Bass Fishing

by Mike Ladle

Why do you go shore fishing? To get away from the stress of work! To escape from the family! For a bit of peace and quiet! To have a natter with your mates! For the beautiful scenery! For the pleasure of making a long, accurate cast! To catch something (anything)! To catch fish for food! To catch big fish! For the sheer excitement of getting bites! For the enjoyment of playing and landing decent fish! For the fresh air and exercise! To test your ability to find and tempt fish.
I guess that, like me, you find most of these things play a part in the "fishing experience". The one that gives me most satisfaction is catching what I set out to catch, particularly if it is a decent specimen and gives me an exciting battle. In each of these short pieces I shall try to pass on one or two facts about fish behaviour which should help you to catch more. I'll concentrate on the key facts - where, when and how fish feed and what they eat. Whenever possible I'll try to give you an actual example of how I use the information to improve my results.

Let's start with one of the fish I know best - the bass. These days bass are caught around most of our shoreline. At about two years old, when they are 5in to 6in in length, bass become the subject of the angler's attention. At this stage they are often unwelcome bait stealers, constantly rattling our rod tips when we are in search of bigger fish. At first the baby bass feed chiefly on tiny crustaceans, particularly beach hoppers, slaters and mysid shrimps. They are very active and voracious little fish at this stage and, because of their high energy requirements, will continue to feed freely even at quite low water temperatures. In the part of Dorset where I live school bass are catchable more or less throughout the year. In January and February 'flounder fishing' sessions from the wooden decks of local piers will often produce large bags of schoolies.

Ragworm is a very successful bait and the small silver fish can become a real nuisance at times. No sooner is the rod baited, cast and propped up against the pier rail than its tip dances wildly to the tugging of an eight to 12oz 'checker' bass which has taken the moving worm on-the-drop. All along the sandy expanses of Bournemouth, Studland, Swanage and Weymouth sea fronts, when an onshore wind has stirred up the shallow sea, anglers' baits are snaffled, in 'short order' by the prickly little fish.

On cold winter evenings, enthusiastic followers of our sport will park their cars beside the grain silos on Poole quay. Breathing out clouds of vapour in to the chilly air they will stamp their feet on the grey stones and cast a variety of baits into the deep black water flowing up under the lifting bridge. Flounders, on their way to the offshore spawning grounds, will sometimes beat the bass to it but, more often, it will be the typical, ferocious rattling bite of a small schoolie that sets the adrenaline flowing and relieves the monotony. Almost anywhere and at any time small school bass can be caught. In summer they feed, if possible, even more keenly. For example, in the Fleet lagoon behind the famous Chesil beach, the flood tide flows like a great salt-river and by casting a small bait or spinner across the flow, a succession of under sized bass can be taken.

An unfortunate consequence of this insatiable hunger is that, in all these places, the small fish can be caught in great numbers. If you do happen to catch small bass try upping the bait size or shifting your pitch. In any event, unhook them gently and return them with care. Remember, every baby bass which survives is a potential ten pounder of the future.