Slugging it out!

With Scott away on a west of Scotland fishing trip I hooked up with our friend Naz and popped down to our favourite bass mark in East Lothian. It was only to be a very quick session as 2 hours was all I had but I was determined to make the most of it. As is becoming the norm, the weather was horrible, the seemingly never ending spate of easterly winds had got the sea up which made finding a safe space to fish very hard! I had decided to continue with the Slug-Go approach that had proved fruitful on the last session. So I rigged up a 4.5" Slug-Go in Arkansas Shiner on a 10.5g  #2/0 Football jighead from AGM Discount fishing.

Naz was using a 4" Berkley Powerbait sandeel in white and he set off to explore the beach side of the reef. I decided to fish in the strong currents and gullies on the opposite side of the reef. I started working the lure with my standard retrieve, casting slightly up current and allowing the lure to fall through the water, a couple of twitches up and let it fall whilst retrieving slowly. It wasn't long before I had an explosive bite and a small bass tore off into the surf! It always surprises me how hard the little bass fight using the strong current and a rough sea and this fish was no exception. Soon it was tired though and I landed it with the help of a wave. It was quickly unhooked, photographed and released back to the sea leaving me pleased that the Slug-Gos were doing their job.

My first bass of the session taken on a 4.5" Slug-Go in Arkansas Shiner

I continued with the same approach and a few minutes later another small bass took a fancy to the Slug-Go and nailed it beneath my feet! Brilliant! It was quickly landed and released and was about the same size as the first at about 1lb -1.5lb. Naz had seen my rod bent into the fish and had made his way over to me. He had been fishing the ebbing tide over the reef but it was proving too shallow and he had lost a couple of lures. He put on an old white sandeel lure that we had found on a previous trip, it was also the lure that had caught his first bass. Armed with his lucky lure he started fishing alongside me. A couple of minutes later I had another small bass and while I was releasing it Naz gave a shout. Fish on! Naz was into a bass and again it was putting up a good scrap. It was soon landed by a grinning Naz and I did the honours with a trophy shot!

Naz with his second ever bass taken on his lucky white sandeel.

I left Naz to unhook and release the bass and quickly got back to fishing. This time I was trying to get the lure deeper allowing it to trundle along the seabed with the tide. I was hoping to find a bigger fish working deeper than the schoolies and it wasn't long before I was in again! Not the bigger fish I was after but a bass is a bass! Quick snap and back to the brine it went.

My fourth bass of the session couldn't resist the Slug-Go!

I continued to use the deeper, minimalist retrieve and before we had to leave caught and released a further three small bass. All in all it was an excellent couple of hours spent and for Naz and I to both catch in the rough conditions was very good indeed. The Slug-Gos again showed how deadly they can be so I will be continuing to play with them in the hope of a larger bass.

Tight lines, Schogsky.