Bassing

I had the good fortune to learn about drift fishing for bass from the apprentice to a long time bass angler recently. And even more good fortune to put that learning into practice and bag some bass! Some of the tips were contradictory to other advice, but they worked. Here's what I learned.

This is about drifting offshore banks such as The Overfalls with live sandeel as bait. You can find suitable banks easily enough, just go to The Overfalls (marked on the charts), and look at your fish-finder! Bait has to be live sandeel, everything else is a poor substitute although I have heard of good catches on shads and sandeel-like feathers.

Rods can be anything, but a light rod is more fun. A 10 foot carp rod would be ideal. Fixed spool reels allow fast drops and retrieves. Line has to be mono, not braid - about 15lb BS max. "That's wrong" I hear you say. Nope. We tried it back to back ,and mono out-fished braid 16 fish to zero. I suspect that braid makes the weight bang on the bottom, mono has more stretch and the weight may bounce more naturally.

Weight no more than two ounces, and let it drift waaay back from the boat, trundling along the bottom. Trace length is about a rod-length for convenience. Hook is a fine uptide pattern, 2/0 was recommended but after I lost a number of fish I upped to 4/0 and hung on to all fish after that.

Sandeels are hooked by passing the hook through the mouth and out through the gills, and just nicking the belly with the bend of the hook. If you still have a bait left at the end of a drift, put it in a bucket of water while you motor back for the next drift. It speeds up fishing if you have a pattern, one person manages the boat while the other checks and sets up both baits for the next drift.

Takes will be obvious, and there is no need to strike: the rod will heel over as if you have snagged but the snag will be moving. Just tighten up and the fish will be on. The take zone can be before, over or after the bank so make your drifts long enough to cover all possibilities. Bass shoals move around so if you have a few drifts without takes, try a different track or a different bank. A chart plotter track is invaluable, you can position exactly to cover a successful drift or try an area a few yards to the side.

Any area of sandy banks can hold bass at the moment. Big tides are much better, the commercial line fishermen don't bother getting out of bed for Neaps. That is all I can tell you. The other 98% is experience....

Navy Activities Portsmouth 24-27 July

This could be worth going to -or if you are planning to fish in or near Portsmouth Harbour entrance you need to be aware of the QHM Nav Warning just issued:

1. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Queen's Harbour Master Portsmouth that between 24 and 27 July 2008 due to the “Meet Your Navy” event (Navy Days) there will be the following Portsmouth Harbour Channel closures and adjustments to the Small Boat Channel Rules. These measures are necessary to ensure safety during the various air and on-water displays, which are planned to take place in the Harbour between South Railway Jetty and No 3 Buoy and in order to maintain security during the event. As far as possible, these displays have been arranged so as not to conflict with commercial movements within the Harbour.


2. Table of programmed closures:Date Time Closed Area Display/Activity24 Jul 08 1700-1725 Portsmouth Harbour area as RM Dynamic Display 1745-1810 outlined in para 3 (Rehearsal) 25-27 Jul 08 1300-1330 Portsmouth Harbour area as RN SAR Display Outlined in para 325-27 Jul 08 1405-1435 Portsmouth Harbour south of RN Historic Flight Display50° 50’ N and Main Approach Channel 25-27 Jul 08 1505-1525 Portsmouth Harbour area as CG SAR Display outlined in para 325-27 Jul 08 1610-1640 Portsmouth Harbour area as RM Dynamic Display outlined in para 325 Jul 08 1700-1730 Portsmouth Harbour south of Red Arrows Air Display50° 50’ N and Main Approach Channel These timings, which are subject to modification will appear on the Daily Harbour Movements Signal and be announced on the day by QHM Harbour Control on VHF Channel 11.


3. During the Red Arrows and RN Historic Flight Displays the entire Harbour and Main Channel south of 50° 50’ N will be closed and is to be clear of all traffic. During the other Displays a Temporary Exclusion Zone will be set up between the following points: the southern corner of North West Wall Jetty, to Pile 101, to Pile 98, to Pile 95, to Shell Pier, to the southern end of Oil Fuel Jetty to the southern end of South Railway Jetty. During Harbour closures and when this Temporary Exclusion Zone is in operation the Harbour will be patrolled by Ministry of Defence Police Launches and RIBs and vessels of the Volunteer Harbour Patrol.


4. As part of the safety requirement for the Red Arrows and RN Historic Flight Displays, the following Navigation Marks will be temporarily enhanced by the use of large yacht racing buoys: Ballast Pile, No 3 Buoy and Pile 96.


5. Outwith the closed periods outlined in paragraphs 2 and 3, vessels under 20 metres in length are to comply with the normal small craft rules as outlined in LNTM 42/05 and 28/07 adjusted as follows:a. For the duration of the “Meet Your Navy” Event, the Small Boat Channel will be extended northwards to the vicinity of No 3 Mooring Buoy. b. Notwithstanding the 50 metre exclusion zone outlined in LNTM 28/07, all craft are to use the extended Small Boat Channel when transiting the Harbour and are not to approach Warships alongside to avoid unnecessary security concerns.


6. Vessels should only cross the Harbour with direct permission of QHM Harbour Control and should only request this clearance if they have a confirmed booking at Gunwharf Quays or the Town Camber.


7. The routine Tour Boats will be allowed to continue but their operation will be affected by the Channel and Harbour Closures outlined above.


8. Further details of the “Meet Your Navy” event can be found at the website: http://www.meetyournavy.co.uk/


9. Cancel this Local Notice To Mariners Mon 28th Jul 2008 (12 days)

Seeing ships on your chart plotter

I have been watching ships in the Solent area on web pages just for fun while I was at home, without realising that the same AIS (Automatic Identification System) technology can plot those ships on your own chart plotter on your boat. How handy is that? Better yet, it costs under £150 for the parts, and gives more shipping information than radar costing more than ten times as much.

I recently fitted a NASA AIS engine to pass AIS signals to my Garmin chart plotter - more information and a "how to" guide is on my Boat Angling web site . I reckon it is a huge, and relatively low cost, addition to safety at sea. Most of us worry about being run down by large commercial craft who don't see us at anchor, or if we break down in a shipping lane. With detailed information on the vessels name, heading, speed and MMSI number displayed on the plotter, you know exactly how close it will pass, and if you are concerned you can dial in the MMSI number on your DSC VHF radio and a talk directly to their bridge. The chart plotter and AIS engine will not drain the battery like a radar will, so you can afford to leave it on, which has another benefit. You can set a safety zone around your own boat, and an alert will sound if the plotter detects that a ship is encroaching on that space. Handy if the fishing is good and you haven't had a look around for a while!

As an example, this photo is a screen shot of the very first alert that sounded when I connected the system up. The dredger Donald Redford is heading out of Langstone at 7.5 knots, and has entered the 0.2 mile radius "warning Zone" that is centered on Salar which is sitting in Southsea marina. Hardly a danger, but it proves a point. I didn't even know it was there.