Bass fishing made Easy!

Bass, often called the king of the sea is highly priced by anglers and a popular choice with chefs. Since it a voracious predator feeding on sardines and mackerel it has high oil content and tastes very delicious. The European bass is found in warm water areas of the British Isles and are found in plenty along the southern coast. In Southern England bass breed mainly in tide races, over reefs and shingle banks, in spring and early summer. A young bass is called a school bass. The young bass fishes normally stay close to the shore until they are four years old. Male bass are the first to mature at a length of 32-35 cm while female bass have a length of 42 cm at the time of maturity. And then they begin their annual seasonal movements between their summer feeding areas and winter pre-spawning areas. They feed mainly on crustaceans and invertebrates and can also tolerate the brackish waters of the estuaries. Adult fish can be found on wrecks as deep as 30 fathoms, harbors, bays, shallow estuaries and sometimes fresh water rivers as well.

Although bass can be caught throughout the year, the best time to fish for sea bass is during the summer when mature, migrating bass is often found close to the shoreline. For the same reason fly fishing is considered one of the most popular ways to catch bass in this part of England. Chichester harbour situated to the south west of the city of Chichester on the Solent, is a large natural harbour and a designated bass nursery area. Many bass are born in the area. One of the least developed coastal areas in Southern England; Chichester has a perfect mix of harbour, beaches, salt marshes, sand banks and mud flats. Bass begin their visit in May and there are some hotspots out of Chichester like Bullock Patch and the Hounds. When the harbour becomes full at high tide bass will be found in plenty. Fishing for bass is prohibited either by boat or using sand eel bait is prohibited within any part of the Chichester harbour between 30th April and 1st November. You should be aware that there is a minimum landing size which is 36cm and may fish caught below that size should be returned.