So, the weather comes good, and all you lot scarper!! The irony of seeing the high pressure, set to stay for two weeks by the looks of it, and the book emptying with the end of the bass season. If it is the food aspect keeping you away, fear not. We can tailor the fishing to go for the edibles, now that the season for slaying bass is over for us sporting types. Todays trip a case in point.
Actually, David, who booked in last minute and was my only client this morning, wasn't really in it for food, as he had dinner plans with his girlfriend, so the firm intention was go and torment a load of bass, and then put them back that the commercials slinging nets all around us this morning might get a Christmas bonus. But that plan went horribly wrong and I knew it immediately as I gunned off the revs on the spot that had done so well for me last sailing. The sounder was empty.
We gave it a drift anyhow, with predictable result. Nothing. So, we were hunting. And it was a full hour, and quite a few miles later before we found some marks to play with. Three bass and two whiting came up. Had the bass been good ones, I would have stayed longer. But they were small. An hour to go. What to do? David didn't fight me when I suggested a cod bounce.
Which was great, because they were there in nice numbers. We boated six, and bumped a further three. Pretty good going for two rods in an hour. And the big difference. Three months in Sussex seas has done well for these fish. Those skinny 1.5lb fish, are now chunky 3lb + fish. That's food in my book. Of the six, we killed five. And had it been a proper food drive, feathers would likely have added mackerel and herring to the mix.
Perhaps two weeks of settled weather coming now. Extremely cold settled weather, but our fish love settled. The bait shoals will build, and the bass are still around in big numbers. When I fuelled my boat last night, there was a shoal of bass that took up the first quarter of the marina. It's looking very fishy. One note of caution though. Do not turn up without excellent insulation. If you are cold, you will not enjoy a second of it.
