Sea bass fishing is a passion for many anglers. This fish, considered king, attracts more and more passionate anglers every year, whether from the shore or by boat. The season generally picks up again around April.
At this time of year, sea bass behave in a peculiar way. Returning from spawning, they are eager to replenish the fat reserves that have been depleted over the long past period.
They won't be as energetic as in summer. You'll need to choose your equipment wisely if you want to make a success of your early-season outings.
The right choice of lure
As mentioned above, sea bass behave differently at the start of the season.
They want to feed abundantly, and are not able to exert as much effort as during the summer months to seize their prey. Your lures will have to be adapted to these constraints.
As always, you need to select lures whose size matches that of the prey in the area. At the start of the season, it's common to see schools of sardines of between a dozen and fifteen centimetres along the Channel coast. Sea bass appreciate this prey.
By fishing with 12 to 15 cm shads in natural colors, you're giving yourself the best chance of success.
When it comes to lure animation, I opt for slow pulls that give the bass time to attack the lure. Linear animations are also effective, provided they are also slow.
A little later in the season, as soon as sandeels are present in sandy areas, anguilliform lures will be used.
X Layer, Crazy Sand Eel and Keitech's Shad Impact will be on hand. These lures, ranging in size from 10 to 15 cm, imitate early-season sand eels. Bars love them.
Brought to life between two bodies of water, using the fly-fishing method, they will be formidable against active fish.
Finally, when fish are glued to the bottom in search of crabs, shrimp or small rockfish, the Dark Sleeper is the lure of choice. The hook is totally concealed in the dorsal fin, so it can be used anywhere without snagging.
Choosing the right rod and reel assembly
For bass fishing at the start of the season, I opt for a 10/35-gram rod that allows me to fish from both shore and boat.
I opt for a model between 2.20 m and 2.30 m in length, which offers me the greatest possible versatility. Without hesitation, I chose a Rodhosue model, and more precisely statement 766.
This blank offers resonance like I've rarely seen, and will be perfect for covering all the techniques I use at the start of the season.
Apart from this model, which you can assemble yourself, you can opt for a standard model available from your favorite retailer. They'll be happy to advise you. I use a 3000 or 4000 size reel with PE1 braid.
Shimano's Stradic models are high-performance reels offering excellent value for money. But you'll find the equivalent in other brands, such as Daiwa BG or Lexa.
The associated leader will be in 30 hundredths for boat fishing and in 35 hundredths from shore, to limit the risk of breakage due to abrasion caused by rocks.
