs when a certain size is reached. What this means is that fish move to feeding on a higher link in the food-chain so that they can obtain nutrient with minimum effort. Big bass are not really interested in the dainty items the average bass-angler uses for bait but are looking for fairly sizeable fish.

Why then do large bass turn up inshore … Invariably it will be found that a large amount of food is available in such areas perhaps due to special local conditions … Big bass undoubtedly do get substantial pickings in such places although these locations are not typical. Most of the super-bass are found in the fast water around headlands and in the offshore overfalls where more sluggish species are largely at their mercy. However, from time to time they do enter estuaries, as explained, and the angler who hits one and is tackled for the occasion may find himself attached to the fish of a lifetime.

The Daily Express, Saturday 9 August 1975 at page 11

Fishing by Clive Gammon

Quiet please – this mission is secret, heavy-going stuff.

He didn't actually blindfold me, but he insisted that there was no question of starting our mission until after darkness had closed in over the harbour.

We slid out quietly, a little after 11 p.m. And headed for the Needles …

Nearly everyone on the Isle of Wight this week can think of nothing but yachting and Cowes Week. But that excludes the group of fishing fanatics who believe that any day now a new British record bass will come from the island's waters.

Rocky

Meantime, they regard the Admirals Cup as a noisy intrusion. "Yotties" they call the blue blazer brigade. And they darkly suspect them of fouling up the fishing with all their to-ing and fro-ing.

That may be a little over-sensitive of them but they are certainly right in believing that very big bass indeed hang around their rocky shores.

Recently a skin diver steered a 17½ pounder – that's less than a pound under the present rod record. And he claimed that the fish he got was the smallest of the shoal.

Even among themselves, these Isle of Wight bass specialists tend to be secretive. Which is why Dick Downes, with two 10 lb. fish to his credit already this season, does not head for his favourite spot until he is sure no rival is following him.

And he swore me to secrecy about its location when we left Yarmouth Harbour in his fast 13ft. dory this week.

So you won't get any longitude or latitude from me today. But some of the tricks of the trade to which Dick paid great attention would benefit bass fishermen anywhere.

Most significant was his strict insistence on absolute quiet in the boat. Voices don't matter. you could sing your way through "La Traviata" and the bass wouldn't care. But anything that causes vibrations to run through the water – the careless setting down of a rod or a weight bumping the side of the boat - are taboo.

Next, not only did he insist the rod had to be held the whole time, but also that the reel was kept on free spool and just thumb-checked.

Netted

"We probably won't do much for an hour" Dick said "then watch out for action."

He was dead right. Just after midnight his rod arched over - to a five-pounder – and as soon as I'd netted his fish and cast my own bait out I felt the thump of a bass and landed a similar specimen.

When we came ashore in the first light of dawn, we hadn't broken the record. But among the six fish we'd taken there were two of almost nine pounds apiece - both, I regret to say, taken by Dick.

"The Long Book of Sea Fishing" (1975) Dick Murray at pages 61 & 62

Bass come in very close to the beach when there is a good surf running. Most fish are caught between the second and fourth waves - an easy cast of 30 yards or less.

From the calm beach, too, a light spinning outfit can be used. On a summer's evening bass may be seen as they break the shadows hunting their prey …

Keep the bait large when bass fishing. A whole crab will soon be engulfed by a hungry bass. Though peeler or soft crabs are undoubtedly the best, hard backs make a good substitute. When using whole crab the bite often comes as a savage snatch and the fish frequently hooks itself …

The bass is a fine sporting fish so to save damage always use a landing net. Never a gaff.

Always return your bass to the water. The angler who stands proudly with a pile of dead bass at his feet doesn't deserve the fine sport which they have given him.

"Catch More Bass" (1976) Keith Elliott at pages 7, 8, 11, 28 & 39 to 45

Chapter One: Basic Facts

This is a fish that rarely plays with the bait. He is a hunter, not a nibbler; he is out looking for food and, when he's hungry, that big mouth will engulf food that may look way out of proportion to the size of the fish.

That's why lesson number one in catching more bass is: hold the rod as much as you can. It is easy to say 'hold at all times' but this can prove tiring and decidedly uninteresting if the fish do not seem to be feeding.

… as soon as you let the rod fish for itself you are increasing the chances of losing a fish. Although the bass will usually snatch savagely at the bait, he is quickly aware when there is something wrong. This means that, almost as quickly as he has grabbed the bait, he can eject it again if he feels the weight of a rod or a heavy lead.

A lot of people argue that bass hook themselves, and certainly they often do. The very force of their attack on the bait often means that they obligingly set the hook for the angler. But to expect this to happen as a matter of course is just wishful thinking. The aim of this book is to catch more bass, not just to catch one or two.

The Fighting Fish

Once the bass is hooked, the fun starts. It is often called the salmon of the sea or salmon bass, and its similarity with the salmon's fight is easy to see. Every ounce of power seems to go into the bid for freedom. It makes searing runs, and even when brought close in, will still dash gamely away for yet another run.

Like the salmon the bass will jump, although this of course depends on the tackle being used. The fish's enthusiasm for throwing itself clear of the water is somehwat muted by an 8oz lead trailing a few feet behind it.

To hook even small bass under 2 lb - called school bass - is exciting. They seem to know instinctively that where there is an obstruction there is the chance of freedom, and many anglers tell tales of the 'big bass that broke me'. Often these fish are caught again and prove to be much smaller than estimated. It is just the bass's never-give-up attitude that makes it so easy to overestimate their size.

Learning the Easy Way

… I mentioned earlier how important it is for the angler to hold the rod all the time, or as long as he can. This is easy to write; it is not so easy to do when you are fishing a windswept beach at midnight, you've come out without a coat and it has poured with rain.

In the circumstances, it may seem the simplest way to leave the rod to fend for itself and gather up some firewood to warm yourself up, or just to go home.

… but if you are unfortunate enough to get wet and are still determined to catch bass, the quickest way of forgetting that you are cold is to catch fish.

Chapter Three: Baits

Fish Baits

Fish baits are underused, particularly for big bass, though at Dover one of the most effective ways of taking the big bass that stalk near the Southern Breakwater and the Admiralty Pier is with a whole 'joey' or mackerel.

At Dover they catch a lot of mackerel about 6in, and these prove deadly for bass, either fished live close to the wall or dead and by sink and draw.

Chapter Five: Pier and Jetty Fishing

Many big bass are caught from piers every year; many more are lost, particularly the biggest ones. This is because the big bass lie in among the piles, and you just cannot give them much line. If they are allowed to run, they will either break you by running against a barnacle encrusted pile, or weave a path through the struts that you'd have a job to untangle even with diving gear. Often, too, they are hooked by anglers after other species, and the tackle they are using is insufficient to deal with the power of a bass.

The biggest mistake that can be made fishing from piers is to try and cast to the horizon. The whole reason that there are a lot of fish around the pier is because it provides shelter for small fish and food for big ones. There's obviously no sense in casting away from the cover, because you are casting away from the fish. The only exception I would make to this is where the pier is situated on a good bass beach, and here you can often get fish by casting into the surf. Another advantage of this is that the early risers, the first ones on the pier, always seem to make a dash for the furthest point from the shore, believing that the further out to sea they are, the more fish they will catch.

Finally, don't believe that because the pier is crowded with holiday-makers you have no chance of catching fish. I remember one occasion on Brighton pier when I shared six good bass with a friend. The bright sun that attracted the crowds also attracted small fish and, using live fish, we took bass steadily until the brit moved away.

Getting down to it

On a lot of piers there is a bottom deck that you can get down to. This enables you to fish right among the piles, and this is where most of the bass will be, hunting for crabs or small fish. You can often get sandeels or other small fish with a net among the piles. It sometimes proves worthwhile to fish underneath these shoals for bass. If you have to fish from the top deck, either fish by a pile or, if you can't get such a place, fish right underneath the pier.

Obviously, because there are a lot of snags, you must use quite heavy tackle and expect to lose some gear. Fishing among the piles you will find a long rod a positive disdvantage, so use something about 8ft. It should be hollow glass and sensitive enough to show a bite, yet strong enough to be able to manhandle a bass out from the restricted space. The sort of rods that are sold as 'pier rods' are normally much too heavy for pier work, but for the restricted bass fishing they are ideal.

I find a large centre pin the best reel for the job and it has the additional advantage of giving direct control over the fish. The best centre pins are those with a tension setting so that when a fish runs, as well as the pressure of your finger to slow him, there is the tension of the reel which is an additional pressure but not so strong that a very sharp jerk will break the line - as can happen with some fixed spool reels.

Your line strength should be at least 20 lb and you may have to go up to 30 lb or more if those very big bass that seem to stretch from one square bay into the next are about.

Keep it simple

Your end rig must be kept simple. I fish only one hook because there is nothing more annoying to hook a good bass and then lose it because your second hook catches in an obstruction.

Among the piles, livebait, ragworm or crab are nearly always the best baits. Because you must expect to lose the odd fish, and often the weight with it, I use old leads that I find while crabbing. But don't use grapnels, or any other leads with trailing bits. Round or near-round weights are best. You will be fishing in a very limited space so you don't need to worry too much about keeping the bait on the move. For this sort of fishing you are finding the bass rather than the other way round. It is you who are doing the moving.

Your weight needs to be as light as possible, although you don't want it to move too much, particularly if you are using livebait because the livebait will swim round the barnacle encrusted crossbeams and you will probably lose your end tackle whether a bass takes or not. The only exception is if you can see a bass - then you may be best without any weight. So the end tackle will simply be a weight on the end with a single hook trace a couple of pounds breaking strain less than the main line.

If you are using whole ragworm and pouting keep nipping the end, either move or push the trace higher up. You may be troubled by smelts in the high water, but there is often a crucial depth between the two where the bass will come from.

Hook size should be at least 3/0 for worm and 5/0 for crab and live pouting or smelt. Always use crabs whole and don't cut them if you are using 'jellies' which are by far the best of the crab baits for this style.

Try it slowly

Lower your bait down in the water very slowly. Sometimes a bass will take it on the way down … Once your weight has touched the bottom lean slightly forwards and point your rod top downwards at about 45 degrees, keeping the tip just a few inches above the surface.

Because you are so near to the bait this way, you will feel it from the moment a bass is interested. Rather as in freshwater fishing when a pike moves near a livebait, so here your livebait may show extra activity. Often the bite is a thumping pull - so don't do as many anglers do and put a twist of line round the centre-pin reel handle. It may be a small pluck however. I find it best to wait until the fish starts moving away. But if you miss the bite and your bait is stripped, strike as soon as you feel a touch on the next cast. This doesn't mean don't give any line; that is a certainty for a lost fish. Just make the bass work for every inch he gets. You have a strong rod and line so really lay into him. Always make sure your landing net is within easy reach. If you're stretching one way to reach your net, you can be sure the bass will stretch the other way and break you.

Don't stay in the same place all the time, unless you are fishing a very deep spot which is a known bass haunt at certain stages of the tide.

Another important thing is quietness. If you are shouting to your mates and banging about, the bass will quietly fade elsewhere. Also remember that underneath is the windiest and coldest place on the pier, so dress extra warmly. Remember to take two torches with you - I'd hate to think how many I've dropped or kicked in the water.

Under-pier bass fishing works best at night, but not all pier authorities allow this.

On the main deck

On a lot of piers you cannot get to the bottom deck so you have to fish from the main deck. This means casting back underneath the pier. Choose the places where the tide runs hard round the piles and fish a similar style, though here movement will pay off.

On piers where the tide leaves the shoreline exposed, you will often get bass, particularly on stormy days, in only a couple of feet of water as the tide rolls in. I have found crab by far the most successful bait for this style.

I said that the underpier work demands a fairly short rod, but if you are fishing from the top deck back underneath, a long rod - about 11 ft - is a real advantage in keeping the fish clear of the piles. A beachcaster that takes about 2 or 3 oz weights is idea, because it is also very sensitive.

I find fixed spool reels unsuitable for this kind of fishing, even in the sea sizes, because of the fine tension settings needed and the fact that they are not as happy at full pressure as a centre pin or a multiplier. The big advantage of the multiplier is its line recovery which enables you to keep in touch with the fish all the time. You don't need a big multiplier because, although it will be carrying heavy line, you will not need a lot. It is very rare for a bass hooked among piles to run for the open sea. I find the Penn range of light beachcasting reels ideal. The Abu range, although expensive, is equally suitable and the smaller Mitchells will perform the same job admirably.

Floatfishing

The other style of bass fishing from piers that often works well is floatfishing. This has the advantage of presenting the bait moving at the same speed as the tide.

Again, use only one hook and start fishing between midwater and the bottom. On most occasions you will need to use a sliding float, and the most effective way of doing so is to change the ring on the side of the standard slider for a smaller one. Some of the rings are as much as ½ in in diameter, and you need a big stop for such a ring. A stop of this size can easily lose fish if it gets tangled with one of the rod rings.

Again, use a slightly lighter hook trace than the main line and connect the two by a swivel, because the float gets caught in a lot of mini-eddies which quickly kink the line.

If the tide is running hard you can floatfish with a 'double-ender'. Just put a weight on your main line and cast it where you want the float to go.

Then fix up a separate trace at the depth you want to fish plus two feet and connect the double-ender. This clips on the main line and slides down, but you have the advantage of holding, thanks to the weight on the main line, that would be impossible with an ordinary float rig. Remember to use a fairly heavy float, because the weight will govern where the bait rides in the water. The weight should be about 24 in from the hook. This method, I should add, works best at depths under 12ft; when the water is deeper, it becomes awkward to manage.

When the tide is running hard, fish baits often prove very effective, particularly if you can get fresh sprats, or even live pouting and sandeels. If you can't get either of these use a side of mackerel and cut it in half lengthways. Don't leave too much flesh on: the less fish, the more the bait will work in the water. Hook it in the very end after cutting away, with a razor blade, all the pieces of dark flesh.

Occasionally, when there is no tide run, you may be able to fish with no weight at all, with just the weight of the bait taking the hook down. This is a delightful way to fish because it is the most natural of all, so watch out for the chance to use it. It can be a killer.

Pier bass will be there all the time during the summer, but seem to feed best early morning or late evening, at night and often during a heavy blow.

When night fishing I usually pack up about 2am. For some reason the fish seem then to go off their feed until dawn.

"Sea Angling Around Britain" (1977) Trevor Housby at pages 13 & 14

… The Admiralty Pier at Dover is famous for its big bass. Local anglers have devised and developed a unique after-dark technique for taking big bass in quantity. This method is extremely interesting for it could work just as well round other piers and harbours, although as yet I have never heard of anyone using it elsewhere. Basically the method is simple. Using just a rod, reel, line and hook, the success of the method rests on keeping the bait floating on the surface. Somehow or other Dover bass specialists discovered that the very big bass that hang about the pier structures will eat dead fish they find floating on the surface. These Dover bass actually rise like trout to a fly and in all probability someone saw them do this, tried floating a dead fish out to them and ended up by catching big bass and developing a new technique. Most of the big bass caught on floating baits are taken at night and invariably the bait is a small, freshly-caught pouting. Pouting tend to fill up with air when being brought to the surface, consequently when used as bait they have a sort of built-in buoyancy tank which keeps them floating for long periods. Small pouting are commonly caught off the pier at Dover and anglers have formed the habit of unhooking the little fish and throwing them straight back into the water, where they float away on the tide. Local bass have obviously learned to cash in on this plentiful and easily obtained food supply and so accept a floating dead bait as a natural part of their normal diet.

There can be little doubt that the Admiralty Pier bass are used to feeding in this way, for when they do rise and take a floating bait, they take it with a great show of confidence which makes them very easy to hook. I am inclined to think that this technique could be adapted for use round many piers or harbour walls and for this reason anglers are advised to try the method in their own locality.

"Sea Angling with the Specimen Hunters" (1977) Hugh Stoker et al at pages 17, 18, 20, 21 & 22

Surfcasting for Bass

Other Types of Bass Beach

… I would like to stress that as often as not I use only one hook when fishing in daylight.

At night the situation is rather different. In the dark there is always the risk of a bait flying off the hook unnoticed while casting out, but when using two hooks there is much less danger of wasting valuable fishing time with unbaited tackle.

Also, in daylight or at night, two hooks can be useful when you have a selection of baits, and wish to offer the bass a choice of menu to see which appeals to them most.

Surfcasting for bass is a waiting game, with long fishless intervals often being followed by a sudden spate of thumping bites and frantic activity. This is because surf-feeding bass forage individually, or in small groups, over a fairly extensive stretch of shoreline, and it may be some time before one of these groups happens upon your baited tackle.

Observations have shown that surf bass patrol along a clearly defined 'feeding zone' that runs parallel with the beach. The distance of this feeding zone from the shore varies according to the surf conditions and state of the tide, so it is impossible to lay down any hard and fast rules. Generally speaking, however, the bass are to be found a good distance out in heavy surf; whereas in calm to moderate conditions they may be quite close in … and sometimes surprisinly close in.

The secret of success is to learn to 'read the water' and to plan your surfcasting tactics accordingly. The most productive surf conditions are often encountered about 12 to 24 hours after an onshore gale has blown itself, when the big swell waves produced by the storm are beginning to moderate - although the surf created by this groundswell is still impressively powerful.

Quite often a similar, but shorter-lived, spell of good fishing is also to be had during the tide immediately prior to an onshore gale. It is as if the bass are able to sense the approach of bad weather, and this stimulates them into a sudden burst of feeding activity.

At the height of a fierce onshore gale the surf on an open storm beach becomes virtually unfishable. However, even under these conditions the angler may be able to find a relatively sheltered spot in the lee of a headland where it is still possible to cast out a bait with a sporting chance of contacting fish. Incidentally, when bass are taken in really rough conditions, they are often of above-average size.

At the other end of the scale there are those days when the sea is calm, and instead of casting into a roaring surf the angler finds himself lobbing his offerings into tiny wavelets which would scarcely be out of place on a village duck-pond. Such conditions usually produce good catches of flounders, but few bass. This is only a generalization, however, and if sandeels happen to be shoaling in the inshore shallows the bass may well be there in pursuit of them, surf or no surf. So never dismiss a calm sea as hopeless for bass fishing without first putting the matter to the test. It is also worth bearing in mind that when calm, gin-clear sea conditions reduce daylight bass catches, a spell of dusk or night fishing will often produce much better sport.

So far we have devoted all our attention to fishing off exposed storm beaches, but several other types of beach are capable of providing good bass fishing. These include steeply shelving exposed shingle beaches … In certain aspects the steep shingle beach is the easiest of all to fish, if only because the bass feeding zone is usually close in, making distance casting unnecessary … Nevertheless there are a few problems. For instance, in summer the water off a shingle beach is usually much clearer than off a surf-pounded strand, and therefore our local bass tend to inspect a bait much more carefully before accepting it, and will drop it again at the least hint of anything suspicious. For this reason night fishing, using the light running paternoster illustrated in Fig 1.2, usually gives the best results.

Baits, too, are more varied than in storm beach fishing, and some favourite offerings are squid, mackerel strip, razorfish, peeler crab, king ragworm, lugworm, frozen sandeel and small live pouting.

In Dorset and many other parts of the West Country the shingle beaches often terminate in rocky headlands [4] guarded by reefs and drying rock pools. Areas like this, where shingle adjoins broken rocky ground, seem to be particularly attractive to bass, and although there is the added risk of losing some bottom tackle amongst the snags, the results obtained by fishing this sort of shoreline usually makes it well worthwhile. Mind you, the bass in mixed shingle/rock areas are seldom very numerous, but they do run to a large average size with a fair proportion of double-figure fish.

When fishing on snaggy ground it is advisable to have only one hook, and to use a disposable sinker [5] attached by a short length of weaker line. Thus, if the sinker becomes snagged up it can be broken off, enabling the remainder of the terminal tackle (and fish, if any) to be reeled in. Long casts are seldom necessary over this sort of terrain, especially when night fishing, so it is possible to economize on leads by using makeshift sinkers consisting of old nuts and bolts, discarded sparking plugs, etc [6].

[4] On the east Kent coast such beaches can be found at Kingsdown (The Butts at Oldstairs Bay) and the nine Broadstairs (Thanet) bays to be found north of Ramsgate Royal Harbour - Dumpton Bay, Louisa Bay, Viking Bay, Stone Bay, Joss Bay, Kingsgate Bay, Botany Bay, Palm Bay and Walpole Bay - which, at low tide, have exposed rocky (chalk) ledges.

[5] Such as one or more hagstones.

[6] Again, such as one or more hagstones which are far more environmentally friendly.

"The Guinness Guide to Saltwater Angling: Light tackle technique for British waters" (1977) Brian Harris at pages 167, 168, 170, 172 & 176

11 Bass

The bass is one of Britain's most beautiful saltwater fish. Green or blue backed, silvery or brassy flanks, a stark white belly and large, strong fins, the head bony and ending in a vast mouth; it is a real anglers' fish. It reaches an ultimate size of over 20 lb (9 kg), but many anglers go to the grave not having caught a double-figure specimen. A good bass weighs 8 lb (3.6 kg) and fish of 2 - 3 lb (1 - 1.3 kg) are called school-bass because they tend to form big schools or shoals.

Bass are slow growing and long-lived: fish of 10 lb (4.5 kg) may be 15 years old in southern England, more than that in western Ireland. Bass over about 4 lb (1.8 kg) or so are nearly all hens, though some cock fish of 7 lb (3.1 kg) or so have been taken, mainly in south-eastern England. Any 10 pounder (4.5 kg) can be relied on to be a hen.

… Rod 2 in the list in chapter 2, 10½ - 11½ ft (3.2 - 3.5 m) and to cast 2 - 3 oz (56 - 85 g) using 10 - 15 lb (4.5 - 6.8 kg) lines, is the one to choose, with the small multiplier, or, alternatively the fixed-spool reel. With surf bass averaging 4 lb (1.8 kg) or thereabouts, 10 - 15 lb test might at first appear to be stronger than necessary, but the gear has to be cast 100 yd (91.4 m) at times, and it has perhaps to cope with heavy rafts of weed and the abrasion of sand.

Top bait on surf beaches is lugworm, with clam, razorfish and sand-eel close followers. In autumn squid will catch the larger fish at the cost to the angler obtaining fewer bites from modest fish.

The terminal tackle is simple: a single-hook fixed nylon paternoster made up in exactly the same way as for cod from the beach, except that the hook should be from 1/0 - 4/0, depending on the bait size used, and made of fine wire: Mustad's number 79510 is a favour­ite with most bass addicts …

Some anglers make up running paternosters for surf bass, but experience has proved them to be un­necessary: such well-known bass anglers as Des Brennan, Kevin Linnane (both of Ireland's Inland Fisheries Trust), Clive Gammon, John Darling, among others, use the fixed paternoster. It does not tangle, gives immediate signal of a bite, and, used with a breakaway lead and a very sharp hook can result in many fish just skin-hooking themselves as they turn away with the bait, whereas a running line can give a fish warning by slowly increasing tension, at which the bait can be ejected in a flash. The fixed line brings the fish up sharply.

Casts of 40 - 100 odd yards (36.5 - 91.4 m) are the usual range … One hears, advice about 'casting to the third breaker where the bass lie' - as if the fish were glued to the sea­bed at that point. It helps to cast about 50 yd (45.7 m) for a start in a moderate surf and extend casts sea­ward from there until fish are contacted. Failing that, try shorter casts: bass will often take in the swash of the last comber as it runs up and down the clean sand, the water calf-deep. Good spots to try are where freshwater streams cross the beach, or where there are gullies or banks of sand - made visible by the pat­tern of the breaking waves seen from a distance, preferably above on the mountainside.

… The rod must be held always when surf fishing for bass, else many fish will be missed. Sometimes even the most comfortable stance will impose strain on arm or back, in which case try a suitable alternative for a few minutes, such as back to the sea and the rod 'at the slope' over the shoulder. A strike can be quickly made from that position, too, and it is particularly useful when holding the rod tip high to keep the line clear of drifting weed inshore, which can be a big problem after a prolonged onshore gale.

Bass bites in the surf vary from slack lines, a few fast taps followed by a firm pull, a mind-bending lunge, the savagery of which can take the rod from the hand of the unwary, or a gentle sucking sensation. All must be struck, all must be recognised. To be able to do this consistently takes time and persistence.

Bass in the surf usually make short, jagging runs immediately on being hooked. Then they either race inshore, the angler running back to help the reel take up the slack line, or they kite along the crests of the rollers. The occasional fish, not always a monster, will rush out to sea, the clutch on the reel whining, for maybe 30 yards (27.4 m) or so. In the swash of the final wave that shoots up the beach and rushes back like a torrential river, a bass can rush around and put a lot of strain on the line. Keep the rod tip up and the drag light, thumb or finger pressure on the spool to pro­vide sensitive control of any lunges.

A damp piece of towel or similar, kept in a pocket or the little bag, is useful for handling fish while un­hooking without leaving the water. The fish is held in the cloth under the arm and cradled along the fore­arm while the hook is disengaged. One has only to stoop and let the fish slide from the cloth into the water. For those who don't know, beware of the sharp spines on the dorsal fins of the bass, also the razor-sharp anterior edges of its gills. Very bad gashes can be sustained from these.

… The slimmer the line used, the less lead it is necessary to use, and the more the bass will be able to fight without the encumbrance of a lead 'necklace'. The 10 lb (4.5 kg) test line is usually ample, but when casting farther than 40 yd (36.5 m) the line will break from the sudden shock, even with 2 oz (56.6 g) leads. A leader of 15 lb (6.8 kg) will prevent this happening. If breakaway leads are used it will not be necessary, 99 times out of 100, to use a lead of more than 3 oz (85 g) in any surf beach conditions, and most fishing will be comfortable with 2 oz (56.6 g).

… Various piers and breakwaters at seaside resorts can provide good fishing for bass, by legering any of the deep-water beach baits mentioned, by float-fishing with live prawns, bunters in bunches (they are small, brackish-water shrimps), soft or peeler crab, king ragworm, bunches of white or red ragworms, small live fish, such as pouting, blennies, butterfish, prefer­ably live or else freshly deep-frozen sand-eels, or slim strips cut from mackerel, herring or squid. The tackle is rigged as for float-fishing for pollack from the shore and the bait fished from mid-water to just clear of the bottom.

Bass, like most predators, like to hang in the shadow cast by a pier, bridge or groyne, to dash out at food that comes by. Float-fished baits should be held near such places and even encouraged by the use of currents and wave action to drift under the pier structure. Bass hooked thus need to be held firmly and 10 lb (4.5 kg) line may be necessary, whereas without obstructions - with smooth concrete walls going down into the sea - 6 lb (2.7 kg) line on the double-handed spinning rod will provide some exciting battles.

Fish strips, live small mackerel called joeys, live pouting and so on may be driftlined from the ends of piers and breakwaters where there is sufficient tidal current to take the bait away. Just the baited hook is needed for much of the time, although a small amount of lead may be necessary to get the bait down in stronger flows. A live fish may be guided to swim where the angler wants it to go by judicious gentle twitches in the opposite direction. A single 3/0 - 5/0 hook nicked through the back of the pouting or mackerel just be­hind the front dorsal fin works well. When the bass takes a strong pull is felt, at which line must be allowed to run off in free spool - or the pick-up arm must be open with a fixed-spool reel - for several seconds. The bass will usually go for about 10 yards (9 m) and slow down, then move away in jerks. That is the time to pull the hook into the fish's jaw. But make sure the line is taut first.

Spinning can be good active sport from some piers and seaward projections, provided the water is fairly clear - visibility from above should be for a distance of at least 8 ft (2.4 m) down into the water. Spinning in murky water seldom works for saltwater fish.

The Red Gill sand-eels, the soleskin lure about 3 in long (7.6 cm) with a small mackerel spinner at its head, Toby, Condor, Koster and Ellips heavyweight wobbling spoons, even a silver Devon minnow about 2 in (5 cm) long with a willow-leaf shaped piece of chamois leather about the same length on one hook of the tail treble, will work at times. Carry a selection. Make casts far out where tide-races form, along weed-covered walls; fish deep and fish shallow, fast and slow. Usually the artificial sand-eel recovered at a modest pace around midwater will find the fish. The wobbling spoons in 1 oz (28 g) or heavier will usually cast far enough and fish deeply enough without addi­tional lead.

For the rubber sand-eel and soleskin lure a bomb-shaped lead suspended from the top eye of a size 8 swivel which links a 4 ft (1.2 m) trace of matching nylon to the main line by a few inches of nylon will serve as sinker, anti-kink device and it will cast much farther than the more usual Wye or spiral spinning leads used.

In a boat, a dinghy close to the shore or a bigger boat way out over reefs or wreckage, shoaling bass may be tackled with trolled Red Gills or spoons, strips of mackerel and squid, or by casting and spinning such lures and baits from an anchored position. When tackling bass from a boat it is usual to first find the shoal by looking for birds working, especially terns. The bass may be feeding on sand-eels, whitebait or shoals of mackerel, even whiting and pouting that are tumbled around in the turbulence of the water flowing at speed over the obstruction. Then it is essential not to motor into the shoal but to keep to the edges, cast­ing along the shoal's edge. A lure right in among the shoal may be ignored; a lone lure wriggling or twink­ling along the edge in open water stands a better chance of being taken.

Spinning for bass is usually best in the period from late June to mid-October when there are shoals of either mackerel or of sand-eels, whitebait and sprats …

"How to Improve Your Sea Fishing" (1978) Melvyn Bagnall at pages 20 to 29

Bass

… So popular is the bass that a special society devoted to fishing for them was formed in 1973. This body, which also works for the conservation of bass, is known as the Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society - BASS in short. The society already has over 400 members and its strength is fast increasing …

Very small bass - fish under 2 lb or so - are commonly known as school bass. But bass generally average from 2 lb to 6 lb and while double-figure fish can be regarded as specimens they are not uncommon … bass to nearly 30 lb have been captured in the nets of commercial fishermen.

Distribution

Bass are basically found in the southern waters of the British Isles though they do occur at intervals in northern waters. They are most common along the south west and Channel coasts of England and the west and south coasts of Ireland …

Bass are very active fish and feed at varying levels in the water. Their favourite haunts include estuaries and river mouths, lagoons and muddy creeks … They will also ascend rivers for some distance but do not often penetrate freshwater. On the beaches they prefer mixed ground of sand and rocks, the weed-covered rocks providing plenty of food. Bass are predatory fish and they like to lurk in the rocks before ambushing their prey in the gullies. This type of ground is especially good for big fish.

… bass can be caught from both boat and beach. They venture right inshore to feed in the surf and also thrive over offshore reefs …

Bass could never be accused of being fussy eaters. In some harbours they will feed largely on offal and supplement that diet only with worms and crustaceans. Generally speaking, however, school bass feed chiefly on small crustaceans like shrimps, as well as worms, sand-eels and on the small fry of species such as herring and mullet. Bigger bass are more predatory and their diet is made up mainly of sprats, herring, pilchard fry and sand-eels. Small flatfish will also be included in the diet of bass feeding over sandy ground.

This species often groups together in massive shoals when feeding in earnest. They drive the shoals of fry to the surface and dash around in pursuit of their prey, causing a disturbance on the surface of the water. This splashing, together with the sight of the spiney dorsal fins, will reveal the existence of bass to the angler. The presence of sea birds, which quickly gather overhead to get their share of the fry, will also help the angler locate feeding bass.

From the seasonal aspect, bass are basically a summer species. They arrive inshore in the spring, the time varying according to the locality. They may crop up in some areas as early as February, but they do not appear until mid-April in most places. The rapid cooling-off of shallow inshore waters soon leads to the winter offshore movement of bass. This is usually in October, though they sometimes delay migration until mid-November. Again this depends upon locality. They can still be caught in the deeper offshore waters during mild winters, particularly in the West Country. Strangely enough the mid-summer months of July and August are not the best months for catching bass. Most experts prefer May, June and September; and October can often offer excellent late season sport.

It would be a crime to discuss the bass without stressing the necessity for conservation, for they have been hit harder than most species by overfishing - and not just the commercial fishermen are to blame. Greedy anglers have also done their share of damage by killing large numbers which they cannot possibly dispose of. Bass are not fast-growing and anglers who kill them, especially the smaller fish, are ruining their future sport. Once an angler has caught sufficient fish for his purposes he should return any surplus to the water. The National Federation of Sea Anglers have long been pressing the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to introduce a size limit for bass. The Federation's aim is to make it illegal for bass under 14 inches to be removed from the water. But at the time of writing there was still considerable indignation among sea anglers that the Ministry should see fit to continue with the inadequate 10-inch limit. Bass of this size will not have reached spawning maturity and will not have spawned even once before they die.

Methods

Spinning

This is the most sporting and exciting method of catching bass and results in the capture of more fish than any other approach. It is most effective when fishing from a boat but will also take fish from rocks, estuaries, piers, jetties and, to a lesser extent, from beaches.

The great advantage of spinning is that it allows the use of light tackle. A nine- or 10-foot carp rod is ideal, though many anglers use rods designed for salmon spinning. The reel should be of the fixed-spool variety, preferably with a fast retrieve, and the line can be as light as 8 lb for boat fishing. Spinning from the rocks requires a slightly heavier line because of the risk of becoming snagged in rocks or weed. A 12 lb line is more suitable in this department therefore. Wire traces are not necessary when fishing for bass but an 18-inch nylon trace of equal breaking strain to the reel line should be used. This should have a link swivel at one end to clip onto the bait and a normal barrel swivel at the other to attach the trace to the reel line. Keep the swivels oiled and free running to prevent kinking of the line.

Choice of lures is wide. A silver spoon about four inches long is an excellent lure and the well-known Toby spoon is a favourite with bass anglers. But half the fun of spinning is selecting a lure and there are many, many more which will take bass [7]. It is often a case of matching up the spoon to the size of fish the bass happen to be feeding on at the time. If sprats are the quarry then a four-inch silver lure is fine. But, if the the bass are chasing something much smaller, then a lure of two inches or less may do the trick. The choice of lure also depends on the depth of water being fished and at what level the bass are feeding. A light lure is best for fishing in shallow water or for catching bass near the surface, but a heavy lure is obviously better for fishing deep water. Weight can be added to a lure to help it sink faster, but it often detracts from the action of the lure and, in any case, defeats the object of fishing light.

… Spinning and plug fishing are not just cases of casting and retrieving lures. The angler can improve the action of his lure by his use of the rod and reel. Try the 'quick, quick, slow' style of retrieve - winding the reel very fast and then slowing down or stopping altogether, allowing the lure to falter or fall temptingly through the water. Alternatively, try moving the rod from side to side as you retrieve, causing the lure to carve crazy, wavy patters in the water. The bass is a curious fish and these actions may provoke it to strike. Similarly, when a bass is in a finicky mood, a fish strip on the treble hook of the lure may tempt it.

A good general rule is to retrieve the lure very quickly, hence the fast retrieve reel. Do not worry about the bass. They are one of the fastest movers in the sea and, if they want to catch your lure, they will.

Though not a spinner in the true sense of the word, a rubber eel of the type used to catch pollack and coalfish has emerged as an excellent bass lure. It can be jigged or trolled. Another way of taking bass is the 'sink and draw' method. This involves the angler making several turns of the reel while lifting the rod at the same time. The effect is to draw the rubber eel up through the water fairly rapidly. The angler then stops reeling and drops his rod, allowing the lure to flutter lifelessly down through the water. This action is particularly effective for catching a number of species, the bass included. The fish may take as the lure is being drawn up through the water or as it falls.

Spinning for bass from a boat is fairly easy fishing. A feeding shoal can often be located by their splashing or by the whirling sea-birds overhead and since the bait is not being presented on the bottom there is little danger of the line becoming snagged. Rock fishing is a different proposition. As well as the problem of lost tackle, the angler also has the task of steering hooked fish clear of the snags. It is an advantage, therefore, to know the ground you are fishing. When you have decided where you are going to fish take the opportunity of inspecting the area at low water to get the lie of the land and the likely bass spots. Rocky headlands are good places for bass fishing, despite the risk of losing tackle. They like the rough water and the strong tide races familiar with these areas. The best state of the tide for bass fishing is usually when it is at its fastest. This does, however, depend on the locality and a good time in one place may not be so good in another.

A word of warning to anglers buying lures from tackle shops. The treble hooks are almost always too small and are usually not sharp enough. Replace them with larger ones and sharpen them yourself. It pays to carry a small sharpening stone with your tackle when fishing over rugged ground, for hooks will soon lose their sharpness on the rocks.

Bottom fishing on rough ground

Spinning may be the most exciting method of catching bass, but legering over rough ground from the shore is the method most likely to turn up really big fish. Rough ground is the general name given to a mixture of rocks and sand - small areas of sand punctuated with low-lying rocks or sandwiched in rocky gullies. They are not easy to fish and tackle losses are inevitable among the weed and rocks. But this is where the big, solitary bass roam, feeding on the wealth of crustaceans, eels, and small fish in the rocks and ambushing fish in the gullies.

The aim is to put your bait on the sandy patches. As explained above, it is a great advantage to carry out a survey of the ground to be fished at low water. Some anglers mark the sandy patches, using balloons as buoys. Accurate casting is essential. For once the bait has hit the bottom it must be left alone. Try reeling it into another spot and it will almost certainly become snagged in the rocks.

The terminal tackle - a simple paternoster - is designed with rough ground in mind. The weight is attached to the rig via a 'rotten bottom', i.e. a length of nylon of lower breaking strain than the reel line. Then, in the event of the weight becoming snagged, the angler pulls for a break and only the weight is lost. The tackle is made up by a light beachcaster and a multiplier loaded with 20 lb line. A one-hook paternoster minimises the chance of the tackle getting snagged but two hooks can be used when the angler knows the ground well.

Crab is the supreme bait for this type of fishing, peeler and soft crabs being preferred to hardbacks … Hardback crabs are taken by bass if the crab is small, but the difficulty comes in mounting it on the hook, with the shell proving an obstacle.

Peeler and soft crabs are best used whole with the legs left on. Some anglers hook them once through the middle, while others prefer to pass the hook through the eye sockets. It is always a good precaution to secure the crab to the hook with elasticised cotton to make sure it stays on during the cast. The old shell should be removed from a peeler before it is used. Squid and fish strips can also be used to good effect with this method.

Despite their size, big bass are not the boldest of biters. The first sign of a bite may be no more than a slight pluck. This is also the sign to give the fish slack line. It will then move away with the bait and the hook should be set with a powerful strike over the shoulder. The rod should be held at all times.

Bottom fishing on beaches

Otherwise known as surfcasting, this is a specialised method of bass fishing which provides a unique form of excitement for the angler. As the term implies, it involves catching bass from the surf. The best surfcasting beaches, or storm beaches as they are also known, are those which face the prevailing south west winds. They shelve slowly so that the waves break some distance from the shoreline. The best ones are probably found on the west coast of Ireland.

Although these beaches appear to be barren, the gouging action of the surf on the sand stirs up plenty of foodlife such as sand-eels and small fish, which attract the bass. As the surf bundles this food inshore, so the bass follow. Understandably then, the best time to fish is at the beginning of an onshore blow after a calm spell or immediately after a big blow when the waves are beginning to subside. The idea is to place the bait right in the surf. This will involve a long cast if the surf is breaking way out at low water and a short cast if it is breaking close inshore at high water.

A powerful beachcaster capable of hurling a 4oz weight up to 100 yards, but light enough to give the angler some sport with his fish, is the type of rod required. A multiplier loaded with 15 lb line completes the basic tackle but a 'shock leader' is also required. This is a short length of stronger line, possibly 30 lb breaking strain, attached to the end of the reel line to help it withstand the shock of punching out a heavy lead, otherwise it would probably crack off under the pressure.

A two-hook paternoster is the most popular type of terminal tackle for surfcasting. The weight should be between 2oz and 4oz depending on the strength of the tide. The best baits are lugworm, ragworm, mackerel and razorfish.

Unlike bass caught over rough ground, fish caught on a storm beach will produce a bold bite, with the fish frequently tearing off on a searing run. There is always the exception to the rule, however, and it pays to hold the rod at all times, feeling for a more delicate bite from a big fish. Fighting a big bass in the surf is one of the delights of sea fishing. The fish must be played out in deep water before any attempt is made to land it. A big, lively bass in shallow water can be just too hot to handle.

Float fishing

This method is best suited to rough ground, making it possible for the angler to suspend his bait clear of the snags. It is also used from piers and jetties. It could easily be carried out from boats but there is little necessity for it. The same type of rod used for bass spinning - a 10-foot carp or salmon spinning rod - is ideal and should be teamed with a fixed-spool or light multiplying reel loaded with a 12 lb line. The length of rod is quite important since it will be needed for casting, for picking up the line from the water on the strike and for playing a hooked fish away from the rocks at the angler's feet.

A sliding float rig is best so that deep water may be fished if necessary. A long cast is not necessary since the tide will carry the float out, covering a lot of ground as it goes. In this way the angler can search out likely looking holes and gullies in the rocks with little risk of the line becoming snagged.

A big, live ragworm is probably the best bait to use on a float rig, but there are a number of others which will catch fish. These include crabs, sand-eels, and also elvers, a bait used to good effect by anglers off areas of the Dorset coast. Prawns are also a good bait but are delicate and should be used on a smaller, fine wire hook to keep them alive as long as possible. All baits are better used alive.

Bass venture very close inshore over rocky ground so be prepared for a bite under your feet as well as further offshore. A landing net with a long handle is more efficient than a gaff and it also means fish can be returned alive. For the same reasons, a landing net should also be used when spinning.

Livebaiting and deadbaiting

Since the bass is a predatory fish, it follows that livebaiting should be an effective method. Small pouting, mackerel and wrasse, along with a host of other small fish, will tempt bass, though it is wise to use a bait over the type of ground on which it is normally found. A bass which comes across a strange visitor to his territory may be put off rather than attracted.

Livebaits are best fished on a short trace, say four feet, to minimise the danger of them roaming too far afield and becoming snagged around some obstruction. They are fished on a size 4/0 hook passed through the root of the tail or the bottom lip.

A conventional legered deadbait is not a particularly effective method of catching bass, but a variation has proved very successful in the past few seasons. News of this style of fishing first reached the ears of the angling press with a spate of double-figure bass from Dover Breakwater. The anglers catching the fish were using deadbaits, usually pouting, which they injected with air by using medical syringes. These baits, which were used on a lead-free line, floated up in the water and proved deadly for bass. This method has since proved effective along other parts of our coastline.

[7] Editor's Note: see the Lures page for a review of the best artificial bass lures.

The Daily Mirror, Thursday 1 March 1979 at page 26

Danger at Sea No 4 by Hugh Stoker

1. Bass require careful handling. There are very sharp, though non-poisonous spines in the first dorsal fin and the spinous gill covers have sharp edges which can cut a carelessly placed finger.

2. Black and red bream also have dorsal fins bristling with sharp spines capable of inflicting a painful wound. Often the tips of these spines break off under the flesh and can cause septic complications.

3. As a safety measure, cut off all spiny with a pair of kitchen scissors before scaling.

"The Modern Sea Angler" (1979) Hugh Stoker at page 168

… scientists have discovered that a storm raging out in mid-Atlantic causes an earth tremor on a beach in England a day or so before the heavy storm swell arrives. Fish, with their delicate sensory organs, would be able to detect this preliminary earth tremor, and so receive warning that rough weather was on its way. This would cause some fish to move out into the safety of deeper water; whilst others such as bass, might be tempted to move closer inshore.

It is the latter "white water" fish which will interest the rod-and-line angler most at such times. A heavy swell breaking on the beach stirs up the sea bottom, and, emboldened by the murky water, the bass venture into the shallows to grow fat on the countless small sea-bed creatures unearthed by the pounding waves and swirling undercurrents.

"The Bait Book" (1979) Ted Lamb at page 178

Sea Species

Bass A favourite of shore anglers that can also be taken on reefs and wrecks, the bass is a dashing, active predator. It lives in shoals which raid schools of tinier fish like the sandeel. The commoner methods of fishing for it are driftlining, using a trace of two or more hooks baited with fish strips; surf legering with live or dead sandeels, small fish like sprats, peeler crab or razorfish; and light legering or float fishing in rocky areas with worm bait, shrimps and prawns and crab. Some very large fish have been taken on whole legered herrings. The smaller school bass of around 1½ lb can be caught on hook sizes 6 or 4, but where bass run above 5 lb, hooks in the 1/0 to 3/0 range are advised. Bass are tough fighters, and the use of light tackle is not recommended where there are large fish. They are usually present from June to November.

"200 Sea Fishing Tips" (1982) Ivan & Ivor Garey Tips 184 to 190

31. Bass

184. The Bass

… The methods which can be used to take bass are governed by the weather. In early June when thousands of crabs are peeling their shells, bass are often within feet of the shore, running along the gullies and channels with the flooding tide. Off steep shingle beaches they'll often come up the beach with a wave while chasing sandeels; obviously the Red Gill can be put to good effect here.

Besides water temperature and the availability of food, the next most important factor which governs the bass' mode of feeding is water clarity. In clear water bass can be taken (and hectic sport is to be had) with spinners and spoons. Often long casting is unnecessary. School bass can be terrific sport on fly tackle and streamer lures, fished in the clear mouths of rivers where they enter the sea.

185. Where to catch bass.

Close to the shore bass may be expected in places where strong currents meet obstacles such as jetties and submerged breakwaters. From the shelter of a shallow bank or a counter-current the bass keeps its eye on everything carried along by the current. As soon as a small fish or a crab comes within its field of vision it instantly pounces on its prey. However, bass only forage in this manner in clear water. As soon as the water becomes murky the fish leave these "observation posts" and move towards the beaches where they can be caught in the immediate neighbourhood of outcrops of rocks, piers, groynes etc especially at high tide. If you want to catch bass from the beach, this is where and when your chances will be best.

In the open sea bass also have their favourite grounds … the fish often feed in the calm water close to the tide-race which occurs when the current hits a shallow sandbank. Such a spot is not without danger to the boat angler, for nothing is more treacherous than a tide-race. It would be better to cast a long way rather than venture too close to one.

186. Catching bass from the shore

If you want to catch bass from the shore, your bait should preferably consist of ragworm or crab. Mount one or two hooks, size 2/0 or 1/0 and fish a flowing trace on a running paternoster. Cast close to groynes, piers or rocks - the closer the better - and wind in very slowly, at a speed of 3 metres a minute. This active method of fishing will yield the best results. It also minimises the bother of crabs, although crabs do little harm to your bait. On the contrary, a reasonably sized bass will effortlessly swallow your bait and the crab … retrieve the bait right into the shallows for bass have been seen harrying small fish in water too shallow to cover them completely.

Be extremely careful when you pick up a bass. It has vicious spiney fins which can cause nasty wounds. Draw the fish onto the beach and hold it in a wet cloth while you unhook it.

187. Which natural bait for bass?

We dutifully investigate the stomach contents of all the bass we kill for the table. In bass caught over submerged breakwaters we have found a stomach content of 70% crab, 20% small fish and 10% shrimp. On the other hand, the stomach contents of fish caught over a sandy bottom consisted mainly of shrimp: 50%, with 40% crab and 10% small fish. On average, crab is thus seen to form the largest part of a bass' diet. We have alternated the well-known baits like ragworm and lugworm with crab, shrimp and small fish … the ragworm yielded the best results. Crab, both hard and soft, came a close second. We used small crabs which were fixed on the hook with rubber bands. When we discovered that bass make no distinction between hard and soft crab, we stopped looking for the latter. Hard crabs are plentiful and we are no longer bothered by small fish. When using ragworm it is advisable to bait up with one very large one.

188. Artificial bait

When fishing from jetties, piers or rocks you could try for bass with heavy spinners, spoons or jigs. You may expect to lose plenty of artificials, for to be successful you will have to fish close to these features, and this is risky. It is much easier to fish for bass with artificial lures from a boat. The best artificial bait is a red and white feather paternoster which is moved up and down close to the bottom from a boat drifting in the current. On good bass marks the speed of the current is usually so great that spoon and jigs do not get deep enough, whereas a heavily leaded feather paternoster copes quite well with a strong current. However, shoals of shad and mackerel, which often swim above bass, may prevent the feather paternoster reaching the appropriate level. In that case you should either use extra heavy lead or sink the paternoster at some distance in front of the hot-spot and wait until the current takes it to the correct point.

189. The technique of fishing with a feather paternoster

Many anglers make the mistake of jerking the bass paternoster up and down too far and too fast. However attractive the flash of the feathers, the bass will then not take them when they are fished like this.

Move the bait up and down with small jerks if you want to increase your chances of catching bass. Strike as fast as possible at every take, for the fish will quickly reject the feathers when it finds out its mistake. Remember that a slackening of the line may also indicate a take. It is easier to strike with a stiff rod than with too flexible a rod. Since ordinary fishing line has too much "give", we prefer to use a 20 or 30 lb braided Terylene line. This non-stretch line makes it easier to set the hook; the movements of the feather paternoster are more easily controlled and a snagged hook can be straightened if necessary.

190. Special feather paternosters for bass

The feather paternoster sold for mackerel and other fish are nearly all unsuitable for bass. As a rule the hooks are too small; the knots are frequently unreliable, the snoods too long and the number of hooks too large. We would therefore strongly advise you to tie your own … We make ours from 38 lb line with 3 or 4 very short sidelines. We tie one red and four white feathers to each hook. Experiments conducted over a long period have proved that this combination of red and white is the most effective in all conditions. The numbers of fish we have caught on these red and white feathers are many.

The hooks must be large and strong enough to hold a good-sized fish, but on the other hand they should be flexible enough to be straightened with a 30 lb braided sea line when they become snagged. The Mustad Limerick Hook Qual. 7813B no 3/0 is an excellent hook.

"The Sea Angler's Sporting Fish" (1985) Mike Millman at pages 38 to 40

Bass

The bass is probably the sea anglers most coveted species. Even moderate sized fish fight long and hard, and they never know when to give up. Distribution of the Bass is wide and it is found in the Mediterranean, Adriatic, West and South coast of Ireland, the North Sea, and in many places around the British Isles. It is a member of the perch family, sporting very sharp fins which can inflict a lot of damage on the unwary. Its colour is uniform - black back, silver on the sides and a white belly. The fish is built for speed and one has only to look at the beautiful tail fin to appreciate the tremendous propulsion power it provides. Growth rate is very slow - a ten pounder will be at least twenty years old. Maximum weight is believed to be 25 lb, but very few seating over 20 lb have been caught commercially, with the nearest approach on rod and line being Roy Slater's giant.

Large specimens invariably hunt alone and cover great distances. They have catholic tastes and are predators in every sense of the word, making slashing attacks oh fair sized fish which are unfortunate enough to swim within their vision, but they have a decided preference for sand-eels and a variety of crustaceans.

Bass are as much a fish for the shore angler as the boat fisherman but the greater numbers of specimen fish are taken by the former. There are a few places where the fish congregate in great numbers far out from land, for example the Eddystone Reef off the Cornish coast. Here the fishing can only be described as fabulous, with bass over 10 lb almost commonplace. These, however, are only taken in quantity by a very few anglers who are completely dedicated to the species and have made a deep study of the intricacies of the reef over many years … All these fish were taken by trolling an artificial eel worked from a very long rod, through the maze of deep gullies and pinnacles of rock which make up the reef.

… Many fine bass are caught by trolling close to the land. Artificial lures such as the deadly Red Gill get the best results, but one must ensure they are worked at least one hundred yards astern of the boat, well clear of propellor vibrations. For boat work a long rod is essential to help cushion the tremendous strike from a large fish. This is matched with a multiplying reel of medium size filled with 15-20 lb monofilament. The correct trolling rig is a twenty foot trace joing a swivel. Above this a jardine lead of at least 8 oz is threaded on the reel line. With lead core lines, for example the Gladding Mk V Dacron, 30 lb breaking strain, weights are unnecessary, which greatly improves the action of the lure.

For the shore angler, the possibility of taking a really big bass is always present and, as the fish works very close to the land, many outsize specimens have been caught in only a few feet of water. It also swims a long way up the tidal rivers in its never ending search for food to satisfy an enormous appetite and it can survive for a time in almost fresh water. Many school bass - fish up to 3 lb in weight - also seem to favour the rivers and, on occasions, can be a real nuisance grabbing baited spoons intended for members of the flatfish family. Rocks and breakwaters close to harbour entrances are also favoured hunting grounds especially during the autumn. If anything, at this time of the year, the fish is at its boldest, savagely attacking big baits on impulse, often displaying no cautionary tactics whatsoever. Storm beaches also fish well for them, but generally the numbers caught do not compare favourably with those from the rocky marks. Beach fishing is at its best after several days of rough weather, when heavy seas have torn up the bottom bringing a lot of food to the surface.

Night fishing at this time can be very rewarding, but the same mark during a period of calms and even worse when it is coupled with a bright day, will very likely produce nothing.

Tackle for Bass varies considerably depending on the type of ground one is fishing. For rock and breakwater marks where the water is at your feet, a two-handed spinning rod and light multiplier loaded with 18 lb breaking strain superfine nylon line is perfect for both bottom and float fishing, although for the latter method a lighter trace of 12 lb 15 lb breaking strain should be used.

For bottom fishing from the beaches, a long rod - for example a 12 ft beachcaster - and either a medium weight multiplier or large fixed spool reel filled with 20 lb mono is the correct combination and well capable of dealing with the largest bass. End tackle is a leger rig with a single hook attached to a trace eighteen inches long made up from 15 lb mono. The maxim "big bait, big fish" is never truer than when used in association with the bass. For example, a squid head presented on a 5/0 hook has been the downfall of many big ones.

Float fishing calls for the sliding method which allows all levels of the water to be searched. Naturally, small baits must be employed but this is where the live bait comes into its own, for sand-eels, soft back, peeler crab and prawns are most attractive to the bass. Spinning with a variety of artificial lures into deepish water from rocks is also an excellent way of contacting them and these should be kept moving at a fast pace. In general, silver-coloured lures seem to be the most successful but I have also had some good fish on a bronze one. The bass has a hard mouth which resists the penetration of a hook; it also has a terrific sense of danger and can eject, like lightning, any offering it considers suspect. For this reason every bite must be struck firmly and quickly. Failure to do either will lose the opportunity of a catch. Shore fishing for Bass calls for the rod to be held at all times, one left unattended on a tripod or wedged upright in a rock will be quickly exploited, by what is assuredly a very wily fish.

"Fishing for Bass: Strategy & Confidence" (1989) Mike Thrussell at pages 35 to 39 & 108 to 114

3. Rough-Ground Fishing

… So neither the neap tides nor the big spring tides are the best times to catch bass. The water flow during neap tides is too weak to displace enough food forms to attract the fish. The push of a big spring tide is too violent for shrimps and small fish to be out and about and a hunting bass would have to use up too much energy for too little an edible reward.

There is, however, a definite link between bigger fish - of 2.75 kg (6 lb) and up - and the middle-size tides … This is because all the factors are in favour of the bass finding a meal - the pressure of the tide is just right to disturb enough food forms to encourage the bass to feed without having to work too hard for a result.

But don't be put off by all this. If you have bait and wish to fish, then do so. Bass can, and will, show on pretty well any tide. It's never hopeless. I prefer though, to fish hard for short periods when I know the bass are there and feeding.

Pay particular attention to sea conditions. Often bass frequent a beach only when the wind is in one quarter, or perhaps two. When the wind is Force 2 to 4 off the sea and straight at the beach is a good time to try. So it is when there is a slight side wind. Both conditions help to persuade some surf to form, dislodging food secreted in the stones and lifting fine grains of sand and sediment into suspension and thus colouring the water - always good conditions for bass. Small amounts of seaweed are an encouraging sign, suggesting some agitation of water at sea-bed level. Some reef and rock marks are fished best during Force 6 or 7 winds and heavy surf.

A wind from the land that flattens the sea on the whole spells poor fortune. Neap tides, land-borne winds, and clear seas see few fish beached. There is always, though, the odd venue that proves you wrong … Daytime tides, though, are best avoided.

Freshwater rivers and streams that spill onto the beach can have both good and bad effects. At times of warm, still weather when the bass are lethargic and uninterested in food, the cooling effect of the infall of freshwater can induce a fish or two to feed. Fish at dusk and at low water. I aim to place the bait as near as I can to the junction of the mingling waters on the uptide side because it's here the bass will work. I haven't found them willing to feed amidst the main flow of the river proper, where the water is decidedly brackish, until 45 or 55 m (50 or 60 yd) downstream of the outfall.

During periods of prolonged rainfall, when the river water becomes filthy brown and turbid, the outfall area is far too acidic for the bass to be comfortable, and so it should be avoided (see Fig. 10). Walking the cliffs at just such a time I noticed how the brown rainwater was swept away by the flooding tide at right angles to the beach in question. This coloured water persisted though weakening all the time, for some 200-300 m (200-300 yd). The uptide side of an outfall, though coloured a greyish-green and full of suspended matter, is more likely to yield a catch. Remember this when the weather misbehaves.

Big bass and little bass don't seem to mix. If you hook and land small bass of, say, 1 kg (2 lb) or less, you'll not hook a larger one until the juniors have departed. There will be a period of 10 to 15 minutes before any bigger fish move in. Of course, the large fish may show first, to be replaced by smaller rank and file. Three categories exist: juveniles to roughly the 1 kg (2 lb) mark, youngish adults from 1 kg (2 lb) to 2.75 kg (6 lb), and then the adult group.

Reasons put forward for this apparent lack of socialising among the age groups are mostly theory based on logic: it seems reasonable that the small fish, being more agile, are faster to the food than the larger fish, who sensibly, therefore, avoid the competition. The adults are not averse to eating an occasional school bass in the region of 170-225 g (6-8 oz). It is rare but not unknown for a bigger bass to bully a smaller one away from an item of food. When I first saw this I wondered if the big bass was just a bit of a rogue, like an impatient shopper in a checkout queue, but perhaps it is part of their everyday behaviour …

I've mentioned small fish, prawns, and shrimps, but there is one bait above all others that brings bass into the rocks to feed. That is the crab. Shore crabs, edible crabs, and velvet swimmers all have highs through the season and in different parts of the country. I like to start walking the area I fish about the beginning of April, but so much depends on the weather: if March is fairly mild and the first two weeks of April warmish, with plenty of sunshine on the bigger tides, it's then that the exposed rough ground begins to receive some heat. The water left in the rock pools gently warms up, as does the sea temperature - on the whole corresponding with the lengthening hours of daylight. This in turn induces the shore crab to begin to peel. Early specimens may be found as soon as the first week of April, but don't expect many until the third week. A bad winter and cold spring will delay this pattern by a further two to three weeks.

The bass seem to take 10 to 14 days to realise that the peelers are about, so the fishing hits full swing by the beginning of May and carries on through the peeling explosion in about the third week in May until early July, when the majority of bass move offshore to attack the baitfish shoals. Some fish return to the rocks in late August and linger on through September, feasting on edible crabs, which at this time are peeling in good numbers. Using this bait gives you the edge, but shore-crab peelers and softies will still catch fish. Save your best baits for when you most expect some action. It's often possible to pick your bait from the ground you are about to fish but, as most of the crabs will be towards the low-water mark, I dislike doing this. Invariably you are still frantically turning stones and hunting crabs when you should be fishing. I prefer to collect the crabs the previous day and so concentrate on the fishing.

When using peeler or softback crabs as bait, actual feeding areas can be small. You're back to those rock pools and depressions again. It's here where large, heavy chunks of food will lodge and, as we have already seen, the scent emanating from such places attracts the bass. While the tide is out, take note of where these holding areas are, and aim to cast your bait into one of these.

Productive ground lies underneath the rod tip at low water and casts of 18-36 m (20-40 yd) are adequate, even at high water. If you feel that bait is available to bass at a 9-m (10-yd) distance, then that's the place to fish. Casting further than 36 m (40 yd) increases the chances of your tackle finding a snag to get caught in and the angle of the line to the sinker is shallow, which means that when you lift the rod tip the weight is dragged across the sea bed, with the inevitable result. Hooked fish have more opportunities, too, to take the line around low-lying rocks and weed growth.

To prepare a crab for the hook, you must first pinch it between the eyes to kill it. Now carefully peel away all the hard shell from the belly and back, and remove the legs. You should be left with a lump of soft meat. I prefer to halve this with a sharp knife and then bind the two halves to the shank of the hook using shearing elastic. This creates a bait that oozes juices into the tide. Leaving the crab whole restricts the amount of body fluids given up to the water currents. Aim to create a bait the size of a golf ball, but more cylindrical in shape, and at all times keep this fresh by rebaiting at least every fifteen minutes.

On occasions it will be noted that the bass are picking the bait up but missing the hook. This behaviour is typical of the smaller school bass. To avoid this, prepare the bait as before but leave the legs fastened on one side. These are tied up the shank of the hook facing the eye, with the main meat disguising the bend of the hook - but not the point. This encourages the fish to take from the sharp end.

Deciphering bass bites is a conundrum of delights and frustrations. The sudden snatch on the line and the tightening of the rod as the hook finds a firm anchorage in the fish's jaw is pure bliss. The lunge seawards of the rod takes the unwary angler by surprise; the angler's hands flash backwards, lifting the rod to tighten the line. The weight of the fish is felt for a fleeting moment, then it's gone, and the angler is left only with a feeling of overpowering depression. I find it best, after casting out, to tighten the line gently but without moving the sinker. If you move the sinker, it's as like as not you'll drag it into a snag. Keep enough tension on the line so that you can just detect the feel of the weight on the rod tip.

A classic bass bite is the 'tap and thump', an initial, hardly discernible, tap followed by a savage thump with the rod tip being dragged seawards. Bass mostly hook themselves, and I find it best to let the weight of the fish set the bend in the rod. Ideally, this is enough to make sure the hook has found a bite.

Bass, having accepted a bait, turn into the current. If this turn is away from you - the angler - the bite conforms to the previous one described. If, however, the fish turns towards you and drags the sinker with it, you have what is known as a slack-line bite, with the line billowing in the wind. Invariably on rocks you can't run backwards, so you must rely on quick wits and a fast-retrieve reel.

Bigger fish - over that 2.75 kg (6 1b) barrier - are surprisingly gentle in taking a bait. If you get a faint tap but the usual thump doesn't follow, don't strike. The best ploy is to release a metre or so of line and be patient. After two minutes have elapsed, with no further interest evident, you may assume the fish has seen through your intentions and departed post-haste. But, after a long pause, you may feel a single, savage pull as the fish moves away with your offering. This final pull can be strong enough to unbalance the less-wary angler.

From time to time you'll feel the tension on the line drop and the sinker clatter across the stones. This is usually the result of tidal pressure on the line, but it could be caused by a fish that has picked up the bait and is rising in the water before making that turn away from you. Its actions are changing the pull on the sinker and lifting the weight from the sea floor. So, if you feel the lead move, strike - just in case.

Most unusual of all is a fish that, having accepted the bait, moves off in an uptide direction. The tension on the line stays the same and you get no early warning from the rod tip, but slowly you become aware that your line is moving uptide for no apparent reason. The mind usually takes a few seconds to come to terms with this phenomenon. Luckily, though, these bites are rarely missed.

How best to fight a fish? This comes only with experience, and you only gain experience by making mistakes. You have to formulate your own system of actions. My own, having made contact with a fish, is to bully them slightly to the surface. If there is a chance of the fish taking the line round a rock, I bully it upwards. I feel that to give line at this stage is courting disaster. The balance between holding a fish away from the rocks and ripping the hook out is a fine one. Let the fish fight the bend of the rod and set your reel clutch to yield line just past the point of the rod's usual fighting curve.

Bass, when hooked, tend to thump on the rod tip and thrash their tails on the surface, though this can also be because you are holding them too hard. Frequent jagged runs, taking 3 or 4 m (3 or 4 yd) of line each time, can be expected. Some fish sulk or pause for breath. Expect a sudden dash to the left or right, though the fish could swim straight for you, creating metres of slack line. If this happens, wind the reel as fast as you can, trying to retain contact. If tension drops and the hook has worn a hole in the bass's lip, lost tension means it could fall out.

Landing a bass is never a piece of cake. Some anglers prefer a long-handled landing net, which is fine if you can hook, fight, and land the fish from the same place. But what if it takes you walkabout? You need your left hand on the rod and your right hand to work the reel and there is no hand free for the net. Having played the fish to a standstill, I invariably gill it. Always pre-select a pool or area of flat sand within easy reach of the water where you can draw any hooked fish. Get into the water and, choosing a moment when the gills are flaring, shove your fingers deep inside. Beware the spines on the outer edge of the gill cover - they are as sharp as razors. Properly done, gilling gives the best grip on the fish. Catching hold of the open lower lip between thumb and forefinger, the thumb resting on the bass's tongue, is also good. Grabbing the wrist of the tail is less reliable - a good grip is hard to maintain when the fish writhes about.

Bringing a fish through the surf at high water or in rough weather is always a problem. You must use the incoming waves to deposit the fish on to the shingle and, in between waves, nip down and gill the fish. When a tired bass approaches the surf I back the clutch off my reel so that only slight pressure gives line back to it. If you have a situation where the bass lies half in and half out of the waves all won't be lost if you let the surf drag the fish bodily back, but if you try to hold it against the surf you've a good chance of losing it by the line parting or the hook pulling out.

… The running paternoster is the best terminal tackle. Place a small swivel by one eye to run freely on the main line and attach a second swivel direct to the main line. To this, tie a hook length around 15-23 cm (6-9 in) long, on line that needs to have a breaking strain 1.8 kg (4 1b) lighter than the reel line. To the free-running swivel tie 0.6-0.9 m (2-3 ft) of line roughly 3.6 kg (8 lb) breaking strain lighter than the main line; to this the weight is fastened. The short hook length helps to detect bites and avoids the worst of the snags. The long weight link makes the sinker stay ahead of even a large crab bait during a cast.

If the weight or hook becomes fast in the sea bed a good pull with the line wrapped around a jumper-protected arm will cause this light line to part and you will lose only a weight or hook. Rarely will the two swivels jam. Hooks with long shanks in size 4/0 to 7/0 are best as you can load these with bait. Sharpen all hooks before use and check the points after each retrieve. Weights by definition need to be expendable …

10 Tackle for Bass

Other Equipment

Over snaggy ground, with no more than a moderate depth, I use a running ledger. This is a small swivel tied directly to the main line, with a free-running one attached only by one eye above it. To the attached swivel I tie a hook trace of 23 or 25 cm (9 or 10 in) maximum, whilst to the free-running swivel I tie 0.5-0.8 (2-21 ft) of weaker line, to which the lead or spark plug or whatever other expendable weight will be fastened. The short-hook length gives immediate notification that a bass is interested, and offers the bait naturally without letting the whole affair bounce around uncontrollably. The long-lead link means even a small weight will lead a large bait out on the cast, and the further the hook link is from the lead, the better the bite indication becomes. A weaker line to hook and weight means an easy snap-out if either become jammed in the rocks. Swivels are rarely lost if they are kept small (see Fig. 35).

For deeper water, with a fast tide run - whether over a rough bottom or sand - for down the sides of estuary channels and creeks, for sand banks within easy casting range, and for most boat work, I'd go for the running ledger with a long, flowing trace. There are a couple of ways to construct this, but for estuaries and sand banks I'd use the following: a swivel tied directly, and one to run free as before, only this time the short link - say, 30 cm (1 ft) - goes on the free swivel; to this you tie your lead, whilst the attached swivel holds the hook length 1-2 m (3-6 ft). This will cast moderately well, but makes the bait flutter in the tide. It's a good way of presenting sand-eels (see Fig. 36).

The second method of construction is for deep water and boat marks. A snap-link swivel or zip slider is fed up the line, followed by a large bead and a swivel, which is tied by one eye. The hook trace - as long as you wish it -can be added to the free end. The running link holds the lead, though if the bottom is bad you can add 8 or 10 cm (3 or 4 in) of weak line so that you only lose your weight. A further variation is to lengthen the lead link so that, if the rod is held and the line kept tight, the bait will flutter just off the bottom (see Fig. 37).

For all surf work and long-range casting, I use the fixed paternoster, which is simple to construct. Take a piece of line about 0.8 m (30 in) long, which is capable of casting the weight you intend to use. Tie a 3/0 oval split ring to the base, then from the top slide on a piece of PVC tubing (taken from electricians's wire) that is a reasonable match to the diameter of the line. This is then super-glued in the correct place. Follow this with a small bead and free-running swivel, then another bead and further length of PVC tubing (again super-glued). Leave enough room between the tubing for the beads and swivel to turn freely. You can dispense with the tube, 'and super-glue the bead if you prefer (see Fig. 38). Hook lengths tied to the spinning swivel can be 15-30 cm (6-12 in), with the distance from the bead to the swivel not less than 45 cm (18 in). Bait-clips (either home-made from electrician's wire and tubing) or commercial ones hold the hook in place during the cast, which presents the bait better. For casts under 73 m (80 yd), it's best to dispense with the clip as release problems occur (see Fig. 39).

It's rare for the glued beads or tubing to slip, but if they do - even with a fish on - it's not of any consequence, so don't spend time worrying. Slight variations on the trace length are worth considering: a long one, clipping the bait directly behind the lead, gives excellent distance as the bait flies in the broken air, caused by the passage of the lead. The long trace gives plenty of movement and so plenty of time for finicky fish to accept the offering. Traces as long as 2-2.5 m (6-8 ft) can be cast when using pendulum styles, and whilst examples are rare it's worth giving them a try when bites are scarce. Simply increase the distance between the beads and the lead to that required.

For close-quarter situations, where bass of decent size may hit hard and run, placing the bead-trapped swivel 15 cm (6 in) above the lead takes away the natural softening effect of the line, causing the fish to come up hard against the lead and so hooking itself in the process. Two hook rigs for bass are not acceptable to me, but for those who feel more confident with two hooks, the best rig is a mixture of a fixed and running paternoster. Basically, make the top half of the trace with beads as normal, but instead of the split ring you first slide on a snap link and swivel. Then a bead is followed by a largish swivel. To this you tie a longish trace, with a short one as normal on the upper trapped swivel. The lead goes on the snap link (see Fig. 40).

A two-hook spreader is worth using when you fish for schoolies. Use two bead-trapped swivels spaced 45 cm (18 in) apart. Try crab on the upper hook and worm on the lower, and swap them round until you find what and where the fish want it. I prefer using one hook and fishing light for sport (see Fig. 41).

When trolling from a boat, if you need extra depth the only lead worth considering is the spiral lead, which can be wound on the line after tackle assembly. The beauty of these is that you can alter them instantly up or down for extra movement in the trace.

Float gear is simple. Slide the line through the tube or eyes of the float, and then a drilled bullet large enough to cock the float. Stop this with a swivel and a bead, and attach your hook length. To set the float at a pre-decided depth, I use a piece of elastic band. Choose cylindrical floats that offer less resistance to the taking fish. Avoid the top-heavy pike-bungs that are too buoyant for easy submersion. The choice of colour is usually vivid, but on water black is the colour most often easily seen against light reflection. Otherwise, yellow and white are fine (see Fig. 42).

A couple of clear-plastic bubble floats are useful if you need to cast a little further. You can can rough them up with a little wet-and-dry sandpaper and repaint them the colour you prefer. These are ideal when using a longish trace with nothing more attached than a hook and bait. The longer the trace you can manage, so much the better: the float follows the current and the bait bounces and bumps its way downtide - a very natural presentation.

Don't be static in your choice of trace line: think about it. In rough weather, when the sea is coloured, a 35 kg (80 1b) trace wouldn't put a bass off, but in calm clear conditions they become gut shy and often veer away. I noticed that bites dropped off as the water shallowed and cleared, and for a while I accepted this as fact. But then I began to experiment with lighter lines and longer traces in periods of calm, clear conditions. Straight away my results improved. Obviously, the governing factor is the terrain over which you cast, but over sand I've used 2.75 kg (6 1b) traces with 3.6-4.5 kg (8-10 1b) main line, and very small swivels with no beads - just knots to keep the swivel in place. What had formerly been shy, almost ghostly bites, now pulled the rod tip hard over.

Whether the colour of the line puts the fish off or attracts them is a difficult question. Again, I try to avoid heavy leaders that contrast starkly with the background, although one thing I haven't tried is whether flourescent lines used in coloured water actually attract bass. Clear mono-lines are the best for traces on calm days, for obvious reasons. Brown lines would seem safe for rocky bottoms. These little things just give you the edge …

"The Complete Book of Sea Fishing: Tackle and Techniques" (1992) Alan Yates and Jed Entwistle at pages 51 to 54

6. Beach and Promenade Fishing for Bass, Cod, Rays and Flatfish

Beach fishing for bass

Whilst bass can be caught from rocks, in estuaries and over sand, they are really a fish of white water and surf. The bass is considered the sea angler's only game fish, and is far removed from the mundane pouting, flounder or eel. From the shore this sleek silver torpedo is a fine catch indeed, and whilst not as great a fighting fish as its sheer beauty and classic surf environment would portray, it is a highly sought sea angling species. Unfortunately for the bass and for anglers, it is also highly prized by restaurateurs, its flesh selling for a high price with taste less important than the tag, 'sea bass'. In recent years the heavy commercial pressure of the monofilament gill net and that from anglers themselves has so decimated the bass shoals that it is considered under threat. Unlike many other species, the bass is relatively slow-growing; and because it is plate-sized bass, which have not yet reached breeding maturity, that are sought commercially, its future really is uncertain, with its reproduction cycle thus threatened.

Bass catches from the shore have declined in recent years, not only because of the pressure on the bass shoals but because of the greater distances that anglers can cast. In fact many often over-cast the species. Noted for swimming close to the shoreline, good specimens are often hooked by a short-casting novice or as a result of a reel tangle. Many very proficient anglers fish their whole life long and never catch a decent-sized bass - yet it is often the beginner's first fish, as small bass infest the inshore areas throughout southern England where they are called 'school bass' or 'checkers'.

… Bass feed on a wide range of food including small fish, sand eels, lugworm and crab. They are, however, very specialised in their feeding habits in particular areas and at specific times of the year. One bait will catch bass from one venue, whilst twenty miles away the fish will prefer another. One example is lugworm, an excellent bass bait from Sussex shores but less effective for bass from Kent shores. There, a whole peeler crab or a fillet of mackerel is more likely to be accepted.

Smaller bass will take most food items and this includes chasing sandeels in the surf; the bigger, more lazy fish prefer to scavenge and will often fall to large whole calamari squid or mackerel-head baits. This gives a clue as to where to catch the bigger bass which may have tired of the active surf and retired to exploit an easier food supply. One such example is the fish which holds the British Bass Record at Dover, a magnificent specimen of 19 lb (8.6kg) caught by local David Bourne. The half mile (800m) long Admiralty pier is a mackerel hotspot. Anglers gather daily to land hundreds of mackerel and many of the fish are gutted on the pier wall, with the heads dropped straight into the sea. The pier area is the home of some big bass which feed on the mackerel heads as they are pushed to the pier end by the tide. Bass shoal in their class year, but the bigger fish are considered loners; the shoals of big fish are therefore naturally much smaller.

Catching bass from the beach invariably means fishing at short range. Even when fishing in a big Irish surf the fish are likely to be found inside the main breaker as they feed on the food the surf dislodges. A large lugworm bait cast into the white water will invariably get a response if the bass are around, and the bigger the surf the better your chances. On occasions the fish can be spotted inside the curl of the wave as it breaks, running the surf line in search of food. Fishing in surf is always best as the tide floods, with the fish following the ride in; dawn is a prime time at many venues.

Surf bass will also take shellfish and crab baits, with large baits preferred. Red edible-type crabs and velvet-backed swimming crabs are especially favoured as bass baits, preferably in their peeler or soft states. A large edible crinkly-back is the ideal large bait to aim at bass because it withstands the attacks of smaller bait-robbing species and other crabs. On a calm summer night, bass fishing from a steep shingle beach or promenade can involve no more than dropping a small live pout within feet of the water-line; a sliding rig keeps the pout in position in tide- or surface wind-drag. Takes are spectacular, ferocious and sudden at short range, and such tactics require the reel clutch to be set to allow the hooked fish to take line …

Some anglers believe that catching bass in such conditions requires stealth and should be carried out in darkness. Personally I have caught bass on live pouting under the glare of a paraffin pressure lamp whilst other beach users have been throwing stones in the sea. One minute the pout can be seen as it lies tethered close to the surface, the next it is gone in a flurry of spray with the rod lurching out of the rest.

Bass demand a degree of respect from anglers, not only because they may be considered marine royalty but because they can inflict damage to unwary hands or fingers when being handled. The sharp-spiked dorsal fin stands erect as a warning, but it is the less obvious, yet razor-sharp gill edges which are more likely to cause the damage. Small bass or other spiky species which are to be returned can be handled safely by gripping them in the mouth or grasping them firmly in a cloth. Unhook and return bass with great care: today's tiddler could be tomorrow's specimen.

"Estuary Fishing Afloat & Ashore" (1995) Dave Lewis at pages 55 & 56

Fish Species

Bass

Big bass like big baits, and their favourite is the head and guts from a mackerel or herring. More specimen bass are caught on fish baits than any other. Whole squid is also very successful … Peeler crab is certainly one of the most reliable baits, either the common green shore crab or, better still, an edible or velvet swimming crab. Livebaits are also popular with specimen bass. Pouting, whiting, poor cod and, of course, sandeels all make excellent baits, as do prawns. Livebaits should either be freelined or fished in conjunction with a float.

Lure fishing for bass has attained almost cult status in recent years. Although not always as successful as bait fishing, lure fishing provides tremendous sport, allowing the use of the lightest tackle. For general spinning, almost any sort of spoon or spinner will catch bass, but artificial rubber sandeels can be deadly. It is often the smaller sizes that catch both the most and the biggest fish.

Plugs have become very popular in recent years. Floating plugs are excellent for fishing shallow, rocky or heavily weeded ground which can be more or less impossible to fish with sinking lures. The most successful types are made by Rapala and Rebel and are usually jointed, measuring 3½ - 5in in length. The action on these lures is an extremely realistic mimic of a sandeel.

… Look for distinct channels and patches of rock and weed, regardless of how small and insignificant these might first appear. Even the tiniest patch of rock or kelp will have its resident population of crabs, prawns and other attractive food items. Bass know this, and it is highly likely that they will pay them a visit at some stage during each tide. Wooden groynes, old piers, pieces of wreckage and breakwaters all provide food and shelter for countless small fishes and crustaceans - a well-stocked larder for the bass.

Streams entering the main channel are another excellent place to present a bait. It is often said that bass like fresh water, and, although at times they are highly tolerant of brackish conditions, I personally feel that this association with fresh water has a more logical explanation. Wherever a stream enters the main channel of an estuary, or runs across an otherwise exposed beach, there will nearly always be a natural food trap in the form of a depression cut out by the action of the water. In addition, streams also carry certain items of food, as well as being attractive to many small fish and other forms of life.

Offshore, the sand bars at the mouth of an estuary are excellent places to fish for bass. Sandeels are abundant over many tidal sandbars and banks, and draw bass like a magnet. Deep depressions, carved out by the tide, will also be worth fishing, along with any of the features mentioned earlier.

When fishing for bass from either a boat or the shore, the need for stealth cannot be over-emphasized. Bass are cautious by nature and easily frightened. Fishing at dawn and dusk or at night will nearly always be more successful than during daylight, as bass tend to be far more active then than during broad daylight.

The optimum times to fish for bass are immediately following a spell of rough weather, which will have churned up the seabed, thus dislodging many items of food. Start fishing at low water, and fish the flooding tide up to high water. Once the tide starts to ebb within an estuary fish can still be caught, but the majority of fish tend to drop quickly back to deeper and more saline conditions as soon as the tide turns.

The Sunday Express, 11 June 2006 at page 101

A silver prize you'll savour

Gone Fishing by John Wilson

If we had to choose a national British saltwater sports fish, the majority of anglers would choose that hard hitting, power-packed, silver-sided speedster, the bass. I know I would, and just now there is no better time to get among them. Concentrations of chunky specimens are taking up their summer residence around sets of tidal rips, where their prey such as mackerel and sand eels gather along the edges of steep-sided banks of sand and shingle.

For many skippers along the east coast, bass have been the saviour of summer sport in these dwindling times of flat fish and cod. Stewart Smalley is now the only skipper offering serious bassing trips out of Orford Quay in Suffolk (Tel 01728 453088) aboard his 25-foot boat Aldeburgh Angler II. Last year Stewart's boat accounted for the biggest bass in the UK, with a monster of 16 lbs. I've certainly caught my fair share of chunky double-figure bass to 12 lbs and lots of 5-8lbs fish while out with Stewart.

The killer tactic is drifting frozen or live sand eels or king rag worm on a long flowing trace in depths from 60 to over 100 feet. The fights are always spectacular on light tackle over a long series of banks situated some 20 miles off Orford. In fact, I don't think we have ever failed to catch bass. Hope I'm not talking something up here?

If the tides permit, we sometimes catch our fresh baits over shallower banks at around slack water when the sand eels are most responsive, and using sets of tiny jigs, the occasional garfish and some sizeable mackerel make bait catching great fun on light tackle.

I put my little, single-handed freshwater American bait-casting outfit to good use. Being light, I can feel the vibrations of everything that grabs hold. Have I whetted your appetite enough for the balmy, bassing weeks ahead? I hope so, but remember one thing. Don't fill the box up with meals you don't really need. A catch and release policy for the majority of the bass will ensure healthy future sport.

"How to catch big bass from the shore" Alan Yates, Sea Angler, 23 July 2010

Bass are common to a range of different venues, and although the short cast theme is continuous, no single bass fishing bait or tactic will catch everywhere. Much depends upon the venue, the season and the weather conditions.

Rock/beach bass: By far the most common venue around the UK to catch bass is from beaches and mixed-ground shorelines edged by rock reefs and weed.

Venues of mixed ground are home to the bass' favourite food - crabs. From spring the bass feed on the common shore crabs when they shed their shells, then through summer the fish switch to edible crabs and velvet swimmers and, in an increasing number of regions, spider crabs. Between times prawns, small fish and sandeels are also a target. Beach bass are not averse to taking a large mackerel or squid bait and, into autumn and early winter, a live pout or whiting.

Rough-ground venues tend to fish when the sea is rough and coloured, with the first of the flood tide best and, when the sea is calm and clear, flood tides that coincide with dusk or dawn.

Surf bass: Surf fishing for bass is the classic style. Casting a lugworm or peeler crab bait into a raging surf spawned the classic surf bass rod …

However, surf venues are limited and the sea needs to be stirred to produce the perfect conditions that attract the bass to feed. The first of the flood as it pushes across the sand is often the hot time.

Pier bass: Catching big bass from a pier is a comparatively modern style and came about because many mackerel anglers headed and gutted their catch before leaving the pier (and some beach and rock marks). This led to the bass moving in with the tide to feed on the heads and guts.

Some South Coast piers produce big bass to large mackerel heads, flappers and fillets fished alongside the wall or around the pier piles. Tide is the key to the best fishing, with the early tide generally the top time …

With time the bass angler will build up a picture of bass movement on the venues being fished, along with the best time to fish.

Bass bites are usually strong - either a slack liner or the rod dragged over. You can use a rod rest or hold the rod, but don't leave your rod unattended.

Some anglers find casting short difficult. Casting inside 50 yards is essential, and on occasions even 12 yards can be enough.

Over rocky ground an accurate plop into a gulley can put your bait in front of fish, and a knowledge of the low-tide terrain is a big advantage, so check it out.

Landing bass: In most situations you can use the waves to help you beach your bass, but don't drag it on the hook snood alone - use the waves and then pick the fish up once it is grounded, or use a net.

Bass have a spiky dorsal fin which will draw blood, but far more risky to your hands when handing fish are the edges of the gills, which are razor sharp.

Pick a bass up safely by its mouth, or draw it gently over a flattened-out palm of the hand.

The classic bass rig for rough ground is the simple running ledger, a variation of which is the running paternoster or the one-hook fixed paternoster.

For really rough ground the pulley rig … is a favourite.

Large baits are essential, and a hook size of 3/0 upwards is suitable for baits like a peeler crab or mackerel fillet, with a 6/0 the hook for a mackerel head or a live fish. A two-hook Pennell rig can also be an advantage for larger squid or crab baits.

A whole peeler crab is the hot bait on many rock venues, with the largest jelly softies deadly when available. Fish one on a float along a pier wall or on a ledger.

Lugworms catch school bass on the surf beaches … but do not catch so well over rough ground.

Other worm baits like ragworms and maddies catch bass in surf, although these are more likely to attract flounders.

A large mackerel is good from summer beach marks, rocks and piers, while a whole Calamari squid works in autumn.

A small, live, lip-hooked pouting or whiting fished on the surface is a great autumn and early-winter bait from beaches and piers, especially after dark.

"Four Fish" (2010) Paul Greenberg at page 87

Sea Bass

… in Mediterranean Europe the same species began to be named in a way that indicated agency and intelligence. The ancient Greeks associated the fish with the word labros, or "turbulence". Homer uses labros in reference to wind and water, and later authors use it about people, in the sense of violence or boisterousness. But labros as it applied to sea bass gradually came to imply cleverness. In modern Greek the consept of the sea bass as a clever fish became its defining characteristic. Today the fish is called lavraki - "the clever one". If you wanted to indicate in modern Greek that someone had cleverly figured out something tricky and challenging, you would say epyase lavraki - "he caught a sea bass".

The perception of the bass as clever occurs in other Mediterranean languages. The Romans named the fish after an animal they considered particularly intelligent - lupinus, which eventually became the French loup de mer - "sea wolf". And the Latin poet Ovid wrote of sea bass as using its smarts to frustrate its potential captors:

"In vain above the greedy [fisherman] toils, while with arts more exquisite the bass beguiles."

"Operation Sea Angler: The Second Wave" (2013) Mike Ladle & Steve Pitts at pages 18, 21, 22, 27 & 35

Bass

Time of day

… in the seas around the UK, although you can catch bass and other predatory fish at all hours of day and night, there are probably short spells at dusk and dawn when the fishing is likely to be red hot:

• The predatory fish were local in their distribution. They gathered over one tiny patch of sand in a large cove so it would be vital to fish in the right spot.
• Active feeding on sandeels only took place for a short time, which started as the sun dropped low in the sky.

Experiment with a hookless wedge. Note: (1) there were no bites recorded during the daylight and dark periods and the peak biting activity occurred in the 20 minute period before sunrise; and (2) sandeels return to their night-time refuge at sunset but, as light levels are lower under water, this sandeel activity (and bass predation) starts 90 minutes before sunset and continues until 30 minutes after sunset.

… In any sort of angling the secret is to know your opponent … For example:

1. We KNOW that in May-June young sandeels are regularly preyed upon by bass as they are swept up and over the 'bow wave' of a seabed reef.
2. We KNOW that seaweed fly maggots, as they float on the surface during high water spring tides, are eaten by mullet and bass.
3. We KNOW that, particularly in the autumn, great masses of Idotea (see slaters) attract bass of all sizes into weedy coves.
4. We KNOW that big bass can be territorial over intertidal rocks, swimming in as soon as the water is deep enough to cover their backs, driving away rivals from their chosen area and leaving when the tide begins to ebb.
5. We KNOW that in rivers thin-lipped mullet swim upstream in spring and autumn to feed on riverbed diatom blooms.

Livebaits

Sandeels have always been regarded as the bass bait and, indeed, fishing a live sandeel is an excellent way to tempt bass. However, anglers around the country have used other species of fish as bass baits, often with considerable success … live mackerel baits attract much bigger bass than any of the conventional lures.

The weed problem

… for some time I'd been using 'Texas-rigged' soft plastics to avoid weed. I butchered a Slug-Go (front half) and a Super Sandra (back half) and glued them together, producing a weedless, wiggly-tailed lure … The instructions were "hold up the rod and wind as slowly as you can". It worked a treat … For the rest of the year I only used my 'Slandra' and caught loads of fish. [8] The advantages are legion:

• They can be fished under any conditions - weed, kelp, drifting debris, shallow water, rocks, day or night.
• They cast reasonably well - 20 to 30 yards on braided line (I've caught fish as close as 6 in from the edge in the dark).
• Anyone can use them, even youngsters are pretty safe with a single hidden hook point. Just keep the rod up and wind as slowly as you can.
• The fish take the plastics confidently (some even take violently) so should hook themselves.

The only real disadvantage is that you have to make the lures yourself. There are possible variations of the idea and some … have been attaching waggy tails instead of Sandra tails to Slug-Gos, producing what they call Slug-Gills - these can be equally effective. Instead of using glue to fix the two parts together … (use) a model-maker's soldering iron. Heat the cut ends, press them together until they cool and … you have a good, weedless bass lure.

[8] Editor's Note: see the Lures page for a review of the Slug-Go, Super Sandra and Slandra lures.

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