Uncharted Territory.

August..., this time last year things were looking a bit gloomy on the coast, we were still Fly fishing then, but the fish and the weather were just not playing ball, and so we went and did some Coarse fishing instead to fill the time until we could get back out in the salt again.
The trouble was that the freshwater fishing became rather absorbing and we kind of forgot about the Bass and the Saltwater fishing. I did have one or two more goes in mid October with a couple of pleasing results on the Fly, but that was it for the year. This year, we are endeavouring to pursue the Saltwater fishing for as long as possible. Things are tough at the moment, We are still catching Bass on the soft plastics, but the catches are dwindling numbers wise as well as in size. This may be for many reasons, one of which is the heavy netting that the Island has suffered this year, there seems to be nets everywhere, and many Anglers have commented on local forums on this. The other reason may well be that we are just targeting the wrong marks at the moment. We have of course been spoilt by the soft plastics, they have been so effective as to be unreal at times, and naturally when this happens you begin to take it for granted that it will always be like that on every session. Of course without trying to sound conceited, we have to fish them in the correct way on any given venue depending on what is demanded from it, and we have to find the venues and the fish in the first place, so there is still a lot of hard work before we can reap the rewards. When all that comes together it can be almost spectacular, not to mention addictive. The Wrasse have been an added bonus, the fact that they will aggressively hit and take lures, far more so than passively fishing bait for them is not only a tremendous eye opener but it adds another dimension to the lure fishing. Then there is a whole world of mini species to go at, from Scorpions to small wrasse and Pollock, Bream and Garfish, Mackerel...so much fun to be had. The fishing really has been non stop this year, but at some point it must come to an end, either of it's own natural accord or when I decide that it's time. My mind is beginning to drift, as it so often does..! I still look forward to doing some Coarse fishing during the Autumn and Winter, and having pushed the boundaries of the sea fishing so hard this year in all honesty I am almost ready for a change...but not quite yet.
There are still a good few weeks left yet to finish off the year in the salt, the rest of this month and probably all of next. As I said this period will be new and uncharted territory, and talk is of another run of good Bass during this period, but we shall wait and see what happens....
Until then, thanks for reading.