Early summer bass

Despite the winter being a harsh one and the fishing here on the Bristol Channel being set back by a few weeks because of it, it would seem that the exceptionally long spell of hot and sunny weather has more than compensated. 

Kevin Legge loves his bass fishing but wouldn’t usually start targeting them on his local north Devon beaches until August. But with more than suitable conditions, he felt it worth a try and so, along with his pal Richard Budge, bait was sourced from the freezer in the form of Ammo blast frozen Joey mackerel and the pair headed out for an attempt on the late tide.

There was a little swell to contend with but conditions were otherwise perfect. Three hours passed with only the mosquito’s biting before Richard finally noticed a delicate bite. Waiting patiently for it to develop, the rod tip finally pulled over and a little line was pulled from the ratchet. Picking up the rod and winding down revealed some healthy resistance and soon Richard was guiding a pristine 6lb bass through the surf and across the sand.

An hour passed before it was Kevin’s turn get in on the action. A slow pull down on the rod lead him to believe that a ray may be the culprit, though after a good initial indication, it stopped and all went quiet. Feeling a little despondent, he waited ten minutes before retrieving his bait and was surprised to find some considerable weight at the end of his line. Again, his thoughts turned to a ray but both anglers were more than just a little bit shocked to see a large bass come cruising in to sight. Kevin’s bass weighed 9lb 2oz and as with Richard’s fish, was returned to the water after a very brief photo. 

If this session is anything to go by, things are certainly shaping up well for the late summer and autumn bass fishing here on the channel and we know that Kevin will certainly be putting the hours in this year in a bid to better his record fish.