Conditions are paramount in Bass fishing, what a difference a day makes comes to mind, not one day is the same, one session could be spot on, then the next day will bring weed and coloured water. The last few weeks has been a classic example with different weather systems moving thru with things generally feeling more autumnal.

So its a case of grabbing the windows of opportunity and making the most of it. Plenty of fish have been caught using various methods, off the top, bouncing soft plastics in current and shallow diving lures fished over shallow reefs, the water temperature is still 19 degrees..

Some nice fish caught and lost for my clients with plenty of laughs to celebrate and comiserate…

Friday the 1st of August is a special date in my diary for personal reasons and whatever is happening i always make sure to get out for a fish and suck in some salt air n feel the breeze against my face.So the tides were ideal to try on one of my favourite marks and i set about pin point casting my SF Komomo 125 into the fizzing water. Conditions looked great and i felt confident something would happen…

As i was retreiving my lure over the shallow reefy ground whallop and my drag started singing as a good fish stormed off right behind a rock !, so it was a case of keeping the rod high to prevent the braid from parting and play a game of patience as the fish felt stuck on something. Eventually the fish moved itself free and i bullyed it into some cleaner ground where i had the chance to play it out and get my first glimpse of her, a lovely fish which soon was mine.

As usual a few shots then measured, 68cm of North Devon Silver, she swam away strongly to live another day and i headed to the pub for a well earnt pint….

So the saying goes and its a matter of just getting out there as much as you can.So last week i managed three short evening sessions,two proved fruitful with 17  fish caught up to 65cm with one blank as a reality check !

Most of these fish were caught off the top using a Megabass X Lush, but the better fish fell to the Ima Sasuke 120 and the Ima SFKomomo 125. From experience i know how quick the conditions can change, hence the one blank resulting from a coloured sea and weed weed and more weed. So when its good get on it, it may not be good for awhile…

Last Friday i had a guiding session booked in with Trev Smith and Andy ( Nobby) Clarke, these two met on a fishing boat 20 years ago and have been mates ever since, fair to say these guys love fishing and know how to do it, all i had to do was find some fish ! The boys got on the road early to avoid the m25 madness and were down in good time, i had a mark in mind that i knew was fishing well, but with an air temperature of 28 degrees, clear skies and easterly wind i knew it wasnt going to be plain sailing !.

By the look of the conditions by gut instinct was to get straight on to some topwater lures, with the trusty Patchinko comming out for an intial outing. The first cast ( i was showing Nobby how i like to work the Patch) and a good fish swirled behind !, result !, things were looking good, clear seas, 19 degrees and hot hot conditions and it wasnt long before Nobby was in to his third fish….

To cut a long story short this turned into a memorable session, 18 fish caught in a two n a half hour session all off the top and believe me it doesnt get better than this !

Its magic when everything comes together, Trev was down here as part of his 50th Birthday celebrations and near the end of the blitz had a proper fish hit the Patchinko 3 times before she nailed it close in then tore off for freedom, this proved to be the best fish of the session nudging 6lbs..

This has to be one of my favorite sessions ever, ok we had some great fishing, but it was more about the fun we all had, kids in a sweet shop comes to mind !, kindred spirits, which was cemented in the pub after !, Nobbys first pint dissapeared in one go…

Needless to say Trev and Nobby are already planning there next trip down here,  iwas sad to see them go but cant wait to hook back up for the Autumn Big Girls….