Tackle, Tactics and Experience
Bass Go Bananas for Bananas - By Alan Aubert
I thought I might relate to you
two fishing trips I had during the middle of October. Well my wife was
at work and my son who used to fish with me has discovered girls, so as
a result there I am sat at home. What is a man to do? So I decided as
usual to go fishing.
Living on Jersey gives me
perhaps an enviable situation where I can chose where to fish according
to the wind. If the wind is blowing on the West I go to the East of the
island.
However this time (Saturday)
there was no wind and it was foggy. I decided to fish a South West mark
which would involve a climb down a steep cliff path and a walk over
rocks to a point where there is a strong tidal run. This mark has
produced a number of good fish for me this year including a nine
pounder and eight pounder in one session earlier in the year.
It was a small neap tide and I
was going to fish it on the high. The rocky gullies of this mark give
way onto sand and a few weeks ago I had seen huge shoals of whitebait
in the area.
The climb down was pleasant, it
always is as you do not consider the haul back up. By the time you
reach the car I am gasping for breath and a drink. I digress, I arrive
at the mark and the tide has just started to ebb with a strong tidal
flow sweeping past me.
A few days ago I had ventured
into one of our local tackle dealers and noticed a lure called "Fuze
Banana Boat" a surface lure but without the cup that a Chug Bug has.
This one was silver and blue in colour and I had replaced the trebles
with my favourite VMC trebles plus a rubber skirt on the rear to add
more attraction.
It looked good
and I set up my rod and reel, attached a small clip swivel to the lure,
and cast out. The sea was calm and the lure landed some 25 yards out.
Bang! A fish had taken it after I had given the lure it's first twitch.
A short time later a fish of just over two pounds was landed, unhooked
and returned to the sea. This continued for the next 4 casts, a fish
every time. All the fish were around the same weight and all were
returned to fight another day. After that the fish had gone, not a rise
to the lure or the tell tale splash as the fish snatches at the lure
and misses.
Not a bad day's fishing I thought to myself, although the action had
been fairly short lived and the fish had disappeared. I made my way
slowly across the boulders to the start of the cliff path to where my
car was parked.
Alan with a small bass he caught on the Banana lure while wading, October 1999
The following day the wind had
picked up to a force 4-5 and the prospect of fishing the same spot
looked bleak. But spurred on by the previous day's fishing I made my
way to the cliff tops and looked down. The sea was choppy and waves
were crashing onto the rocks. Should I go down or should I try
somewhere else? "What the hell, the exercise will do you good," a voice
said to me.
So after about half an hour I
was back at my spot, perfect timing as the tide had just turned and I
could get to the exact point where the current surged through. I
positioned myself on a rock being careful not to put myself in danger
from the waves crashing onto the rocks. It is all too easy to become
complacent, but remember the sea can kill you.
I tackled up with my Banana
Boat, cast it into the surging sea and watched it get swept along by
the ebbing tide. Nothing the first cast, indeed nothing for the first
twenty minutes.
I cast out towards a rocky
outcrop and let the lure drift down before I began to give it a few
twitches. Bang! A fish had taken it and I could see that it was a
fairly decent bass which began to swim up current towards me. I had
already laid out my landing net ready to scoop this silvery bar from
the sea. A few minutes later a fish of just under 5 lbs lay in my net.
Although I must admit that it had proved quiet difficult to net amongst
the incoming waves.
With the fish returned I was
ready for more action and this was to come sooner than I had expected.
The next cast I put the lure directly into the sun and so it was
difficult to keep an eye on it.
I twitched the lure a few times
and reeled in a few turns. I felt a tug on my line but felt the line go
slack again. I stopped reeling then I felt a surge on the line and the
reel began to sing as a decent fish took line in a bid for freedom.
This fish also began to swim
towards me and I could see that the fish was a nice bass that fought
gamely on the light tackle I use. Again the difficulty of netting came
into play and I could feel my heart beating as the fish eventually
slipped into the safety of the landing net.
A beautiful fish of 7lb1oz lay
there, a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction came over me . I
continued fishing but no more fish were to be landed that day. It was
strange that the smaller fish I had caught the day before had not
materialised.
I made my way towards the car
hoping that the fish would be there the next time I fished this spot.
Although with the onset of winter it will be touch and go.
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