Bass – and how to catch them on coarse fishing tackle!

RATED highly for their fighting prowess and superior taste, bass are plentiful around the British Isles.

And in the warmer month these bristling predatory beautiess can be found in all manner of coastal locations, from surfy beaches through to muddy harbours and estuaries.

The challenge for many dedicated sea anglers is to catch a double-figure specimen – a real catch of a lifetime, especially from the shore.

Large shoals of juvenile bass, often referred to as schoolies, haunt the coast in pursuit of prey, which is extremely diverse. They’ll smash into shoals of baitfish, but are just as eager to inhale crabs and molluscs off the sea bed. Estuaries and harbours are prime warm weather schoolie hotspots.

These muddy habitats yield a rich and diverse range of marine organisms, the majority of which feature on a bass’s menu.

Catching smaller bass is pretty straightforward. Locate a shoal and sport is almost a dead cert. It’s that classic shoal instinct of eating anything they come across – snooze and you lose, as your other shoal mates wolf it down!

Great sport can be had targeting lively schoolies on light coarse gear, though fairly abrasive mouths and rough scales call for lines of no lower than 6 lb breaking strain. Here’s what Angler’s Mail contributor Matt Sparkes uses…

Bass on quivertip gear with Matt Sparkes

The method I employ for my bassing session is to use my Avon rod with its quivertip section, coupled with a freespool reel loaded with durable 6 lb Maxima, fished straight through, paternoster style, with a chemically sharpened Aberdeen size 1 hook and a 1 oz carp bomb.

Bait wise, I opted for that classic sea bait, ragworm, this time choosing the fattest, juiciest king rag that my chum Deano, from Purbeck Angling, had to offer.

Bass have cavernous mouths, and a worm as thick as your finger is a mere snack!