Welsh Bass Guide

Onwards and upwards

Welsh Bass Guide — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:50:13 +0000

My season is just getting better and better by the day.

The weather is still not perfect and on most days, this is proving very difficult.

The sea temperature was looking great and went up to 13 celsius and then after last weekends blowing winds and rain this peak was kicked right down to 11.6 celsius.

Although I am not complaining about the weather, after all this is Wales and there is absolutely nothing I or anyone else can do about it.

I just have to get on with it and keep pushing, this attitude certainly is paying off and I am relishing every moment and every cast.

My good friend Steve Neely the Rookie bass angler has joined me for some guided fun this last week gone, his company and again his enthusiasm is great. Good sized fish have been hitting his and my soft plastics and to date I have only landed two fish on hard lures so far this year.

His support for my business is very much appreciated, and I wish more people would work together for the future of the bass as a sportfish in Wales and the rest of the U.K

Fish from about 2lb – 4 and a half pound are becoming a more regular occurrence, and I am more than happy with this especially after last years inconsistencies.

Matching the hatch with slug-gos and trying out new soft plastics such as the Illex I Shad are proving deadly.

Although I feel we are still a good month behind with the state of the weather, Sand-eels are emerging and the fishing I feel is just about to explode any day shortly – with bigger bass following very soon.

Less is more

Welsh Bass Guide — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:03:51 +0000

Less Is More

There is a simple but deadly way of hooking into the larger bass that we all crave or want to see.

Click the image above to view my video

Large bass are, in my eyes quite lazy and they use water to lift their heavy weight into prime feeding grounds in as simple a way as possible. They will wait until a specific time of tide and current to move in.

This can take years of getting to know your marks like the back of your hand and it is also to this point I have to say that putting in long hours is another necessity.

Initially when bigger bass hit your soft plastic lure you will not feel the take, the fish slowly moves in behind the lure and engulfs it tail first. It is only as you raise your rod using the extremely slow sink and draw and on the drop technique that you the angler will know you have a fish on the end of your line.

Then it really is a case of holding onto the fish that you have hooked, and what a fight your in for once the fish realises that something is stopping it going back down to the depth it wants too.

What I mean by the above sentence is that the fish is fighting for it’s life by the only way it knows how. Look closer, open your eyes – there is a hidden clue, just look at the colour of the backs and the underbelly of the fish all pictured here.

Bigger bass have adapted and perfected ambush tactics, easy meals are what they want – thus meaning less exersion of their most precious energy that they need to stay alive.

Stay posted – Matt

Enjoying the good times.

Welsh Bass Guide — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 14:37:11 +0000

I have had a rare few hours spare to write a blog post and get some photos up too let people who follow my blog about what is going on with fishing and foraging Wales.

Things are looking up for the beginning of June on the bass lure angling front.

Catching decent sized bass on soft plastic lures is very satisfying indeed, this 4 and a half pound fish fell on a weedless set up.

I really love catching bass this way and the technique could not be simpler and it is deadly when the fish are about.

I did get a client onto a smaller school bass yesterday using the same technique as well. Bradley’s enthusiasm was inspiring and he was totally committed to what I was teaching him. It is always a pleasure showing someone so enthusiastic a new method and technique and then showing them that it actually works.

Bradley and Graham of Planet Prints joined me on an afternoon out and they enjoyed every minute of it.

Obviously not a huge fish but with a bit of work I have no doubt Bradley will perfect the technique and one day get into and catch bigger bass.

I hope too see Bradley joining me again in September when he returns to Wales.

WAITING AND IN PREPARATION.

Welsh Bass Guide — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 14:40:55 +0000

Waiting and in preparation

Whilst waiting for the bass shoals and the morels to turn up. I am out and busy gathering all I can for the next foraging and food guests.

The next few weeks of April will see another string of guests arriving to learn about foraging for wild edibles and to experience my food.

Gorse – Is a very important element to some of my dishes. Most people often walk past this humble thorny shrub.

Foraging can sometimes be a laborious task and there is no task more laborious than the picking of the new spring gorse flowers. I use these flowers to flavour, aerated parfaits, set creams, syrups for granite or sorbet and also for making vinegar.

The smell of the gorse that fresh banana come coconut fragrance that is quite unique, is what I get in return for the time taken to pick the flowers.

Picking the beautiful yellow flower is well worth the time and effort, for its fragrant taste.

Gorse is used to make some beautiful elements of my food, but it is also a very important shrub for birds and insects including bees.

THE END OF MY BASS FISHING SEASON FOR 2012

Welsh Bass Guide — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 08:53:45 +0000

A look back at the 2012 season

Contained in this blog post are some fantastic photographs taken by my good friend David Miller

There is no denying it but 2012 was a very difficult year for bass angling.

There were moments of great joy, landing fish up to double figure size myself, and seeing customers’ landing bass and some of them their personal best bass on a lure has given me some of the best moments of my life.

Although a few good fish does not make a season, we must all stay positive for 2013, and of course try and do our best for the future of our bass.

These days bigger fish like this do not come easy, you simply have to put a lot of hours in.

Bass fishing is never going to be easy as it is probably the wildest fishing we have in the U.K., but the hours I put in on the shore should minimize blank days and almost always get people onto the fish.

For this and before I go on, I must first and foremost thank my customers for their patience.

I saw plenty of bass feeding and pushing bait fish up to the surface out in the distance. Although from the shore, they have just been too far out of reach.

The weather here in West Wales and the rest of the U.K was of course appalling. The jet stream stayed South and weather fronts were unbearable. The sea did not have any chance to warm up at all due to heavy rainfall and winds.

The winds in turn split up most of the bait fish shoals. Swells reached incredible highs and sadly stopped me from being able to even think of fishing. Although as I have said above there were some truly memorable days.

I learned so much more about my area in 2012 and not just from the shore.

EQUIPMENT I USE

Welsh Bass Guide — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:28:00 +0000

Equipment I use

Over the next few pages I will share the equipment that I use for my lure angling on the Welsh coast.

For bass and wrasse fishing around rock marks and in the HRF style, you are going to need the right equipment.

THE END OF ANOTHER FORAGING SEASON

Welsh Bass Guide — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:18:31 +0000

The last foraging party of 2012 has just been done…and we are now in the last few weeks of the year.

The tree sap has long stopped rising.

Although there is still work to be done in the background, wood avens need to to be dried out.

I am also busy picking and drying the seaweeds that I use for seasoning meat and fish.

Sea buckthorn is being picked juiced, pasteurised and frozen for use for next year.

Winter is a harsh time of year and in days gone by people would of been prepared for the winter “the great leveler” and the hungry time, they would of certainly dried edibles.

They as we do, would of been waiting in anticipation of the spring to come and the summer bringing times of plenty.

This is something we have lost today as it is convenient for us to go to the shops and supermarkets and buy what we need.

This time of year is always a time for me to reflect on the past season, and prepare for next years guests especially on the foraging and food front.

It also gives me time to get new dish ideas written down for different seasons and of course the dishes need to be based around what we will find on our days out. I strive to push myself on the food front a little more all the time.

Nature never stops and neither do I.

WALES – MY INSPIRATION

Welsh Bass Guide — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:27:50 +0000

Wales

Every oak’s high summit rings,with the young birds lusty carolling.

And every copse is sweet with song, and cuckoo calls and the days are long.

And a white haze when the wind dies, over the heart of the valley lies.

And evening skies so blue and clear and the rees are a shimmer with gossamer.

Daffydd ap Gwilym (circa 14th century)

It is easy for me to be influenced by the scenery here in Wales.

Hares have a connection to Welsh folklore. Their numbers are rising once again here, although not so much for me to ever think of killing one.
“Saint Melangell be with you”

Birch – I use this powerful tree to make syrup meringues and water. There are also medicinal properties to be found with in this mysterious tree. In Welsh lore birch was connected to love.

My style of food and creativity has deep roots in looking at the past to try and express a love for my country.

In each ingredient I take from the land, in thanks I try to give this love for my country back into my dishes.

Beech, lichen and porcini.

Chicken of the woods baked in birch bark, beef marrow, wood sorrel, fiddlehead fern, beech nuts and egg yolk @ 63oc.

Chanterelles (The Queen)

Porcini (The King)

Beech nuts.

Sea purslane in the morning light, the call of the oystercatcher in the background…

Bulrush

Bulrush, watercress and buckthorn.

Laver

All I need is the land, the sea, the rivers, the air, the trees, and the sky that surrounds me for my work and my inspiration.

HARD GOING BUT STILL PUSHING ON

Welsh Bass Guide — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 08:31:53 +0000

A post from summer last year – June 2012

Well 2012 was an extremly tough year on the bass angling, but although there were moments of agony. There were some moments of extatic joy.

Although when your out here and “in it” then sometimes catching bass is not the be all and end all of everything. A lot of people will not see the sheer beauty of what is about me on this wonderful piece of coastline.

I am still catching bass and wrasse, but there are not as many as there should be around. I think this is due to the obvious poor weather conditions this summer has thrown at us, causing the sea temperature to be low for all of the summer.

The water temperature is actually two degrees lower here than in a normal year, and even though one degree in nature is massive two degrees is an unbelievable gap.

THE “CHAOS”

Welsh Bass Guide — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:07:47 +0000

The “Chaos”

Probably the most important natural tool we have as lure anglers is water flow.

Water-craft tactics are really best taught on a one to one basis. After all this type of fishing is not just about throwing out a lure and hoping for the best.

The “Chaos” Baitfish have no chance in this turbulence and bass thrive on these surroundings and lots of oppurtunities arise here.

Whether it is off a rock mark or off the beach.

A weedless Texas rigged Slug-go is always a winner. And takes can be at very close quarters and amazingly visual. Of course a weightless soft plastic is equally as deadly in this situation as well.

Shallow diving lures also work best here as well, you need something that is going to stay very shallow, zero to two inches.

When a lure hits the faster moving water use the water flow. Try and suspend it there for as long as you can.

The bass is after easy pickings, yes work a lure but work it properly, do not overwork it.

I see numerous anglers just chucking out lures and using the same old technique for each lure they do not see the flow of water as a tool. Slow down and let the lure do some work.

Just let the lure work its way around in as naturally a movement as possible, hold it there and let it work its way around the white water and the rocks.

Bigger fish will hang around this turbulent water.

Sand-eels other small bait-fish, crabs alive and dead and other forage have no chance here and they get smashed around by this water flow.

Big fish can be found hunting around “The Chaos” and it can be a challenge to land such beasts.

I spend a lot of time around this “Chaos” and my rewards outweigh the risks.

Use this powerful force to your advantage and reap the rewards.