Don’t you love how taking a calculated gamble on a new spot and catching fish really fires up your brain? (Tier 1 December bass fishing, sorry!)

Fishing is so amazing because it manages to fit so many different people with their different needs and thrills into its welcoming embrace, and whilst what most of us would class as “big bass” is always going to be high up on the list for many bass anglers, far more of a thrill for me is looking around for fishing spots that I haven’t fished before - and then fishing them. We all fish various marks we know well again and again, but surely fishing is so much about learning and trying and failing and striving to get better? We have so many resources these days to help us find new spots to fish, but at the end of the day nothing beats actually trying them out and seeing if the various hunches and ideas might pay off………………

On Wednesday morning Mark and I could have chosen to fish a few different marks somewhere in what is now a Tier 1 region. The local fishing may well be pretty up and down at the moment, but at least we can actually get out fishing unlike last November and December when the conditions were so bad that lure fishing for bass was essentially knackered. It’s been fairly wet but my local estuary is in pretty good shape at the moment, the coastline is nice and clean, and with those tides and weather forecast we had a decision to make. I suggested not fishing the night before and instead taking a punt the next morning on a spot we had been thinking about for a while now but hadn’t got round to fishing. My argument was why the hell not because the water surely had to be clear, there would likely be a fair amount of movement with the size of the tide and wind direction, plus I’ve got various samples of various items of fishing tackle here which need some decent water time. Decision made, with an apology from me in advance if my urging upon a gamble turned out to be a complete waste of time!

We managed to find where to park and how to walk to where we wanted to see and fish (gotta love What3Words), and it was quickly apparent that the ground looked even nicer than repeated scrolling around and pinching in on Google Earth had suggested. The problem if you like was that there were so many interesting looking features and areas to fish that knowing where to start and how to tackle it was slightly daunting - but this is what I love. I don’t have a lifelong knowledge and experience level of fishing with lures for bass like many anglers do (especially on Facebook where I sometimes feel slightly daunted by how many experts who were once beginners but have quite forgotten that simple fact ply their virtual trade) but I do really enjoy looking at an area like this and then starting out along that fascinating path of trying to figure things out. When I cast out a sample lure I had with me and snagged it up good and proper though, perhaps the fishing computer in my head needed a quick reboot!

We wandered around to cover different bits of ground and structure and so on. For years now I have doled out a 2-way radio to the people I am fishing with, principally because we could be fishing a long way apart at times and if they catch a nice fish and can put it in a rockpool or something like that, they can buzz me on the radio and I can make my way over to shoot a few photos. From a safety point of view being able to keep in touch is handy as well, and we can also keep in touch about how the fishing is going and so on. There was a specific part of this new area that I had identified on Google Earth and I wanted to get over there and have a proper look at it before the tide went out too far, so I radioed Mark to let him know I was going for a wander and I’d be in touch if anything happened. Where I had been fishing looked really interesting on so many levels, but nothing was happening and because we were fishing the place for the first time I wanted to try and see as much of the ground as possible.

My first thought when I rocked up at this particular part of the mark was wow this looks nice but I should have wandered over an hour or so earlier now I could see the terrain that was uncovering and how bassy it looked. I was here though, and it screamed fish - which as you know doesn’t always amount to much, but the adrenaline levels went up a notch as I screwed a Gravity Stick Paddletail onto one of our belly-weighted 6/0 weedless hooks, and gently cast the lure about fifteen yards out. I could see no need to cast any further with what was going on in front of me as regards the water and the features, and blow me bloody down if I didn’t get a solid bang as my lure swung around on a slow, straight retrieve. I went to set the hook but the fish didn’t connect, but there was something around at least and I radioed Mark to let him know and that if anything else happened I’d be in touch…………….

About ten or fifteen casts later and I still haven’t put my Paddletail any further than about twenty yards out because what was so interesting about where I was fishing was so close in. The lure swings around on my retrieve and I get another hard bang which causes me to lift hard into the fish. Everything goes lovely and solid, I get a glimpse of the bass because it’s not exactly very far out, and in a few seconds I’ve got a plump Cornish winter bass at my feet which I put at around 6lbs. I get on the radio to Mark to quickly tell him what’s happened and then I unhook the fish and get it on a grip and back in the water because Mark is a very kind soul who I know won’t mind if I ask him to hold this fish for a few simple grip and grin photos (thank you as always Mark!).

We fished on of course but didn't get another sniff of a fish. That one single bass which I was obviously very pleased with but would have been just as happy if Mark had caught it or if it had been a considerably smaller fish went and scratched the itch that we both had felt about this spot. A blank wouldn’t have remotely put me off coming back there with how good the ground looks, but how good does it make you feel when you take a gamble and it pays off the very first time? If any type of fishing causes us to think on our feet it’s lure fishing, and that single December bass from within our Tier 1 region has got me thinking so much about this particular area, and then of course what might be around the proverbial corner which we don’t know about either. The thrill at landing another nice bass on one of these new Gravity Stick soft plastics hasn’t diminished at all, and I really want to tell you more about what we are currently working on but I am not allowed to. You all have a good weekend whatever tier our esteemed government has put you in, hoping you can get out fishing somewhere and somehow…………….

Disclosure - if you buy anything using links found in this blog post or around my website, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you any more to buy via these affiliate links - and please feel entirely free not to do so of course - but it will help me to continue producing content. Thank you.