Bass : peeler crabs and surface poppers

Lads I fished for Bass from 5am to 4pm Sunday up and down the liffey and around the bay and had no luck, just doggies and a few wrasse.

While fishing in the river my bait was getting devoured by crabs. (at one stage I miscast in about 4ft of water and immediately reeled in to recast and had 2 crabs clinging on for dear life!!!!)
What are my options if I want to target Bass? Will peeler crab work at this time of year and if so will the crabs leave them alone?
Is there any other method I could use (using bait) to minimise crab interference?

Also, I've been reading that 'surface poppers' are pretty good for Bass. Can anyone recomend a type worth buying to try?

Cheers
Colm

the peelers are probable the best for minimising crab attacks! the chug bug is the most famous surface popper and the one i prefere

the crabs will still eat there own- it just takes them longer!! u could try large floating beads and fish the hooks 3 or 4 feet up the trace. fish the rod high on the stand to keep the hooks up in the water. it can work quite well and at least your bait will last.
i used to think that floating beads would spook the bass, but so far i haven't found that to be the case. means u can try worm baits too.

have tried popping up mack heads like pike anglers do in kelpy places and it works fine too. i think its drag and resistance that put bass off more than looks? what u thnik

Thanks lads, it looks like a bucket of peelers and a couple of chug bugs is the way forward so.

maybe add a thunder stick or jointed rapala like the j11 r j13 along with a bass bullet for distance and then ur about set up

You will need some big floating beads to pop a crab bait up - very heavy. If there's that many crabs around it's probably a good indication that there are no bigger predators in the vicinity i.e. bass.

Try an Allie Magnet in the smaller 110mm size (black over gold is an excellent colour). They have a better action than the larger size.

Brilliant surface lure, personally I think the louder poppers such as chug bugs spook bass at times and I've outfished these with Allie Magnets and sliders such as Zara Super Spooks time and time again in calm to medium sea conditions.

The only time I would use a chug bug is in very heavy sea conditions or a black one after dark where the loudness of the popping helps the bass locate it.

Liam

Cheers Liamo, where am I likely to pick up these lures? Do you get them here or in the UK.

Also, do people plug at night?

hi clom
you can get them lures in henrys $20

Colm,

You can get them here alright in some tackle shops. Landers Leisure Lines here in Tralee and Peter Horne in Cork are two places. They are very very expensive typically around €14 - 16 when I buy them here but worth every penny plus surface lures are almost impossible to lose unless a big fish buries you.

I just checked Veals and they have them retailing at £9.50. The funny thing is Veals now say they are outselling the chug bug as their best top water bait, and the black back (my favourite) is only available in limited numbers. A lot of anglers in the UK must be getting the same results as I am...

The 105mm size has a wicked action, much better than the larger one.

Best retrieve I've found is a "sink and draw" even though that term hardly makes sense in this context. Just draw the rod slowly to the side which will cause the lure to kick, splash and wobble moving it 4 - 5 ft along the surface (it's the side to side wobble I reckon which sets them apart from all the others) Retrieve the slack until the rod is in line with the lure (this allows the lure to rest on the surface for a few moments) then draw the rod away slowly to the side again. Fish it nice and slow...

Yup, I'm definitely a convert to after dark plugging. If you get some chug bugs paint one or two of them jet black. It allows the fish to pick up the silhouette easily against the skyline after dark and the extra noise from a chug bug helps the bass locate it at night.

Youzuri Crystal Minnows with their highly reflective finish are good in dusk to dark also if you want something subsurface. They're another great all rounder - the action and especially the finish is second to none.

a black permanent marker does the job too.

Thats brilliant info lads cheers. I'll keep you posted on any results.

Just back from Southside Angling and I'm now the proud owner of an Alle Magnet (105mm) and a Chug Bug....now all I need is some water and a few Bass...

it is usually a mack head i pop up and i use half a wine cork for it. works grand

Hi Liam, I'm not sure what your talking about with the mack head etc. Can you explain this to me a bit more?

Cheers
Colm

Who is Peter Horne and do you have a phone number or address of the shop, like to take a look.

Thanks

Peter Horne in de real capital like in cork near Blarney top man, works out of his "garage " wish my garage was as stocked :-(. I'm sure he is in the book. head into blarney off the mallow road take the 1st left and drive for about a mile i reckon . a few houses on the right . his is the yellow one with the 05 wine jeep outside (money in tackle you know)

if i am fishing over kelp i somtimes use a mackeral head with maybe an once r two of lead. in order to avoid the head being hidden in the fronds of kelp i stick half a wine cork into it and it wil raise the bait off the bottom so the bassys will see it easier!

Cheers, thanks Liam.

Peter Horne is like the Tony Soprano of fishing. It's not so much of a tackle shop as an Aladin's cave. Amazing, best I've found anywhere.... If Peter doesn't have it no one will - outstanding range of top end stuff. Can't be beaten

Liam