Bass Fishing Methods

Two Bass Caught On Ragworm In Scotland

Bass On A Lugworm

Bass On A Peeler Crab

Mull Of Galloway Bass - Just Ounces Short Of The Scottish Record - Harry Cook

Garry Watson - Bass On A Maria Chase Fake Bait

Five Ways To Catch A Bass

The Best Methods For Catching Bass

There are numerous methods to catch bass from the shore in the UK. This article will discuss the top methods favoured by successful bass anglers on our coastline

1. Bait Fishing For Bass With Ragworm.

Of all the baits used by anglers aiming to catch bass in the UK, the humble rag worm appears to be the favourite. Fished on a long flowing pulley rig or with the flowing trace method, ragworm is the number 1 bait for bass around these parts. Favoured hook sizes are between 1o and 3o and lead weights used are usually between 2 and 5 ounce grip leads. Ragworm is a great fishing bait for bass from both rock and beach marks. It is advisable to vary casting distances although more often than not bass are caught very close to shore. As with all methods the best times for Bass fishing from the shore are either first light of the day at dawn or last light on an evening.

 

Two Bass Caught On Ragworm In Scotland

2. Catching Bass With Lugworm.

Another top bait for bass anglers is the lugworm. Mostly used over the soft ground around sandy beaches a single large lugworm or a bunch of small lugworms, fished on a pulley rig or running ledger style, are said to be deadly. Again you should vary your casting distances and optimal times for bass fishing with lugworms are either early morning or late evening. For that extra bit of scent trying tipping your lugworms with half a small peeler crab.

Bass On A Lugworm

3. Catching Bass With Peeler Crab.

Local bass angler Chris Mack who fishes the Holderness area swears by the shore anglers favourite bait – The Peeler Crab. Chris says “there are 2 ways of doing it on Holderness, Small rag worm baits on a carp rod about 20yds out behind the surf for the school bass is one method, but for the really big bass blast a big crab bait out at distance” . Again the rigs best utilised are the running ledger and the pulley rig as discussed above. Several small peeler crabs or one larger crab can be whipped onto a 3o hook using elasticated cotton to hold it onto the hook for casting purposes. Green shore peeler crabs are an excellent bait for bass but sometimes for that extra big bass a larger velvet peeler or soft velvet crab can be what is required.

 

Bass On A Peeler Crab

4. Livebaiting For Bass with Sand Eels And Butter Fish

With a slight bit of surf running and clear water conditions some anglers use a livebait to try tempt the bass from our coastline. Free lining either a sand eel or a small butterfish can be an excellent way to catch bass with live baits and the bites you get when utilising this method are said to be ferocious. For live baiting on snaggy ground around rocks and kelp it is better to use a light lead to anchor your sandeel so it can not swim under a boulder and get you fast up.

5. Bass on Plugs And Spinners.

Well this is a topic that you could write a book about so how can you possibly do it justice in just a few lines ? In brief bass can be caught from the shore using spinners, soft lures and plugs. Best time as always is either first thing on a morning or last thing at night. To be a successful lure angler you must be willing to put in the time and spend many hours trying various plugs at different venues.

Mull Of Galloway Bass - Just Ounces Short Of The Scottish Record - Harry Cook

Useful Spinners For Bass Fishing

Two very good spinners for bass fishing from the shore are the dexters wedge and the traditional abu toby.

Plugs for bass Fishing

There are an abundance of plugs for the shore bass angler. Favoured makes include those from Rapala, Yo Zuri, and Owner. For fishing in shallow waters surface poppers like the Maria Chico Boco, Storm Saltwater Chug Bug, Yo-Zuri Mag Popper and Rapala Skitter Pop are all said to be excellent bass fishing plugs. For the angler who fishes the deep water plugs such asRapala X – Rap Saltwater SXR10, Rapala Down Deep Husky Jerk and Teklon DNA Rocket Diver. There are also various bass plugs for fishing at water depths between the surface and the depths offered by the deepest diving bass plugs. To read more about bass fishing with plugs, please either consult the right hand side bar links or click to read the topics below

Bass Fishing With Plugs & Lures

Which Bass Plug ??

Bass Fishing Plug Reviews

Plugs For Bass Fishing

Garry Watson - Bass On A Maria Chase Fake Bait

Bass Fishing Marks.

Although bass fishing marks are a close guarded secret there are several marks which are known to most anglers where decent bass can be located. Within the Whitby area both Sandsend Car Park and the sea wall at Whitby are reliable bass fishing venues. At Robin hoods bay the terrain is almost perfect with a fair mixture of rock and sand, so the bass angler willing to do his homework on this stretch of the coastline should be rewarded for his hard work. In the Scarborough area the Sandy beaches in the Cayton area are thought to be quite successful bass fishing venues as are the long sandy beaches in The Filey area.
Many of the areas rock marks which we fish for winter cod are now also turning out good numbers of bass for anglers fishing plugs. To learn more about How To Identify Good Bass Marks – please click here.

There is lots more information on our site about UK bass fishing. You can find a list of available articles in the sidebar at the top right hand side of this page.

Article By Glenn Kilpatrick

Photography : Glenn Kilpatrick And Garry Watson.

Further Reading

Forum Topics On Bass Fishing