A hard week

Been out fishing a few times in the last 7 days, Bass count = 0!!

We had a decent blow around the South-West, resulting in water that stayed murky for a whole week. I managed one hook up on a mid week session and that was pretty much that. Until I decided to have a crack at LRF(Light Rock Fish). Had been reading a fair bit about it, and even though my gear was far from suitable, I still managed this little monster on a 3'' Big Hammer shad and 3g Jig - this by the way, would be considered as going pretty heavy by LRF standards.

I'm going to try and pick up some Ultralight gear this week and have another crack at the little rock dwellers. From what I've seen on the Forum, there are a few guys local to me that are interested in going light for the winter, so should hopefully hook up soon.

While I'm on the subject of the Forum, I'd like to say a big thanks to Mick and Nicola for organising the big give away yesterday. This was to celebrate the first birthday of the Forum and was a huge success. I managed to win some SP's, but saw some truly generous prizes go to people who took part.

This weekend see's the Forum Cornish Bumble, with something like 50 lure anglers from various parts of the UK attending. It also coincides with a new 'lure only' tackle shop opening. I'll post some details of the shop once I've been and had a look. More shop's like this can only be a good thing for our ever growing sport and I always admire people for having the stones to set something like this up. Best of luck to you guys!

The true cost of safety

Can we really put a price on our safety? We take part in a sport that involves standing on rocks and being battered by waves, wading in currents up to 8knot and sometimes even doing all of the above at night. We've all been there, you cast out and begin your retrieve, before you know it a wave that appears from nowhere has jacked up before your very eyes and you can do nothing but brace yourself and take it. If your lucky, you've stayed on your feet. But what if you don't? What if you get washed off the rocks and straight into the turbulent water that you're fishing? I Consider myself a strong enough swimmer and spent my youth Surfing in the sea, but with waders and chest pack on, how efficient a swimmer will I be? And in those conditions? Scary!

If you spend as much time trawling through Japanese video's as I do, you'll notice something. They're always wearing life jackets. No matter what sort of mark and in what conditions. As I don't understand a word of Japanese, I'm not sure whether they are bad swimmers, or if they are genuinely safety conscious(and rightly so). One thing I do know, is that some of the life vests they have available to them are very cool!

Take this Mazume Redmoon 111 for example. It looks a very stylish and useful chest pack, with the real bonus of being a safety device. I've seen Japanese Bass guys wearing them on video's and they hold decent lure boxes as well as everything else you're likely to be carrying with you. I know there are a couple of guys in the UK with them now. Yes, they are pricey at anything up to £300 delivered(including UK taxes), but when you consider what you're actually getting, they don't seem so expensive anymore.



After reading Toby Harnett' report on the Forum, how he got himself into a real pickle yesterday while trying to rescue a snagged lure, getting washed into the sea in the process and being saved by the fact he was wearing a Snowbee auto-inflate vest, can you guess what's just found it's way onto my Christmas list?

The fishing this weekend has been terrible, persistent rain, heavy winds and water that's just too coloured to fish effectively. Still, as they say; A bad day's fishing beats a good day at work. Put me on those rocks, soaked to the bone and blanking over being sat here at my desk any day.



All work and no Bass makes Matt a dull boy. All work and no Bass makes Matt a dull boy. All work and no Bass makes.... Well you get the idea.

Last weekends session feels like an eternity ago. The move went well and we're settled in already, so now I'm looking to Friday's planned session with a few boys from the Forum. The weather isn't looking great so far, but rest assured, I'll be out no matter what! Had a new toy turn up this week in the form of a very red Tenryu Red Luck Super Distance. Can't wait to get it out and take it through it's paces and with any luck, connect with a few fish.

Halloween Bassing

Managed a few hours out on the favourable Estuary mark yesterday. Arrived an hour or so after high tide, with the intention of fishing it down to low. Conditions were nicely overcast with intermittent, showery rain and wind was manageable. There was a huge swell running on the beach, which was just broken up before reaching us. Steve did cop a decent slab to the mid-section, which I thought was going to have him swimming, but he just managed to regain his balance. Got to keep your wits about you while wading this place, as essentially it's a run off into a surf beach which itself is a real hot spot with surfers from near and far.

I messed around for a while with different lures, using a Rudra suspended and drifted in the flow. After an hour or so of no interest, decided to put the Athlete SS out for a swim.

Casting well up river and then pretty much bouncing it along the bottom, just jerking it up every now and then to impart a little life. Pretty much exactly how I work an Xlayer in the same situation. It's using the Athlete this way that makes me certain the Driftbait's that I mentioned before are going to work at this venue. It wasn't long before I have a sharp snatch at the lure and it was fish on! A decent little scrap(as with all Bass in the main flow of the river) and I guided a lively 2lb Bass to my waiting Bogas.

A few more casts with the Athlete saw no more interest, so out with the Giant Xlayer(Ayu) and straight into the next fish. That pretty much set the pace, and next hour was pretty hectic with a total of 6 Bass landed. No fish of any size, all between 1-2lb, but the sport was great. Even had one fish leap well in to the air upon realising she was hooked.

I'm sure we could have seen more fish, but Steve gave me the wrong time(thought it looked pretty light considering the clocks had gone back!) and we set off back to the car. On the plus side, this gave us the time to stop off for a pint of Ale. Nice to wind down and reflect on the fishing.

Not able to get out for 2 weeks now(!!), as I'm moving this weekend. Staying in Plymouth, but just up sizing to a larger apartment. I'm sure drooling over tackle choices for next season will keep me going until my next session.... Just!