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Sea bass fishing with surface lures can be practised in a wide variety of environments. Yet many anglers mistakenly think that it is limited to the shore or shallow waters.
Choosing the right location remains one of the most decisive factors for success.
Identify the business zone
As with any fishing technique, the key to success lies in locating the fish. Surface lures are no exception to this rule.
A good indicator of whether surface fishing is worthwhile is to identify the layer of water where fish are most active.
At depths of less than ten metres, this factor has little influence on the decision: a sea bass, even one posted close to the bottom, can easily come up and attack a surface lure.
In deeper waters, however, many anglers are reluctant to use this type of lure - wrongly so!
What really counts is not the total depth, but the position of the fish in the water column.
The sonar allows you to observe the presence of fish. Even at depths of several dozen metres, if bass are moving just a few metres below the surface, the use of a surface lure becomes highly relevant.
Experience shows that this approach often results in the selection of the most beautiful fish, especially when competition for food is strong within the shoal.
Shallow areas
Shallow, structurally rich areas are ideal playgrounds for this type of fishing. Oyster beds, seagrass beds, rocky plateaus with very little water, are places where a soft lure or a swimming fish is likely to get stuck. The surface lure allows safe exploration.
These areas are often home to some very fine fish. However, it's crucial to keep your drag well adjusted and your rod powerful enough to extract the fish quickly and prevent it from slipping under an oyster table or into weed beds.
Open water fishing
Traditionally, surface lure fishing is done in shallow areas. However, I regularly catch bass in open water, even when several dozen meters below the boat.
Some areas are home to sea bass hunts, easily spotted by the presence of birds. The echo sounder confirms these observations by displaying the presence of fish not far from the surface.
These sectors are often characterized by a strong upwelling of the bottom: a plateau at eight meters, surrounded by twenty-meter depths, represents the ideal configuration for triggering chases. This phenomenon most often occurs when the current is strong. It is therefore advisable to favour periods of high tidal range.
Depending on the state of the sea, I choose a more or less stable lure to avoid stalling in the house. The Asturie, in size 130 or 150, is one of my favorites: it casts far, moves perfectly on the waves and remains effective even in rough seas. Bars love them!
The importance of noise and visibility
Some surface lure models, such as poppers, incorporate noisy beads or naturally produce pronounced sounds with their swimming action.
In swell-beaten areas or close to rocks, these sound signals become a major asset in attracting sea bass.
For these conditions, it's best to choose a lure that's easy to spot, with a distinctive sound and bright colors. A yellow back, for example, can be very effective and is easy for anglers to spot visually.
