I woke before my alarm sounded this morning. Primarily that was due to my 2 year old daughter being ready to get up, which pretty much means that the rest of the house is obliged to do likewise ! I took my iPhone from it’s charging station next to the bed, and immediately checked the tides for today, followed by the weather forecast (especially the wind).
Since the beginning of January I’ve been out of my bass routine. I haven’t checked tides, weather forecasts, and haven’t paid too much attention to the sea state when driving near it. It all changes now though …. bass fever is kicking back in !
From now until sometime next January (or maybe even February depending on the weather), I’ll be checking, and double-checking the tides several times per day. The weather forecast will also be checked several times a day. In the back of my mind is the constant plotting and scheming of ‘where & when’. I’ll mentally sieve through my marks, trying to match tides, weather and location with fishing time I have available. I’m lucky enough to live very close to the sea, so my routine consists of short daily sessions when work and family commitments allow. These daily sessions allow me to become reasonably well tuned-in to the rhythms of the coast, and to have a good ‘feel’ for what’s happening – what bait is around, what’s the clarity like, are the bass localised on specific marks, is dawn out-fishing dusk, etc..
I haven’t yet landed a bass during what I consider the new season (I had some in January, but I consider that last seasons bass), but I sense that it won’t be long. Water temperature has hit 9 degrees, which I’ve found to be enough to kick things off. The rock pools are coming alive, so there’s food to be had. The evenings are suddenly lighter also, which offers more opportunities. There’s a distinct hint of spring in the air !
My gear has been prepared over the winter, so I’m all sorted on that front, & now I just need the fish to start playing ball.
The commercial fishermen have been busy too, with huge catches recorded during the past couple of months, that’s even with the temporary pelagic ban in place. There’s clearly a lot more work to be done on trying to stop a total collapse of the stocks. Over the coming weeks we’ll continue to try and keep you all well informed of what’s happening, and how you can help. Bottom line is that the politicians are not doing enough. They are prioritising the short-term profits of commercial fishermen over the long-term sustainability of the fishery. They are ignoring the scientific evidence, and bringing in measures which thus-far fall well short of the minimum requirement. It’s heart-breaking, but we have to continue to campaign for change.
The battle continues !!