Rumour has it...
It's the evening of 18 September 2009.
Vincent, one of my French fishing mates who is crazy about lure
fishing for sea bass, contacted me via MSN to go fishing with him on
Quicksilver commander the next day. He had heard via the French bass
mafia and his contacts on the web that many bass were chasing
sardines around Pentrez beach. This is a common autumn ritual for sea
bass as they want to fatten up before the winter spawn.
Mackerel Appetisers
Afternoon of the 19th. We put Vincent's
boat in at Morgat harbour. We were both brimming with a mixture of
curiosity and confidence that something special would take place.
While idling out of the harbour we find an absolutely huge shoal of
mackerel around 10 metres below the boat. We tested our bass tackle
on them until we were happy that everything was functioning and bass ready.
Searching,
hoping, imagining...
We headed for Pentrez beach, the supposed
site of yesterday's bass mayhem. Along the way we stop and fish a few
coves without a touch--not uncommon when bass are concentrating on
sardine shoals. We then headed further south and cruised the length
of Pentrez's sandy shore looking for any signs of birds going crazy,
surface attacks by bass, or simply water with a hint of nervousness.
Patience my
son...
We cut the engine and waited for any signs
of activity. The tide was huge at 109% of mean high tide, so a lot of
clear water was being pushed around. Good news when fishing for bass
as current is king. After half an hour the hunt was on. From the
south end of the beach near the rocks many birds started congregating
and screeching while chasing a small but hectic V-wake. I fired just
ahead of the crest of the wake and simply let the lure drop
vertically. A few seconds later I was on a tug-o-war with a large
shadow as it stayed deep. It was the pull of a stubborn bull of a
bass used to having its own way in the water. Despite the pathetic
net (more at home in a small roach pond than in a bass boat) of
Vincent, I got my 4 kg prize in the boat. Pic below.
Then More Waiting...
After a couple more yet lesser surface
attacks by our quarry, and picking up 5 more smaller bass, things
went pretty dead. We then decided to head back to the harbour to see
if there was any bass activity in the north of the bay. This decision
to head back would be fortuitous.
As we entered the harbour we realised that
only mackerel were still lurking about, so we went searching for bass
to the east of Morgat where only boat access is possible and
recommended as the cliffs are steep and dangerous and boat-shredding
rocks are strewn everywhere. I had fun firing my casts into all
manner of caves which bored through the cliff faces.
Payday!
Working our way back to the harbour we
found a large cove with some sea birds acting very nervously on the
shore. A few minutes later we witnessed sporadic bass attacks as they
slashed into unwary or confused shoals of sardines that were being
tossed and slammed into the rocks where the birds would simply pick
them off as if peeling off stamp.
Vincent quietly slipped the boat into
position while I stealthily (and anxiously) grabbed my rod waiting
for the time where I could fired my caper shad (see range below)-
capershadworm 08
is the best if you
can find them
into the cacophony of bass, sardines and
birds. Once in position, Vincent cut the engine, and paradise indeed
rained on us that evening. Fish after fish were hammering our
offerings, so much so, that two of my soft lures were mauled beyond
function. Double hook ups were common as we sang the praises of our
Breton sea bass. The action lasted about an hour after which, I must
admit, that the tendons in my wrists were knackered. Over 30 fish
landed on the evening. Truly magical autumn fishing.
