Shore Bass Fishing

There are few species in European oceans which attract as much interest, obsession and devotion as the bass. Those armoured silver flanks inspire whole lifetimes, and those spiked dorsal fins and razor sharp gill plates in turn give nightmares to lesser fish. Whilst we could never pretend that bass stocks are in a totally healthy state, in truth there is still some excellent shore fishing to be had in some places. I know of no better bass fishing (so far) than in Ireland, and especially in the quiet, almost out of the way south eastern corner. Get yourself over there pronto !!

If you want to go looking for good bass fishing on lures, in general search for rough ground, masses of weed, gullies, tidal rips and shallow water. Most people would not believe how close to shore bass will come, and very importantly, how much they like to hunt in shallow water. Places that look like the surface of the moon when the tide is out are just about perfect, but tread warily over often very slippery surfaces (I have the bruises to prove it !!).

What I so love about lure fishing is the travelling light aspect; no tripods, rod bags and rucksacks. Take a 10' fast action 15-60g spinning rod, reel (with 30lb braid), and a selection of lures. Now of course the subject of lures is hugely open to debate, and those bright colours certainly catch more anglers than bass !!, but if it helps, one lure which is currently working incredibly well is the Maria Chase BW in this pearl/holographic colour. You need to work the lure pretty fast and because it dives so shallow it is perfect for virtually all the kinds of places we go lure fishing (these Maria lures can be hard to get hold of, but www.veals.co.uk sell a big selection of them).

There is no better clothing to wear for ultra-mobile, rock-edge lure fishing than that from the fly fishing market, for it tends to be far lighter and easier to wear than traditional sea fishing clothing. Absolutely essential are lightweight, breathable chest waders and accompanying wading boots, and short wading jackets are ideal. Wading is usually essential and you will often get covered with spray, so treat a pair of chest waders as being almost more important than the rod and reel. But remember, wade out on a flooding tide and you need to keep a serious eye on the route back to dry land !!

The reward that comes from effectively fishing lures over the right ground at the right time; a prime bass in bristling condition. Often the bass caught from rocky areas will have slightly darker backs, whilst the fish caught from beaches and estuaries are more silvery on top. Nothing beats catching these majestic fish and then gently reviving them in a rock pool for a successful release. This particular bass smashed into a Maria Chase BW lure on about the fourth crank of the reel handle.

Another form of light tackle bass fishing that I simply love : standing in the tumbling surf of an Irish beach and touch-ledgering with fresh baits. Light 2-5oz rods, small multipliers and nothing more than dreams, hopes and ability. Bracing oneself against the rolling surf and feeling intently for a bite often puts one into an almost hypnotic state of relaxation, but its amazing how fast the angler can spring into life when a bass picks the bait up. Bass fishing like this has simply not changed for decades, but still you will learn every time you go.

Huge blue skies, a steady onshore breeze kicking up a perfect bass sea, and a bucket full of fresh local peeler crab. Next job is to wade out amongst the lively water and work out where you are going to cast to try and find a bass. Too many people sadly think no more of this and just blindly launch their baits into the great unknown, but try to learn about �reading� the water and working out what all the moving water actually signifies. Over time it is possible to �read� where rips, gullies, holes and sandbanks are under the water, and rest assured that bass love to feed in or around all these features.

Is it ever going to get any better than this ? A perfect autumn day on a perfect bass mark, and that tap, tap, slack line bite results in this scale-perfect 12lb plus bass. Two anglers work together to help each other land their fish and each can share in the moment, a perfect capture in time of a simply majestic creature. Just how could anybody contemplate taking a fish like this home for the table ? A specimen like this is over twenty years old, so after a bunch of photos (note the fish is never far from reviving water, indeed I asked the anglers to kneel in this tidal pool for that reason), we gently slipped it back to feed again.

The eye of a predator, a fish perfectly designed to go about its living business in the most efficient way possible. In Europe I feel we could learn such a valuable lesson from the US striped bass fishery that itself was once close to total collapse. But recognising that a viable sport fishery was worth far more than allowing successive generations to commercially slaughter unviable numbers of bass brought about harsh legislation and ultimately an incredible recovery of stocks. Could this be done in Europe ? My heart wishes for it, and we all know how much sport fishing is worth and could well be worth to the economy with more fish for anglers to catch, but my head sadly worries greatly for the future of the sea bass fishery.

But if you hit it right then there can still be some great bass fishing out there, and being part of incredible sessions will live with you forever. This particular morning we lost count of the number of bass we caught, and at one point you just knew that if you cast in the right spot that you were going to get nailed by a good fish. Cast the crab bait out about forty yards, let it trundle round to a particular gully with the ebbing tide and then wait for that hit. Every single fish went safely back after careful photographs of an increasingly overjoyed Graham Hill !! Will I ever see bass fishing like that morning again ?

You have to be in it to win it !! Whilst waders are great for wading out, they also combine perfectly with a short wading jacket to protect from regular soakings when fishing conditions like these. Its up to the angler how far they want to push their own fishing, but personally, the more involved and edgy it feels to me, the more I enjoy it. Here Graham rapidly turns away from a crashing wave, but just look at these conditions : very much worth getting right in the middle of it all to cast lures (and he went and caught a bass standing right there).

A rocky bay, shallow water, a flooding tide and a lively sea; what does this say to the bass fisherman ? Get out there !! Think about where to cast and work as many different areas as you can, and after a hard session fishing lures you should feel like you've had a proper workout. I strongly advise anglers who like to sit in the same spots all day to avoid going lure fishing for bass, for this is all about thinking on your feet and walking often many miles looking for opportunities. But just how sweet can the rewards be ?

There can't be many better looking fish than the bass, and this near 9lb fish is a prime example of an autumnal fish in fantastic condition. A solid, well fed and perfectly muscled, bristling fins and a broad tail for swift turns of speed when hunting. Why do people so want to catch these fish ? Why can't more be done by the powers that be to further protect them for future generations to enjoy, respect, admire and dream of ? I want my children to be able to catch fish like this.