| Wolf
of the Tide
Flyfishing
the Brittish Coastline by Malcolm Greenhalgh
Visit
your local fish market
and you may see some scaly, silvery fish on sale that
vie with Dover sole as the most expensive fish available.
That fish is the gourmet's delight. The 'piece de
resistance' in a Brittany fish restaurant, cooked
over a faggot of fennel, and called 'le loup de mer',
the wolf of the sea. We simply call that fish the
bass.
The commonest species of bass, Dicentrarchus labrax,
has a stout but streamlined and often moderately slender
build, with a relatively large head and wide mouth.
The gill cover has strong, sharp forward pointing
spines below the eye, and there are two sharp flat
spines at the rear edge. The two dorsal fins are separate;
the first is supported by 8-9 sharp spines, the second
by 12-13 soft rays. The anal fin has 3 spines in front
of 10-11 rays. Beware of these spines when handling
these fish alive, for they can inflict serious damage
to tender fingers. When it comes to landing one of
these I slip a thick rubber or neoprene glove onto
my left hand (I can't stand fishing in the things
as they affect the sensitivity of the hands that is
so essential in fly-fishing).
Bass are the most silvery of fish, with a steel-grey
back that often has a green or olive tinge, bright
silver sides and a silvery-white belly.
If you fish along the mainland European coastline
from France, south around Spain and Portugal, and
along the western Mediterranean to Italy, you might
catch the Spotted Bass Dicentrarchus punctatus. I
caught it one evening in October 1998 in the harbour
at Gibraltar, and also found it feeding off the Spanish
coast near Tarifa. This species is readily identified
from the bass by its black-spotted sides and by the
comb-like margins of the scales found on the head
between the eyes.
The bass breeds March-May, in inshore seas. The eggs
and early fry stages form part of the zooplankton,
floating with the currents close to the sea surface,
the fry feeding initially on microscopic phytoplankton,
then tiny planktonic larvae of crustaceans, molluscs
and marine worms. Then, in summer they are large enough
to hunt larger food items close to the bottom and
to swim against the tidal currents.
After breeding the adults and immature fish remain
inshore, often entering estuaries with the tide, and
although they can often be caught in brackish water,
they rarely enter freshwater (I have never caught
them in salt-less water). In autumn bass tend to retreat
south-westwards to winter in warmer waters, or they
move offshore to deeper waters. In recent years, however,
some bass have wintered in the north of their range,
usually close to industrial warm water outfalls.
The bass is a slow-growing but potentially long-lived
fish; after 20 years quite large weights ten or more
pounds, exceptionally to 20+lb, may be reached. However
in many areas bass are caught before they can reach
large sizes, so that most bass today weigh in the
1-3lb range. Which brings us to the point of conservation
of bass stocks. Commercial fisheries are restricted
by law. Rod and line fisheries are not, and at present
anyone can go to fish for bass without let or hindrance
in tidal waters around the coastline of England, Wales
and Ireland. Also much of the rest of Europe. No permit
or rod licence is required. In Scotland you need permission
of the owner of the foreshore. And whilst anglers
have little real impact on bass stocks compared with
commercial operations, my own feeling is that we ought
to act in a reasonable and sensible way. I kill the
occasional brace of fish weighing less than about
the 2-3lb. mark and return all others so that they
can grow larger and spawn. To kill bass in the 5lb
or more weight, that have slowly grown over ten or
more years, is destroying too much potential for the
future. But that is my opinion...nothing more.
The bass is a hunter of any lesser creature that it
is capable of catching and swallowing whole. In some
areas its main food is the sandeel, a creature that
often remains buried in wet sand through the extreme
low tide period and emerges as the flood tide covers
its sand-bank. In two Irish and three British estuaries
that I know, the bass move in with the tide, going
from one sandbank to the next, just after the tide
has covered it (and often in no more than a couple
of feet of water) and the sandeels have emerged. There
is a period around high water when feeding activity
throughout the estuary seems to decline, but then,
as the tide ebbs, the bass move back down the estuary,
feeding in the channels separating the sandbanks as
sandeels and other creatures move out with the tide.
It is interesting to consider the stomach contents
of such bass. The stomachs of eleven bass caught on
the flood tide contained only sandeels, whilst the
stomachs of seven caught on the ebb contained sandeels
and also shore crabs, small 'creeper' ragworm, and
flounder fry. All these fish were caught on sandeel
imitations, although it is likely that fish caught
on the ebb would have taken other sorts of fly.
In some bigger estuaries and bays, sandeels are not
abundant, their niche being occupied by vast shoals
of the edible shrimp. Bass appear to love these, and
will follow the shrimp shoals up the shore on the
flooding tide. Shrimps and bass are not in deep water.
You are in the right depth if waist deep in chest-waders
(or, on a warm sunny day, shorts and pumps).
Harbours often attract a wide range of bass foods,
especially fishing harbours where fish waste, shrimp
husks and other edible bits and pieces may find their
way into the water. The fry of many species, sea gobies
(lovely bottom-dwelling fish), shore crabs, prawns
and shrimps, and, if you are fishing the western and
southern coasts of Europe, small octopus and squid.
All these are eaten by bass.
To marine creatures, harbours are simply inlets of
the sea protected from the brunt of oceanic storms
and waves, and if, on an exposed rocky shore you can
find an area of deep sheltered water, there you will
also find bass foods and bass. The ideal sort of place
is where there is a deep crack between you on dry
land and an offshore reef.
From my experience, it seems that bass feeding in
harbours and sheltered rocky inlets are not selective,
but instead will opportunistically take anything edible.
All of the eight bass stomachs that I examined in
1998 contained at least two different food items,
and one held six (a fry, a crab claw, two species
of marine worm, a prawn, and a species similar to
the freshwater Gammarus).
Overall, the two factors that influence feeding intensity
by the bass are the tide and the light.
Bass feed most keenly on a rising tide; they appear
not to feed (or they are out of reach) at high water
slack and through the low tide period; then feed,
but seemingly less keenly on the ebb tide.
Tidal range is also important. Remember that in new
and full moon spring tides the water moves further
up and further down the shore than in half moon neap
tides. In north-west England we have a range of over
10 metres on the biggest springs and less than 7 metres
on neaps. Incidentally, the term 'spring' tide is
nothing to do with the season of spring; it comes
from the old English springere, meaning to rise or
spring up. Because the water must cover far more shore
on a spring tide than a neap in the same amount of
time, an approximate 12 1/2 hours tidal cycle, then
it must move much faster on springs than neaps. And
it does. A spring tide floods Morecambe Bay and the
mouth of the Ribble estuary funnel at a brisk walking
pace, whereas a neap tide is far more leisurely. This
means that everything must be done 'at the double'
in big bays or wide estuaries on spring tides. The
bass are here and gone in a flash, and we must keep
moving if only to avoid being drowned. So where the
tide range is huge on spring tides, concentrate your
efforts on the neaps. However, where tidal range is
small even on the spring tides, the spring tides are
the ones to fish.
How do you know when the neaps and springs fall? Or
what the range will be? Or the precise timing of high
and low water? Buy a set of tide tables from your
local tackle shop and study them. Only a fool goes
fishing on a wild shore without precise knowledge
of the tides.
Whilst bass can be caught throughout the daylight
hours (the state of tide being right), they seem to
feed more keenly when the flood occurs at dusk and
into the night. Also, the larger bass seem to feed
(or take the fly) better at night than by day.
So we can plan well ahead. For example, at 2.31am
on Sunday 18th July a 9.1m tide peaks at Liverpool.
At the mouth of the Wyre estuary, a few miles to the
north, high water is eight minutes earlier. So this
might be a good tide to fish the flood up from dusk
(sunset 8.30pm so start fishing about 9.30pm) on the
17th. If I was to fish in the wider parts of Ribble
or Morecambe Bay I would look to later in that week,
when the neap tides peak at sunset, and fish the tide
up in the light, and down in the dark.
Use stainless steel or Partridge Niflor-coated
Grey Shadow hooks. Wash any flies (and your fishing
tackle) thoroughly in fresh, running water when
you get home. With fish imitations, length of fly
is more important than hook size.
Hook: Sea Prince sizes 2-10.
Thread: Transparent or white.
Tail (feelers and whiskers): Sparse bunch bucktail
+ 2-3 strands Lureflash Mobile, Crystal hair or
Flashabou.
Head: Lureflash Fritz.
Eyes: Lead for weighted version, burnt 35lb mono
for unweighted; painted.
Body:
Flashabou wound round shank.
Colours:
olive, brown, pink....any shrimpy colour. The aim
was translucency. Live shrimps
and prawns are not made from hard plastic. Fish
this along the bottom and you will also catch flounders
on it in estuaries. Great fun!
Fly
length: 2-5 inches.
Thread: White.
Eyes: Lead eyes, tied on top of hook shank.
Now turn the hook point-up in your vice before tying
in the
Upper wing (back): Bunch cream or olive or grey
bucktail or similar hair. Now turn the hook back
so that it is point down in the vice and tie in
Lateral line (middle wing): Bunch pearl Crystal
hair.
Belly: White bucktail or similar hair.
One of the world's great flies and perhaps the best
baitfish fly. It fishes point up.
Rogan's
Gadget
Hook:
Size 2-4 Sea Streamer.
Thread: Black.
Body: Flat silver tinsel, ribbed with the widest
oval tinsel; varnish heavily with clear varnish.
Back and tail: Bronze mallard.
Head: Peacock herl.
An old pattern by Rogan's of Ballyshannon... a great
sea trout and bass pattern and one you must use
in Irish estuaries.
Fly length: 2-3 inches.
Thread: Black.
Tail (tied in at end of shank): Bunch white marabou,
pearl Mobile and a pair of grizzle cock hackles.
Back: Bunch of off white or cream fur (I use polar
bear).
False hackle: Bunch red Crystal Hair.
Sides: Teal feather with black and white painted
eyes.
Note:
the eyes of fry are an important trigger.
Fly length:
3-5 inches.
Thread: Transparent.
Body: None.
Wing: Under: white hair (I use bucktail);
Middle: pale yellow hair + 3 strands of pearl Flashabou;
Upper: olive or brown-olive hair
Head: Stick-on eyes plus clear epoxy.
Terry Jenner tied me a stack of these last year
and they are so good that I ran out of them!
In
estuaries: fish as in rivers for salmon and sea
trout, casting down-and-across the flow, keeping
in touch with the fly with a slow figure-of-eight
and speeding the fly up as it comes round downstream
of you. Experiment with speed and (by using different
fly weights and line densities) depth. In estuaries,
I prefer a sinking line, for the bass foods are
usually well below the water surface.
In bays or the open shore: cast the fly out and
retrieve as you move slowly sideways along the beach.
You will catch more if the fly comes back on a curved
route. Depth: a floating or intermediate line if
bait-fish are erupting from the surface or you see
bass moving at the surface. Otherwise, use a sinking
line to take the flies down. Speed of fly: fish
shrimps with short jerky pulls or figure-of-eights;
fish fry and sandeels more quickly, but experiment...sometimes
the bass will react well if the fly is retrieved
as fast as you can pull it in, but sometimes on
a slow figure-of-eight.
Harbours and deep sheltered corners on rocky coastline:
fish either a very heavy fly on a floating or intermediate
line, or an unweighted fly on a short (3 foot) leader
on a fast sinking fly line. Experiment, for every
harbour and sheltered corner is different. The method
on one jetty that I fish at night is to cast out
into the tidal flow, let the fly sink and swing
round to the slack water, and then strip it back
quickly about three yards from the jetty wall. By
contrast, in one Spanish harbour where the bottom
is fine sand and shelves up to dry land at one corner
and where the tidal flow is very very slow, to catch
the fish cast out and let everything sink to the
bottom. Then work a Sandeel or fly back quickly
through the surface of the sand. That is the great
thing about the sea. It and its finny inhabitants
are so varied.
Article
taken from May 1999 issue of Fly Fishing & Fly Tying
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