Preparing your equipment
Our equipment is put to the test when sea bass fishing, especially in estuaries. Sand, mud and salt water are no match for our rods, lines, reels and even flies.
It's a good idea to make sure all our equipment has been cleaned and put away over the winter break.
Before the start of the season, which generally starts at the end of March for those in a hurry, and at the beginning of April to make sure there are a few fish, you can clean your reel again and grease the brake system if necessary. Use a special bristle cleaner to remove debris and dirt that can affect glide and ring passage. I use Rio's Agent X, which cleans and improves glide. Also clean our rod rings and check that they are in good condition and not cracked by repeated passage of the line, which is often covered with sand/mud that can quickly damage our rings. This has happened to me on several occasions and we sometimes have to change the rings.
Go around our fly boxes and remove any flies that have a rust spot or are damaged by salt, shocks or other factors.
Take stock of what we're missing and buy or assemble the must-have flies for the new season.
In terms of thread, I use fluorocarbon of course, because it's more resistant to abrasion, denser than water, so it sinks faster, and also invisible.
I mainly use 22° to 27° for sight fishing. I use YGK or DFC fluorocarbon, which is neither too stiff nor too soft, and with which I've never had any problems.
My equipment for bass fishing
Personally, here's the equipment I use to sight-fish for sea bass in Brittany's estuaries, but which I also use to fish on the coast or from a boat.
- Rod: SAGE R8 Salt 9 ft. 8'' silk
- Reel: SAGE Spectrum C 7/8 or SAGE Enforcer 7/8
- Silk: Rio Striper floating
- Leader: Rio striper 7 feet tip in 12 lbs
- Tip: Fluorocarbon DFC 25°/ 8 lbs most often
I set the leader loop in loop on the silk + micro ring 2 mm + tip from 1.50 to 2 meters in DFC 8 lbs/25°.
It's important to rinse all your equipment and flies after every outing. This helps keep your equipment in good condition for longer.
Must-have flies for the sight bar
For sea bass, as you probably know, I mainly use green crab imitations, which are much sought-after by sea bass. You also need a variety of shrimp models, which are also regularly eaten by sea bass.
To this we can add a few imitations of small fish, flatfish, imitations of sea fleas, and why not a few galatheas.
For green crabs, it's a good idea to have different sizes, but above all weights, depending on the type of position, depth and current speed, as well as several models that can complement each other.
You can also provide a variety of shrimp imitations for sight fishing, but also for fishing stations if conditions don't lend themselves to sight fishing once you're there (wind, dirty water, few fish in the edges). Realistic and incentive models, as well as floating models to get bass to the surface.
Early-season scouting
It's always a good idea to get out on a fine day from the end of March, to check out our usual fishing spots, the color of the water, the state of the bottom, but above all the presence of fish. The lower reaches of estuaries are often more favorable, as sea bass are just beginning to return to the coast. Sometimes, however, they are already higher up, and can quickly rise close to fresh water (above the LES: salt water limit).
The first bass often arrive as soon as the sun warms up the edges and mudflats. April is often an excellent month to see and catch your first sea bass, as they return from spawning and are hungry. They're also often less wary, as they haven't been fished for a few months.
