Tuesday 9 August 2011

Time and Tide...



Bass have occupied my dreams of late...

Then an offer come over the ether to write editorial around a Honda ad about night fishing with illuminated lures. In the video they are fishing out of Brixham and catching big bass at night over a wreck somewhere far out in the English Channel and this sparked a train of thought about the possibility of catching bass on illuminated lures at an old low tide shore mark of mine, a place that five years ago was so productive and so secret that even now I can't tell myself where it is...!


I've checked out the weather forecast for the next week and it looks like Thursday will be best with warm Southerly breezes, enough hot sun during daylight hours to warm the flats and bring the bass up the creek foraging for crabs and sprats and with low tide falling at precisely the right times for effective night fishing.

However, I've found that attaching chemical lights to lures is not an easy thing to do without seriously impeding the action of the lure itself and also I need to find a way that allows the light to be interchangeable as I have a range of colours - yellow, green, red and blue - to try out. So far the best solution I've found is a lead-head transparent squid muppet mounted on a long shank hook with the chemical light attached along the hook shank, but I'm open to suggestions to alternatives...?

I'm certain it'll work well as I've caught plenty of bass on moving baits during the darkest of nights by the simple expedient of chucking the bait into the current and feeling for bites as the bait sweeps along the creek and out to sea. Bass hit the bait hard when its moving and the bites are ferocious - I can't wait for that first grand slam.

Whether or not I'll be putting the stamp of bass on ice that they catch in the ad is partly down to my skill and judgement - get it wrong and I'll fail but get it right and it's more than likely that I will if the bass are on the prowl.

As for the less predictable elements...

Well that's a matter of time and tide.

This post is sponsored by Honda



5 comments:

  1. 31 days till I hit the brine again.

    - mid September

    - possible Indian summer

    - my new beach caster is on it's way

    - may even take my lure rod

    - I know the patrol routes and times

    'come on new PB'

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  2. Steve in Colorado10 August 2011 at 01:17

    Jeff, I know it's not what you're after but here in Colorado the local craft shop sells luminescent paints of various colors in small bottles... perhaps a swathe of silver or white- and some circles for eyes- on a standard bass plug would do the trick?

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  3. Like the underwater footage of the props Jeff. Suppose you took it on your camera ;-)
    Also like the idea of a 5 am greasy fry up and a pint!

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  4. I've delayed the date till Friday now as the wind will be lowest then - if the wind is up, the sea will be choppy and the commotion will stir up the water and fill it with suspended sand and silt. Bass are sight feeders and won't even come close inshore in such conditions.

    I'll get some luminescent paint from the hobby shop Steve and paint up some standard lures too. Thanks

    Dave, I can't claim I did! but might try some shots of the lure under water. The pint will be ready and waiting for a late night beach barbecued bass with oysters and mussels. MMmm....

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  5. Dan, I'll lend you the successful lure!

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