Bass fishing
Bass, often referred to by chefs as the 'king of fish', are wiley, predatory fish with a huge mouth and appetite to match. Bass congregate in shoals at certain times, favouring patches of rough ground where smaller feed fish are likely to be found using the weeds and crevices for cover. Bass will also look for feed fish close inshore and love disturbed water - hence the popularity of the Runnelstone Reef off Gwennap Head, the most productive bass ground in the Bay.
At times, live bait - mackerel or sardine - are used to target big fish. However, the bait used most often are variations of the 'Eddystone' Eel' invented by a Mevagissey fisherman back in the 1970s. The lures are made of flexible plastic that mimic the swimming movement of small feed fish. During summer and autumn months, small bass boats can be identified by a pair of poles mounted on either side of the boat. Two lines with lures are towed from the poles at slow speed with an optional handline used to maximise the chance of attracting a bite from this notoriously of fussy eaters!
These days, local boats use small insulated tubs in which slush ice (ice mixed with sea water) is taken to chill the day's work. Catch rates for bass are never high, an exceptional day might see in excess of a dozen fish taken. Fisherman and anglers alike must land fish above a minimum length, which, in Cornwall, currently stands at 36cm.
During the height of the season (August to October), visitors to Newlyn's fish auction which starts at 6.30am can often see a dazzling display of line caught bass as over 30 boats supply the market during the season.
Many Cornish bass fishermen are also members of one of the first MSC approved fisheries in the UK for line caught fish. Individual fish are fitted with a plastic tag which identifies, by number, the boat and fisherman that made the catch - customers anywhere in the world can check with the line-caught website to match the tag's ID. Each tag costs £1.25p, so those fishermen who subscribe to the scheme and land the highest quality fish expect a greater return for their efforts.
