[Dave Irving]

Well I may be on my own, but for me my best results tend to come in settled calm conditions. However I know others seem to prefer the rough/surfy conditions. So I must be missing a trick.
One thing I have noticed is that not all lures seem to be happy when fishing in rough conditions. I know my 175 flyer is much happier than my 175 floater when things start to get pretty grotty.
So if you like/tend to fish in rougher conditions, what lures do you tend to go for??
I have spotted the Duo Rough Trail 130S (29g) which looks like it should handle the rough. So do you stick with better suited hard baits?? or are there soft baits that you feel fish more effectively when it rough.
Many thanks for any information,
Cheers Dave

 

[Keith White]

softbaits work exponentially better in rough water ime.

this said, heavier hooks and the use of leadcore wrapped around the shank of the front hook can help a lure 'bite' in rough white water.
I tend to prefer very tight tracking lures but with wider than the lure shoulder bibs.
Keep the rods tip well down or even well sunk.

Floating braids don't help in very rough water as it gets lifted in swell.

 

[Ben Field]

Like we spoke about last night Dave, I'm one of those that definitely prefers it when its rough. In calm conditions around here it is possible to find groups of fish holding in certain areas, but when it gets rough you find that the chances of finding fish much higher as they're much easier to predict.

Lure wise, I haven't tried the Rough Trail properly yet but definitely have some uses for it. The Sinking Rudra is another that is pretty much perfect for fishing around here when it's anything more than choppy. Standard Rudra too, biting nicely and getting down a bit deeper than the standard shallow divers makes them ideal. Same for the Balisong Minnow whcih has the added bonus of being a bit more noisy when water colour or condition dictates. Bigger profile too. Tide Minnow Surf as well. None of them are particularly small or subtle, but can't knock any of them when it comes to fishing conditions like that around here.

 

[Dave Irving]

Keith,
Will try and take your comments with regards soft palstics to heart. I guess when I get to the shore, find the water brown, wind howling and waves dumping hard on to the beach. I just haven't had the confidence to fish soft plastics. Really got to try and spend more time on soft plastics-I KNOW I am missing out, but it is a hard leap to make (for me away).

Cheers Ben,
The OSP Rudra has become one of my got to lures when it is rough. Seems so stable, and it seems to handle being worked down into the back of the breaking waves and then being left to "hang" in the gutter. The sinking version I assume like the 175 flyer, would be even more stable. Which sounds just the job.
I do like the subtle, smaller lures normally (I catch more bass that way), but in rough conditions (or any for that matter), it is a case of fishing what works. After all dry lures don't catch any bass.

 

[Mike Kennard]

I have used the bigger sizes of silent vibration baits, although the noisey ones might work better. as you are aware rough normally means weedy around here so unless you get there before the weed arrives it is too late.....

 

[Dave Irving]

Mike,
Totally agree about both weedy being a pain, and the Vib lures. Tried a 28g Storm Thunderblade last night, but trying to work the gutter with it was nearly impossible unless you could time it to catch the backwash. It did get good distance into the wind though!! Weed wasn't too bad last night, dodging the bigger than average wave (1 in about 12-15) was-Got knocked down a few times-couldn't see or hear them coming in the dark/wind.
Definately some good bass around though. Especially where some of the street light shine onto the water.

 

[Alex Jordan]

Good point Dave - OUR rough conditions vary to say Wales or Jersey or Cornwall where we tend to get dirty brown, weedy nasty water to fish - I always tend to seek out the clear stuff (which coincides with clear settled weather for us locally) - or go for backwaters and estuaries where the water is relatively clear.

I like fishing the rough stuff - only if its white water, big waves, big wind with no suspended sediment or heavy suspended weed ... but I tend to find conditions like that anywhere but Sussex!

Fished the last boat day in Cobh, Ireland in horrendous F6 weather - big swell and made it hard to fish with so much boat roll BUT I caught my biggest Bass in those conditions over a reef in 2m of water ... oh and I rate the zonk as a stable rough weather lure (slowly becoming a go-to lure for me!).

 

[Dave Irving]

Alex,
I know what you mean about rough weather bringing the weed, the trick is to fish it as soon as it blows up, as the longer it is rough for, the more weed there will be suspended in it.
We do have a couple of beaches that will give you big waves/white water but not too much weed- Seaford is one example especially in a big SW-S blow.
Funnily enough, the bass are often very close in when it is rough-20-30' cast is often all you need. Takes often coming as you see your leader knot appearing from the waves.
Love the action of the Zonk, but the couple of "storm" beaches I try and fish when the weather plays up, the gutter tends to be too shallow. But the Zonk would be my first choice at Seaford.

 

[Mike Cornelius]

The Maria Chase BW works well in a moderate swell for me. Funny though, I've never caught anything on it in calm water. Don't know how it works in heavier swells, cause the water here turns to soup in such conditions.

 

[Alex Jordan]

Just a thought - worth wetsuiting it and hanging outside the breaking zone fishing in?

 

[Martin Barnard]

Fished a fair amount of rough weather this summer in south devon, over rough ground rather than beaches and found that lures were difficult to control in large white water and swell. The Rudra was the best i have really and decided to use Xlayers and a Sayori Shad paddle tail. Both found fish easily. Jig heads get flushed out of snaggs a lot easier than in calm conditions too and even though i couldn't cast that far into a head wind, it was often far enough anyway because the fish were so close in.

 

[James Davis]

May sound like a stupid idea, Dave, bearing in mind what they aredesinged for, but have you tried anything like the megabass flutt'a bait?

 

[Dave Irving]

Alex, Not concidered fishing from the outside of the surf, definately possible. I have seen guys doing it in the states. Not sure how I would approach fishing the gutter as the undertow I currently use to hang the lure (and working) wouldn't work the same way. The only down side is I might be a bit chickhen to jump in when it is really rough.

Martin, Thanks for the heads up over the soft plastics, the sayouri shad is one lure that keeps catching my eye. Totally agree that in rough conditions the bass can be really close.

James,Hadn't thought about the Megabass Flutt'a bait, will go and have a look asap-Thanks for the tip.

 

[Martin Barnard]

Recently got a Megabass Fluttabait and they look really good and cast well. haven't had the right conditions to use properly yet so rough weather might be the just the ticket!