MATCH THE HATCH FOR BASS
AUTUMN MAY MAKE US THINK of impending winter, yet the reality is that the sea temperature peaks in mid-September and then falls slowly through to December in average years not reaching its lowest until around late February or early March.
In the past decade or more, baitfish like mackerel and sandeels have arrived later than normal but have extended their time inshore by four weeks or more due to higher temperatures throughout the year. This also applies to bigger bass that seem to stay on the inshore grounds right through to Christmas.
Those baitfish provide a major food supply to sustain the bass through the winter and this creates late-season opportunities for anglers wanting to target bass over the inshore reefs and wrecks, and inside small harbours. Lure fishing can be successful too, but the best method is to present the bass with exactly what they’re feeding on – match the hatch style natural baits.
WHERE TO FISH
From late September to November, some of the best fishing will be west of a line from roughly the Wirral to Kent, with the Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon and Cornish coasts being the hot areas.
