Slowing down with this subtler estuary fishing is causing me to see a lot more interesting stuff going on, embarrassing language though!
Most of you probably have little idea how much time I have spent around fresh and saltwater fly fishing all around the world with my camera gear. I have been lucky enough to witness some of the best sport fishing on this earth, and my massive photo library reflects a lot of that. When I didn’t need glasses most of the time I got pretty good at spotting all kinds of fish because I learnt what to look for by learning from the guides I worked around, so my rarely seeing bass when I am out fishing myself has never got me wondering if I simply couldn’t see them…………….
I would guess that most of us don’t go out bass fishing and expect to see bass swimming around. We might see signs of bass, but how often are you seeing an individual bass mooching around for example? It’s the nature of the species and how we so often fish for them I reckon, but one thing I am learning is that the more I slow right down with this subtler form of estuary based bass fishing especially, the more times I am actually seeing bass, along with loads of mullet of course, indeed it’s almost comical how they are so spooky they literally spook themselves! Just because you can see a few bass doesn’t automatically mean that they are going to smash the lure you present to them though, but without a doubt I am learning so much more about how these magnificent fish move around in very shallow water especially, and how they position themselves to hunt crabs or chase small baitfish and so on.
And I am actually seeing more bass than I ever thought I would. They aren’t a true sight fishing species like bonefish on the shallow sand flats of some parts of the world, but from time to time I have wondered why I wasn’t seeing more bass if I was fishing in a typical estuary system. My belief is that I am seeing more bass mooching around now because more of the bass fishing I have been doing has revolved around slowing right down and doing everything far more carefully and deliberately. Which in turn means you are going to see and notice more than you might usually do if you are simply trying to cover as much water as possible with whatever type of lure you’ve got clipped or tied on.
I did have a situation a couple of days ago when the language that poured forth from my potty-mouth was quite frankly embarrassing! We didn’t see many fish moving around until way into the ebb tide when the water started to get really shallow. Mostly mullet for sure, but some of the movement we were seeing as the fish cruised down the margins looked more bass-like than mullet-like. Mark and I are both standing or kneeling right back from the water’s edge because it’s pretty evident that our bass can be as wary as a wild trout at times. Not far from low water I was carefully scanning the water and my eyes settled upon a bass that was sitting suspended in the shallow water almost right in front of me. At range you can sometimes mix mullet and bass up as your eyes are telling you it’s got to be bass because you so badly want it to be, but this close to me and I see the dark back and spiky dorsal fin as plain as day.
Z-Man ProCrawZ 3.5'' creature bait rigged on a 3/0 7g BKK Silent Chaser EWG weedless jig head
I’d have put it at easily 5lbs, and possibly a decent bit more (Mark had landed a bass around 6lbs the day before on a Sleeper Craw not far from where we were fishing). I wasn’t remotely panicked, indeed I felt very calm as I gently flicked my Z-Man ProCrawZ 3.5'' creature bait rigged on a 3/0 7g BKK Silent Chaser EWG weedless jig head slightly ahead and beyond the bass so I didn’t spook it. The fish didn’t move when the lure landed, and I gently “shuffled” the crab imitation along the bottom until I could see it literally right in front of the fish’s mouth. I am crouched right down because I think I am being all ninja-like, and I gently shake my rod tip a couple of times to get the claws on the lure shaking in the water.
I am so ready to gauge the hit and set the hook at the right time, indeed I am a mature, coiled spring, ready to pounce. I shake the lure one more subtle time and then I swear the bass turns one eye to me, winks, and nonchalantly moves off into deeper water. It doesn’t hurry like it’s spooked, but it has bloody well refused my tasty offering. If the fish hadn’t moved I’d have gently pulled my lure in and changed to a much smaller 2.5inch Z-Man TRD CrawZ I’ve got pre-rigged on a 1/0 5g Seadra weedless jig head, just in case the fish wanted a smaller profile. But I never got the chance. The bass refused me and moved away. I won’t repeat the filth that poured from my lips, but I am not proud how a 52 year old father of two girls can speak like that! I might be seeing more bass moving around, but just because you are seeing a few fish doesn’t mean they are simply going to smash anything you put in front of them…………….
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