We were down in Pembrokeshire for the May Bank Holiday and it happened to coincide with some early morning, low tides down on the Cleddau estuary, which I hoped would be perfect to snag a few bass on the lure rod. First morning saw me up at 5 am and down at Lawrenny just after dawn. Unfortunately the weather was less than inviting - grey, misty and with a sharp, cold wind pushing straight up the inlet off the main channel. Unusually, having never seen another fisherman all the times I've been there so far, I was joined by two other hardy souls with the same thing in mind. However, despite thrashing the water for a couple of hours solid, none of us could muster a fish between us and I went home for breakfast feeling cold and dispirited. The next morning I had an hour longer in bed and woke to find the weather a lot more promising, so set off down to the estuary again with renewed enthusiasm.
Early morning at Black Mixen Pool
There was still a breeze pushing up the inlet, but the wind had dropped considerably from the previous day and it was bright and sunny. It was still low, slack water when I arrived and, whilst there was a bit of ripple, conditions looked good to try for one off the top. Tried a new rig for the first time after reading a post on Austen Goldsmiths blog Zen Sportfishing, setting up with a IMA Skimmer with a "teaser" fly (a sandeel imitation) on a dropper three feet up the leader.
Bass fodder
Set about "walking the dog" and was encouraged by a swirl behind the Skimmer on my first cast. However, a few casts later it was the fly that was taken by a small schoolie.
One on the teaser
Carried on with the surface lure until the tide started pushing in and wind picked up, then swapped the Skimmer for an old favourite, the Megabass X-120 SW. Had one come off halfway in before landing another schoolie, all spines and bristling indignation, a few casts later.
Mr Angry!
Worked my way down to the point at the mouth of the inlet without any further interest. The tide had pushed in quite a way by now, filling the gullies on the beach, and creating some slack areas. Popped the Skimmer back on and made my way back to the car, casting down the gullies as I went. A few minutes later a swirl behind the Skimmer heralded another little bass, clearly intent on a substantial breakfast!
Greedy guts
That proved to be the end of the action, so left the beach to the dog walkers and headed home for breakfast. Was pleased that the bass liked the new setup, although here's hoping they're a bit bigger next time.
Some awesome, bristling bass mate. Well done...
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