Autumn Bass

Come on now, ante up! Give us your tips and tricks, those little snippets and trade secrets gleaned from years of experience and experimentation!

Moderator: Seaniebo

Autumn Bass

Postby DaithiO » Mon Oct 24, 2016 5:12 pm

Hi all

This is my first year bass fishing and was wondering if there were any methods that are effective especially at this time of year, especially as I keep reading that this is the best time for big bass.

Is there a particular part of the tide cycle I should be targetting and also what are the deadliest lures/depths?

Any advice would be most gratefully received.
DaithiO
SAI Lug Worm
 
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2016 11:17 am
Has thanked: 0 time
Have thanks: 0 time

Re: Autumn Bass

Postby dexs7 » Tue Oct 25, 2016 3:55 pm

Hi DaithiO,

When you mention lures it sounds like you are talking about spinning for them. It was always my thinking this time of the year the spinning dies out and its more bait fishing for bass. Many reasons for this, but you need day light to spin as most marks for spinning are rocky so its far too dangerous and this time of the year we dont we dont get a lot of day light. The tides can also be must rougher in the winter so its not safe to head to many rock marks. Along with the rocks been always wet from the rain and rougher tides can make them more slippy and its not easy to cast a lure if strong winds are in your face. Basically light gear like spinning is usually kept for the finer times of the year. Now I may be wrong but I dont know anybody here that spins in the winter. It will be March/April again before I take out the spinning rod anyway. Regarding lures, there is loads and loads, but starting off you cant go to wrong with soft plastics and jelly lures, dexter wedge, german sprat, plugs, tobys and surface lures . With regards to depth it depends on the venue. If its very shallow and a place that you could get stuck in weed and rocks then maybe surface poppers are your best bet.Poppers mimic an injuired fish and it spits out water in front of it so it looks like a struggling fish making a racket and it will stay on top of the water all the time. If you have more of a depth to play with you can get loads of different diving lures that will run at depths from just under the surface at 1 foot to 20 feet or greater. Isnt technology great. At the start I would get a few lures that mimic sandeel, sprat, herring, mackerel, pollock and whiting. The main things bass would be chasing and eating. Dont spind a lot as it could take you a while to figuire out what works best and you could lose a lot of lures at the begining. For example dont use a German sprat in very shallow water as it will sink fast and get stuck. If the area is weedy you can get weedless jelly lures that you put your hook inside the lure so it picks up no weed. Honestly its really hard to give you a straight answer to your questions as its all a trial and error for you to figuire out what kind of ground you are fishing over and how deep the water is. You could cheat and ask local lads that fish if there is any thats fishes best but do not take the answers you get to heart as not everybody will tell you what is working best so you might have to put the time and effort in to figuire it out. It will be much more rewarding for you when you figuire it out yourself and hook a 6 pounder. Go on to youtube and watch Henry Gilby spinning, you could pick up a few tips from him.

If you have surf fishing gear like a beach caster or a light bass rod why not have a crack at shore fishing for them. Pm me if you need help with rigs or need any suggestions. But if you can make a running ledger, pullley rig, flapper rigs then they will do the trick for you. You can buy them at you local angling shop usually but your better off learning how to make your own as you can control the size of your hook snoods.Using fluro 15lb or less works for me for my snood. Its going to cost a bit to get all the bits at the start but its a better job,dont forget a crimper when making rigs. Regards to bait, again the venue is key, estuaries crab works best, surf beaches crab, lug, sandeel works best for me. But squid, razor fish and mackerel can beat any bait in the winter at times. Hard to beat fresh lug in my opinion. With regards to tide cyclesI cant really answer you but its said a few days before full and new moons work well. I dont take much notice of that, I head out when I get a good surf on a surf beach or if there is a poor surf I try estuaries and tidal flat venues, but surf beaches can be mighty after a storm as there is loads of bait washed up so it can prompt a lot of fish to come in close to feed. I find 2 hours before and 2 hours after low water can be great in most places down here. Also a few hours before and fished up to high tide can work well. Also fishing the flood from low up to high water can be great. And I know a venue or two that fishes very well on the ebb and I got my best ever bass of 7 and a half pounds in one of those venues a few hours after high water. So dont ever think the tide isnt right unless you have tried that tide a few times as every place can be different. Keep a diary and record results. Keep note of venue, date, bait used, where the wind was coming from, height of tide if you have a tide times book and how rough it was. It can be a great tool to come back to when your trying to decide between a few venues at a certain time of the year. Also record any other catches you hear of. I know one place here that fishes mighty the month of April here and can be hit and miss the rest of the year but by recoding catches I can see back through the years April in this venue was always great. Im rambling now a bit but if you need any more info feel free to ask, but the biggest tip I can give you is keep it simple and put in the time. Dont give up even if you have gone a long period without catching one, it happens to everybody. And last but not least obey the bass laws and put those silver bars back so in years to come you can meet its young ones :)
The finest gift you can give a fisherman is to put a good fish back, and who knows if the fish that you caught isn't someone else's gift to you?"

2016 Bass, Flounder, Turbot, Dogfish, Pollock,Mackerel, Bull Huss, Coal Fish

2013 8

2012 (8) Bass (P.B 7.5 lb)

2011 (17)

2010 (14)

For this message the author dexs7 has received thanks: 3
corbyeire (Wed Oct 26, 2016 2:24 pm), MaxPower (Sun Aug 06, 2017 10:21 pm), Tofish (Fri Oct 28, 2016 9:43 am)
User avatar
dexs7
SAI Bait Ball
 
Posts: 172
Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 3:36 pm
Location: Kerry (Ireland)
Has thanked: 10 times
Have thanks: 40 times
Blog: View Blog (1)

Re: Autumn Bass

Postby DaithiO » Wed Oct 26, 2016 10:08 am

Hi dexs7

Thanks for taking the time to write and I appreciate any offers of help.

I have a bee in my bonnet about fishing with lures, I haven't even considered any other method and when the weather becomes too bad or it's too cold I just won't bother. I've read that as long as the water temperature remains high enough then bass remain active around southern coasts.

The more I think of it the more happy I am to wet a few lures even if I blank, and today looks ideal. I'm a minimalist, I have a rod, reel and 4 lures (2 plugs, a spoon and a soft minnow) and a pair of waders. I'm going to fish the last couple of hours of the flooding tide.

Wish me luck.
DaithiO
SAI Lug Worm
 
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2016 11:17 am
Has thanked: 0 time
Have thanks: 0 time

Re: Autumn Bass

Postby dexs7 » Thu Oct 27, 2016 12:13 am

Definately once its safe to spin I reckon keep at it before the water temp drops. This can be a great time of the year for bass as the water temp drops it signals the bass that winter is on the way so they need to bulk up. Best of luck and let us know how you get on. Tight lines.
The finest gift you can give a fisherman is to put a good fish back, and who knows if the fish that you caught isn't someone else's gift to you?"

2016 Bass, Flounder, Turbot, Dogfish, Pollock,Mackerel, Bull Huss, Coal Fish

2013 8

2012 (8) Bass (P.B 7.5 lb)

2011 (17)

2010 (14)
User avatar
dexs7
SAI Bait Ball
 
Posts: 172
Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 3:36 pm
Location: Kerry (Ireland)
Has thanked: 10 times
Have thanks: 40 times
Blog: View Blog (1)

Re: Autumn Bass

Postby ragworm2012 » Fri Oct 28, 2016 10:14 am

Lad would like your opinion about this weekend to fish for bass in cork area,, I usually fish east cork to youghal is it worth trying for bass with lure this weekend or following weeks,, your precious opinion please....
ragworm2012
SAI Lug Worm
 
Posts: 33
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 7:01 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Have thanks: 0 time

Re: Autumn Bass

Postby dexs7 » Fri Oct 28, 2016 3:11 pm

ragworm2012 wrote:Lad would like your opinion about this weekend to fish for bass in cork area,, I usually fish east cork to youghal is it worth trying for bass with lure this weekend or following weeks,, your precious opinion please....


I would defo try yes once its safe to do so, a lot of bass turning up over last few weeks, this can be a great time of the year for them. Bass bulk up this time of the year and then in the cold winter months they become less active, as they are cold blooded everything slows down when the water gets cold. Their digestion slows and metabolism slows down so they dont need to feed as much as they are not using as much energy as when the water temps are up. In the spring with the water temps rise their metabolism speeds up again and they burn more energy which means they need to eat more. This means they are not hunting as much in the winter and can rely on their reserves a bit, but that wont stop them eating a handy meal when they are hungry in the winter, but its not like the summer/spring/fall time when they are on the hunt after crab and shoals of bait fish. That's one big reason spinning stops along with rock marks been more dangerous in the winter due to weather and sea conditions been more extreme. But yes if I was you I would still try for them as long as you can and as long as your getting bites. You could be very surprised, I would worry more about water temperature rather than month of the year, a bass has no idea what month it is but knows exactly what to do when the temperatures change. Let us know how you fair out. Best of luck, it looks like a decent weekend weather wise as well. Tight Lines.
The finest gift you can give a fisherman is to put a good fish back, and who knows if the fish that you caught isn't someone else's gift to you?"

2016 Bass, Flounder, Turbot, Dogfish, Pollock,Mackerel, Bull Huss, Coal Fish

2013 8

2012 (8) Bass (P.B 7.5 lb)

2011 (17)

2010 (14)
User avatar
dexs7
SAI Bait Ball
 
Posts: 172
Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 3:36 pm
Location: Kerry (Ireland)
Has thanked: 10 times
Have thanks: 40 times
Blog: View Blog (1)


Return to Tips & Tricks for Sea Anglers

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests