There’s no better way to spend a few hours on a sunny evening, than trying to catch a bass. We opted for the ‘low-fuel’ option of not venturing too far from the marina at Neyland. I started my campaign with a trolled shallow-diving lure. As expected in these spring tides, the water held a great deal of seaweed. I spent too much time unhooking the slimy green stuff from the lure’s treble hooks. No bass to show for yet.

On the return journey, a small flock of terns were feeding on small bait-fish. A sure sign that the bass would be feeding beneath the shoal too. This attracted a few fishermen, – on a kayak and small boats – also intent on a bass. I selected my spinning rod and tied on a Dexter Wedge and flicked it towards the feeding frenzy. Within a few casts I’d boated a small bass. This was encouraging. My sister, who is a canny fisherwoman – i.e. only gets involved once the catching starts  – picked up the larger boat rod. This rod was already rigged with my favourite white feathers, which have accounted for quite a few bass on previous voyages. She was straight into the fish. Small, like mine, in the most part but one good sized (42cm) fish was amongst them. To her glee, and my shame, she boated eleven bass to my one. My excuse was that I was trying to be more sporting, targeting larger bass individually. But the results speak for themselves.

A few more bass followed the lure, but didn’t commit. I looked for a smaller lure, but found they were left back in London. Nevertheless, It was a great fun few hours.

Total Catch:

  • 1 Bass