Before we start, please be aware, the political, recreational side of Bass fishing needs your help.
I’ve really been kicking up a fuss, as much as possible and at times, risking offence. Now is not the time for apathy and hoping the guy next door does something. YOU have to do something too or, articles like the following will be pretty pointless.
So. after your read that, lets continue with the bass chess strategy series. As you’ve likely forgotten the original part, re-read that and add the following. All this stuff builds on what went before. ALL of it, not just the last article.
Lets look at a simple fork. A fork is a chess piece threatening two or more pieces in one move. They move one, you take the other.
So yes, the above is a river. Ok, it could equally be a gully. The point being, if fish are in the gully, WHERE will they likely be and, where would you try to intercept them?
If the water was flowing OUT, to the South like in a normal river system, where would you start? Clearly the best place for interception is D:6. The issue with that is, IF fish are running OUT and you release any caught fish, or you WADE IN at D:6, you send a pressure wave down the river, aided by the flow and, any fish released will likely BOLT taking all the fish South of your position with it. So, you need to measure the consequences of any actions you take. 2 of you could wade in at D:6 and each take the upstream path, sharing the spoils. Now consider Jersey waters and many like it where the access is ‘easiest’ from the shallow end, or narrow part of the stream and many wade and cast, maybe catching 1 bass and, then they effectively push every other fish down and out of the system before time.
Of course, most of you would be more familiar with THIS. A shoreline and maybe near an outlet or estuary.
In times of slack, fish could be anywhere of course and bait can spread out, predatory fish will generally be passive as they have no real advantage over the prey.
However, lets consider tidal movement on the ebb.
As you can see, the tidal currents are more complex. These WILL affect fish movement. The main push of tide is coming from the NNW and being squeezed between that offshore rock and the immediate shore. The water WILL be faster here and, Bass are most likely to be facing into it. Now remember part 1. Bass are MORE likely to be there IF the sun is behind them or, it’s overcast or, if it’s dark. They are not likely to be there if this is 11am and the sun is angled in front of them. Bass too, will be waiting at the estuary mouth and, note the little eddy at H:2. Here, when the water runs faster, you could get a converse flow. Bass will use this if it’s offering any advantage. However, cast into it isn’t a great idea and, bait will generally travel WITH flow and, Bass waiting, or heading INTO it. So, a cast from the shoreline at G:2 and towards G:3, line paid off until H:3 for example will give you (a) A Drift, (b) A swing into the eddy and (c) sets up your lure to be retrieved WITH the eddy flow and back to your position at G:2. Again, flow, cover, sun angle, available bait and type etc ALL matter and chess isn’t played with one piece, neither by ourselves, nor the bass.
The flood. More complex again. Maybe but, in the case of this drawing, offering great opportunities.
In this case, the eddy is running backwards so, your cast would be H:2 -> H:3, drift swing into G:2/G:3 and then, yes, retrieve at slightly more, maybe 5-10% more than current speed back to H:2.
Opportunities too in the half eddy south of the rock formations so E:5 out to H:5 could hold bass that are awaiting baitfish being sucked into the fast black hole at F:6 Of course, if access was available, a trip around that headland to cast up and into F:6 and retrieve WITH current would be worth a dangle.
Note too, the water being pushed upstream in the gulley, or river will meet water coming the OTHER way. We call these points ‘tidal thresholds’ and, they are dynamic, very dynamic! Bass will nearly always, if this feature is salt, brackish or fresh and within range of their OUT route, be somewhere in the vicinity. Swings, drifts and bounced lures or, lures hung right at the juncture of this event will be met with reward at some point. Also note well, where the water is the strongest, one will overlap the other and create side eddies so, the water on the immediate inside or near shore can actually create a series of eddies or back currents. They may too, be UNDERNEATH the incoming water or vice versa for hundreds of meters. These are known as hydraulics. The water would need to be pretty fast, like 7, 8 knots plus for this to occur OR… yes, there is always an OR, the gulley or river narrows or becomes shallower. The only way X amount of water can travel through a narrow gap with all that weight and pressure upon it is to SPEED UP.
I hope I have kept this intro to position ‘simple’. We are of course going to look at easier and more complex models from various shorelines in future articles.
Thanks and please, please do get active in the fight to save the bass and our sport. It’s not all about the bass of course so in any emails you send, please be careful to note, this commercial raping of the seas at the expense of many species, the environment and of course, the whole recreational sector is simply not acceptable.
Until next time.
