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My idea of an ideal bass mark.
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Tackle
Finding the Perfect Bass Conditions As we wait for the water temperatures to rise and the bass to start switching on, Steven Neely has some tips on what to look out for on your next trip.
T
here is a common misconception amongst anglers that bass are hard to catch – this simply isn’t true. The struggle that most people have is locating the fish in the first place. This article should help set out the basic foundation for what to look for next time you go out bassing. My bass fishing is centred round lures, be it throwing shallow diving plugs over reefs or bouncing soft plastics down an estuary. Of course, some of the principles still apply for bait fishing but in this instance I am coming from a lure angler’s perspective. The key to success is to get the right combination of location and conditions. If you can hit a likely spot on perfect conditions then the odds are massively tipped in your favour. Structure and food Like many predatory fish, bass love structure for two main reasons; firstly it provides sanctuary for a variety of food sources and secondly it creates cover for them to ambush their prey. The format and composition of the structure will depend largely on the type of food source present. There are many different types of structure to look out for: Gullies Reefs Boulder fields Rock spits Weed beds Sand gutters, troughs and holes Sandbars Each type of structure will present the bass with a different food type, for example a sand bar will provide shelter for sandeels, sea trout, mullet and so on, whereas a gully or boulder field will provide cover for gobies, blennies, crabs, shrimps and so on. If you begin to understand the correlation between structure and food type then you can tailor your tactics and approach to suit. If I’m going to fish a sandbar or trough in a beach I will consider using soft plastics that best replicate sandeels or use small shads designed to mimic juvenile sea trout or mullet. If I was fishing over the rocks, I would try and replicate small fry, mackerel, pollack and so on, depending on the time of year. It’s always worth exploring the ground you’re about to fish to see what food is present on a mark. This will give you a starting point for your lure choice – think about colour, shape, size and profile. With the exception of beaches and estuaries, bass love rough ground, but I feel this is what puts a lot of people off. This ground can be hard to fish if you’re not prepared. Shallow diving plugs, surface lures and weedless soft plastics are all perfect for fishing shallow, snaggy ground which bass scour for food. Make sure you carry a selection and keep trying various options until you find one that works – think about matching the hatch, so to speak. Tides Now that you have looked for structure and food it is time to look at the tide. This will affect when the fish are present on any given mark. Quite often rising tides produce the best fishing as they bring the fish closer to the shore and therefore
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72 Irish Angler April 2013
April 2013 Irish Angler 73