BASS

having never caught a bass i have to ask.

what is the big deal?

Ah, here we go! I'm staying out of this one.

Personally, I just love fishing for Bass. It's a pleasure and an honour for me everytime I catch one and there is nothing more I enjoy than going on holiday down somewhere to fish for them. It's something I look forward to every year. They are very addictive and are really great sport to fish for just like mullet are for me too. There are so many ways and methods you can use to try and catch a Bass ranging from spinning, using plugs/lures, fly-fishing, using bait or even a float set up or rig. For me it's that what makes Bass fishing so interesrting and challenging and enjoyable. Everyone has there own favourite species they love to target and catch, for me Bass is number one. Plugging for Bass I find really good fun to do, when your on the move all the time up and down a beach or a rock mark and your trying to suss out where the fish are and then once you've located them it's then making sure your working the particular lure or plug you have correctly to get them to bite/react and take it. There's nothing like the sight of a bass coming up and breaking the surface after a plug you are working in the water and then hooking into it.....amazing......for me, that's what makes bass fishing number one. You have to put abit of thought into it too, like knowing the tides or getting the tides times right for a particular mark to ensure you maximise your chances of catching one, sussing out how the Bass are feeding and what bait works best at a particular location. There is such a variety of places you can fish for them and catch them too, from big open surf beaches to small bays, coves, estuaries, to rock marks and channels. You can fish and catch them all year around too unlike some species which you can only target and catch depending on the time of year it is or what the weather is like. Some of my most fondest and best fishing memories are off fishing for bass, both plugging for them on a hot summers day or in the winter when I have been standing up to my waist in the surf holding my bass rod in my hand waiting on a bass to take my bait. Very exciting indeed.

your not missing out on much mate. they dont fight particulary well, their easy to catch and they taste moderatly well. people go mad for em but give me a tope, huss, ray, smoothy, conger, big pollock, codling, ling, wrasse etc... any day ahead of em

Why not catch one and make up your own mind

yappo

I wouldent go saying they are easy to catch unless you have a secret swiming pool full of them .They are very sought after for that fact, they are an illusive fish. This on its own makes them a target specie thats just one reason i think every angler has there own reasons but id certainly take one over most other fish, a tope is about the only one i would put ahead of them but thats just my opinion. .

I wouldent go saying they are easy to catch unless you have a secret swiming pool full of them .They are very sought after for that fact, they are an illusive fish. This on its own makes them a target specie thats just one reason i think every angler has there own reasons but id certainly take one over most other fish, a tope is about the only one i would put ahead of them but thats just my opinion. .

i dont have secret swimming pool full of them but if you fish the right marks their childs play, they'l nearly always take any bait you put infront of them. shankill has a very healthy population of bass, if you think their so elusive go out there and fish the corbawn area hard for a few days over high water. you'd be surprised what youl land. most people get caught up bass fishing and come to the conclusion their rare and mythical. simply put these anglers are in the wrong areas, fish the wrong conditions and tides and havent got a clue about watercraft. once you learn to understand where and why bass feed youl see your catch rate dramitaclly increase.

maybe its because i live in ireland, but the whole mystery and ghostly association that go hand in hand with bass fishing is probably the biggest con since global warming. bait fishing for bass is simplicity in itself, fishing with lures is a slightly different kettle of fish.
you don't need any fancy literature in my opinion, you just need to get out there, accept that they are as easy to catch as flounder and just do it. people seem to often get hung up about bass fishing, fish various marks, blank more often than not and then reach the conclusion their elusive. the one thing i cant stress enough is the fact you must fish a mark that holds bass. sounds obvious but judging by people over here, its an all too common mistake. you can have all the right tackle, bait and henry gilbey inspired visions in your box, but if the spot your fishing doesnt have bass infront of you, your ultimately gonna fail.
luckily bass are one hell of a variable fish who isnt entirely fussy about his real estate, geographical location is probably 9/10 more import than the venue type. surf beaches, shingle beaches, easturies, rock marks and piers all hold bass. of course judging by my experience surf beaches tend to produce the best amounts of fish and thats probably due to the fact i fish them more often when after bass. over here the south east, south and south west are the bass hotspots, so im going to assume its the same in the uk. so ideally fish a surf beach in the southern counties with a good (not too rough) surf running with fresh bait and you should get your bass?
obviously a couple of little tipets of info will help you succeed to an even higher level. surf beaches with rocky outcrops will be more appealing to a surf beaches of plain flat sand, bass are a fish of features, very important. traditionaly surf beaches fish best over low water when the fish are all concentrated on the low water mark waiting for the tide to flood so they can scatter out, again on the feed, the three breaker rule is a general guideline and not bible, a little bit of distance on the shallower surf beaches can be help and fresh baits for bass seem to yield better results. rag, lug and razor would be my main baits. oh and night time is the best time
favourite rig for me is a three hook flapper, size 1 hooks. simples
dont get too hung up about bass, when you fish a mark thats is a proven spot you will catch them, they are a simple fish, all they want is food, put it infront of them and they will rarely refuse!
hopefully with a bit of luck you too will one day be able to give your bass a kiss goodbye

i wrote that on another forum for someone who was looking to catch bass, i believe its pretty apt for those who struggle in the bass. golden rule keep things simple

Because its a rush nothing compares to a dare-devil swim bladder busting fight form a silver bar........

What eric has said above is spot on.bass are easy to catch when you know where they are its finding them is the hard part.when you have fished marks over a long time you know when and where they will be .some times you can set your watch by them.a lot of the bass i have got this summer have been in flat clam sea, so out the window gos the big surf .i dont get tope where i fish so i cant comment on them.you have to take good nights with a lot of bad ones .so when you get that big rod bender ,head banging fella i think you might want some more of it.everyone to there own

When you have the knowledge and experience you have it certainly does make fishing easier and you up ur chances no end,but it still remains that they are harder to catch than most fish and thats the word among alot of anglers ive met on the beach, read in books and seen on alot of websites.The information you gave me on how to go about cathcing them is first class and i apreciate it as most would be tight lipped on such a subject.I have one mate that actually fishes, so it is quite hard to pick up any new information ie if you have a vast variety of friends that do fish and have alot of experience to boot it will bring on the beginer leaps and bounds so in my case a club is realy my only option.The next time though you are going down to shankill for a couple of average bass give me a shout il even throw you a few bob for the effort.

When you have the knowledge and experience you have it certainly does make fishing easier and you up ur chances no end,but it still remains that they are harder to catch than most fish and thats the word among alot of anglers ive met on the beach, read in books and seen on alot of websites.The information you gave me on how to go about cathcing them is first class and i apreciate it as most would be tight lipped on such a subject.I have one mate that actually fishes, so it is quite hard to pick up any new information ie if you have a vast variety of friends that do fish and have alot of experience to boot it will bring on the beginer leaps and bounds so in my case a club is realy my only option.The next time though you are going down to shankill for a couple of average Bass give me a shout il even throw you a few bob for the effort.

theres a massive tide today around 6pm and i'd urge you to get down to the beach and make a map of the features. the beach is littered with rocky outcrops and patches of sand at low water. best bait ive found around there is fresh peeler or king rag fished onto the patches of sand over high water. calm conditions seem to fish best and of course be prepared to loose some tackle. you can also plug the area around there quite succesfully. its the best time of year for bass around there too.

have to agree with eric, there's nothing too hard about catching them, if you know they are on a stretch of beach, just keep it simple and you'll get one.. what makes them easy to catch is all the methods you can get them by.. as mentioned before they will take nearly any bait be it squid, sandeel, lug, rag, peeler, razor, mackerel, herring, maddies etc or spinning either surface lures, diving lures, spinners, poppers, plugs or by float fishing with any of the above baits and now even by fly fishing.. I don't think there are many other fish species that can be caught by so many different methods..
i think what is making them as prized as they are is because of media, all the mags go on about bass and Ireland being the place to get them, but we all live here, they are on our doorstep, the only thing is because of conservation limitations on bass there seems to be an idea that there are limited numbers (which in fairness, talking to older people there is compared to a good few decades ago) all this combined makes them a prized fish to catch, it doesn't make them any harder to catch though!
just my two cents worth..

I caught my first bass this summer and it was a fine fish but i haven't been bothered fishing for them since. Don't see the big deal. As eric said above, big wrasse, conger, pollack and that kind of thing would be more enjoyable. And the other fact of the bass being such a touchy subject, i'd rather stay away from that kind of nonsence and have a bit of fun float fishing or spinning off the rocks. Light gear and a few hungry pollack and wrasse will take some beathing as far as a days fishing goes.

Thanks for that i will have to have a look and check out the spots at low tide.
@ steve --That is no surprise agreeing with eric he is the bj penn of this website!and im just realy starting so its not exactly like im trying to compare fish size around a camp fire!As you said there are lots of ways of catching bass but its still remains there are alot easier fish to catch ie one method(feathers)fish (mackeral)Im not disagreeing with anyone im just very surprised when i hear of people saying there easy to fish for it doesent exactly boost the confidence for ones angling skills

I hear of people saying there easy to fish for it doesn’t exactly boost the confidence for ones angling skills

anything is easy once you have the skills, knowledge and experience behind you

thanks for the replies, seems to be some conflicting opinions, as someone who hasn’t got years of bass fishing experience behind him though i can imagine i would get excited by the thrill of the hunt and finally catching my first would be a good day indeed.

I’ve never targeted them specifically and never got one by accident. But will definitely have to go to areas where they can be caught and give it a go. As valuable as opinions are ultimately I will have to make up my own mind.

"anything is easy once you have the skills, knowledge and experience behind you"
I wouldent exactly say easy is the word,you have a better chance of catching when you know what your doing but i wouldent say easy,for example any professional sport the skill, knowledge, and experience are there but that doesent make it easy,if that was the case it would just become boring,fishing is great because you never know what your going to catch and even a first timer can catch before the seasoned angler just by chance.
Best of luck with your bass anyway you will enjoy it.

what is the big deal?

they look good, apart from that, not much, easy enough to catch and for their size most of them fight poorly.

It is frowned upon if you keep one you catch ? I've read a lot of reports here of people catching them from various spots but always wondered if they released them again or would they keep the odd one to eat ?

Only caught 2 myself. Both on lures. Have to say it was great fun trying to get the first one in and, as a beginner, was my first experience of having to play a fish instead of just hauling it in. I'd be interested to know from people with more experience whether, pound for pound, other fish fight harder? The pollock I've caught were smaller and I caught them on heavier gear so can't really compare but I've heard that they give up pretty easily compared to Bass?

On the eating front, I kept one and put one back. If I was luck enough to catch them regularly I'd like to just keep the odd one and not take them for granted.

It is frowned upon if you keep one you catch ? I've read a lot of reports here of people catching them from various spots but always wondered if they released them again or would they keep the odd one to eat ?

hi syboit, bass anglers can be divided into three different categories from my experience, has has a different outlook upon the fate of the bass after its capture.

first of all theres the catch and killer, these anglers are generaly tried and tested. they've been around for decades and know all the basic tricks in the book. there sole aim is to catch to eat. they usually have beards and are hardened sea dogs by all accounts. they also have a great ability to tell tales from the fishy past and how the fishing used be. despite this their tactics are often basic and their fishing tackle is often beat up and poor in standard. they have dont seem to have any interest in evolving and becoming a better angler. these are the grandparents of our angling history and are bitter about it.

then theres the elitest, these guys are a completely different kettle of fish. they catch bass purely for sport and dont really like the idea of people keeping them. their easy enough to spot. all you need to look for is an angler wearing 400 euro breathable waders, and grossly over priced plugging rod and more bits of plastic than you can shake a stick at. they'l often be caught wearing poloroid glasses and become more snobbish as technology advances. they consider bait fishing cheating so bare that in mind. they research their prey maticulously and understand all there is to know about bass but consquently most are complete aresholes and arnt the friendliest of people if you dont fit into their demograph. their secretive and reclusive.

then finaly you have the 'decent bloke' bass angler. these guys go and catch bass purely for the craic and havent forgot about the rest of the fish in the sea. they are good all round anglers and generaly speaking are nice people. they practice catch and release but also take the odd one home for the pot. they dont discriminate. their sociable folk and just enjoy their fishing without taking it too seriously. these make up most of the bass fishing collective and thank god for that.