Saturday morning Charles and I set of to explore a mark we have not visited yet this year. We left the caravan site and and drove to Kingsbridge where I was to stop to buy enough food and liquid for the pair of us to survive for the day. Parked the car up outside the shop, and suddenly  realised I had left me wallet back at the caravan. A quick rethink and we decided to go back and fish a little more locally and thank the lord we did!

First girl falls to me!!

This one fell to a Tackle House Feed Shallow mullet pattern. Perfect on an overcast day in medium water clarity.

Next it was Wayne’s turn. Second time fishing and second fish. Wayne was using a Giant X-layer in Ayu colour with a Decoy 15g jighead.

Waynes 2nd fish

I knew the fish were coming in with the flood tide chasing the sandeel and felt certain we were in for a fast and furious session. Charlie found the wind was too much for his 10lb braid and extremely light rod so I tempted fate and put my Tenryu Buldog Evo in his hands, gave him a pointer on where to cast and YES, WELL DONE MY BOY. CHARLIE LANDS HIS FIRST BASS. I’m not sure who was more pleased, Charlie or me.  This is the now 6 year old who braved sub zero temperatures at the Cornish bumble last November and who has followed me over rock and sand at all hours of the day and night since then in search of a BASS . Congratulations Charlie, you deserve this one mate. Feed Shallow again.

Not sure if Charlie caught the Bass or the Baas caught Charlie!

And so they kept coming, This time on a Z-Claw. Fantatstic lure with an action that absolutely drives any predatory fish mad. If there are fish in the water and you deploy a Z-claw it’s just a matter of time. This one was taken just below the surface.

Z Claw delivers!

Given the windy conditions SW gusting 25mph, I set Wayne up with my Tenryu Rod Bar 270. Wayne hooked and fought more fish than we caught collectively, but just couldn’t land them. On two separate occasions he hooked into fish that had the Rod Bar bent double. I had to drop my rod and run over and adjust his drag in fear of the rod snapping on one fight.  We will work on his landing technique and report on his progress!

To finish the day this beautiful girl gave me a full on scrap. She was not willing to give an inch and took me through gully and kelp before she was tamed. Lot of respect. All fish returned unharmed.

A big fight for a 4lb fish

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With me playing host at the forthcoming Lure Forum South Devon shore bumble I thought it best get tuned in to some shore fishing. Having the RHIB at hand can make Nick a very lazy boy so I decided to get a little exercise and go rock hopping.

I have recently purchased a Tenryu Bulldog Evo II mainly for RHIB work but was keen to give it a casting work out as it boasts not only jigging capability but also casting up to 50g . I paired it with a Shimano Rarenium 4000 with 22lb braid and was good to go.

Always keen to preach to non believers, I kitted out my mate Wayne and we walked down to the mark. I had been watching the cloud cover move ever closer to the shore . Just as we got to the mark the sun disappeared and I knew we were in with a good chance of a decent fish or two.

It wasn’t until we were ready to attach a lure did I realise Wayne had never picked up a fishing Rod.  10 minutes spent on the rudiments of casting using light tackle and Wayne made a good start. A little jerky maybe, but he was definitely a good pupil!

With Wayne now throwing a Savage Gear Sandeeel (medium white) with a 22g Savage Gear Jig head. I was free to attach my lure of choice. This time last year I had great succes using te Sakura Magic Eel. Both the white and iridescent purple had worked previously so I attached  a purple pattern with 22g head , cranked the Bulldog Evo and let it fly.

The jig head hit the sand and I began a lift and fall action, I could see an outcrop of rock and kelp and pumped hard to get the lure to bump over it and  ”MY GOLLY MISS MOLLY YOU SURE LIKE A BALL” !!!! Fish on, not huge but a great scrap.

Good Golly Miss Molly!

We took care of this little girl and she went back safely.

Next cast and this with a change of Lure I fixed on a Savage sandeel the same as Wayne. Cranked the rod away it went.  On the retrieve I wanted to tease the lure back through the mouth of a gulley where I felt was a good ambush point for any waiting bass. Careful negotiation through the kelp and just at the mouth of the gulley I gave the reel handle 4 or 5 turns in quick succesion and “WAM, BAM, THANK YOU MAM! This girl jumped clear out of the water and what fun on light tackle. I have to say The Bulldog Evo put up a good show as well.

Wam, bam, thank you mam!

With Wayne now getting to grips with his casting and a few pointers on how to work the Soft Plastic lure and where, guess what?

LIKE A VIRGIN, KISSED FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME !    Fishing virgin lands a bass!!!

Fishing virgin pops his cherry!

Sorry about the naff song references. Been spending too much time with Nathan and his music collection!!

All fish returned unharmed.

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During a recent fact finding trip to Devon, sussing out some new marks, we couldn’t resist getting our lines wet! The conditions were perfect for targeting any fish heading out of the estuary as the tide ebbs away, an hour before low water with a slight sw breeze.

There were sand eels swimming around everywhere as I made my way out towards the small surf, a good sign for hungry predators! Waist deep in water I flicked a few casts out towards the breakers, using an Xlayer as the main lure with a sand eel Bass fly teaser tied a foot above trying to connect with any of the feeding fish.

15 minutes of covering the surf and nothing, time to move. As the flow of the water was beginning to slow, I figured I’d spend some time towards the mouth of the estuary as it was slightly deeper and I noticed the sand eels were swimming around here in numbers. After a big cast, keeping constant contact with the lure I began bouncing the Xlayer up and towards me in the water column and back down to the sea bed. Varying the speed and hight etc of the retrieval, I could feel the ‘tap tap’ sensation of the jig head banging against the sea bed, then suddenly….Bang! I could tell straight away this wasn’t a Bass as it began its fight for home, it had the feeling of dragging up sea weed on the hook but with the added few head shakes, something I wasn’t too familiar with. After a little scrap, this little guy appeared on the surface in-front of me.

Turbot on a sand eel teaser.

This is my first ever Turbot, and caught on a lure! The sand eel teaser above the Xlayer, what a result!!

It just goes to show how effective todays lure fishing tackle is for all manner of species, it’s completely opening up my eyes, the possibilities are endless!! I figured the ‘tap tap’ sound on the sea bed encouraged the Turbot to poke its head out of the sand to investigate, saw the teaser higher up in the water and attacked! I’ll do a little more investigating and let you know how I get on-any excuse to get on the water!

All the best, tight lines. Mat.

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