'A few bass more'

[Sutton Warrior]

After Fridays mini session with the Orwell bass at anchor, I was looking at the tides with another couple of hours in mind. Saturday was garden and green house clean up day!!! What a wast time to have a 20x10ft green house and not use it for growing things

 

Sunday, the Monaco Grand Prix . . . another must . . . plus the previous days clean up was still not complete.

 

The tides were perfect Sunday, with low water at 6.04pm at Harwich. I could do all my chores, watch the motor racing and still get a few hours afloat in the evening, one of the advantages of living 20 minutes from the marina

 

The weather was perfect all day, a little wind, but the rivers offers shelter. Was it to be Orwell or the Stour As we drive down we can see the Orwell, it was busey, very busy with the pleasure craft, not conducive to bassing. Although the Orwell would have offered more wind shelter, the river Stour is always less crowded and I fancied some drifting for bass, my favourite method.

 

No pressure, the flood tide would not start to run before 6.15, so a leisurely preparation to lock out at 5pm. Hazel came along for the jolly and as cabin boy, to deliver a constant supply of tea and biscuits

 

The wind was a little stronger than anticipated, almost straight down the river, but when the tide did turn it would be wind with tide. There was about 30 minutes slack water, I went to a favourite area that has produced in the past. No tide but a little wind, would 'wind drift' produce anything? . . . three schoolies! thats not bad with no tide. Then bang! a mighty thump, missed it, but the tide had started, start to take real notice! The next thump was a rod bender, by the standards of my 6ft-6in, 40gr., bait casting, Diawa mini tooth pick of a fishing wand . . . for that is all it is a 'wand' of a rod.

 

Five minutes and I had a 1.5-2lb'ish bass on board, a very satisfying tussle it was to, returned to fight another day. A total of 8 bass (from 6in to 2lb'ish) were taken + one Flounder in an hour and a half, then nothing . . . the mark always fishes that way.

 

Drifting is the killer method for Stour bass, however, it has to be don right. Steve Copolo showed me many years ago and I have developed my own style from there. A light fixed paternoster is my answer 12"-18" from the 3-4ft, fluorocarbon trace fix point to a 1oz weight, 1/2oz in small tides, and trail this terminal tackle 50ft behind the drifting boat, works for me. Fundamental but not considered as often as it should, a sharp! very sharp hook. I use Varivas 'Big Mouth' and 'Saltwater Champion', the points are long, fine and super sharp! with a small barb for better penetration, nos., 2/0 and 3/0 are my choice, at £3-£4 a box of 30 from Veals mail order, change them often, drifting knocks the points out! I Recommend Veals, ordered a box each of 'BM' 1/0, 2/0 and 3/0's late Thursday night on line, the postie delivered them 9.30am on Saturday, £10.50 + £3 p&p, that will do for me

 

It was time to go, the sun was setting, we had had a very relaxing couple of hours. Lock in, clean up and call in on the way home, to the best Chines take away for miles around . . . thats messed up the diet for the week

 

The sunset makes even a RO-RO ferry look interesting, moored at Harwich taking on its cargo.

 

 

SW