14 Saltwater Boat Angling
fish are possible, if the conditions are
right. Being able to double-haul will
further increase your chances, it is a
game-changer when fishing in
saltwater, enabling you to cast further
in difficult conditions and therefor
cover more fish.
USING YOUR
WATERCRAFT SKILLS
Watercraft is one of the key elements
to any type of fishing, especially fly
fishing for bass. This is relevant from
the shore and the boat. Read the
water and look for any signs of
predatory activity. Gulls and terns can
give away the location of bait and
predators. If you can find terns
working, bass won’t be far away. Of
course, a fish-finder is an essential
item in the location of bass and the
bait they feed on when afloat. Once
an area is selected, cover the water
systematically, bass move around and
locating the fish is key.
The challenges of fly fishing for big
bass are the lack of them, especially
inshore where fly fishing is possible.
With a boat, only depths of 20-30 feet
can be fished effectively, dependingon drift speed. For success with big
fish, it’s a case of thinking like
Sherlock Holmes, putting in the hours
and building a picture of the bass’
habits. After all this work, one day you
will get lucky.
PERSONAL BEST
When it all comes together there is
nothing more satisfying. Recently I
was lucky enough to set a personal
best of 10.5lbs, a fish that will live in
my memories forever. It was just like
any normal evening out on the boat
with my close fishing friends. We were
having a hectic session with lots of
small bass up to around the 2lb mark,
and hoping for something bigger.
As the light faded, I gently drifted the
boat to an inshore mark, which was
sub 10 foot deep. I cast my chartreuse
ep minnow close to the structure and
counted down my fly, several strip,
strip/pauses later my fly was smashed
hard. The fish gave several big
headshakes and ran towards the
structure resulting in line burn as I
tried to stop it. At that moment I
realised this was a big one. I fought
the fish hard but cautiously, aroundthe jagged structure, praying my line
wouldn’t rub against any coarse rocks.
A HARD-FOUGHT BATTLE
It took around four minutes to get the
fish close to the boat, we were all
desperate to catch a glimpse of it. As
the fish broke the surface we all
guessed the fish was around the 7lb
mark, before it tried to make another
break down deep, leaving hearts in
mouths, it was with relief we got the
fish into the net and soon realised the
size of it. It looked to be around 80cm
in length with a monstrous head and
mouth, a real beauty of fish
(potentially fifteen years old).
We kept the fish in the water as we
prepared to weigh it and it tipped theSussex
Silvers
My fi rst double on fl yA selection of my bass fl iesIssue 019 1-47.indd 14 09/11/2017 10:09: