[Darren Edwards]

maybe keith could shine a light on this subject,as hes amongst it etc.it might be a daft question but what about some photos of different kelps and weeds that we might look for ie bass habitat or which kelp we might have to be carefull with retreiving lures[tough buggers].surely some kelp are weeker than others,cheers daz

 

[Keith White]

working on it m8.

We will soon have a much better picture of weed and it's influence.

Quite a few types of wrackweed etc..

Me and Kev deliberatly target weed and fish lures IN it or over it in close contact.
We are working with specific lures, namely lipless and wide bodied crankbaits.
Also experimenting with tri point re-shaped hook points for better cutting and penetration.
The latter will help the hook come through soft plastic baits easier.

will update asap.

 

[bob jameson]

Have to say when mick & myself get afloat with the boat , one of the things we do is to look for the japweed beds

These tend to hold quite large numbers of bass , mainly i think because of its density, cover for ambushing bait fish

 

[Retired]

A couple of observations local to me:

Kelp: bass will drift into this and snooze/digest over slack. Steep, kelp sided gulleys in 20ft of water leading out on to sand can serve as these dormitories. Sometimes a fair distance from feeding area but invariably up or down tide.

Bladder wrack (vraic): where this has been uncovered by tide on a hot summer's day it picks up heat which it exchanges when submerged on the flood. This leads to a noticeably warmer area of water amongst the weed bed and bass, sometimes decent specimens, seem to be attracted by this. There is also a noticeable heat haze in calmer water which may help them sneak up on prey.

String weed/bootlace: as for Bladder wrack but seems to hold a fascination for bass. If you can find a bed of this stuff then fish it. At some point in the tide it will hold bass. The ones I know hold fish as soon as they can get in amongst until the fronds fully submerge.

Would be interested to know if these observations also apply to other areas.

 

[Mike Hayes]

A couple of observations local to me:

Kelp: bass will drift into this and snooze/digest over slack. Steep, kelp sided gulleys in 20ft of water leading out on to sand can serve as these dormitories. Sometimes a fair distance from feeding area but invariably up or down tide.

Bladder wrack (vraic): where this has been uncovered by tide on a hot summer's day it picks up heat which it exchanges when submerged on the flood. This leads to a noticeably warmer area of water amongst the weed bed and bass, sometimes decent specimens, seem to be attracted by this. There is also a noticeable heat haze in calmer water which may help them sneak up on prey.String weed/bootlace: as for Bladder wrack but seems to hold a fascination for bass. If you can find a bed of this stuff then fish it. At some point in the tide it will hold bass. The ones I know hold fish as soon as they can get in amongst until the fronds fully submerge. Would be interested to know if these observations also apply to other areas.

Paul, I would def agree with you there, while wading at the start of the flood, there is def hot spots (temp wise) within the weeded areas. I can def see the attraction of areas of both warmer and cooler temps. Although I imagine a large area of shallow warmer areas could also be a turn off for hunting bass. If anyone else has had results from areas of warmer, shallows areas. I one for one would be interested to hear it.

 

[Retired]

Doesn't put them off power station outfalls Mike. :lol:

 

[Gwyn Edwards]

Does the bubbling flood with all the trapped air bubbles attract the bass? at what water depth over kelp is the best time to fish the areas? I have fished weedless over couple inches bubbling kelp but no takers

 

[Keith White]

In low vis, fish will seek cover in weed that is only just starting to flood over.

What we are trying to ascertain this season is what weed is favourable to Bass as the season
changes. We have some of the info, not all.

So, in actuality, we ate trying to pattern weed by month.
Even weed has a life cycle but I don't fully understand it as yet.