Daniel Welch has extended his lead in the Combe Martin SAC Lure competition after boating bass of 66cm and 62cm. His total for three bass now stands at 185.5cm.
In second place with a brace of bass for 122cm is James Corner and in third Wayne Thomas with 115cm
David Jenkins presently in forth with a brace of bass for 108cm
I joined South Molton Angling Club for an evening at Instow where members tried their luck with both Fly and lure tactics. It was an enjoyable evening but no bass were tempted. Fortunately the Cricket Club gave a chance for members to discuss tactics for next time over a welcome pint.
http://www.highstreettackle.co.uk
The following night I headed out onto the coast where I enjoyed more success. Early into the session I tempted a small bass on a surface lure and went on to tempt four more after dark on a soft plastic. The best of these a nice fish of 64cm that will be enjoyed pan fried with just a sprinkling of pepper.
Daniel Welch. three bass total – 167.5 cm
James Corner two bass – 122 cm
Wayne Thomas two bass – 115 cm
Peter Robinson one bass – 62 cm
Ross Stanway – One bass = 53 cm
Daniel Welch has extended his lead in Combe Martin SAC’s lure competition with a boat caught bass of 58.5cm bringing his three fish total to 167.5cm.
Daniel Welch has secured a lead in Combe Martin SAC’s Lure competition with three quilifying bass totalling 159cm. It is very early days in the competition that runs until October 29th and is sponsored by High Street Tackle. With the settled conditions and big tides over the coming weeks I expect several bass to be registered. It could be that a glut of spider crab will result in the bass moving away from the lures for a few weeks.
The clubs is also running a best mixed brace competition throughout July sponsored by Braunton Baits.
Combe Martin SAC member Peter Robinson registered this 62cm bass into the clubs lure competition. The fish was tempted on Peters Private boat and was tempted using a Savage Gear Sandeel.
Daniel Welch = 107cm
Peter Robinson – 62cm
Ross Stanway 53 cm
Biggest bass – Peter Robinson 62 cm
Daniel Welch has secured an early lead in Combe Martin SAC’s lure competition tempting this 57cm bass on a Lipper 90 lure.
CMSAC Lure Competition
Daniel Welch 2 bass. 107cm
Ross Stanway 1 bass 53cm
Daniel Welch has been enjoying some great sport off Ilfracombe landing bass and pollock.Fiiish Black Minnows and Penn Conflict Inshore rod doing the business.
Combe Martin SAC Lure Competition standings at present
Ross Stanway bass – Total 53cm
Daniel Welch bass – 50cm
Ross Stanway has set the standard in Combe Martin Sea Angling Clubs lure fishing competition boating a bass of 53cm.
The competition runs until October 29th and is sponsored by Ilfracombes High Street Tackle.
I enjoyed a short evening session over low water recently that prompted me to ask myself a question? I started the session fishing a shallow boulder strewn shoreline bumping a megabass soft plastic lure through the shallow water. After half an hour searching familair ground as the tide pushed in I had nothing to show for my efforts. As is often the case I followed my instinct and moved to some deeper water thinking that the bass were too wary to come in close as it was very calm and clear.
After scrambling a hundred yards over boulders I cast out the same lure and on the first retrieve had a fish hit the lure close in without hooking up. A couple more casts resulted in nothing. I changed over to a an IMA hard plastic lure and cast this out working it back briskly. After two or three casts I was jolted into focus as a fish hit the lure hard. After a short spirited tussle I released a bass of a couple of pounds.
A few more casts brought no response so again I changed lures. A black Fillish minnow was sent out and after two casts another bass of simular size. These were the only two fish caught but I ponder as to what difference the change of lure made. On some sessions I frequently change lures for various reasons. Depth of water, water clarity, suspended weed and matching what I think the bass are feeding on.
The question I asked myself is did changing the lure result in me catching the second bass or would I have caught it anyway? There are so many variations that can make the difference in a each fishing trip and much of what I do is driven by instinct. The size, colour and design of lures undoubtedly makes a diffrence but how much and how many lures does an angler need? With limited time to experiment I only carry a small selection of lures that I have confidence in introducing the occasional new pattern when I am tempted at the tackle shop. I suspect that lures catch more anglers than fish. If you asked ten anglers their top ten lures you would undoubtedly get ten different lists?
It is always good when that first bass of the season hits the lure! I have not invested much time in lure fishing for bass so far this year as I have been focussing on other species. My first session after bass a couple of weeks ago was thwarted by dense weed that made fishing the shallow ground I enjoy fishing virtually impossible. The latest session saw clear water and a gentle wave hitting the shoreline. I love this visual fishing in very shallow boulder strewn water bringing a soft plastic through very shallow water. The bass will move in with water just covering their backs and when they hit the lure there is a flurry of spray as the fish fight hard on a tight line clearly visible as they struggle before being brought to the shoreline.
