General tips on Sea Bass fishing?

effluent

Hi all,

I'm hopping to strike off Sea Bass from my list of fish haven't caught...it's a very long list:D. I've tried Bass fishing a few times with a plug/spinner and I'm enjoying it, particularly using crankbaits/plugs. I've picked out this spot which has a reputation for Bass in it, and on one occasion I belive I saw a Bass take fish from the surface. Although this was at the corner of my eye, it seemed to break the waters surface with it's tail vigorously flapping. I can't of anything else it could have been.

Anyways I've noticed that I don't get to cast the plug very far, I'm thinking should I cast the plug parrallel to the shore as opposed to perpendicular to the shore since I've heard that Bass can be right under your feet...in the case of fishing from rocky outcrops.

Should you aim your cast towards the sandy beach area or in areas of mixed ground (ie sandy/rocky/weedy), or is it a bit of both?

Choosing a colour of the plug. I've noticed that some plugs are coloured red and white while others are coloured as bait fish. Is the red and white plug used for dull days and the bait coloured for bright sunny days?

Where can you use pooper baits? Does this have be in shallow water, like the surf on the beach...because the place I fish has a very steep drop off from the rocky out crops which could be anything to 10 feet.

This is probably a too much questions, but if anyone has any general tips on fishing with plugs/crankbait (I'm not interested in bait fishing).

Cheers

jArgHA

@effluent

That's a lot of questions but I'll try to give my 2c on some questions..

I've never fished for bass before in Mayo and I'm sure they are there but most likely not in the same numbers as down south from Kerry to Wexford - this may mean you just need to more persistent up in that part of the country, but keep at it once you catch one you'll be addicted.

Anyways I've noticed that I don't get to cast the plug very far, I'm thinking should I cast the plug parrallel to the shore as opposed to perpendicular to the shore since I've heard that Bass can be right under your feet...in the case of fishing from rocky outcrops.

Casting a big distance with a plug is generally not a problem, as you said a lot of bass which are caught spinning are very close. The ones which are caught right at your feet though are generally bass which have 'followed' your lure for some distance, just tracking it, and then decide to take the lure right before it comes out of the water. For this reason it is good to fish the lure right back to your feet if possible (as opposed to lifting it out of the water when it is a few metres away).

In terms of casting direction with an open shoreline, it is best to 'fan' your casts, eg. start casting parallel to shoreline on your left, then in next cast cast maybe 30 degrees to the right, and so on until you have covered all directions possible (you have come around to casting to your right).

If you think you see some activity, eg. baitfish breaking surface, or a swirl / splash of a bass, of course cast in that direction - but try to land the lure beyond where you saw the activity and not right on top of it as this might spook a bass.

Should you aim your cast towards the sandy beach area or in areas of mixed ground (ie sandy/rocky/weedy), or is it a bit of both?

Bass can be caught over all of those ground types with lures. If targetting weedy areas, it might be best to either use a surface plug, or a soft plastic lure, rigged weedless which won't be getting caught in the weed all the time.

Choosing a colour of the plug. I've noticed that some plugs are coloured red and white while others are coloured as bait fish. Is the red and white plug used for dull days and the bait coloured for bright sunny days?

I find I have best luck with natural colours - white / silver / black / blue combinations - *but* I think it is largely based on the location. Generally you are trying to 'match the hatch' - ie. choose a lure which looks similar to whatever the bass may be feeding on in an area at a particular time - so if they are feeding on sandeel, a pale soft plastic lure might work, if they are feeding on sprat, a silver Toby or German Sprat lure would be ideal. Again, there are other times when being this specific with lure choice doesn't matter a toss if the bass are actively feeding and not too fussed about what colour is in front of them... This is what makes it all an inexact science / form of fishing, and all the more interesting.

Where can you use pooper baits? Does this have be in shallow water, like the surf on the beach...because the place I fish has a very steep drop off from the rocky out crops which could be anything to 10 feet.

I've yet to catch a fish on a popper, but believe they can be used over shallow water alright, probably not the best over deep water unless the bass are feeding at the surface. The drop off you mention may be worth trying a weedless rigged soft plastic lure (eg. Xlayer / Slug-go).

Best of luck with it, you'll get there eventually!

Sparks43

That is a brilliant reply

*Doffs Cap*


Only thing i can add is try putting a decent size crab bait out on a running ledger rig

If there is Bass there they will take it also at the same time you can spin with a second rod

Best of luck op and tight lines

skipz

I always find the running ledger rig to work best as the bass will feel little resistance when it takes the hook bait, whch was local razor clam.

Iv tried to fish for bass with lure during the day and have seen plenty of them while wading around and never hooked into one. Was very dishearting but soon learned that sunrise and sunset with a in coming tide and the hour of slack was the best.

The lure that worked for me was a Rapala shallow diving mackeral and trout version, also the Toby lure. I used a plug before but with no luck.

When lure fishing id highly advise using braid, great for casting lures and easy to dedect hits on the lure because bass will hit the lure and the come back and take it.

I used to fish north east coast beachs in Louth and was fishing in no more than a metre of water with the odd rocks here and there, so tactics could be a little different.

stevecrow74

try surface lures, bass busters and the likes..
bass are inquisitive fish and will check out any disturbance, even if they are in deep water they will come to the surface to see what all the noise is all about,
and if that are interested in what they see they will follow a lure right into the shore, so its best to not lift the bait as jArgHA mentioned.
the main thing is persistance, you have to keep at it..

a silver 'kilty killer' is a good sub surface lure, I find it better than the dexters wedge and any other type of spinner.
also look out for the Jointed Needle Fish Lure

effluent

Thanks all for the great advice.

Just another thing, when is the best time to fish for bass? Can you fish for them during the middle of the day or is it best at evenings or dawn? And weather, is cloudy or bright a sunny ideal conditions?

I've been chatting with a few local fishermen who fish for bass and they say that night fishing with bait works best.. they never tried spinning for them.

I'd love to catch one on a surface/popper lure just to see the take

Cheers again for the advice

damagegt

effluent wrote: »

Thanks all for the great advice.

Just another thing, when is the best time to fish for bass? Can you fish for them during the middle of the day or is it best at evenings or dawn? And weather, is cloudy or bright a sunny ideal conditions?

I've been chatting with a few local fishermen who fish for bass and they say that night fishing with bait works best.. they never tried spinning for them.

I'd love to catch one on a surface/popper lure just to see the take

Cheers again for the advice

Iv been out the last 2 nights in a row from around 9 untill 11.30 and have hooked 6 fish and landed 3 .All were hooked an hour and a half before low tide and all were caught within 20mins of each other.I got the same result last month fishing the early times (5-9 in the morning) but i advise you to try from an hour before dead low to 2 hours after the turn in either the early morning or late evening.3 were caught on clone rapellas and 3 hooked on small single jelly sandells.

Best of luck