West Country Bass Fly Fishing

David Pilkington

The continually-growing interest in saltwater fly fishing is mainly focussed on bass, which are the most charismatic, interesting and hard-fighting among the many species of marine fish which are caught on the fly around our shores. Their pursuit with a fly rod takes the angler to places of sometimes stunning beauty, and counts as one of the very best sporting activities. Here at the Arundell Arms Hotel in west Devon, we are about 35 minutes from the north Cornish coast and about an hour from some lovely fishing in north Devon. We have been guiding bass fishers here for the past eight years.

Freshwater anglers venturing to the coast for the first time should be very aware of the dangers imposed by marine conditions. Here in the Westcountry, spring tides can rise 7 to 8 metres; this means that in the middle two hours of the flood tide, the water is rising at a rate of two metres in an hour. On a gently-sloping estuarine shore, this will equate to a steady walking pace. Spring tides occur every fortnight throughout the year, just after each new and full moon, and have nothing to do with the seasons. Neap tides, with a lesser rise and fall, occur on the alternate weeks, around the first and last quarters of the moon.

A considerable surf develops from the Atlantic on the exposed west-facing shores. Large waves crash onto rocks, the odd one being much bigger than the others. These are not ‘freak’ waves, they happen all the time, and have washed many an angler to his doom. Take good note of the times of the tide, the height of the surf, and local weather forecasts. A sudden change of wind can turn a pleasant day’s fishing on a benign shore into an air/sea rescue situation in no time.

Life preservers should be worn in any exposed rock situations or when in a boat. Carry a mobile, inside a waterproof case, and as fishermen you will already have a cap, polaroids and sensible footwear. A wading stick is supremely useful on both sandy and rocky shores.

Not a distant tropical flat, but the Taw/Torridge estuary.

Tackle

Most reservoir outfits will deal comfortably with bass, and as long as they are thoroughly rinsed in fresh water at the earliest opportunity, they will survive saltwater use. We find a 9ft 8-wt rod the best overall, a middle-to-tip action being preferred. If fishing with large poppers, a more powerful 9 or 10-wt rod helps in casting these bulky, air-resistant flies. Multi–piece rods are easier for carrying long distances and will fit in a back-pack.

Any decent reel will do the job; again, give it a good flushing with fresh water after use. Load it with a fair length of backing and a weight-forward floating line, plus carry either a sink-tip, intermediate, and perhaps a full sinker on spare spools just in case depth is needed. For Devon and Cornwall waters you do not need a specialist saltwater line. Many of these are made for the tropics and will be much too stiff in the ambient temperatures here. Our water peaks at around 17 degrees centigrade in late August. We find floaters the most useful by far. Shooting heads are also handy for serious distance, though on the rocks many bass are taken under the rod tip. Other essential kit is a line tray to hold retrieved line, without which fishing can be a misery due to rocks, weed and strongly-moving water. We use leaders around 9 or 10ft, tapered to 10lbs, usually fluorocarbon. Flies will be discussed in relation to where and how you are fishing.

Bass move inshore in the spring - we have taken them as early as the first week of April, but normally May would be the start of serious fishing. They stay around for the summer, and we have taken them as late as mid-November, although they are thinning out rapidly by then. A lot depends on the season; a prolonged, warm Indian summer will keep fish close inshore well into the autumn, whereas cold winds and storms will soon push them out into deeper water.

Contrary to popular belief, bass can often be taken in bright sunshine.

Where To Fish

No dedicated bass fisher will tell you exactly where he goes for his personal best fishing. If he did, next time he had a few hours to spare on a nice evening, he would find the place full of other anglers, and his sport ruined. Bear this in mind if you find a good spot yourself.

The type of fishing on offer here in the west is divided roughly into two quite separate kinds of marks. Firstly, the open, sandy estuaries, classic ones being the Camel, Taw/Torridge and Devonshire Avon; these provide excellent daytime fishing in reasonable safety, for what will mostly be small school bass. They fish best on a flooding tide, with springs much better than neaps - the fish seeming to revel in the strong flow as they come surging in, often into very shallow water where they can be clearly seen. Watch out for people walking behind you on the back-cast, especially as the tide fills and you are backing further up the shore.

Secondly are the rough, rocky shores, often far from the madding crowd, and accessed by some serious cliff-scrambling and long walks over tough terrain. These are the places loved and guarded by the cognoscenti, and can yield the better fish. These you will need to discover for yourself, but there are literally miles of such shores in Devon and Cornwall, where reefs and rock bars cut the waves, intersected by weedy gullies in which bass hunt their prey.

Typical north Cornish ground for bass fishing

The estuaries fish best in hot summer weather. Blazing sunshine is good, the warm sand over which the water floods will raise the water temperature significantly, and the school bass seem to revel in this warm water. Look for the main channels into which bass will run on the flood, and start fishing at low tide as soon as the water begins to run in – the bass will be not far behind it. Cast and strip, though sometimes quite a slow retrieve will produce takes. As the flood tide gathers speed, it becomes more like river fishing, across and downstream, which of course on the flooding tide is actually up the estuary, with the current keeping a tight line. Bass will congregate around any features, such as beds of weed or patches of rock, and along the steeper ledges of significant sand bars. Beware of the fast-rising water, and keep retreating steadily all the time, taking particular note of channels filling behind you.

The fish will be heading up the estuary at a fair pace, and depending on the local geography it may pay to move well up as the tide fills. The narrow channels of low tide are replaced by huge areas of shallow water over which the feeding fish spread rapidly, and it is quite common, (also very frustrating!), to ‘lose’ the fish as the water continues to rise. Other fish which may also take the fly include flounder, small turbot, mullet, and possibly mackerel, pollack and garfish. Be particularly aware of catching a very small, silvery, big-mouthed fish with a prominent black spike on the dorsal fin. This is a lesser weever, a sting from which is agonising.

Small sandeel patterns do well in sizes 2 and 4, as do Clouser Minnows in either sensible fry-imitating colours such as grey-and-white, or the utterly unlikely but quite deadly chartreuse-and-white. If there is a lot of surface activity, small poppers and crease flies are excellent. Often you will be fishing in literally inches of water, and casting at swirling, surging fish. This is sight fishing of the highest order.

Estuaries offer sheltered, easy fishing - ideal for beginners

Safety is of prime importance when you are out on the rocks, and it pays to go in company as a fall here could be very serious. We like felt soles with cleated heels - they give the best grip on wet, slippery rocks. On a flooding tide be particularly careful not to find yourself stranded on isolated rock outcrops, and make sure your path back to the access point where you ascend the cliff does not become covered. It is a long time to wait for the tide to drop back again! Exactly when bass will be at a certain place on the rocky shores depends on the state of the tide, the surf, the wind and many other factors, understanding of which is a lifetime’s pursuit. Only by fishing and acutely observing will the mysteries start to unravel for you. Acute observation cannot be stressed too highly. On stillwaters or rivers, rises and moving fish can often be seen clearly, giving some indication of where the fish are, what they are doing, and upon what they are feeding. Such knowledge is equally vital for saltwater success, but the signs are so much harder to detect. Many bass are caught totally out of the blue, you are just casting and stripping back when suddenly the rod pulls down and you have a fish on. There will be times, however, when you see a swirl or splash, perhaps even a flash of silver as the sun strikes a silver flank. At other times you may not see the bass, but the things upon which they are feeding. The tiniest dimple on the surface, obviously very difficult to see on the ever turbulent surface of the ocean, can indicate a fleeing baitfish. When you do start seeing fish or small fry, the first thing to strike you is the speed of movement. Everything in the sea is on the move, and shoals of fry and their hunters move incredibly fast. Tides and waves accentuate this movement, so keep a sharp eye on everything around you.

A three pounder off the rocks

Tides follow very predictable patterns, and in the Westcountry, springs fall with high water morning and evening, low water midday and midnight. Neaps are exactly opposite, with high water at midday and midnight, low water morning and evening. This means that you can plan which bits of the shore to fish at different times. One mark on the north Devon coast fishes well at high water neaps in the middle of the day, another within walking distance then exposes that evening to fish well around low tide.

Fishing the flood at an estuary mouth.

Fly Choice

You are a fly fisherman – so match the hatch. In this respect, is no different to freshwater fishing. Present the fish with an appropriate imitation of what it is feeding on, and make that fly behave in the same way as the real thing. Sandeel patterns and Clousers are always a good choice. Surface-disturbing flies like poppers, sliders, divers and crease flies are often excellent, with the added advantage that they can be used in extremely shallow water. Just as on the estuaries, bass will venture into really shallow water, most particularly on a flooding tide when they seem to know that they are not going to become stranded. The take of a good bass to a popper is a heart-stopping experience – the water explodes around the fly like a small volcanic eruption, with often the sight of a broad back and erect, spiney dorsal. Strike when you feel the weight of the fish (not before), and if he has missed it, just wait a second then give the fly another twitch. It is amazing how bass will come again, often engulfing the fly when it is completely stationary.

Matching the hatch - Saltwater style

Bass are tough fish, and will pull well above their weight, big ones making long and powerful runs. Fortunately they tend to keep near the surface, unlike pollack and wrasse, which will immediately dive and snag you in the rock and weed. Play your fish hard, and land him by beaching him on a gently sloping rock ledge. Grab him by putting your thumb into his mouth and firmly gripping his lower jaw. They have no teeth at the edge of the mouth, so this is quite safe, and keeps your fingers away from the razor sharp edges of the gill plates and spiney fins.

The minimum landing size (MLS) is 36cm in Devon and 37.5cm in Cornwall. This is wholly inadequate, as it has been shown that female bass can be as long as 42cm before they spawn for the first time. The Bass Anglers’ Sportfishing Society (BASS) recommends a minimum size limit of 45cm, and was making good progress in getting the government to raise the present MLS before Ben Bradshaw was moved from his fisheries post.

Bass have become a gourmet’s fish, with a high price on their heads. Stocks of this slow-growing, late-maturing fish (they only spawn at the age of five years, at which time they are just over a pound in weight) have been plundered by short-term profiteering fishermen, both with nets and rods. The Scottish pair-trawlers that target wintering shoals of pre-spawning adults in the Western Approaches in late winter are of particular concern, and the deadly-accurate, three-dimensional, forward-scanning sonar and its associated computerised operation mean that these fish have absolutely no chance. Nets the size of aircraft hangars made from dyneema fibre materials compound man’s deadly efficiency in harvesting the seas.

As sport fishermen, we should be seen to take a sensible stance, and only take a small number of good-sized fish, say over three pounds, releasing any very large fish.

Estuaries often throw up surprises such as this baby turbot!

David Pilkington