Not a fish was caught yesterday yet it was the most intensely enjoyable few hours of fishing - the sun was out, it actually felt like spring, the water was beautifully clear and green, the swell was rolling in which required us to fish somewhere different to our original plans, and it was just utterly glorious being out on the rocks and feeling like we were in with a shout at a bass……….
OK, so the sum of our efforts was a big fat blank, but with reports starting to come in of a few bass showing up in a few different places, I’m starting to feel the love that things might be about to kick off. Mark and I headed for the north coast of Cornwall yesterday, and whilst we were obviously hoping to connect with a bass or two, just getting out and meaningfully fishing and trying out a few different things on some new gear that the little bastard called Cabin Fever somehow put into my hands over the winter felt so damn good.
And for all the technical marvels that I worked through that beautiful water yesterday, it was the oddly shaped and not very expensive Salmo Wave lure in the 9cm/24g size that got me a follow from a small bass. Wow that lure flies, and you can simply wind it in at different speeds depending on what depth you want to fish it, or jig it around a bit - it’s got the most seductive little wiggle and I can see myself chucking this thing around a fair bit when there’s a bit of swell running especially.
You know when you haven’t seen a follow for a while and you doubt what your eyes are telling you? I saw this small bass rise up behind my lure, follow it for a while, and then drop out of sight, and perhaps because it saw my grinning mug staring over the edge of the rocks and making very little effort to keep down because I was so damn excited to see that little fish moving around! Small it may well have been, but I’d have loved it if that little bass had committed to my lure.
I wore my new pair of Vision Ikon Guiding waist waders yesterday, and within about five minutes of moving around the rocks and keeping back from the swell I was wondering why on earth I haven’t worn waist waders before. I was never going to go deep wading where we were yesterday and with the lively conditions we had, but I do like dry legs and feet and wearing these Vision waist waders felt a bit bloody brilliant. Time will tell and I will report back in due course, but initial impressions are very good.
And I’ve been trying out a pair of the rather clever Hodgman Vion wading boots for a while now - I have always liked the idea of being able to change soles on a pair of wading boots, but for saltwater use I seriously don’t like that too clever for its own good Boa metal lacing system. I have gone and proved to myself that you can spend not much money on a pair of “wading boots” and get something very usable (as per here), but I can’t get away from how I do like a really good pair of proper wading boots if they last a decent length of time - so far these not cheap Hodgman Vion wading boots with their regular laces and interchangeable soles have been fantastic. I can’t find any signs of wear yet, they are incredibly comfortable, the soles are easy to change, and I particularly like the studded rubber or the studded felt soles out on the rocks. I am aware of a few anglers who have been heavily using these boots for a good period of time in saltwater without any issues at all, so the signs are good. Again, I will report back in due course.
Anyway, that’s it for this morning. It’s hardly epic bass fishing yet and to be perfectly honest I would not expect it to be in early April, but wow am I feeling more hopeful than I was the other day when it was snowing……….