Bass will follow your fly and lure many times without taking. How many times this happens when we don’t see the phenomenon we can only guess. On the rare occasion when we are lucky enough to witness the behaviour its very exciting and interesting.
- The fish follows for a short period and then suddenly veers away at speed. The fish has seen you – Action – lower your profile, check your clothing colour and fishing position.
- The fish follows for a long period very close to the fly or lure and swims away slowly without a take. The fish is inspecting the bait closely, doesn’t see you, is interested in what it sees but not sufficiently for a take. Action – check for any bait present and change colour of fly or lure to match – move towards more translucency and constancy in your speed of retrieve
- The fish follows a distance from the lure and swims away after a short period. The fish is interested in the bait but is not convinced. Action – check for any bait present and change size,type and colour of fly
- Groups of three or four fish follow but don’t take. The fish are feeding selectively Action – find the bait present and match it as best you can
- The fish follow regularly for long distances but don’t take even after adjustments have been made. Fish are interested but not hungry Action – increase speed of retrieve or fish two flies, lure with teaser OR – change to a less dense fly of minimal material
- The fish is visible you have cast to him but he wont take – The fish is spooked and will move off Action – stop casting and wait for 15 minutes then try again
No two circumstances are the same and generally most bass will show an interest in your fly or lure sufficient for them to eat it. If you are witnessing a LOT of follows with no takes then always try adjusting what you can change – your retrieve speed, the size, colour, type and shape of fly or lure are all yours to control.
Some thoughts about colour decisions here
Wexford felt a little better this evening for the first time in a while.
You may remember I brought your attention to Wexford Co Councils biodiversity plan from January of last year
When all submissions to the Wexford Biodiversity Plan have been received and reviewed, a draft plan will be compiled. Following on from this a public meeting will be held to discuss the Draft Biodiversity Plan and to seek further comments.
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Wexford Co.Council has now published its draft biodiversity plan – from a bass conservation perspective you may be interested in page 96 and indeed throughout the document there are references to bass and their continued protection. The full document is available to download below and from Wexford Co.Council website.
There were 58 submissions from a bass angling perspective of a total submission number of 99. This is significant.
From Page 96 of the document
Submissions Numbers 22-78
individual submissions various Re: Conservation of Sea Bass stocks
• Maintain Legislation to Protect the SEA Bass from Commercial fishing.
• Importance of Recreational Angling to the Local Economy/Tourism
• Illegal Fishing/Netting
Its important to remember at this stage that this is a draft document and taken from page 49 we have another opportunity to
Review Data and Identify Gaps
Objective 1 – To identify Biodiversity information and fill data gaps for the County, to prioritise habitats and species for protection and to inform conservation action and decision making Actions Partners/Funding Thefile,20294,enhttp://www.scribd.com/embeds/91652862/content?start_page=1&view_mode=list&access_key=key-i15wo23ysgoch1xsbu2
What does the world tell you about the fish, even when you are nowhere near them?
It tells you different influences apply for different places……….the crane, the streetlight, the church.
The wind , the place, the wave…..
.
Once we get past the next 24 / 36 hours then, fingers crossed we are into a genuine period of possibilities for a few days – but dont count on it holding.
Fishing with bass flies bought from a shop can provide good results for the fly angler. Working with somebody like Brian Healy who can realise your specific requirements adds a dimension that’s simply not available anywhere else. Hence a degree of uniqueness and quality is added to the mix.
Tying the bucktail deceiver third in the sequence above (hollow style– from B.Popovic) in a range of densities simply allows the creation of a fly that’s easy to cast, has a superb profile (s), doesn’t foul and can be presented at different depths, representing many food items.
Tailoring that requirement to specific locations and conditions is fast becoming an obsession for me.
The size and shape of the fly is almost unlimited – movement, control and selection is of course is up to you!
Long bunches of bucktail using specific hooks can produce flies up to 10-inches in length. Other natural or synthetic fibres produce even longer flies. All remain easy to cast.
The bucktail selection also affects the bulk and silhouette of the fly. Bulky flies are best tied with crinkly bucktail. Using a finer and somewhat straighter bucktail the tier can produce slimmer, skinnier imitations. Changing the density of material of course will affect the definition of the silhouette of the the fly – more material a stronger visual presence is achieved less material a more vague and translucent effect is the result.
So you want a dense fly with a strong profile and silhouette that gets down AND pushes water – simply add tungsten beads to the mix……it goes on and on.
Any of these simple changes produce different results under different circumstances.
So many things to do, so little time!
Thanks to bassfishingcork for the mention on your site – bendy rods for 2012, Jim.
More details of these new arrivals later tomorrow
THIRTYARDS 
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