Bass for beginners

[Ital]

Now that would be one hell of a spinning rod......

Yeah man, check the whole Shakespeare Ugly stick range, they are pretty much unbreakable and very affordable.

e2a - do most of my bass fishing on the english south coast or Pembrokshire with its stunning coastline.

Edited March 30, 2013 by Ital B

[Captain Bonglington]

It's the oz as opposed to grams typo that tickled me Ital B! Those ugly stiks do look good value though,sturdy enough to batter round rocks too.

[Ital]

Whoops, that would be spinning rod 10-50/60 grams

[Twisted Rizla]

Save yer money on all that tackle..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YAsgcA5x3A

[tengreenfingers]

Now THAT has to be worth a shot, TR.

I'm going to make a low-risk guess here - illegal in the UK, right? I'd expect so... it seems the most and least humane methods are always illegal here.

Thanks everyone for the advice. PLENTY to think about. As expected there are a few differing opinions (when aren't there?) but I no longer feel like I have nothing to go on.

I'll have a look at the sites and kit suggested and pop back onto the thread when I've got any more questions or a kit picked out for input.

Edited April 1, 2013 by tengreenfingers

[Twisted Rizla]

Now THAT has to be worth a shot, TR.

I'm going to make a low-risk guess here - illegal in the UK, right? I'd expect so... it seems the most and least humane methods are always illegal here.

You're probably not too wrong there mate!

Of course, there's always Trout Tickling if you don't want to use any tackle but I'm not sure if you could do the same with a Bass. You never know.

[tengreenfingers]

Yeah, bass are skittish things (just look at how spearfishers talk about them... curious, but they won't get close to something unusual unless they are very young)... I wouldn't want to rely on tickling one.

Grabbing the lower jaw when they come in to strike a held bait/lure though... that is pretty smart.

Could a bass bite a finger hard enough to hurt/remove it?

[Twisted Rizla]

No, they're not likely to do you any harm.

I only ever had problems with course fish such as Pike. I hate unhooking those fuckers. I'll take a Bass any day!

I guess the problem would be getting close enough to a shoal. Perching yourself on a craggy rock waiting for one to come by isn't my idea of fishing fun, particularly with a large swell, but I do like the idea of catching them humanely.

[mad elf]

you may end up with shredded fingers if the bleeder wriggles, those gill plates are razor sharp, and sting like hell when salt gets in em. bit of lug juice will clean it up nice tho

[Guest ickiwoo]

I do a fair bit of fishing mostly carp.But we got a boat with a live bait tank on it an use live sand eels.

Of the shore is very productive around the south coast.I use a £10 kids rod and reel set up with very small feathers.Find a pontoon or pier.At the top of the tide use the kids rod to catch small pollock and pout.Get a big bucket fill it with sea water aand put a cheap air pump in it.Put the pollock and pout in there.When youve got at least a dozen then go to a prefered bass spot.I find live baits to be best of the shore.Or fresh mackerel.Not frozen totally fresh.I cut hte heads of the mackerel the best bit imo for bass but must be fresh.Then the rest of the mackerel i cut into sections like rings and hook through the back bone so i dont come of on the cast.

Best of luck mate it doesnt have to be expensive especially if you catch your own bait which is something the kids love doing catching tiddlers all day while im bass fishing.

Edited April 1, 2013 by ickiwoo