 Just wondering what fish are about at the moment in the south wales area?
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smoothounds ,rays and bass by all accounts
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Cheers i went at the weekend
fished on the beach with rag and caught my first ever bass didn't weigh it but it must have been the good side of 2 ounces. also caught an eel a whiting and a blenny type thing? oh and three crabs
I was fishing on the beach and casting about 100 yards but worked out this was in about 6 feet of water? is this too shallow?
also some of the better size bites i got didnt materialise into anything should i be fishing with a line that is not tight to let bites develope?
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hi all
6 feet is no where near deep enough for bass
you need to be out on a boat and around a feature like a break water with lures
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 6 feet is no where near deep enough for bass
ive caught bass in less then 6feet of water, it depends on the ground, what food is around, and the time of day.
if its a shallow beach, wait till we have had a really strong offshore wind for a few days, then as soon as possable after it starts to die down get to the beach. hopefully the water will be rough and the breakers pounding in, fish out about 20-30meters with fish or squid baits.
have the line tight, a loose line will cause you no end of problems(tide, weed, wind, bites etc)
most(all)sea fishing rigs tend to be self hooking, there is no need to strike, the fish will hook itself on the weight/tightline.
what size hooks were you using? and how big were the baits?
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i was using 1/0 hooks with mackeral about 5 inches long? with rag slightly smaller hooks but very big rag.
i do get some good knocks but they never materialise i was using 5 ounse breakaways
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i know how you feel on the beach get out on a boat
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i do not have access to a boat at the moment
I'm not sure what size hook exactly im using but i match them to the bait if i'm using sand eel, which i've never had a bite on on the beach, i use a long shank hook about half the lenth of the eel which i bind on with elastic?
if i use worms i use a largish hook with those bait holder things on the back and then thread one worm up the line them back down onto the hook
i tie a 4 foot paternoster 5 foot from the lead
i use the smallest lead i can get away with
i've tried using makeral in the past but it just comes in as a bit of skin which i suspect has been crabbed
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Andy,
have you tried elastic on the mackeral? it sometimes helps with the crabs.
i would try a shorter hooklength, maybe 12inches at the most. ive tried the long hook lengths but found i was missing a lot of bites.
i also forgot to mention, shallow beaches can be great for smouthounds. use a small 50p size hardback crab on a 4/0 hook, just hook it through the back. make sure your clucth is loose on the reel.
Sid,
try smaller baits/hooks, a size 2-4 with rag.
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Beach fishing for bass is a waste of time
Theres too many variables in beach fishing
Weather distance bait size depth we dont have to do it so why bother
I've waisted whole sumers beach fishing for bass for about four good ones
you can get on a boat a few choice lures end of the pier and catch that in an after noon
you said yourself alan that shallow beaches are good for smooth hounds so fish for them and fish else where for the bass
your casting to where you were standing 30 minutes before on shallow beaches
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not every one owns a boat,
not everyone can afford to go on a charter boat,
not every one likes boats.
to say beach fishing for bass is a waste of time is way off the mark. you WILL catch them off the beach, you just need to put a bit of effort in to it.
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 Sid, not sure about that, my Dad went down to Cornwall last summer and had ago off the beach, if you catch the tide right and they're feeding theres plently to be caught. He had fish up to 9lbs using sand eel.
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Well i'm having a bit of a challenge with the bass its me 1 bass 31
Thanks for the info Alan so you dont think i'm doing a lot wrong just change the hook size the leader size and be in the right place at the right time?
30 yard out would be right in amongst the waves does this matter?
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when ever i here about bass being caught on sand eels i always assume they are frozen eels is it more likely that they are live?
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thats right Andy, get into the breakers. the waves and surf stir the bottom up and the bass come in close to feed. if you find any slipper limpet washed up on the beach get them on your hook and cast out, its what they came in to feed on.
live sandeel works well from a boat or pier, ive not tried from a beach yet as im not to sure how well they would survive the cast. frozen sandeel accounts for a lot of rays along the south caost.
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with the crab is it just a case of pick em up put a hook through them cast em out? or is there any preperation?
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if its hard back, just hook them on and belt them out, the only thing you need to do is make sure the hook pint is clear of the body so it can do its job.
if you get some peeler you need to peel the back off, and bind them to the hook with elastic. peeler is a good bait for just about any fish, its just bloody expensive. for smutts hard back crabs are just as good and free if you go looking for them.
as i said just make sure your clutch is loose, and your within easy reach of your rods, a smutt take makes carp look like sissies. watching youre rods go for a swim is not a good experiance.
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I think the sandeels my dad used he bought live form the tackle shop, he said he he was just casting them into the surf.
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I went fishing 3 times last week:
Day one 4 hours on a local gravel pit
3 carp between 15 and 22 lb and a 5.5lb tench
Day 2
Porthcawl - blank
day 3
porthcawl - 1 eel 1 crab?
Sea fishing surley cant be this difficult?
what are the key things to do when approaaching sea fishing?
I'm at that point where chuck it and see seems the best policy?
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