Plastics at the ready....

There are still some reports of bass hanging around the rock marks and they seem to be there in reasonable numbers, if the water temperature stays where it is at the moment and we get some good conditions with some reasonable water clarity I have no doubt that we will get some good bass fishing off rock marks for the next one or two good tidal cycles, and heres hoping conditions are like this below...

However as winter starts to get a proper hold and water temperatures start to drop, a lot of people think its time to put away the spinning gear and time to dust off the bait gear in pursuit of the silver fellas which are still around the coast, however November and December can give the dedicated lure angler a great chance of connecting with a double in the many estuaries found along our coastline if conditions are on your side.

As water temeperatures begin to drop the fishes metabolism slows down so in other words there not going to be as willing to chase down a plug being retrieved at a quick pace. This time of the year soft plastic fishing comes into its own twitching slowly along sandy bottoms or allowing them to bounce through a current can lead to some excellent fishing.

Around this time of the year a lot of big fish tend to make an appearance in these estuarine areas which are ideal locations for working soft plastics. Numerous bass over the magical 10lb mark are taken this time of the year, when conditions are right.

For example check out the fantastic session Henry Gilbey and co had on a winter bass hunt in Waterford from a couple of years ago here and here

The photos from Henry's blog show just how good the bass fishing can be in the winter months when conditions coincide with good tides, at this special time of the year the results can truly be outstanding.

Heres some photos of some of the well known but deadly soft plastics we will be using in winter months which lie ahead.

GT shad

Megabass spindle worm

Megabass xlayer

Tight lines,

James