06/09/2026 - Bassing in Exmouth

Didn't get out much over the summer - high temperatures and low river levels prompting local clubs to enforce fishing bans being one of the reasons. Had nearly three weeks in France as well, where temperatures peaked in the early evenings in the low forties. We therefore limited our excursions to the relative cool of the mornings and spent the afternoons back at the cottage sat around our makeshift pool and spa complex taking in plenty of liquid refreshment. In amongst the sight-seeing I managed several trips out on the local River Charente in the kayak or on the paddleboard.

With it being low and gin clear it was like like looking into an aquarium - saw roach and gudgeon, big chub and perch, shoals of coral-finned barbel and bream, carp exploding out of the margins and even two wels catfish with heads as big as my paddle that, in contrast, barely twitched as I passed over them. Certainly made me re-think about taking some tackle over next time. Arrived back in the UK just as some much-needed rain arrived to provide some respite, although it curtailed any plans to get out on the local rivers. 

Instead I found myself with an unexpected opportunity to do some sea fishing when our friends invited us down to Exmouth for the weekend. Normally I would take the LRF gear and go fishing for mini species in and around the marina, but this time I took my lure rod having seen a couple of clips on Youtube of people fishing the estuary for the bass. Arrived Friday afternoon and took a walk down to the seafront while our friends finished work. There were a few lure anglers about and I watched one chap catch a decent bass of 45 cm+ on a white Sandy Andy that was promptly despatched and popped in his bag. The following day my friend Simon and I got up at 6 o'clock and were down on the beach half an hour later for low water. 

There were already a few other folks down there thrashing the water, including the chap from the day before, with more arriving after us. The tide was already pushing back in so I joined them, punching out a Savage Gear sandeel as far as I could out into the channel and swinging it in the flow. Hadn't brought the chesties, but at 17 degrees the water was perfectly pleasant for wet wading. Carried on for about an hour in a couple of different spots without a sniff before suffering the mother of all wind knots. Hadn't seen anything caught up to that point, so rather than try and sort it out on the beach, we found a bench and had a coffee and a natter in the sun as the beach got busier with swimmers and dog walkers. The next morning we were up at the same time . 

In contrast to the day before there was a stiff breeze blowing straight in from the sea that was causing a good chop on the surface. Started with the same tactics but the cross-wind was a right pain and was limiting my casting distance. However, as the sun came up I had a bang on the rod tip as a greedy, little schoolie nailed the lure, then added another one a few casts later. As I carried on I could see a big flock of seabirds starting to work the surface out in the estuary in fronnt of me. Eventually they drifted tantalisingly almost within casting distance, so I clipped on a chrome Sling Shot "surface iron" in an attempt to get a bit more distance. Worked immediately as I had two more schoolies before the birds drifted off again. The wind had dropped off a bit by now and there were visible pockets of activity cropping up all over the estuary at this point.

In places the bass were striking really close to the shore with bait fish throwing themselves up onto the sand in panic. Following the disturbance and casting parallel to the beach I had three more small bass on the surface iron, which turned out to be a perfect match for the prey items they were busy gorging themselves on. More anglers had turned up at this point and it got a bit daft with people virtually running down the beach and wading in where I had been casting literally seconds ago! As there didn't seem to be any bigger fish about I therefore decided to pack it in and again sat and drank a coffee with Simon in the sun before we headed back to the house for breakfast. Still, it had been a fun couple of hours spent in good company.

Back home now and already a week into September - prime "trottanostering" time for a big stripey hopefully! 

02/08/2026 - Metal magic

A combined birthday and anniversary celebration involving several pints of Wye Valley Brewey’s excellent "Butty Bach" put paid to any ideas of a morning session yesterday. I was a knackered after the previous two early mornings anyway, so enjoyed the lie in instead. 

The plan had been to go wrasse fishing up at Fishguard and I very nearly headed there this morning, but having woken up shortly before 0500 hrs for some reason and not able to go back to sleep I decided to head to the estuary at Lawrenny for a bass session. Got there just after first light, the sun just starting to illuminate the mudflats, and drove down to the quay. The tide was already a couple of hours into the flood and I had therefore intended to bump soft plastics in the flow in mouth of the side channel. 

However, as I got togged up I could see a lot of bird activity out in the main estuary, so walked up to the breakwater for a look. A flock of gulls were diving on a shoal of bait fish and there was also the occasional strike from beneath.  Whilst all of this was happening some distance out of casting range I thought it would be worth a punt, so clipped on a 17g chrome Slingshot “surface iron” that I had recently purchased from Lures Edge. Whacked it out as far as I could and started retrieving it close to the surface. Within a few turns of the reel handle it got whacked by a small bass that punched well above it’s weight in the current. From that point onwards it was constant action with the lure getting smashed as soon as it hit the water. 

By the time that the birds and presumably the baitfish had finally drifted away an hour and a half later I’d had 27 schoolies, all like peas in a pod. Whilst it had been great sport, with about an hour left to high I upped sticks and went to a spot higher up the side channel to try and find a bigger fish. Worked a Savage Gear slender scoop shad around the clumps of bladder wrack in the hope that a big mama would come nosing in after an easy meal. However, it wasn’t to be and I was eventually pushed up against the wall by the incoming tide. I couldn’t really complain having just had my most prolific bass session so far. It had certainly been a case of being in the right place at the right time. 

I just wondered if a heavier lure would have given me enough distance to get right amongst the action and possibly the bigger fish. Oooh look, they do a 26g version. Where's the credit card......

12/10/2025 - Bass at last

Not been a great year for the bass for me, although I have had limited opportunities to be fair. Did have a nice fish in May in Wales when I was forced by the weather and the big spring tides to explore a new section of the estuary, but that has been the highlight so far. 

Was therefore keen to make the best of our trip down to Suanton, so had contacted Joel Squires about hooking up for a lure session. However, did my best to scupper my chances before I'd even arrived. Swapped cars with the wife for the trip and happily waved her off to work on Friday morning before remembering half an hour later that my chest waders were in the boot. Even better, when we stopped at Lidl in Barnstaple I moved my HTO Nebula from the back seat and popped it onto the roof bars so we could load the shopping in. Yep, you guessed it......drove all the way to Saunton before I realised that I'd not put my rod back in the car. However, by some miracle, it was still on the roof wedged next to the surfboards - how lucky was that? 

Crisis of my own making averted, I contacted Joel and we arranged to meet up on the Sunday. He'd wanted to show me a new mark on the coast but the tiny swell was not enough to make it work in his opinion, so we opted to fish the mussel beds in the estuary instead. Come Sunday morning it was pretty cold and gloomy and there was a stiff Easterly breeze, so we had to wrap up for our paddle up from Crow Point to Velator Quay. However, when I met Joel a couple of hours later the wind had dropped, it was a bit warmer and the sun was even threatening to come out. 

Just as well because we were both wet-wading - me because I'm a forgetful idiot and Joel in solidarity. Headed over the dunes and onto the estuary to find one angler already fishing the outgoing tide, but with acres of space we crossed the mussel beds and onto one of the fingers of rock protruding out into the main channel. Started off with a slender scoop shad, casting across the flow and letting it swing in the current. Had done that a few times when I decided to cast it straight down tide. 

The lure was taken with a bang within a couple of turns of the reel handle and I had a good scrap with a lovely dark fish that fought all the way back against the current and which went 55 cm on the tape measure. Success! As we carried on the tide dropped away to reveal the tops of the reef. Casting close to one of the outcrops I had a take from another good fish that immediately set off down tide, forcing me to bully it and stop it from going behind the rock. Unfortunately, after a short tug of war in which neither of us budged the hook pulled out. 

Joel in the meantime had moved onto the next exposed finger and had two small fish in quick succession, so I moved over as well to join him. Had a little schoolie myself before Joel suggested we switch to surface lure, so we both put on a large Patchinko. Had one unsuccesful blow up before the lure was taken with a thump by what felt like a very heavy fish that stayed deep and didn't show itself until it was under our feet. Found that it had actually rolled on the lure and that the front treble was nicked in the base of its pectorals, so it was coming in at an angle and therefore not the monster I thought it was. By this time the tide had turned and after having one more tiny schoolie we moved back onto the main body of the reef. 

Sun had come out, the wind had dropped and the sea had flattened off so it looked absolutely ideal for some more topwater action. However, despite thrashing the water until the sun disappeared below the horizon, we had no further interest and headed back to the car park in the gathering darkness. Still, it had been good to catch up and it had just been great to be out in the big space of the estuary. After saying our goodbyes I headed back to the bungalow to find the others drinking absinthe and red wine. Needless to say, dinner was a bit late.......

24/08/2025 - A game of two halves

Didn't get out again in July or the early part of August for various reasons (work, weather, club fishing bans, general apathy, blah, blah, blah....). Then had two weeks very relaxing weeks in France with the family and friends in the middle of the European heatwave. 

Temperatures topped out at 41 degrees Centigrade, which meant we were up early every day and out and about before it got stupidly hot and then chilling back at the house for the rest of the day in the shade with a glass of wine or a cold beer (or several!). Also meant that it was too hot to contemplate the two hour journey each way to St Palais sur Mer on the "Wild Coast", so although I'd packed some LRF bits in anticipation they went un-used. Once back from France I had a couple of days at work before we headed down to Pembrokeshire for the Bank Holiday weekend. With potentially four days to play with I had hedged my bets and taken enough kit to cover all eventualities. However, in the end, I'd not reckoned with the weather or my own physical capability, but more of that later. 

Having eyed up the tide tables and keen to get on the bass again I was out bright and early on Sunday morning for high  tide. Headed to the same area where I'd had a couple of decent bass out in May with a view to fishing the ebbing tide as it exposed the beds of bladder wrack, flushing out any potential prey items of interest to a foraging predator. It was a big tide, over 7 metres, so the level was well up the shore when I arrived and partially submerging the clumps of grass and reeds at the high tide line. Rather than blast my lure to the horizon I therefore flicked it parallel to the shore. 

Two turns on the reel handle and the shad was taken with a bang, the rod tip hooped over and the clutch briefly sang as an angry fish tried to make its escape. Unfortunately for me it was successful and after a few seconds the line fell agonisingly slack. Disappointed and encouraged at the same time I carried on, but three hours later and with the tide whizzing out like an express train I was fishless. Better still I'd managed to gash the knee of my waders and fill both legs  with water, so I had to strip off and drive home in my pants! Had planned to return to the estuary later in the week for a low tide session, so on Monday I headed to Hobbs Point in Pembroke Dock. Popped into the local Tesco for some bait, but had forgotten it was Bank Holiday and that they wouldn't be open for over an hour - doh! 

Headed down to the point anyway and spent an hour or so fishing off the pontoon with isome on a dropshot rig. Quickly racked up several rock gobies, black gobies and poor cod before I was able to nip back to the supermarket and get a pack of raw king prawns. Moved onto the old slipway, setting up a two-hook flapper that was baited up with chunks of prawn and dropped down the side, hopefully for a trigger fish or a decent ballan. Swapped the drop shot rig on the LRF rod for a mini-two hook flapper, baiting the bottom size 16 hook with a sliver of prawn and the top hook with a section of isome. The corkwing wrasse and the pollack loved the isome, often intercepting it as it dropped past the weed growing on the wall, whilst the prawn continued to pick up the gobies, along with the biggest tompot blenny I think I've ever seen. 

Kept an eye on the other rod, reeling it in after 30 minutes or so to find both hooks completely stripped, so re-baited it and dropped it down again. With another big Spring tide that morning, there was only about 40 minutes of slack water before the tide started to ebb and rip along the wall. At this point the prawn rod hooped over and I struck into some firm resistance. Hope of a trigger or big ballan were dashed when I saw a snake-like shape emerge from the depths and I began to think I'd hooked a strap conger instead. However, once safely landed I saw that I'd actually caught a decent silver eel, not the first I've had out of the Haven either. Thankfully he was neatly hooked in the bottom lip so after a quick shake with the forceps he was quickly off back down the slipway under his own steam. 

Went back to the pontoon at this stage as it was impossible to hold bottom with my relatively light gear. Another angler had arrived by now and stationed himself on the end, but he graciously let me slot in next to him. Turned out he was from the Black Country not too far from where I grew up in Birmingham, but had retired down to Pembrokeshire with his wife. Had a good old natter, gaining some decent local intelligence in the process, whilst picking off a few more gobies, pollack and corkwing wrasse with the LRF rod in the process, interrupted briefly by one of the Haven's tugs testing its fire-fighting  jets. Had an eye on the time and was just about to pack up when I finally had a ballan wrasse to make it an eight species session comprising 17 corkwings, 13 rock gobies, 7 pollack, 5 black gobies, 4 poor cod, 1 tompot, 1 silver eel and that ballan. 

Headed home pretty satisfied but thinking I was going to get a wigging off the wife, who instead told me that I could have stayed longer if I'd wanted to! Unfortunately that was it for the fishing for the rest of our stay. I'd been feeling a bit dizzy and "out of it" over the previous couple of days and when my hearing started to suffer it became apparent that I'd got a problem with my ears. Taking a strong decongestent knocked me for six, but helped things a bit and I felt bright enough to contemplate a bass session on our final morning. However, by then the tail end of Hurricaine Erin had blessed us with high winds and heavy rain that knocked things on the head anyway. Not what I had planned, but at least I'd had a decent session at Hobbs Point for a change. 

With temperatures cooling down and a bit of rain forecast it's time to see how the rivers are faring now. 

27/05/2025 - Two estuaries, mixed fortunes

Took the opportunity to hook up with Joel Squires while I was down in Saunton. Cirumstances had prevented us from meeting last year and I was keen to build on the success of previous sessions. Exchanged emails beforehand and whilst Joel had only been out a few times himself this season, he had managed to find a few fish in his last couple of outings so things looked promising. 

After an 8 km paddle up the Taw estuary from Crow Point to Braunton and back with the lads in the morning I returned a couple of hours later to meet Joel in the car park. Got togged up and had a good natter as we walked over the dunes and down onto the estuary. Started off by fishing topwaters over the reef on the last of the ebb without a hint of a fish, so slogged back up the to the mussel beds as the tide turned. Was unusual to walk past a few bait fishermen on the way, which had Joel bemoaning recent social media posts about gilthead bream, smooth hounds and even tope showing up in the estuary, although everyone that we stopped and spoke to was also fishless. 

Out on the mussel beds we carried punching our lures out into the fresh breeze, but as the light began to fade the wind dropped and conditions seemed perfect. However, try as we might the fish were either not there, or just not interested. Nail in the coffin came when I had the mother of all wind knots in my braid after having carefully looked after it, checking it after each cast, all afternoon. Headed back to the cars a tad disappointed, but it had been good to catch up and we pencilled in some plans for later in the year. Fast forward to May Bank Holiday down in Pembrokeshire. 

Saturday was taken up with the mother-in-law's 80th birthday, including assisting the wife put on a surprise tea party up at the village hall with friends and family and then a massive curry in the evening. With plenty of brownie points in the bank I snuck off at 5.30 AM the following morning to the Cleddau estuary. With stiff westerley winds forecast all weekend I had my eye on an area just around the corner from Lawrenny that I thought would hold a few fish at high water and where I would hopefully find a bit of calm. However, I'd forgotten that it was the "Big Retreat Festival" and when I pulled up in the car I found a dozen middle-aged ladies enjoying an early morning wild swim, although it sounded more like an excuse for a chinwag. Got togged up in the chesties, said good morning and then headed a decent distance further up the bank. Was initally flat calm and looked perfect for topwaters. 

Started off subtle with a small Fishus Espetit, working it over the top of the eel grass and bladder wrack. As the breeze picked up and ruffled the water I changed over to a Patchinko 125 and carried on working the area in front of me. After a while the ladies left, but were immediately replaced by a paddle boarding class. Thankfully they steered clear of me and as they disappeared around the bend in the river I changed lures again to a larger Espetit in hot belly glass. First cast a fish slashed at the lure just beyond the edge of the weeds then came back for a second go, resulting in my first bass of the year. Carried on with renewed enthusiasm, but as the tide rapidly ebbed exposing the bare mud beyond the weed beds I figured that the any fish would now have disappeared for pastures new so headed home for breakfast. 

Despite the appalling weather forecast I was back again this morning, hoping that there would be an early window of calm before the storm. However, when I arrived it was already raining and blowing a hoolie, although this did mean that there were no wild swimmers to contend with. Decided to go with soft plastics this time because of the chop on the water and popped on a slender scoop shad on a 5g cheb rig. Spent an hour and a half covering some new ground in the wind and rain without any interest before making my way slowly towards the car. As I came around a slight corner I could see the area that I'd fished yesterday was a bit calmer and that the ebbing tide had started to expose the top the of bladder wrack. Decided that it looked "fishy" and was worth staying a bit longer, so started working the lure in clear channels between the weed in the hope that a bass might still be mooching about. 

Third cast the shad was taken with a thump and a fish took off against the drag of my Penn Spinfisher. Managed to get itself stuck in a clump of bladder wrack, but after I gave it some slack line it was out and off again. When I got it up onto the surface I could see it was a decent fish, so was glad when I eventually drew it safely into the margins - a nice fat bass of 55 cm that made everything worthwhile. Took a couple of snaps on the phone and watched him swim off strongly before carrying on. However, I was pretty wet through by now and starting to shiver with the cold, so decided to end on a high. Left me with a bit if a quandry of what to do on our final day in Wales - had planned to go LRF or trout fishing, but who knows now?!

07/10/2024 - Portishead pitstop

Another enjoyable weekend in North Devon shot by and no sooner than we had arrived it was time to head back up the M5 to the Midlands again. 

My friend Ken needed dropping off in Taunton for 1100 hrs so after a quick tidy up we were away a bit earlier than usual. This meant it was still before mid-day when I got to Junction 19 near Bristol. As the weather didn't look too bad I therefore decided to come off the motorway and hang a left to Portishead and ten minutes later I was pulling up in the car park at the marina. I'd left one of my rods made up on the off chance, so grabbed a few prawns and a bit of squid and walked round to the basin, stopping at Costa to grab a coffee on the way. 

Close to the lock gates it was looking a bit brown and murky, but as I walked further along the clarity improved and the water took on a greeny hue. Stopped where I'd had a few gobies in May, baited up with a bit of prawn on the bottom hook and a strip of squid on the top, and then dropped the rig down the side. Could feel the dropshot lead sticking in the silt but by walking slowly backwards and hopping it along the base of the metal pilings I found a couple of harder patches. Had a few rattles on the rod tip straight away but couldn't connect with anything, so carried on a bit further towards the slipway. After a few more nibbles the tip finally bent over properly and a rock goby came reluctantly to the surface. 

Had two more of these, followed by a black goby before the little spot appeared to dry up. As time was ticking (I'd given myself and hour and a half maximum and wanted to get onto the little pier at the top of the marina) I got moving once more, stopping briefly to chat to a chap who was float fishing for mullet. There was nobody up at the top end of the marina, so had the pier to myself. Baited up again and dropped the rig down the side of the wall. Here the holes in the brickwork looked as if they would provide a bit more cover for things like gobies and blennies, but the lead didn't even hit the deck as the squid on the top hook was taken on the drop. Unfortunately, whatever it was soon came off. 

However, next drop in the same spot resulted in a pin whiting. Had a few more rattles and knocks before connecting with the smallest bass I'd ever seen, sporting his juvenile black spots. A silver bar in miniature. Quickly had three more of the greedy little buggers, all on the squid strip. Had seen a large shoal of small fish in the shallows on my last visit and had guessed them to be small bass. The marina probably acts as a nursery area, providing a relatively safe haven for them away from most predators and the strong tides of the Severn estuary. At this point another angler turned up. He was on his way back home to Malmesbury from Cardiff and had also decided on a quick stop. 

Edgar, as it turned out, had fished the marina on a regular basis in the past and had caught a range of species including gilthead bream (another one on my wish list). He'd also fished a lot of the same venues as me in Pembrokeshire, such as St Brides Bay, so we were able to swap advice and share experiences. Had one more little bass before reluctantly heading back to the car as I'd now gone well over my self-alloted time, leaving Edgar with the remains of my prawns and squid. The car park at the marina is "pay as you leave" and when I went to pay for my ticket I found that I'd tipped over into the next price band by just one minute. Not that I was complaining as I'd got a bit more local knowledge in the bank that would hopefully stand me in good stead, including where to park for free next time!

04/08/2024 - Bass blanks and back to basics

Headed down to Pembrokeshire for a few days last week for the father in law's birthday - 83, increasingly cantankerous, deaf and with dodgy legs but otherwise still going strong. As usual I took my bass and LRF gear, although the priority was to try get another bass on the lures. 

Unfortunately the tides were a bit neither here nor there and I had to wait until the Friday morning before I could head off to the estuary at a reasonable time. Usually I fish the flood, but this time high tide was early doors so I would be fishing the ebb instead. Therefore had a look on the map at a couple of spots higher up the esturary, eventually settling on Picton Point where the Eastern and Western branches of the River Cleddau join together - on paper at least an ideal ambush point for fish travelling back down river on the outgoing tide. Got there an hour after high water and got togged up, trying not to disturb the inhabitants of a couple of vans that had been parked up for the night, and made my way along the shore to the point.

Didn't have the need to use the open air toilet facilities and took stock of my surroundings instead. In contrast to the warm, sunny conditions of the previous day, it was overcast, cool and quite breezy and the resulting wave action had muddied up the margins. I also had to wade out well over waist depth as well to clear the band of floating debris that was being dragged out to sea by the tide and I was beginning to regret my choice of venue.The next two and a half hours was spent punching various lures out into the flow. However, my efforts proved to be for nothing with not even a bump or a knock. 

Undaunted I returned to the estuary the following day, but this time I'd played it safe and headed to Lawrenny instead. The conditions had improved and the wind had dropped enough to try for one off the top. Unfortunately after a couple of casts with the Patchinko I found that there was far too much floating weed about, so it was back to bumping soft plastics around on the bottom the instead. Went through the lure box over the next couple of hours trying various different sizes and colours, but again I ended up fishless. Even the mullet seemed to be taking the mick - launching themselves out of the water without any warning and boshing back on the surface, scaring me witless in the process. 

The only saving grace was that Poseidon hadn't claimed any of my tackle, but it was still a tired and disappointed angler that went home that morning. Gave the bass a miss then next day as it obviously wasn't happening on that front and instead headed to Milford Haven with the LRF gear. Had intended to fish off the pier at Hakin, but as I dropped down the hill towards the marina I could see that there were some people already there. Pulled up a couple of minutes later to find three anglers with six rods spread out between them. Bugger! Contemplated fishing next to the marina entrance, but there was already a stiff breeze blowing straight across the Haven that would have made fishing down the high wall a bit tricky. 

Instead I jumped back in the car and made the 15 minute journey back out of Milford, over the Cleddau Bridge and down into Pembroke Dock to Hobb's Point just in time for high water. Made my way down the ramp to the water level and rigged up my usual mini-two hook flapper with size 16 Drennan widegapes. I hadn't had time to get any fresh bait, so was making do with the last of my salted rag and what I had stashed in the mother-in-law's freezer. Went with a sliver of squid on the top hook and alternated bits of worm and tiny cubes of mackerel belly on the bottom. Had a couple of small pollack and the inevitable rock goby but it was slow going and it wasn't long before the ebb tide started picking up. 

At that point I decided to move and made my way down the gang plank and onto the floating pontoon at the base of the wall. A change of spot, possibly combined with the increase in flow, seemed to make a difference straight away as I was immediately into the fish, a succession of pollack coming on the squid strip and the mackerel (I'd dispensed with the worm as it was just getting stripped off the hook) picking up corkwing and ballan wrasse, black gobies and yet more rock gobies. 

Even managed a little bass, which was a nice surprise. Was fishing away quite happily when a string of mackerel feathers came flying over my head. The culprit, a chap about the same age as me, then came stomping down the gangplank, winding furiously. Whether it was due to the look on my face but rather than apologise when he spotted me he immediately got a bit arsy saying "What's the matter? You in a mood 'cus I pinched your spot?". Decided not to get into it and said "No, carry on", but it just re-inforced the fact that there a lot of twats in this world. Carried on for a bit longer, but had to get back as we were heading off back to Nottingham at mid-day. Despite a slow start I'd had over 50 fish, half of which had been pollack. 

Hadn't been hampered by the lack of fresh bait and it was good to know that squid and mackerel are a decent standby. Doubt if we'll be back to Wales this summer, so that'll leave our October trip to Saunton for one last chance for a bass. 

30/05/2024 - "One last cast"!

With the in-laws in France the wife and I headed down to Pembrokeshire to check their house over and have a few days chilling over half-term. Resisted the temptation to pack all the LRF tackle in as I knew I would just get distracted chasing "minis". 

Instead the lure gear went in, the plan being to try a get a bass or two. It was also a chance to try out my new Penn Spinfisher after yet another Daiwa Ninja had bitten the dust - great budget reels but the unsealed bearings are not too fond of the salt. The tides were looking good for it, mid-range and with low water early in the morning. The only possible fly in the ointment was going to be the wind as a brisk northerly was forecast all weekend. However, Saturday morning I was up at 0530 hrs, out the door and down on the estuary for 0615 hrs. 

At first glance conditions looked pretty good, but as I rounded the corner I could see that the wind was blowing straight up the arm. Got togged up and made my way down to the water to find that the clarity wasn't brilliant and the water had a brown hue. Closer examination revealed the presence of the dreaded "May weed" with loads of snot-like clumps of algae suspended in the water column. Not a great sign as its appearance often results in the fishing temporarily dropping off, possibly because it affects the oxygen levels in the water or even irritates fish gills. Wading out mid-thigh I could just about see beyond my knees, so started off with a Savage Gear slender scoop shad in sandeel mounted on a 4/0 worm hook with a 3g cheb weight but soon changed that to one in lemon back. 

Worked my way down to the pontoon and back without any hint of a fish, so made my way up to the point and put on a usually reliable Savage Gear weedless sandeel in white. The wind was now strongly gusting from right to left and making casting a nightmare. The tide was also pushing in strongly now and the combination of wind plus tide was making it difficult to keep the lure out in the channel. Had been fishing away for a few minutes when I noticed a lot of bird activity away to my left. A flock of seagulls were repeatedly diving down onto to the water and as they got closer I could see the occasional splash of a fish on the surface. Rummaging in my bag I found a silver, 19 gramme Westin Salty so clipped it on and whacked it out in the general direction of the commotion. 

Over the next few minutes I had four hookups - first one came off halfway in, the second came off when I wound it into clump of weed and the two I did manage to "land" were micro-bass barely big enough to cover my hand! 

As the gulls drifted off the bites stopped but I carried on with the Salty - for a small lure it flew like a bullet and I was able to punch it out for some distance into the wind. 

However, despite working hard for the next half an hour, I'd had no further interest and was on the brink of giving up but for whatever reason I decided to have one last cast from the point. Whacked the lure out into the flow once more and let it swing in the current before starting to retrieve. After a couple of turns of the handle the rod tip thumped round and I found myself connected to a heavy fish that came up to the surface very quickly. Thought I'd possibly foul-hooked a large mullet, but then caught sight of a spiky dorsal fin belonging to a decent bass. After a couple of runs I caught sight of it again and it was certainly bigger than anything I'd caught before, which had me praying for it not to come off!

Gave me some hairy moments as it made a few more determined runs out into the flow, but I eventually managed to steer it into the slack water of the bay to my left. The Salty looked tiny in its mouth and when I unhooked it I saw that it was only secured by one point of the treble and that this had been bent part-way out in the fight. Measuring 66 centimetres and weighing about 7lb this was a new PB bass for me. Had seen a couple of people heading for the cafe and contemplated going to get somebody to take a trophy shot, but in the interest of fish safety I took a couple of snaps on the phone and watched it swim away strongly instead. Was a very happy angler when I got back to the house, but it could have been so different if I'd not had that one last cast!

07/10/2023 - Topwater bass action

Had been in touch with Joel Squires, North Devon bass guide, again before we came down about the possibility of another lure session somewhere. He replied that the tides weren't brilliant, being small neaps, but that he'd have a think about it. 

As it happened I ran into him on the beach at Saunton on Saturday when I got back from Ilfracombe and after a quick chat I arranged to meet him on the estuary at Crow Point later that afternoon. Walking up from the car park towards the mouth of the estuary we discussed tactics. It had been a cracking, warm sunny day up until then and Joel thought conditions would be spot on for a bass off the top as the evening progressed. However, as previously, I started off by bumping soft plastics along in the current, but the small outgoing tide meant that there was not a lot of flow and I kept snagging up in the weed on the bottom. Joel meanwhile had headed a little futher away to see if the bass were interested in a big Pachinko.

Therefore, as soon as I saw him catch a small schoolie I clipped on one myself and started banging it out towards the horizon. Walking the lure back towards me along the surface I could see swirls behind it and the occasional garfish leaping after it, so was full of anticipation. However, the first proper take resulted in a bass that wasn't much bigger than the lure itself! A few minutes later I managed a better one around 2lb, before snagging another tiddler. Joel had also had another couple of small fish, but after a bit of deliberation he decided that a change of location to some shallower, rough ground was required if we wanted a better fish, so we walked back up the estuary where weed-covered fingers of rock exposed by the tide jutted out into the main channel - an inspired move as it turned out. 

Wading out from the shore I did wonder whether Joel was going to stop before we got to Appledore on the opposite side of the estuary, but we eventually got to our new positions with me on one side of the furthest gully and Joel on the other. The light was disappearing rapidly now and the water in front of us was like glass - absolutely perfect! As advised I changed down to a slightly smaller Savage Gear panic prey and again started covering the water in front of me. The move certainly appeared to have been justified as second cast Joel had another schoolie and moments later I happened to look over as yet another fish slashed at the surface at his lure. This was obviously a much better fish and, after getting weeded up a couple of times, he held up a cracking bass of about 5 lb.

There certainly seemed to be plenty of fish in front of us as, frustratingly, I had three aborted takes myself before Joel advised me to slow down my retrieve and I eventually hooked into another bass of around 2lb that also did its best to weed me up on the way in. The light was really fading now and we were into the last ten minutes of the session when my lure was sucked into a vortex, the line tightened and the rod hooped over. Learning from the last fish I bullied it straight into the deeper water of the gully where it woke up and gave a good account of itself at close quarters. Joel by now had waded over to me and as the fish tired on the surface he secured it first time with the boga grip. 

Not as big as his, but a superbly conditioned, dark fish of about 4 lb, so I was well pleased with that. Got a quick snap, unhooked him and sent him back on his way. Whilst we had a couple more casts each that fish nicely brought the session to an end and we waded back to the shore, giving the legs a good workout in the process. Was fully dark by the time we got back to the car park and after promising that we'd hook up together soon we went our separate ways  - me to a freshly cooked cod, chips and curry sauce that the others had kindly brought me from Braunton. Fantastic end to a fantastic day!