Post by Mumbles Motor Boat Fishing Cl on Oct 5, 2015 18:12:58 GMT 1
We're almost on borrowed time for summer species. Watching lures drop through the clear water will soon be swapped out for banging big smelly baits out from the boat into the racing chocolate coloured water searching for a cod. With that in mind, the tides were falling in size but the weather forecast was great so I outlined a trip to have another bash at the bass.
We collected 4lb of live eel from Swansea Tackle and Bait, along with some lug and squid to see us through slack water periods. Arriving at the first mark we found the strong flooding tide had coloured the water up. Unsurprisingly we didn't have anything in the first couple of drifts so we made our way to the next mark - here we had far better clear water.
In addition to a show put on by a pod of playful dolphins we were treated to a reasonable number of bass to 5lb+. The sandeel also attracted the interest of a large squid that let go right at the boat.
Dean Gifford with 5lb+ Bass
As the drift speed dropped we made our way to a large sandbank to put the anchor down for a few hours so we could have some food and try for some rays etc.
The weed was a problem as the tide began to ebb but we found a few nice rays, a couple of gurnard, dabs and dog.
Dean Gifford and Colin Albert with Rays
Nathaniel James witha lovely Ray
As the tide increased in strength we made our way back offshore to have another bash for bass. We returned to where we'd found the fish earlier in the day, but a few drifts didn't put us over the shoal. Earlier in the day the shoal was clearly on the move, so I was sure they'd turn back up at some point, but a large Bideford trawler was making its way towards the area so we didn't bother hanging around. We made our way west, joining the flotilla of boats lined up along one of the popular areas of Gower.
The first drift yielded 2 bass and a few lost eels. Although there were a ton of boats there our hopes were pretty high. We averaged a fish every 2 drifts, which is OK but not ground breaking.
Richie Pearce with 5lb+ Bass
John Beval witha 5lb+ Bass
A few fishless drifts signalled time for us to make a move, we ran back towards Swansea to have a few hours at anchor on Langland reef. Unfortunately, the bream didn't appear as expected, only finding one; but we found a few nice gurnard (all three common species) along with bullhuss and dogs by the bucket load.
We had another little bash for bass as the light started to fade but we could only interest a large scad before we called time on the day. We got back to the marina around 7:30pm, finally got away around 8:30 after cleaning down and sorting the fish. Hopefully this nice weather will continue... but I have a feeling it won't be too long before my trips start targeting more wintry species.
We collected 4lb of live eel from Swansea Tackle and Bait, along with some lug and squid to see us through slack water periods. Arriving at the first mark we found the strong flooding tide had coloured the water up. Unsurprisingly we didn't have anything in the first couple of drifts so we made our way to the next mark - here we had far better clear water.
In addition to a show put on by a pod of playful dolphins we were treated to a reasonable number of bass to 5lb+. The sandeel also attracted the interest of a large squid that let go right at the boat.
Dean Gifford with 5lb+ Bass
As the drift speed dropped we made our way to a large sandbank to put the anchor down for a few hours so we could have some food and try for some rays etc.
The weed was a problem as the tide began to ebb but we found a few nice rays, a couple of gurnard, dabs and dog.
Dean Gifford and Colin Albert with Rays
Nathaniel James witha lovely Ray
As the tide increased in strength we made our way back offshore to have another bash for bass. We returned to where we'd found the fish earlier in the day, but a few drifts didn't put us over the shoal. Earlier in the day the shoal was clearly on the move, so I was sure they'd turn back up at some point, but a large Bideford trawler was making its way towards the area so we didn't bother hanging around. We made our way west, joining the flotilla of boats lined up along one of the popular areas of Gower.
The first drift yielded 2 bass and a few lost eels. Although there were a ton of boats there our hopes were pretty high. We averaged a fish every 2 drifts, which is OK but not ground breaking.
Richie Pearce with 5lb+ Bass
John Beval witha 5lb+ Bass
A few fishless drifts signalled time for us to make a move, we ran back towards Swansea to have a few hours at anchor on Langland reef. Unfortunately, the bream didn't appear as expected, only finding one; but we found a few nice gurnard (all three common species) along with bullhuss and dogs by the bucket load.
We had another little bash for bass as the light started to fade but we could only interest a large scad before we called time on the day. We got back to the marina around 7:30pm, finally got away around 8:30 after cleaning down and sorting the fish. Hopefully this nice weather will continue... but I have a feeling it won't be too long before my trips start targeting more wintry species.