Essex Megabass

Had a brilliant day down the black water estuary yesterday when it all came together,no wind clear water and the Bass were playing Ball for a change 14 bass in all and all returned safely to the estuary my favourite kind of Bass fishing is Estuary fishing for Bass and in my experience the hardest to work out and in the county of Essex a part of the world where there are thousands of bait fishermen but lure fishing in the area seems to come a lowly second  best to most anglers due to the harsh conditions  and poor water clarity,,
But,,
When the conditions are staking up in your favor and you are capable of working out the conditions even in the not so lure friendly county of Essex the sky is the limit the fish are there for the catching,,heres a few snaps of my day to remember in Essex,,,

clear conditions were the order of the day a rare occurrence in the blackwater



edome lazer edonis X92 we call it the alien eye and certainly worked in Essex



some nice bass started to show

well fed too plump hard fighting blackwater Bass

one off the top the lure is bigger than this little scrapper but next cast  a 4lber,,,



An Essex scrapper on the way in ,,,




at the end of the day i had a great session on the calm waters of the blackwater and for some moments in that evening i was back in my home place of SE Ireland the bass on lures and fishing was that good, all i can say is dear Blackwater and Essex Thankyou for sharing your bass fishing it is superb

Reflections of Chesil

Left home at 12.30am to pick up Adrian and fly down to the mighty Chesil Beach meeting up with Graham hk fresh in from the East, sadly the Master of Chesil Mark Pad couldn't join us on this occasion was away with the family but with some great advice from him we went on for a Bass Trip on one of the most untamed beaches in the world ,

Chesil is a Daunting and dangerous place and certainly not a beach for the unwary and inexperienced ,make sure when you ever go down there that you are prepared with water and the essentials for a long trip also physical fitness is paramount,the picture below shows the intense heat that can roast you on the beach Graham has scarf face protection and of course reflective blue Costa de mar sunglasses just the job for bright conditions

 On a long stint over on the beach we will take kettle ,water and mashing facilities,plenty of fire wood over there a frying pan ,tin foil wont go amiss either

 Camp Bastian2 we hung around for the weather to darken off bright conditions and calm were not working ,the Bass were not playing Ball at all so we decided to hang around for the tide there will be a chance with the cloud gathering,wind picking up from the south on the gathering tide,,

In the mean time, i went Rubbish spotting i cannot think of a place on this earth that gathers so much rubbish from drift wood to computer hard drives ,,Brilliant there are loads of flotsam to explore i found fishing floats,bungi rod straps,crocs,torches,nets,highlighter pens,ballpoints and much much more its an education

Eventually we made a move from our temporary camp and managed a few fish off the beach, well Adrian and Graham hk had a couple Each off the Top here's Adrian with a 4lb fish on a Lucky Craft gunnish the Bass were moving but the water conditions were crystal and Bass tendered to just sniff at the lure and turn away,,the guys did well to catch at all ,

On reflection we had a great day out even though the fishing was not on song,,We know Chesil Beach but if you want to Lure fish around this area the man to get hold of is Mark Pad he is the Master off of this unpredictable,daunting most beautiful part of the world you will have the time of your life with Mark Guiding you but remember Mark Operation is 100% catch and release,,,
some would say Chesil is the 8th wonder of the World,,i know i would,,

Wexford Bassing (the old magic called love again)

Just got back from a trip to Ireland with Carol we were out at the house ,shady nook ,yet again working and sorting a few things and checking the place out got to keep on top of things while we are building the M25 enabling works for the 2012 Olympic Games  only a year to go now!!,,
well the fishing decided to call for us so down to a old Mark of mine and Bingo the old magic called wexford hit again on a secret place of mine,,
Brilliant and yes you have got it we just love this place but at the moment Finacial issues wont allow me and my family to return to the shores we love so much,,,YET!!!!!!!!

The Z Claw get them from Cian at Absolute fishing  what a lure off the top first cast this lure will defiantly improve your topping

Carol with a nice 5lb fish on the K2 Brilliant just love fishing my home place and she does too she was expecting a night out ,,check out the manicure,,,ha ha took her fishing instead ,,now thats my type of woman!!!

The Bass kept coming for a couple of Hours with fish off the top (z claw) middle(K2) and Bottom the plastics just love trotting the shads down the weed strewn shallows

what a superb lure the anasago bora flashing plate is accounted for a few this Target them from a great lure outlet  topwater lures uk 

Plastics came in as the water got lower this is what estuarie fishing is all about ,reading the condition of the ebbing water total of a dozen or more fish up to 5lbs from bass marks that i have fished for the past 10yrs and i still dont see anybody around,,, simply Magic

Thanks for reading my blog

Cornwall Lure Compertition Report(its the little things)

Well we arrived at Ben Fields Art of fishing in deepest Cornwall after the long drive from the east of England its a long way but the company of Mark and Adrian seems to make the long journey a breeze talking fishing and all that,

What a polite and knowledgeable guys and girls Ben and his staff areThe Art of Fishing it was a pleasure to meet them,

So from here we set of to a mark i had been discussing all week with Joel Bass Guide From Devon he knows the North coast of Cornwall very well this was my chosen area to fish in the Festival as the weather was looking good for the North side Joels Advice was Priceless and i would recommend his services to anyone who fancies some Bass Fishing

Mark,Adrian and myself got down to our chosen spot around 8 am the Tide was just on High and the start of the Ebb the ground was as rough as rats massive crags and scars littered with boulders and deep water gullies all over was shallow Bassing ,,looked perfect for the odd bigger bass as this is what we were targeting size not quantity which Mark found hard to Digest 



First Bass of the Evening session just under size

The tactics i opted for was to follow the crags and scars as the tide ebbed as the ground suited this the bass will hold up waiting in Ambush areas the scene was set i got myself on station and started working the water with the shallow diver Tiemco sprat within 5 casts down a deep gully with boulders just tipping the surface
 i got hit by a large Bass in the area of the boulders ,stripping around 20yds of line and really getting dirty around the rocks i knew this was going to be a challenge i could hear the Braid creaking but it held after guiding the very spirited bass around the hazards what a sight as she broke surface a fish of 7lbs in the evening sunlight looking superb,i guided the beaten Bass into a calm back water gully for landing but you know whats next she gave one last lunge i brought her back to the surface and with one vicious shake of her head she was off the hook and suspended in the gully just looking back at me,i did think do i jump!!that idea went away as the Bass gave a flick of her tail and sloped off into the depths,i felt that sick feeling sinking in my gut, Adrian looking over could see the despair and sheer frustration of me loosing a  tidy fish that wont happen again i thought,,
The tide was ebbing  nice by now exposing more great looking ground as it went its so hard chasing across deep gullies and odd shaped Boulders getting out to a station eventually i got on station where i wanted to be the Tiemco flew and with a steady retrieve the lure was again Nailed at 3 rod lenghts out this fish again stripped 20/30 yds of line and was going like the devil in the shallow water ,,again after what seemed like a age the fish came to the surface 10yds out around 6lbs and this time she was mine ,Arian was on hand to help,everything was looking good I clocked a small V in the rocks and on the surge of a small wave the fish came easy ,then again that Head shake the hook came out again ,the fish was on dry land and i discarded my rod and grabbed the fish but sadly to no avail the fish thrashed and again was gone in a instant,my feelings were certainly heard by Adrian as that sick feeling came over me ,,
 

Tiemco Sprat 130

2 nice Bass in 30 mins lost ,potential winners of the comp i was fishing but hey that's fishing ,i just had to get to the bottom of what went wrong on that evening and on further inspection the hooks on the straight out of the box Tiemco were rubbish ,worse than the gataride they were like bending copper wire,so all that planning buying new gear ,working out new marks,tides , fishing times and effort put in to a event like the festival can be undone by Three sub standard treble hooks,,Lessons Learned,,
The Tiemco as a lure is simply stunning especially in the Sand Bora Colour ,,,,

The Tiemco Sprat (with changed hooks)

So the weekend was eventful and it was brilliant to meet Ben and have a weekend out with Mark and Adrian over the weekend we had a fair few fish the one above was from Kimmerage 54 cm on Sunday but nothing made up for the two fish that got away,,,

Bass on the Blackwater

This Weekend has just been brilliant Arron and his golf ,such a player i cannot describe,Brilliant , but more of him in the future, all i want to talk about is the Bass Estuary fishing in Essex ,
Its been a long time coming and has taken a couple of years to work out , up at the crack of dawn and down to the estuary for 1 hr after High Tide ,,ebbing on a neap tide all i met up with was a gold digger with a detector ,,any good i asked ,,No came the reply ,just like fishing he said ,,i did glance at the water and thought the man is correct!!!it was awful,,,, the colour was all the way out,,
i didn't want to go back to Maldon yet so testing a few lures and getting a bit of practice for Cornwall at the weekend,as the Tide ebbed it started to clear and the gravel spits were giving access to the clear water channels ,,the estuary suddenly started to look very Fishy,,


You can see the segregated water of dirt and clear the Bass were lurking just in the dirty water waiting to pounce,wading out up to my chest and positioning myself on the Tangent,casting my lure up the run off interface,, Bang every time ,,

what a super lure the the matsuki 130 Hokkaido from Italian fishing accounted for 15 Bass today nothing in size to break any records but working out how to fish the Black water is just a treat that i have worked out today  working the shore on the ebb down to low fishing the spits of sand and separating the coloured water from the clear,,and fishing the matsuki as slow as possible to Give the Bass a chance in the coloured water

I knew this lure would be a winner when i saw it  brilliant and works in the dark water

nothing big but hey what a fantastic days fishing and when you work it out for yourself when the conditions,tides and colour are against you its even better 15 Bass and loads of bangs and lost fish ,,all in 3 hrs ,simply a brilliant end to a perfect weekend

What are Friends for!!

What a brilliant week Carol ,Arron and myself had at our Home in SE Ireland in our house at Shady Nook the weather was simply stunning the only thing was ,we have had loads of work to do on our house DIY got loads of stuff done more than expected,,
 in the mean time my old Buddie and bass convert turned up to see us ,,Carol and I were laid out in the Garden when a old mate of mine turned up Mick Boland we fished Bass Alley many moons ago we talked for ages in the Irish sunshine about all them memories and double figure Bass and of course the ones that got away,the memories were so vivid we had a brilliant time just chatting away and catching up on the lawn at shady nook,,
Mick and i swapped lures and ideas it must have been getting on 4yrs since we fished together since then he has become a rather tasty lure angler,,,,

Mick with a half tidy Bass some of mick marks are off the scale ,,here's another pic to wet your appetite

Superb on the AYU Xslayer on to a articulated head and 2/0 vaviras wide mouth hook

above is the Metsuki Floating 150mm seems to be a cross between a tide minnow and a Daiwa Shoreliner brilliant casting and a strong bib i was very impressed with this lure as it comes in a sinking version too and the best bit is all for around £10 pounds delivered i paid £32 for three ands here's the other one 130mm sinker with Owner Trebles

get them from here
italiafishing
why pay silly prices when these nice lures are around

Off to cornwall over the weekend with Mark and Adrian on the 1st 2nd and 3rd of July to  fish the cornish lure festival cant wait for this one if you fancy having a go get your ticket on line from Ben at the art of fishing LURE FESTIVAL

Heres Joel a Devon Bass Guide and a realy good one at that been speaking to him lately as he has been bagging up down that neck of the woods The Bass above was 9lb 8oz he has had fish to 11lb 8oz this season and its a long one down there,,
,he also knows a thing or two about the Cornwall Coast and thats handy for us in July,,
catch up with Joel at joelsoul68@live.com
you will have some fun with this guy he realy knows his stuff,,,,,,,,

Nearly forgot a flying visit to Ireland at the weekend is on the Cards,,,,,

Ireland going home

Off to Ireland tommorrow evening on the night ferry from Fishguard arriving in Rosslare early saturday morning ,,
Carol and i are going to do some DIY on our Home in Wexford cutting grass gardening if the weather permits ,fixing cookers ,painting,tiling,fixing showers ,Arron has packed his Golf clubs and i have left the fishing gear in England NOT,,well it is the close season for Bass over there,,
I know there are many that have a view but for me i will stick to wrasse and pollock there are loads of them in Ireland and Bass will be just a by catch that will not be targeted but released if caught,,,




Photo Henry Gilbey

One of my favorite pictures my son Arron with Shaun Fenton on the Wrasse  great sport on a light rod shaun was Henrys director of his Wild Fishing series ,But having a wild time in Ireland this night with Arron on the Wrasse great sport ,try here this guy knows about wrasse fishing and much more here Keith white

I will be trying a few Crab next week males are just ending and females are just starting to peel a brilliant bait for Wrasse and Silver Pollock and SE Ireland has the best Crab around,,,i will be meeting up with Cian too ,,cant wait to have a look round his shop at Absolute Fishing Waterford ,,
but i must not get too carried away i have loads of DIY to do,,,,