HELP WITH CATCHING BASS

[skeetshoot]

HI THERE

 

PER PREVIOUS THREADS I AM TRAVELLING TO MENORCA IN MAY AND HEAR THAT BASS MAY BE AN OPTION TO TARGET.

 

I HAVE NEVER TARGETTED NOR CAUGHT BASS BEFORE - THE CLOSEST I HAVE BEEN IS WATCHING THAT LONG HAIRED FOP ON DISCOVERY HOME AND LEISURE CATCHING SOME ON THE SOUTH COAST OF ENGLAND I THINK.

 

ANYWAY - I NEED SOME TIPS....

 

I WILL FISHING FROM THE SHORE - BAYS AND OFF THE ROCKS, USING A 12 FOOT CARP ROD. I WILL HAVE A BAITRUNNER SPONNING REEL AND A CASTING MULTIPLIER WITH ME.

 

EXPECT TO BE USING 10LB LINE.

 

I HAVE A SELECTION OF DIVING LURES AND POPPERS ETC IN THE 8 CM TO 15CM RANGE.

 

FIRSTLY IS THIS THE RIGHT SORT OF KIT?

 

SECONDLY, WHAT SORT OF RETRIEVE PROVES SUCCESSFUL FOR BASS

 

THIRDLY, ARE THERE ANY SIGNS I SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR?

 

FOURTHLY - ANYONE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE TO SHARE FROM THE MED.

 

ANY HELP APPRECIATED.....

[Steve Coppolo]

HI THERE

 

PER PREVIOUS THREADS I AM TRAVELLING TO MENORCA IN MAY AND HEAR THAT BASS MAY BE AN OPTION TO TARGET.

 

I HAVE NEVER TARGETTED NOR CAUGHT BASS BEFORE - THE CLOSEST I HAVE BEEN IS WATCHING THAT LONG HAIRED FOP ON DISCOVERY HOME AND LEISURE CATCHING SOME ON THE SOUTH COAST OF ENGLAND I THINK.

 

ANYWAY - I NEED SOME TIPS....

 

I WILL FISHING FROM THE SHORE - BAYS AND OFF THE ROCKS, USING A 12 FOOT CARP ROD. I WILL HAVE A BAITRUNNER SPONNING REEL AND A CASTING MULTIPLIER WITH ME.

 

EXPECT TO BE USING 10LB LINE.

 

I HAVE A SELECTION OF DIVING LURES AND POPPERS ETC IN THE 8 CM TO 15CM RANGE.

 

FIRSTLY IS THIS THE RIGHT SORT OF KIT?

 

SECONDLY, WHAT SORT OF RETRIEVE PROVES SUCCESSFUL FOR BASS

 

THIRDLY, ARE THERE ANY SIGNS I SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR?

 

FOURTHLY - ANYONE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE TO SHARE FROM THE MED.

 

ANY HELP APPRECIATED.....

 

I've seen some very big bass in the med, although I've never been to Menorca.

 

The carp rod you have may be O.K, but I'd go for something a little lighter. A proper spinning rod will cast the lighter lures a lot better. Also, I'd get a fixed spool reel. Again it will cast the lighter lures better.

 

Other than that, spinning is the way to go if you are exploring a new area. You will be mobile and will be able to cover a greater area than if you were bottom fishing with bait. Apart from the obvious areas like rough ground and rocky headlands, etc, I'd look for smaller features such as sand bars and gulleys. In a lot of the med there is very little tidal range and if Menorca is the same, it will make your job of finding bass that much harder. With a good tidal range you can look for features at low water and small features are given away by the ripple they cause as the tide runs over them. With no tide you won't have these luxuries.

 

As with all exploring for bass, lots of walking and watching will pay off. You can do this while wandering with your spinning rod. Look for obvious signs of fish like scattering baitfish and swirls on the surface, but also look for areas that might hold food for bass to exploit like outfalls, etc.

 

As for retrieve, etc, with your lures. Experiment. Sometimes a slow, jerky, retrieve works, sometimes you have to wind the lure in as fast as you can to get a take.

 

Good luck.

[sam-cox]

Hello Skeet,

 

I would personly stick with a carp rod and your baitrunner fixed spool reel.

Also I think there is baracuda in the med so a small wire trace may be usefull. Although a little heavy for spinning for bass at least your outfit would handle any bigger toothed fish.

The lures and plugs you mention sound fine, I would firstly take a walk at low water to locatE any decent features and possable snags. Rocky gullies are always worth a few casts.

When lure fishing I adopt a fan casting aproach, I start at the left of a chosen mark and cast to the left, the next cast is made a few yards to the right and so on until you have covered the mark. Its worth casting two or three times to the same place as fish often chase the lure a few times before taking it.

Anouther advantage of your carp outfit is you will be able to cast further, if the water is deap and your useing a sinking lure like a toby or spoon count the lure down until it hits the bottom, then vairy the depth Wwith each cast until you find the level the fish are feeding at.

Also worth bearing in mind is that there are some good mullet in the med, try fishing fairly light, say 6lb line and size 8 hooks, float fishing is best with bread. They are geat sport and often are fairly large.

GOOD LUCK. HOPE THIS HELPS A BIT.

Edited January 22, 2006 by sam-cox

[five bellies]

HI THERE

 

PER PREVIOUS THREADS I AM TRAVELLING TO MENORCA IN MAY AND HEAR THAT BASS MAY BE AN OPTION TO TARGET.

 

I HAVE NEVER TARGETTED NOR CAUGHT BASS BEFORE - THE CLOSEST I HAVE BEEN IS WATCHING THAT LONG HAIRED FOP ON DISCOVERY HOME AND LEISURE CATCHING SOME ON THE SOUTH COAST OF ENGLAND I THINK.

 

ANYWAY - I NEED SOME TIPS....

 

I WILL FISHING FROM THE SHORE - BAYS AND OFF THE ROCKS, USING A 12 FOOT CARP ROD. I WILL HAVE A BAITRUNNER SPONNING REEL AND A CASTING MULTIPLIER WITH ME.

 

EXPECT TO BE USING 10LB LINE.

 

I HAVE A SELECTION OF DIVING LURES AND POPPERS ETC IN THE 8 CM TO 15CM RANGE.

 

FIRSTLY IS THIS THE RIGHT SORT OF KIT?

 

SECONDLY, WHAT SORT OF RETRIEVE PROVES SUCCESSFUL FOR BASS

 

THIRDLY, ARE THERE ANY SIGNS I SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR?

 

FOURTHLY - ANYONE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE TO SHARE FROM THE MED.

 

ANY HELP APPRECIATED.....

 

 

The rock ledges between Punta Prima and BinniBecka are well worth a bash dusk and dawn, during the day the sea is gin clear and can be hard work .You might be better off at Mao Harbour fishing fine stips of cuttle fish under a bubble float for the Huge mullet that skulk around the mored boats , cuttle fish can be brought frozen from just abut every grocers shop on the island. If you fish the deeper waters around cuitadella cliffs and ar'nt scared of hights or Scorpians. fish the bottom with cuttle strips for Cap riog A fish that looks like a Red Bream a great table fish .

 

hope thats a help

 

Five bellies

Edited January 22, 2006 by five bellies

[skeetshoot]

thanks for this

 

any ideas of any other species I can target in the med??

 

must be from the shore

[captain cojones]

barracuda are caught mostly at dawn and dusk, the locals use "minnow" type lures and largeish spoons. they start to be caught from the shore in feb, and are close in till april.a very fast retrieve is used in many cases.

cheers dave.

[skeetshoot]

Thanks capn for the Cuda advuce - any more info on this front would be really useful

 

what size of Monnows are best? and the same for the spoons

 

Do you have any advice for other "larger" species I can target??

 

Thanks

[Dan]

It has to be said that Bass and Cuda are not that common, but worth a try never the less, if you get bored mullet will always turn up if you bung in some bread! Ive seen big shoals of gars in corfu, but never fished for them, small spinners, something like a Toby would prob do the trick. Just a thought but squid is easy to get in supermarkets, might be good for the bass?

 

Good luck, enjoy the food, climate and scenery and so what if you dont catch much!!

 

Dan

[captain cojones]

http://www.caranx.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=2099&st=20

 

hi dan, have to disagree with your view that barracuda arnt common.they are in some areas becoming a real pest, displacing many of the traditional species.above is a link to a tread i posted on the spanish lure fishing forum im a member of. they blame the rise of the numbers of the species, on a different species of barracuda that is coming into the area.

i want to target these this year, and some of the posters are local, so im picking thier brains for lures etc at the moment.

cheers best wishes dave.