Saltwater Boat Angling — December 2017

12 Saltwater Boat Angling

Every fly fisherman dreams of sport-

fishing in exotic locations, images of

which are readily visible on social

media and in magazines. I’m guilty of

wasting many hours at my desk

day-dreaming about exotic locations

and the hard-fighting species which

inhabit them. However, sometimes

we need to move our focus from what

seems to be out of reach, and see

what’s available on our doorstep. The

British coast is no more than sixty

miles away from anywhere in the UK

so is accessible to all fly fisherman

wherever you live.

GROWING SPORT

Saltwater fly fishing is growing in

popularity and there are many

different species which can be

targeted and successfully caught on

the fly. The bass is a strong-fighting,

predatory sport-fish, making it a

prime target for both lure and fly

fisherman.

Bass are opportunist feeders, food

sources vary in different locations,

regions and at different times of the

year. Nevertheless, fish and

crustaceans form the largest part of

their diet and size isn’t really an issue

with their big, cavernous mouths.

They are predominantly silver

however, it is not uncommon to catch

fish which are slightly golden or

darker in colour (most likely down to

living in either deeper water or

shallow sandy areas). Most bass

caught on fly average around the

1-3lb mark, any fish over 5lbs is a rare

specimen and catching a double-

figure bass on a fly is akin to winning

the angling lottery.

RESTRICTIONS ON CATCH

Bass regularly make the headlines

because they are being over-fished by

commercial boats. Comprehensive

steps are being taken to protect this

prized sport-fish by stopping all

netting (fixed, drift or trawl) of bass

during the breeding season in the first

six months of the year, restricting the

take to rod-and-line commercial

fishermen and greatly reducing the

commercial take for the rest of the

year. Anglers have been restricted as

well, with the minimum landing-size

now at 42cm and the limiting of fish

retention to one fish per angler in a

twenty-four-hour period after the

30 thJuly (January 1st to June 30th).

Sussex

Silvers

Matt Roberts

goes fly fishing

for Sussex bass

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