Spinning for bass

[viney]

Going down to Hastings for a few days, would spinning from the beach/groynes be productive for bass? Not done any beach fishing since we moved back up here 12 years ago!

Don't really want to spend out on gear that won't get used (or rather the future Mrs V would rather I didn't spend any more on fishing stuff) so just thinking of taking my 9' spinning rod, a reel loaded with 12lb mono and my box of lures and spinners (basically my perch fishing gear) and getting out for a few hours one evening while catching the last of the sun.

[Vagabond]

The gear sounds fine (but wash it thoroughly in fresh water after each session)

 

Finding a good spot around Hastings is a bit more difficult - Hastings beach is one of the least productive areas on the south coast IMHO

 

But ..... "you never know if you never go"

[JOHN.H]

Viney , never say never, I have caught bass in some areas you would not expect , granted they were only schoolies ,but a bass is a bass . It may only weigh 14 oz to a 1lb 8 oz but they are minted like new coins . Lea side of breakwaters with fish coming as close as 2 metres , my best spinning bass came under my rod tip , running out of water ,gills flaring and 5lb 1 oz of perfection. I have found that (obviously) early morning and late evening are best . Though contentious 8lb bs line is a better bet allied to a 28 gram Toby ( blue and green silver pattern) with an in line swivel. Seems light but lure fishes better , at low tide a Rawle and Cox Bass bullett can be devastating with bow waves following the lure . The 8 lb line allows the lure to fish in a much better way, slower and deeper if necessary . When I first tried I never thought I would catch , and was just going through motions--- five fish later I was hooked . Also Mackerel and odd Garfish and Pollack albeit small . Weather is perfect at moment so have a go .Let us know how you get on and do not forget to vary the retrieve , slow deep , quicker mid water and fast sub-surface . Pathetic but try humming or singing to yourself to get the retrieval speed right after a capture.

[viney]

Thanks for your advice heading down there tomorrow so hopefully can persuade the other half on a few hours tomorrow evening

[Vagabond]

With the present heatwave, mackerel on the high tide may be a consolation prize - Thursday 7.30pm, Friday 8.21 am and 8.50 pm, Saturday 9.30 am and 10.00 pm.

 

Good luck, and let us know how you got on.

Edited July 17, 2013 by Vagabond

[viney]

With the present heatwave, mackerel on the high tide may be a consolation prize - Thursday 7.30pm, Friday 8.21 am and 8.50 pm, Saturday 9.30 am and 10.00 pm.

 

Good luck, and let us know how you got on.

 

Thanks vagabond, will hopefully have some luck!

[Steve Burke]

Pathetic but try humming or singing to yourself to get the retrieval speed right after a capture.

 

Not pathetic by any means, John. Or if so that makes two of us! I've mentioned before that this is what I do too. I find it better than the traditional method of counting, probably as I tend to hum or sing a familiar tune more accurately.

[JOHN.H]

Glad I am not alone on this Steve and used to find it quite appropriate when lure fishing for spotties . Cynics will laugh , but it does work.That said one can always find an appropriate song /tune for nymph retrieval , in fact any lure or even deadbait sink and draw.

[Vagabond]

Dick Walker often sang whilst fishing - there is the famous incident when he would trot through a swim singing one operatic aria and catch a roach, then repeat the performance singing a different aria and catch a dace.

 

What few cottoned onto was that he "held back" at a certain point for the roach, but allowed the float to run through for the dace , which were further down the pool.

 

I found something similar in my Wealden streams, with casting a spinner upstream - bring it back in a limping "sink an draw" style, and you got chub or perch.

 

Bring it back fast, and you got a trout - in fact :-

 

Vagabond's First Law of the Upstream Spinner in small streams. "It is impossible to spin too fast for trout"

 

Never sang though, if you have ever heard me try to sing you would understand why

[viney]

Only had an hour in the end on Friday evening, blanked!

 

Hastings is nothing like I remember it.... 10 year old me saw it as arcades and being great living by the sea, mid twenties me sees it as a sh*t hole full of druggies, bird crap everywhere, boarded up windows etc. We heard 28 sirens on the sea front in one day, was bit of a shame as its tarnished some childhood memories going back there