First sailing, returnee's Scott and Ash, were joined by Jethro, new to BIF1. Heading out onto lovely flat seas, it wasn't long before we found a shoal of bass smashing fry off the surface, and we began our assault.
Fish were not quite as prolific as previous days, and the guys fished really well to get the result they did. The final tally, was forty eight fish. A brace killed because only a brace was required, but there were table fish being returned. Having said that, the bulk were smalls. Really good fishing.
Which is why it was such a surprise when returnee's Dean Roly, Geoff and Olda joined me, and we headed out to... Zero birds, small quantities of bait and almost zero bass. I couldn't have upset a nicer crew. Incredible, but if any of you follow my blog, you will have read that every now and then, Neptune throws the "OFF" switch. I guess it was always coming, as it has been fishing so well for quite a while. But on this session, the grand total was just two small bass and a gurnard.
Third sailing, and a staff outing from local care agency COMPASS HOMECARE. Sandra, Amily and Luke out for an evening on the bass. And a lovely evening it was. Very calm seas, it screamed surface lures. Happily, with the new tide, some, although not as many as earlier in the week, fish were again happy to be inshore. It wasn't the fast and furious fishing we had been experiencing, but it did have a silver lining. The few fish that were around, were in very shallow water, and quite happy to hit the surface lure.
I have decided not to hold trebles on surface lures on the boat, instead replacing all the trebles with singles. This was a great time to try them. And the bulk of the sixteen fish landed fell to these. Lots did not connect, for sure. But usually those fish kept persevering until they became hooked. And no damage to any of the fish other than the hook hold. This is what I do not like about trebles. Smaller fish OFTEN smash it that the belly hook holds them, and the tail treble rips into their shoulder or somewhere else on the flank, causing potential mortality. Still work to be done. My friend Chris Crat, who is a genius at hand carving surface lures, suggests I try assist hooks. There is one in the post for me to try... Watch this space...
