Toms Fishing Blog

New Simms G3 Guide waders.

2012-02-19T12:01:00.001+01:00

In the past I have usually opted for "budget" waders, but have just bought myself a pair of Simms G3 waders to see how they perform (they ended up cosing me around 400 Euros).

Click to visit the Simms product page!

Now these waders cost almost the same as 3 pairs of the Greys GRXi waders I usually use, so time will tell if these prove to be more economical in the long run (I found the Greys would usually last me about one and a half seasons, before barnacles or hooks took their toll - not bad for the price but they don't get as much use with me as they would some other fishermen).

The waders themselves scream quality so hopefully I will get a few seasons in with them. Anyway - a few pics..............

The top (hand-warmer) pocket has a waterproof zip.

As you can see here the seams are well sealed, with junction points having an extra patch seal

Here you can see the patches on the crotch area.

The stocking foot (gravel guards turned up).

Closer view of the stocking foot seals.

The top pocket is even large enough for a lure box.

Here the inside pocket (with integrated zinger, two small & a larger reversed zip pocket.

Hopefully these will last me a few seasons & I'm really looking forward to trying them out.

That's all for now - tight lines all!

Just got the Cobra.

2012-02-11T14:07:00.001+01:00

Just picked up a few replacement lures - and a new one for me - the IMA "Pugachev's Cobra".

The Cobra is a small top-water bait & looks as though it will do the trick (weighs in at 12g at 90mm & comes with ST-46 #6 hooks).

I know a couple of spots where I'm confident this lure will bag a fish or two - take a look at the videos to see the action.

Thanks for reading (again)......& tight lines.

Spanish Silver

2012-01-31T16:23:00.001+01:00

Just a quick pic of a nice fish that Dario sent me from Asturias (well done Dario!)- it went over 8lbs & over on Manels blog you can find plenty more of the same http://pescamanel.blogspot.com/ .

Great to see the bass are about for the Spanish boys - they do have some cracking coast down that way too:

Over and out!

Robs new book......

2012-01-20T18:22:00.001+01:00

For the German speakers amongst you, good fishing buddy Rob Staigis has just released his first book (I don't have a copy yet but will be getting one asap).

Well done Rob! (I'm sure its not easy to write something like this). The book isn't dedicated to lure fishing & covers most aspects of hunting the elusive Labrax and as mentioned is in German.

I hope to be fishing in the UK with Rob later this year (Robs web page can be found here http://www.wolfsbarsch.com/ ). Rob also runs very popular bass fishing tours in Holland a few times each year - demand is high so book early!

Happy fishing to you all!

Planning for 2012.

2012-01-14T10:46:00.000+01:00

It looks like 2012 might be a good year for the bass with the unusually warm weather (and water) being a real bonus.

Ive read several reports of fish being taken (even off the top) which is great as far as I'm concerned. The mild weather could also affect the fishing for years to come (fewer year 0 fish will have died from cold conditions this year & hopefully the pair trawlers wont get to decimate the schools of breeding bass as they usually do).

I hope to fish the usual locations this year (I do intend to avoid Dorset during the Olympics though) and will be down in Pembrokeshire early July (neap tides this year instead of the springer's I am used to).

As the UK fishing is looking promising I'm not sure if we will be heading to Northern Spain as we did last year (saying that - anythings possible and we might go ahead at short notice).

I have a few new toys on order, including a new custom build rod - more on that later when I receive it, I will of course post a few pictures of my new buys as they arrive.

Anyway - roll on 2012 & I wish everyone a great years plugging!!

Cracking start to 2012 for Joe.......!

2012-01-02T17:12:00.001+01:00

Good Buddy Joe (Adrian) has had a cracking start to 2012 and landed this beauty in Dorset!

Now that's a top fish in anybody's books!!

Joe really deserved a double with all the time he has put in over the last couple of years - mission completed! - well done mate!

Below is another he caught (I think he had 4 fish for about 20lb in a few casts!

I know Joe is still buzzing (who wouldn't be?) - Joe's blog can be found here:

http://lurefishingforbass.com/

Thanks to Joe for the pics (and the great story behind them) - you are the man!

Winner of the Daiwa lure.

2011-12-29T18:18:00.001+01:00

I will be giving the lure to Hugo Morais from Portugal (there was a double post but he was 11th so there!)

Hugo please post a comment here with your address & I will post in the new year (well done)

Lee Samson - if you are out there I still need your address to send you your XRAP.

Thanks for playing guys!!

The braid winner is.............

2011-12-23T16:23:00.000+01:00

For a second time the winner is Daniel Pereira from Portugal ! - well done Daniel !

The Daiwa lure is still open to win (come on guys - its free & easy)

@ Daniel - I will send the braid in the new year (your plug is in the post - please let me know when you get it)

@ Lee Samson - I still need you address to send you the XRAP

Happy Christmas all..........

Win some braid!

2011-12-22T16:41:00.000+01:00

The Daiwa lure still hasn't been won so have a go guys - you've got a good chance if you're quick !
Next up is a spool of Avani Sea Bass braid (23lb).....as usual please use real names & just one post per person - this time the 2nd comment wins.

Q: What is the Latin name for the European Sea Bass?

Oh and no silly comments about the phrase "European Sea Bass" - its just to clarify what answer we are looking for ;o)

Win a lure! (3)

2011-12-16T11:14:00.000+01:00

And again - the third prize....this time a Daiwa Current Master in Ayu.

All you have to do to win it, is to post a comment (below) with the answer to the following question:

Q: What do the letters B.A.S.S stand for?

The prize will go to the 11th person to post (comment) the correct answer (all comments will be published once the 11th person to give the correct answer has commented). Please make sure to post your name too.

Just one go per person - good luck all! (P&P will be paid by myself)

Mo Jack.......

2011-12-14T16:43:00.000+01:00

Just a quick pic of another fine Jack that Omar recently caught in Australia (these fish go like stink!)

Wish I could be there and all that!!

Well done Omar!

And a second winner..........(IMA Popkey)

2011-12-12T18:08:00.002+01:00

Our second winner is Daniel Pereira from Portugal (please post your address in the comments box Daniel & I will ship your lure asap by registered post).Keep an eye on the blog guys (there are a couple of more prizes coming up soon).

I will free up the comments in a few minutes.

Thanks to all who are taking part (& well done Daniel).

PS for those who are counting the posts I have taken the second answer by Kes:
Tom, Great competition! I hope that it sparks a decent number of replies. JDM = Japanese Domestic Market C&R = Catch and Release Kes

By Kes on Win a lure! on 11/12/11 (I had to chose which comp to put this in & Kes goes without but its all good fun).

First Winner....(XRAP)

2011-12-12T16:32:00.003+01:00

Well we finally have a first winner who gets the Ayu XRAP. The prize goes to Lee Sampson (I will let this one slip through as I didn't state one comment per person on the first comp & Lee did post the 7th comment).

Lee - please comment your address details below (I will not publish them) and the lure will be on its way per registered post in the next few days.

So in future just one comment per person please & I will have to exclude comments that are anonymous as I have no way of knowing who posted them! (in future please make sure you include your name when entering).

Also guys n gals please post answers in the individual comment boxes (per comp) - it make things tricky if you answer two comps in one box!

I will post the comments in the XRAP thread in a few minutes for everyones entertainment.....oh and the IMA Popkey is still up for grabs so get in there!

Thanks to all for playing!

PS to sum up - one post per person - use real names and one comp per comment .......

Win a lure ! (2)

2011-12-11T14:29:00.000+01:00

Well the first prize is still up for grabs (strange - I would have thought posting a quick comment with the answer would be easy - maybe nobody wants a free lure?)
Anyway here we go with the second prize....................which is an IMA Popkey (pattern as shown in picture).

All you have to do to win it, is to post a comment (below) with the answer to the following question:

Q: What do the letters C&R stand for?

The prize will go to the 9th person to post (comment) the correct answer (all comments will be published once the 9th person to give the correct answer has commented).

Just one go per person - good luck all! (P&P will be paid by myself)

Win a lure!

2011-12-09T11:54:00.000+01:00

As Christmas is almost here I thought it would be a good idea to offer a prize (or two) over the next ten days or so.

First up for grabs is a Rapale XRAP in AYU (the much loved SW version).

All you have to do to win it, is to post a comment (below) with the answer to the following question:

Q: What do the letters JDM stand for?

The prize will go to the 7th person to post (comment) the correct answer (all comments will be published once the 7th person to give the correct answer has commented).

Good luck to all who enter ....oh and I will also cover packing & postage!

Mo-Man & Jack

2011-11-19T09:29:00.003+01:00

Good Buddy Omar pictured below has been cultivating his Movember Mo for a while now, and being its for a good cause you can sponser him here...http://au.movember.com/mospace/1664810/

The fine Jack Omars got here went about 25lb, and gave its very best not to be landed by Mo-Man.

Go on - its for a good cause!

A spot of fun.

2011-10-20T20:15:00.000+02:00

After a failed mission (35mph winds) in Pembrokeshire I decided a quick trip to Dorset was the way to go, so at short notice I chucked my gear in the rental car & headed down from Cardiff. On arrival a bitter cold NW wind was a blowing but we were in with the chance of a fish or two.
I arrived at lunch time and met up with Mark (any excuse to avoid work lol). After a few hours of thrashing the water for a schoolie each we decided it was time for a change of venue.

True to form, Mark clipped on a weighted sluggo (jig head) and on his first cast shouted over he was into a fish. "What sort?" I shouted over "weed fish or rock fish?" thinking he had just tripped a snag, and suddenly Marks rod arched over & the fish screamed off up current much to my suprise taking line as it did so. Being a true fishing buddy I declined Marks request of help grabbing it (well what are friends for), and after a fiesty scrap he landed the below at 63cms.

By now it was getting dark & we fished on with Mark taking another schoolie around the 3lb mark. A bit dissapointed at being beaten 3 to 1, I headed back to my hotel with the hope the morning session would be better.

The next morning I woke to find the wind had dropped with weed making the fishing very difficult (about 1 in 10 casts was coming back clean). Just as the sun broke the horizon my lure got smashed at distance and a fair bit of line was stripped from the reel on the inital run. Fish landed it measured 58cms and was a very solid fish as Marks had been the previous evening.

Somewhat happier I cast out again and was hit straight away by another which also gave a good scrap, this one went 54cms. I fished on for an hour or so, but the tide was slack & I had to leave to get back, so I missed the push of the flood which I suspect would have fished well.

We didnt catch any great numbers, but the fish we did catch were decent fighters so we were both happy & had some fun as we always do.

Hopefully I will get another trip in the the next few weeks (Dorset or Ireland both tickle my fancy), so with any luck I might catch a few more before silly season (winter) starts.

Thanks for reading!

The going got tough.

2011-10-12T15:27:00.000+02:00

Just a quick interim report from a few days in wild & windy Dorset. As expected I arrived to raging winds (W& SW @ 25+ mph with gusts to 40mph!), almost unfishable but we managed to find a couple of sheltered spots but fish were few and far between.

Mark with a rock caught 3lber

To cut a long story (well walk) short, we really covered a lot of ground and climbed alot of cliffs to find clean water away from the winds on the tides we needed. I ended up catching 10 fish (excluding the usual bycatch), all of which were taken on surface lures, with the biggest at about 53cm (a suprisingly fat little chap).

The schoolies wanted it off the top.

Always a pleasure to catch these pretty fish.

A very fat fish at about 53cm.

I hope to be out in the next couple of days again - probably West Wales (or maybe even Ireland if air traffic control go ahead and strike in Germany, but thats another story).

Good luck to Gee, Joe & Mark who are off to Ireland tonight (they have a few days over there with tides and conditions looking good - no excuses lads lol).

Tight lines & thanks for reading!

Gone Fishing.

2011-10-08T07:48:00.000+02:00

Gone Fishing.

Reports to follow soon.

More fun & games from down-under.

2011-10-04T18:47:00.001+02:00

Good buddy Omar just sent me the below. There are a couple of previous posts on the blog from down that way so here you go.................

Booked a houseboat for 5 days up at Weipa, Cape York. These boats are generally booked out for months in advance. Luckily Steve had a cancellation so I snapped it up. Going through the usual questions when booking; where you coming from, do you have a license, how many in your crew??

He wasn’t prepared for my answer to the last question. “Just 2, me n the missus; thought we would come up n have a bit of a fish.” Turns out he had never let his boats out to a crew of 2 before. Lots involved in anchoring, mooring, keeping out of shallows and trying to avoid getting eaten by the crocs & sharks. These boats are built to sleep 10.

I think Steve was a bit nervous when we rocked up; a couple of landlubbers getting ready to embark on a self guided fishing tour of one of the most remote river systems in Australia, if not the world.
Got all of our provisions / tackle etc on board. Again, Steve looked rather nervous at the amount of booze getting loaded on board. “I thought you said there were only the 2 of you…….” “That’s right Steve, gotta keep the fluids up.”

My missus Sue; her face was a picture when she stepped onto the Tillymay. This is a boat built specifically for fishing in the remote waters around Weipa. It is not a ‘honeymoon cruiser’.

Anyway, Steve gave us the induction, bid us good luck n set us on our way. 1^st night we thought we would stay in the Hey River system whilst we got used to the boat. Anchored up that night in 6m water just at the mouth of a fishy looking creek. After chucking a few lures around for a bit, I got impatient & chucked in a big slab of squid. Seconds later, a bite, then nothing. Bitten off (100lb leader) before it even hit the bottom. Rerigged with 1m long wire trace. Chucked in another slab of squid. Again, seconds later, a bite then nothing. Unreal. This fish had snaffled my hook, line, sinker, wire trace and bitten clean through 50lb braid! Question was then, how do we catch a fish when we are being smashed by sharks before bait hits the bottom??? Tried metal slices; jigging them straight up n down. Same result; 3 lost lures in 5 mins……. No problem of me running out of tackle thought. Had a whole suitcase full of lures, line, hooks, reels etc. It got dark then we started getting nervous. Lots of crocs up this way. Lots of noises around the boat. Very intimidating place. If you get into trouble, helps not going to arrive quickly. Once it got dark, the biiiig sharks seemed to disappear, & we started getting into some little schoolies & soapies (small mulloway).

Woke up in the morn to a decent sized croc sunning itself on the bank 100m from the boat.

Time to weigh anchor and get on the move. ‘Navigated’ around for a few hours before settling on a bit of a lump on the sounder. Anchored up & set to work catching lunch. Dropped a lure over and straightaway got smashed by spotted mackerel. These weren’t massive fish but gave the light spin gear a good work out.

Lunch sorted, time to give the tinnie a bash & head up some creeks for some barra. Sue wasn’t game for getting into the tinnie. Convinced she would end up eaten by something. Off I went; saw a croc sitting on a sandbar.

I’m in a boat, she’ll be right mate…… Chucked out the sand anchor in 1.5m of water, intent on bashing the snags with some lures. Looked back at the croc. GONE……. Could I relax?? No. After 2 casts, scuttled back to Tillymay.

Fished from the houseboat for the next 3 days. That night, catfish….. Pull like a train.

50lb braid on a 15kg spin stick. Excellent fun. More macks for tea. That night, Sue was intent on catching some of the squid that were hanging around the back of the boat. Pesky squid were smarter than us. Sea snakes everywhere under the light at back of boat. Every so often, biiiig splashes nearby reminded us to go easy on the grog….
Day 3; still in the Hey River. Headed upstream as far as we dared. Don’t want to run a ground where no one could hear us scream….. More of the same, catfish, macks, sharks, soapies, grunter.

Great fun. That night, sick of catching small sharks and thinking about an early night, something took a like to my pilchard bait. 40 mins later, we saw colour in the water. Had no idea what it could be, only that it was substantial. Up it came; 3m long shovelnose shark. I have caught many of these fish around Bowen, but never

even heard of a 3m shovelnose. Awesome.

Guts n all hanging out. Screaming for Sue to pass me the gimble belt….

Well over 100lb. Couldn’t get it onto the boat & couldn’t get a good photo as it was too dark. Call for the knife & cut her off. Swam away strongly.

Day 4; still in the Hey River. Was really too windy to head elsewhere. Tucked ourselves into the mangroves to get out of the prevailing easterlies.

Sue even had a drive of the boat.

Getting braver…. She caught lunch n dinner of some more fresh macks.

Whilst chilling a bit, I hooked onto something I couldn’t pick. By this point, we were getting pretty good at picking the fish. This one was a little more violent than the macks; just felt different. Took nearly 10 mins to get it aboard. Biggest queenfish I have ever caught.

Talk about chuffed. If we didn’t catch another fish all trip I would have been happy. 90cm long & too
big for me n Sue to eat; back she went.

That’s about it. Did our best to finish off the booze & crashed out for the night. Up early for the trip back to Evans Landing & dry land….. Steve, who owns the boat; happy to see us back safe n sound (and a bit sore in the head).

We will certainly be headed back up that way next year; with a slightly bigger crew…… What a trip…..

Sounds like Sue & Omar had a great time (well done guys) - love the houseboat!! (the boat people can be found here: http://www.weipahouseboats.com/ )

Tight lines mateys!

Off again in a week.......but where to go?

2011-10-02T18:30:00.001+02:00

I will be off to the UK again in a week or so, but with it looking like the wind & swell will be up I still need to decide where to head for a couple of days fishing,
The Monday & Tuesday I was thinking of fishing show swells of 10+ feet over in Pembrokeshire (far from ideal with the wind shifting to possibly colour up the sheltered marks.........grumble)
It doesn't look much better in Dorset (again the in your face west winds) but with less swell predicted (6 foot swell is as bad as it should hopefully get),but conditions like this can be dangerous & very hard to fish.

Anyway I will be keeping an eye on the forecast & hopefully things will change for the better (the following week I should get a session or two in as well so all is not lost).

Thanks for reading!

Hard Work...........

2011-09-28T11:52:00.000+02:00

Anticipation was high for this trip, as the fishing had been excellent before I arrived (Mark had taken almost 100 fish in 3 days to over 7lb!) - what could go wrong?

Schoolies love a Zonk.

Well the weather calmed down the day I arrived, and the sprat schools seemed to dissapear overnight so the fishing was far tougher than expected.
We found ourselves having to cover alot of ground to find a few fish - hard work indeed.

One off the top.

To cut a long story short we managed to catch fish on each session (mainly schoolies), but had to work hard for them (low light early did produce a couple of better fish for Joe & Richard).

Joe took this beaut in the dark.

6+lb of Dorset Silver!

All in all we had alot of fun (as usual).....................................

Richrad with a 6.5lb-er

Mark says love your fish!

He loves his favorite lures too!

One rucksack per car! We had an interesting choice of transport.

Great for drying out the gear though!

A big thanks to Mark, Joe, Steve, Richard, Elliot & Carl for the fun!

See you guys soon!

Gone Fishing!

2011-09-21T07:22:00.000+02:00

Gone Fishing.

Back soon.

Next Trips............

2011-09-09T18:30:00.001+02:00

Ive just booked a couple of trips in the hope of a fat autumn fish (way things have gone for me this year it’s a long shot, but you’ve got to be in it to win it & all that).
Last weekend of September I will be heading to Dorset, followed by a few days (possibly in Wales or Dorset) in early October. There's been talk about a late November trip to Ireland (planning would be at short notice on that one as the weather and fishing could go either way at that time of year).

I seriously cant wait to get out fishing again (its such a drag living so far from the sea sometimes but hey - that’s life!).

Hope you are all catching (but leave one for me!)

Some nice bass fluff.

2011-08-21T10:09:00.002+02:00

I have just received these beautiful bass flies from good mate & fishing buddy Alex Jordan, they really are pretty things (almost a crime to fish these behind a Sbirolino!).

Alex & schoolie.

Who knows - might take these along on ,my next trip & actually catch something for a change! (just thought I would share as they really are nice on the eyes).

Thanks Alex!

Happy Fishing!

The Holland blank report.

2011-08-15T11:43:00.000+02:00

We knew the fishing was poor in Holland at the moment, but were hopeful of at least a fish or two - we were to be dissapointed.........

On arrival we checked in at our somewhat eccentric hotel and headed straight out with high hopes.

After a couple of hours we decided to head off for "breakfast" and had some great bacon and mushroom pancakes in a windmill (as one does in Holland)

Back on the water we fished a spot with a very strong current and chatted to another fisherman who confirmed that the fishing was awaful at the moment (the previous week had been fantastic and he had taken fish to 72cm!). The water did look good so we put some effort in, but nothing showed).

Next day we decided to meet with Rob Staigis who was running a bass workshop for a couple of clients while we were there (Rob had already been out on a boat - they struggled for a couple of very small schoolies).

We met up at Bass Hengelsport - a really cool shop dedicated to lure fishing for bass (they have a massive selection of softs - every colour and type you can imagine). The owner (aptly names Bas), really knows his local stuff & showed us some underwater video of large numbers of bass holding on local structure which was interesting). Bass Hengelsport is well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Off we went again - cast after cast produced nothing (we fished well on into the evening)

That evening we decided that we would leave early the next day and cut the trip short (sometimes you just know when you have been beaten).
We did have alot of fun (as soon as the boys got back to the UK they went straight out and Mark managed a couple of fish - typical!)...........

Stop Press......
Just received a message from Mark - hes out this morning.......10 fish to 76cm! (what a difference a day & 400 miles can make lol). Not jealous at all (cough cough).

Gone Fishing.

2011-08-11T21:36:00.000+02:00

Gone Fishing!

Back Soon.

Sad Picture....

2011-08-02T10:30:00.001+02:00

Thought I would just post this picture of a large dead bass we found earlier this year as it is quite unusual to find dead bass (I put the rod there for comparison - easy to tell this was a large old girl).

Im glad to say the above is not see something you often see............it is actually the first large bass I've found dead (hopefully the last too).
Who knows what this fish may have died of (unless it was an extremely large male, I assume it was a female which can grow much larger so perhaps disease or an encounter with a gill net or even hook damage or similar could have been the cause).

Sad demise of a beautiful predator............

Teasing & Rubber.

2011-07-31T12:24:00.001+02:00

I've just been having a bit of a tidy-up in all the boxes and bags Ive accumulated over the years & found a bunch of Sbirolinos and a few flies.
Although I have caught before on Sbirolinos before, I haven't used them that much, but as the fishing might be hard going next trip (Holland where the fishing has been a bit tough recently as far as I can tell) I may well give them another go.

Something else I have neglected, is using flys as teasers with both hard and soft baits (again something I intend to try in Holland if the fish are few and far between).

I will be taking a bunch of softs with me as they fish very well there (just picked up this nifty Illex bag for the softs).

Also new is the Lucky Craft ESGII 3.0g - 30g, 8'7" I recently bought (model code is 871XHXXF). The rod looks great & I cant wait to give it a go. Sorry if the pictures are a bit iffy.

Anyway keep an eye on the blog for more stuff soon!

Oh and happy fishing to all..................!

A half day on Chesil.

2011-07-21T09:14:00.001+02:00

After a bit of confusion as to conditions & meeting up with Steve (sorry about that Steve), I ended up popping down to Dorset for a half day yesterday. Mark was guiding for Dave and I caught up with them for a brief Chesil session.
True to form the perfect morning conditions changed on my arrival & the wind turned which pretty much killed the swell we so badly needed.Dave has only recently taken up lure fishing, so needless to say he was happy catching a few fish despite the going being tough,

A happy Dave with his first Chesil Bass.

The X-Rap in Ayu was the lure Dave was catching on (bait fish were abundant but the bigger bass didnt show up as we had hoped).

Greedy bait fish.

I managed a couple too.

Its was also great to see how close the bass will come in to get an easy meal - the fish in the above picture was caught in water that just covered its back (bold fish indeed!!).

Walking Chesil can break a man!

With the conditions looking average for the next day I decided to make the long haul back (I had intended to stay overnight if the fishing was really good).

I hope to get another trip out (possibly to the Gower) in the next few days in the search for a bigger fish or two........

Tight lines!

A Few Days West.

2011-07-16T16:03:00.001+02:00

Just arrived back from a few days family holiday in Pembrokeshire, (with a spot of fishing of course), as usual conditions were not that good, but a few fish were caught and a great time was had & that is what counts so all in all it was a great week.

First trip out I met up with Simon & Jeff Clapham who both fish the local area alot, as well as Rhod who is gradually getting infected with the bass plugging bug. Conditions seemed reasonable other than a grayish water (a colour I don't like at all for plugging), the four of us gave it several hours and managed to blank on a mark that had been producing fish in numbers the previous week.

Not too bad but no fish showed.

The following morning I tried the same mark with Rhod with the same result (although the water colour was better). Next day I tried a different mark for a couple of hours and the fish finally showed and I managed 5 fish to 47cm, which was a confidence boost after the previous two days (needless to say).

This schoolie took a Feed Shallow.

No great size but great fun!

Now knowing where the fish were to be found, I set out to the same mark the next day with Hywell, Simon & Jeff (who I had told about this mark before but they had never fished). We knew it would be a short session as you only get about 2 hours before the tide pushes you off the rocks. The fishing was good again - Hywell caught schoolie as I did (at 38cm) - Simon managed a 47cm and a 58cm fish (so we were quite happy).

A dirty car helped as mobile coverage was very patchy ;)

Simon & schoolie.

Plenty of laughs were had.

Jeff with a fine rock caught bass.

Hywell & Jeff outside the mystery machine!

Next day I met up with Steve "hound Dog" Payne & Mark (Tide Dale), and we decided to fish a reef mark but conditions were way too calm and clear and I was blessed with yet another blank!

Way too calm & clear (but pretty).

Early next morning I winkled a small fish out from the edge of a surf beach with a topper (thanks to the advice of a nine year old kid I had seen fishing the surf the previous evening lol).
Not to be beaten I headed to a low water mark the low tide to find the clearest water I have ever seen in Wales so I wasn't hopeful. A Z-Claw fished slowly over the kelp managed to draw the fish out, and I ended up catching 4 fish to 49cm!

Beautifully coloured rock caught bass.

The Z-Claw did the trick in gin clear water.

Following a family day out (with a quick evening session which produced a schoolie), I headed to the mark we had been blanking on to find Simon there kitting up for a skishing session (find out more about skishing at http://www.jerseybassguides.com/ )........ I must admit its the first time I have ever seen someone pouring anti-freeze down by the wedding tackle to get a wet-suit on (much to my amusement). I blanked from the rocks for an hour or so and left but Simon managed 4 fish!

A surprise meet!

Simon covering the outer reef.

Oi get out of my way diver boy!

Fish on (?)

Who's catching who?

True to form the last days weather was awful and the marks that had been clear were very dirty & 2 schoolies were all I managed (the only 2 casts that I didnt have a lure covered in weed!).

Also found a gill net while there (very professionally laid out on the point between Broad Haven and Settlands Bay - I was under the impression that both ends of a net must be clearly marked with name address and telephone number (this one wasn't), fortunately for the netter I didn't have a knife with me (or I would have cut his anchoring rope).

A well laid gill net.

This net must have been 100 yards+ !

To sum up, I had about 14 or 15 fish in 7 sessions (although some of the trips were quite short). Had a great time (well the fishing could have been better but it was a family holiday so I probably got the balance about right.

Looking ahead to next week I hope to fish the Gower coast with Jeff & maybe get a quick trip in to Dorset (time permitting), so keep an eye on this space.....

Thanks for reading and tight lines to all.

5 x 1(lb)

2011-07-05T14:48:00.001+02:00

It was up early this morning (02.30!), as I had decided to travel west in the pursuit of a Welsh bass, the two hour drive was easy at that time so the anticipation was high by the time I arrived. The moment I got out of the car it started to pour (as it does) and by the time I was kitted up the rain was pretty much horizontal (luckily enough the wind was behind me but boy did I get wet).
Conditions were actually pretty good (perfect clarity & overcast), but the sea was a bit flat & could have done with a bit more fizz.
On with an Ima Sasuke (Sand Bora), and second cast was a schoolie of I guess about a pound - next cast another - and another (all small fish).
Changing lures to a Feed Shallow Mullet#11, I was hoping for something bigger but second cast with the FS gave another schoolie.
The next 3 hours were quiet other than the rain drumming on my back, and after a 5th and final schoolie I decided that it was time to start the long haul home.

Not big but a Bass!

Of course catching bass is always a buzz, but I had mixed feelings about the day (|I cant help feeling I should have caught more perhaps or tried something different while it was quiet).
I will be heading West on Friday for a week, and I hope to post again while I'm there if I can get some Internet access (looking forward to meeting a few of the guys while I'm down too!)

Thanks for reading..................

Gone Fishing!

2011-07-03T07:38:00.000+02:00

Gone Fishing.

Reports to follow soon.

Visit Jersey!

2011-06-25T14:24:00.002+02:00

This year it looks like I will be missing my annual trip to Jersey due to other commitments, so I thought I would give this wonderful place a quick mention.

View Larger Map

Jersey has top notch bass fishing & everything it takes to keep a family happy while you are out on the rocks, and is easy to reach from the UK (direct flights from mainland Europe are few and far between, but can be well worth the effort).

Beautiful beaches.

Fantastic scenery.

With the fishing being spectacular at times, there are some great fishermen on the Channel Islands - the locals are easy going & willing to help you catch "that bass".

Bass heaven!

A must for a visiting angler is a trip to Mr Fish, an excellent fishing shop based in St Helier. Mr Fish offer a huge range of fishing tackle as well as one of the most extensive lure selections I have ever seen..
These guys really know their local fishing (and can often be talked into revealing where the fish are currently being caught). Mick can be contacted here http://www.mrfishjersey.com/ (or by clicking the store front below).

Click to enter.

The credit card may take a beating...

Two of each please!

Another group worthy of mention are the guys from Sinkers Sea Fishing Club (they can be found here http://sinkersseafishingclub.blogspot.com/ ) - Sinkers organise an annual bass comp with sections for bait, lure as well as catch & release, which is alot of fun.

Even I catcht the occasional fish in Jersey.

Also Jersey based, are the extremely talented Keith and Kevin White who run JBG (Jersey Bass Guides - find them here http://www.jerseybassguides.com/bassfish/blog1.php ). If you decide to visit Jersey and go guided, then these are the guys to go with (they offer a whole range of guiding as well as coaching services).

Keith with a prime night bass caught on a soft plastic.

Check this short video that Keith and Kevin made of the exceptional waters they guide on.

Video courtesy of Jersey Bass Guides.

I hope to do a bit more about JBG at some point in the future so keep an eye on this space.

Jersey wrasse love a lure too.

Sam sporting a 21lb boat caught Pollock.

If you get the chance - visit Jersey - you won't be disappointed!

Enough for now....... (time to start sorting lures for my upcoming trip to Wales!)

Thanks for reading! (& thanks to Sam, Keith & Mick for the pics)

Hens Teeth.

2011-06-24T17:50:00.003+02:00

Finally managed to get hold of some X-Rap SW 10s in Ayu which seem to be very scarce at the moment.

This lot will be winging their way to Dorset where Im sure Mark is dribbiling already.

The X-Rap - a great little suspender.

Might hold onto a couple actually........(just kidding Mark dont worry).

Tight Lines.

Another Golden Oldie.

2011-06-14T16:49:00.002+02:00

Having just had a poke about in my mail folders, I found these gems from Sam & Omar, which they sent to me a few years ago when Sam & Karen were down-under for a visit..........

"These are some of the photies taken by the newspaper guy, but unfortunately not used.. This is Karen's fish, needed all of us to hold it,100 lbs and a meter and a half long, no wonder it made her speechless. The other 2 guys in the photo are Al and Gary, skipper and crew. Sam looks pleased, and I am pleased not to be overboard, thanks to Karen for hauling me in!!! Pull your bloody arms off as they said, they were right.

Off on the houseboat again tomorrow for a couple of days of much gentler fishing. Love to all Omar."

Bit of a tug Karen? lol

Smiles all round.

Or screams!

Sams mail to me was similar lol - but check the numbers!!

"Well today we have got up and are backs, arms, legs,hands and knees feel completely shot to bits. Went out on a boat yeserday and the skipper told us that the fight is similar to someone putting there foot in your arm pit and trying to pull your arm out of its socket - we laughed at the time and he said you wont have smiles on your faces in 2 hours time we laughed again which he didnt find amusing. He got his revenge when I stepped up and after getting my harness together dropped my line to 100mtrs and within 2 minutes was almost pulled overboard, however after 2 minutes of sreaming action my fish was taken ...we think by a shark.- the fish would have been approx 20 kilos so I dread to think of the size of the shark.. All the fish in the photo are would you believe it......Samson Fish!!!!!!!!!

Total catch of the day was 43 weighing approx 1000 kilos!!!!! Ripping stuff. Karen had the fish of the day , approx 50kilos and 1.5m in length. All apart from 1 was tagged and released alive and well, Recovery day today, taking it very easy.

Will send another report of our next sortie due to take place as soon as we are capable of holding a rod and line.

Hope you are all well and wish you were ere!!!! Sam"

Shell-shocked by Samson.

Sam losing the plot - deckhands seen it all before......

Happy & tired at a guess.

Now thats what I call a gut busting session!

A big thanks to Sam & Omar for letting me use their pics!

For those interested in The Samson (Seriola hippos) - a member of the Jack family, more can be found here:

http://www.fishbase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?genusname=Seriola&speciesname=hippos

Omar can be contacted here:

http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/member.php?u=20368

Tight Lines!

Where did I go wrong?

2011-06-13T11:33:00.002+02:00

Ever wonder where you went wrong with the parenting?

Well, my boy has finally decided just how boring bass fishing can be with dad - I must have gone wrong somewhere here (perhaps starting with something easier than lure fishing for bass?)

Boys with their toys.

Footballs the name of the game at the moment (always hoped he would sign up with BASS not the DFB lol), anyway I can always live in hope that he goes far in footbal, and can buy me a boat full of tackle one day.

Lures - learning the hard way....

How can this not be better than chasing a ball?

If you have a look around the forums there are some great young lure fishermen out there so dont despair - give it a go (you may have more luck than me).

Off to order a rod now (more on that later).

Tight Lines!

Lending Lures - Lesson Learnt !

2011-06-07T18:55:00.019+02:00

I've just arrived home after a few days of very difficult fishing in Dorset, and am "feeling the pain" of a couple of good falls on the rocks as usual.

We arrived in Dorset to find the wind had swung to North East, flat calm seas, crystal clear water & bright sunlight were the conditions we had to contend with (we knew fishing was going to be tough), so plans were changed and we decided that the rock marks would give us the best chance of a decent fish.

First evening we had a quick session (which only produced a mackerel) and we realised it was going to be even tougher than expected!

The next day my lesson was learnt about lending lures to mates - Mark asked if I had a Chartreuse Patchinko he could borrow (bright conditions - bright plugs and all that), as good as I am the said lure changed hands & Mark cast it way out to try a spot at range. Two turns of the handle & the water exploded with a massive splash, and a very decent fish managed to miss the lure!

Inspired by this we all pushed on but had no more rises until Mark hit a decent fish (in the line of rotting kelp) which smashed into the topper. The fish was just over 7lb according to the B.A.S.S tape.

A fine fish on the Patchinko.

Marks head was certainly bigger after this catch!

A happy plugger.

Lesson learnt was next time Mark asks to borrow a lure - tell him you were just about to use that one & clip it on yourself. Joe also had a couple of schoolies & I had the dreaded blank.

Joe with a pretty schoolie.

I was under pressure (being the blanker), and was most relived to take a schoolie which followed the lures until I had no more line and had to swing the rod around to get a hook-up (a very unusual follow as the fish was swimming at the same speed as the lure - the lure actually in its mouth, but its mouth wide open & not touching it (until the rod was swung & raised to get the hook-up).

"Tommy Three Chins" - shocked to catch a schoolie!

Graham_hk had been catching on the same spot the day before - he managed 18 schoolies in a very short period! (not the lunkers we were after perhaps but good fishing all the same - well done Graham on catching in Caribbean conditions).

Steve "Hound Dog" Payne also popped down from Wales to see us in the hope of a fish or two so we headed out to Portland after one of Steve's famous breakfasts, but the fish just didn’t seem to be there so we tried a few other spots without much luck.

Anyway - I ended up catching 3 fish (losing two) - I think there were about 30 fish caught between us all (a few people fished with us in various combinations & the lack of sleep makes this an estimation as I wasn’t really counting).

A few random pics…….

Hurry up Steve....

Almost there.....

There were schoolies about....

Topwaters & divers both caught.

While there I also got to try one of Richards (Dorset Fishing Rods) custom built rods and was impressed, especially after seeing some of the other rods he is designing (he has some really interesting blanks and is working on a rod which will probably do just what I want, so next time I'm over I will be having a chat and possibly order a short custom rod for hard baits). Richard can be contacted here http://www.dorsetfishingrods.co.uk/

Anyway I will leave you with the above for the moment (as I'm kaputt at the moment), but will post again in a few days with some observations I made, and some information on new tackle performance. Oh and I'm sure Joe will have a report on his blog soon too http://www.lurefishingforbass.com/

As a last note - a big thanks to Joe for collecting me from Heathrow and doing the driving, Steve for the fastest breakfast in the West, Richard and Graham for the laughs, Angie for the cooking & cleaning, last but not least - Mark......for well...."being Mark" ;o)

Tight Lines!

Gone Fishing.

2011-06-01T10:59:00.001+02:00

Gone Fishing !

Back soon.

Stella 4000 SFE.

2011-05-28T13:15:00.004+02:00

Just picked up a new Stella 4000 SFE (S being the shallow spool version).

Here are a few pictures of it with the original shallow spool (FD spools also fit this reel for those who own a Stella FD). FE spools (the deeper ones) are available from America or Japan.

As this reel has a shallow spool, I will be trying some Yamatoyo Famell SW Super PE braid (1.2 PE @ 16lb and 1.5 PE @ 20lb) - it will be interesting to see how it compares with my beloved usual PowerPro .19.

Loaded and ready to go.

I will also be trying a different fluorocarbon this season (I usually use Sufix Invisiline which can be a bit expensive and hard to get hold of).

TripleFish Fluorocarbon in 15 & 20lb.

Anyways - not long to go now & I will hopefully be able to post a catch report (Dorset at the start of June).

Buzzing!

Tight Lines.

Holland in August.

2011-05-14T12:47:00.001+02:00

August is one of the best months in Holland, so Ive decided on a weekend break there which I am especially looking forward to.

Hopefully we will be meeting up with Harold (take a look at his blog here), I met Harold last year - top bloke & great fun to fish with!

No cliff clambering involved here.

By chance, Rob Staigis will also be in the area (hes running one of his poular bass tours while we are there).

Take a look at Robs page: http://wolfsbarsch.com/ - plenty of useful information can be found on Dutch bassing on the various sections.

Im trying to talk a couple of the usual suspects into coming over from the UK so hopefully we should have a good crew together.

Enough for now (all the interesting bits on Dutch bassing will hopefully be in our catch reports - dont want to reveal too much for now as I hope to be trying a couple of methods that are new for me)

Thanks for reading...........

A few recent buys.

2011-05-03T16:15:00.003+02:00

Being frustrated at my lack of fishing Ive decided to take it out on my credit card & here are some new additions I will be trying this season.

First off a new metal, I have personally not done well so far on this type of lure but the one below may just change all that (well one has to think positive!).

An Illex Kenubu - 20g & 5cm (a killer when small bait fish are about?)

Next up is a deep diving floater in Lazer Ayu (this little fella should run at 2 - 3m).

Daiwa Current Master DR - 93mm & 12g.

For a spot of dawn or dusk fishing I quite like an orange lure (hope this one will work for me).

A Daiwa Shore Line Shiner SL14-SG - 145mm & 19.5g.

I'm not too sure on this next one but theres no reason why it shouldn't work (especially on those gin clear days). Hopefully this needle fish pattern will be mistaken for a gar.

The Daiwa shore Line Shiner 17 FG - 170mm & 28g (needlefish pattern).

This should be a useful addition - the 120 is great, lets see how the 140 performs.

The Ima Sasuke 140mm & 20g in one of the candy patterns.

These should be useful too (the smaller Z Claw is a real killer) - I bought these to help keep visual contact with the lure (I find it easier to fish a topwater if I can see it - and who wants to miss seeing that take?).

The Zenith (Rosso Corsa) Z-Claw Medium 120mm & 28g.

I still have a couple of bits still on order......so watch this space!

One Month In.

2011-05-01T15:15:00.002+02:00

Well I'm one month into the blog now, & being as none of the usual suspects have found my little sanctuary yet its been pretty quiet apart from a few random hits.

Looking back its not too bad a start but I really need to get out there & get some fishing reports up (as well as some new pictures to use).

A couple of new lures are in their way so hopefully I will put a picture or two up soon.

Other than than not alot new to report - until next time..........

Tight Lines!

Booked for Dorset !

2011-04-30T16:06:00.003+02:00

Just booked up for a few days in Dorset at the start of June - and I cant wait!

The mighty Chesil Beach.

A big thanks to Joe who has kindly offered to pick me up from Heathrow & take me down to the Weymouth area for a couple of days.

Joe hiding behind a Dorset Bass.

We will of course be meeting up with local expert & good buddy Mark, which is always fun!

Bad boy of Bassing - Mark with a fat early season fish.

Fingers crossed we might even catch!

(Just a quick update)...

Until later........

Some bass about (around the UK shores).

2011-04-22T12:08:00.002+02:00

It looks like the bass are finally showing with a few people having reasonable catches (there have been a few decent fish as well as the first run of smaller school bass).

There are some reports showing on the forums too (some great info on the current UK bassing can be found on these 3 forums).
http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=86
http://www.jerseybassguides.com/rockfishing/index.php
http://www.thelureforum.com/forum.php

Good buddy Joe has had a few fish too (take a look on his blog here).

As soon as the guys start catching consistently I'm going to jump a plane for at least a weekend trip (or maybe even two) before fishing starts proper for me in July (I need to get out there bad!).

Enough for now - time for me to order a few new lures (may the force be with my credit card!)

Ayu pattern?

2011-04-14T16:03:00.006+02:00

So exactly what is the Ayu pattern & why does it work for us?

If you do a little research, its easy to see why a pattern such as Ayu would work for the Japanese & fishermen in East Asia.

The Ayu is in fact a fish (also known as the sweet fish), which is incredibly territorial (theres even a Japanese fishing method called " ayu-no-tomozuri" which involves using a live Ayu to trigger the territorial instincts of other Ayu to attack it).

Wikipedias Ayu (links to Wikipedia)

With the Ayu being so territorial its easy to see why it would be a killer pattern in Japan or other areas that the Ayu inhabit.

The Ayu is easily recognised by its greenish / gold "hot spot" on its flanks just behind the gill cover.

What I'm calling a hot spot is essentially a false eye which could perhaps confuse a predator or represent an eye (hence protecting the fishes real eyes which a predator may try to attack).

A selection of "Ayu" lures.

So why does Ayu work so well for us in Europe?

Good question and something we will never know for sure, but I have my suspicions that it may well have something to do with "the hot spot" the Ayu has on its flanks, (this probably isn't the only factor though).

Hot spots on lures seem to give predatory fish "something to aim for" - you might notice that when fishing lures with hot spots that the lure is often taken on the hook closest to the spot (you can apply this to both hard & softbaits - some people I know have had a lot of fish on softbaits with a hot spot they have created by allowing plastics to bleed onto each other).

Plenty of non Ayu patterns have a false eye too.

You can make your own conclusions about just how important eyes might be on lures :)

For those interested some information on Ayu fishing can be found here.

Booked for July!

2011-04-10T16:49:00.002+02:00

Ive just booked 3 weeks in Wales in July for a spot of fishing (and family holiday). I cant wait to get down to Pembrokeshire again (one of my favourite places to visit & fish).

Everything a bass plugger needs.

As usual, I hope to catch up with my buddies down that way again this year (Steve, Pete , Jeff, Simon & Mark especially) - see you lot soon I hope!

A few hundred miles of coast to plug.....so little time.

A plump bass from the Pembrokeshire coast.

Anyway time to start looking for a few new plugs for that trip (have my eye on a few little secret lures that I will post about soon)

That all folks.....................

A Late Trip Report.

2011-04-07T16:30:00.082+02:00

Better late than never - a quick report from my last trip.

As Adrian and Graham have both done reports on the weekend (they can be found here & here) - I will keep it brief.

In February I managed to squeeze a quick trip in to Northern Spain with the guys (Adrian , Graham, Mark & Stuart) in the hope of an early bass - our destination was Asturias which we found to be impressive to say the least.

The rugged Asturian coast

On arrival the first thing to strike us (apart from Joe not being able to drive or navigate lol) was the sheer size of the cliffs there, and after some initial exploring just how difficult it can be to reach the water. The first afternoon was spent checking out a few marks for the next day)

The first day was spent on a fantastic mark not far from where we were staying & Adrian managed to bag a decent fish followed by a schoolie which Mark landed.

The rough stuff!

A wet Adrian (just lost his Maui Jims to a dodgy wave - grrrrr)

Fortunately the next day we were able to meet up with a couple of great local guys (Manel & Dario) who are both very accomplished bass anglers and were kind enough to take us out on their home ground. You can find Manels blog here. Oh and Manels report in Spanish can be found here.

Our first cliff descent with the guys was (luckily for us) in the dark, & turned out to be down a few hundred feet of almost vertical rock face taking us to some spectacular rough ground. It didn’t take long for us to realise that the bass fishing in Asturias is quite different to how we usually fish and that perhaps we were "a bit under gunned". Swell was up (waves to 20 feet outside the reefs) and to be honest I was shocked when I heard Dario mention to Manel that it was looking a bit calm but was worth a go!

Perfect conditions!

The Spanish guys were using long rods & large lures - really banging the bait way out and fishing it back shallow with the rod high (this takes some doing as there are lots of shallow reefs and the swell to contend with), the fish didn’t show but we had a fantastic time with Manel & Dario (a great exchange of tips and tactics took place & I think we all learnt something from each other).

The next day was also without fish, but we managed to cover a lot of ground & got to see some spectacular marks.

The following video should give some idea of the surf we were up against (the last few seconds of this video give you some idea of the wave size).

A bit too much of the good stuff

So how on earth do you fish conditions like this? Well the locals love the surf & fizz, and will use "Chibos" (spelling?).

A 75g. goat hair Chibo.

Now the Chibo may be low-tech but its perfect for the big surf conditions as it’s a great caster (this will get you out in the big rollers) and has the weight to "get down there" while being inexpensive.

Tired pluggers

Dunno whats wrong with them after the cliff climb!

Amway - a message of thanks to the very friendly people of Asturias & especially to Manel & Dario for all the laughs and the time they gave us (we really hope to be able to return the favour!).

We will be back! Gracias Asturias y Amigos!

If only.....a couple of old but great pictures

2011-04-04T19:10:00.003+02:00

Just had to post these pics of a couple of mulloway Omar had a couple of years ago In Australia...

"Finally struck the honey pot. 24kg & 30kg. 2 years I've been trying to catch one of these monsters, now 2 in the same hour. The bigger one took 45 mins to land and dragged me 1 km down the beach. Nearly killed me carrying it back to the quad. It had a 3kg salmon in its stomach, whole......

BUZZIN A BIT

Omar"

Now if we only had bass like that.......

The waiting game.

2011-04-04T16:46:00.002+02:00

Its about this time of year that the bass angler starts to get nervous - where are the fish - when will they hit the beaches & rock marks?

Well the fish are starting to show in the UK although catches on artificial baits haven't been great - there is a rumour of a 14lber being caught (on bait) in the last few days in SW Wales so that's a good sign. I'm reliably informed that some boats are doing well on the inshore wrecks (so it wont be long now).

Being as I'm a bit snowed under with work I will have to wait till its really firing over there & jump a plane for the weekend .........(the waitings a killer eh?)

Graham Hill with a fine Irish bass

First Post......

2011-04-03T14:50:00.001+02:00

Well I seem to be getting my head around this blog thing so time for a first post.........

This blog will be mainly (but not only) about Bass fishing on lures & hopefully I will be able to post regular updates of my & friends fishing catches (well lets see how it goes).

For the next few weeks I'm unfortunately going to be a bit of a keyboard warrior as I have heavy work commitments, but hope to be able to share some catch reports from July onwards.

So back to the keyboard - posts with content to follow......watch this space!

A Test Post......

2011-04-02T16:47:00.001+02:00

Just a quick test post - hope to do a few real posts pretty soon !