Warmer Temps and Tamer Weather: Aprils Lure and Fly Fishing Opportunities
The Start of a New Season
Finally we can begin feel to the warmth of April rolling in, marking the beginning of the Bass Lure fishing season. April is an exciting time for UK Bass anglers, especially after this years atrocious weather, which has made finding a window to fish very hard indeed.
I’m sure many of you reading who fish for Bass are absolutely itching to get hooked into your first few silvers of the year and If you have managed to get out at all then hats off to you! Take a bow from me if you have managed to catch!
I for one, have had very little action in anger on the Bass, and the sub 10 sessions or so I have had have been fruitless thus far. But I’m also happy to be patient at this time of year and take the time to plan where to fish, freshen up gear and explore new ground.
There have been a few opportunities to get out and into the early season surf
April Means Warming Sea Temps - and fish!
One of the significant changes that April brings is the rising sea temperatures. After the cold of March, which typically records the lowest temperatures of the year, the warming seas signal a shift in the fishing and with it the return of the Bass to our shores from spawning.
Typically the Bass seem to travel around to Wales, Kent, Sussex & the South coast areas first before the resident fish of Cornwall return (we are in Cornwall). Of course, there are likely to be large resident fish which may never leave their home inshore, but these Bass are few and far between and more likely taken on bait.
Towards the end of the month, we will all start seeig Bass return to their usual haunts chasing early season prey. Go gentle on early season fish as they are likely to be spent from spawning to return them with as light handling as you can.
Lures wise, go small and work slow. Add plenty of pauses if you’re fishing topwater & take a good look at the prey that’s around and imitate that when you commence your session.
Bait/lure hybrid fishing is an option
Bass caught with Razor clam on a Tenya jig worked with a slow jig & pause retrieve (March 2023)
Last year I gave the Tenya jigs a go with Razor clam as bait and managed a Schoolie in late March (2023). Being obsessed with purely lure fishing, I had to concede to bait after many-a-session in pursuit of a Bass on lures through February and March proved fruitless.
The Tenya jigs are great fun to fish with and you can essentially use them like you would a soft-plastic lure, cast, sink, bump, slowly wind & repeat! They have caught Guilthead Bream with other anglers to great success.
Guilthead are another fish that make a return to our waters in the early spring. There have been a few reports of them being caught from Cornish estuary systems this April which is a good sign.
Wrasse, Pollock & Sea trout
The mighty Wrasse are always around our shores, even through the depths of winter. Through April, they continue to provide plenty of good sport with their habits seemingly never to change!
If you are itching to get a bend in the rod, then Wrasse are always there to go for.
Ballan Wrasse caught by Tony W
You can catch Wrasse very successfully of small soft plastics rigged Texas style.
Texas rigging is essentially using a weedless hook, with or without a weight on the mainline before the lure.
Here I have rigged the Zman Punch Crawz with a 3/0 7g ball head hook from Seadra.
An excellent blog post on the Texas rigs here from BadAngling.
These creature baits are perfect to work around rocky structure & reefs. Vertically, dropshot style or with a sink and draw method. More info on Wrasse fishing here
Also check out Damion Fryers’ Coastal lure fishing FB page: He is the Wrasse master! Coastal lure fishing Facebook page here
Pollock
Pollock too are a great fish to target now things are warming back up. We would hope to see some of the larger specimens returning to shore now.
Pollock are very obliging to a lure worked nice and deep in kelp and next to structure.
Sea trout
AI image of Sea trout, what do you think?
Sea trout are also part of the fun in April. I’ve yet to catch one but they are high on the bucket list. I have been speaking with a friend of mine and they shared some handy tactics for them.
Work a Savage gear seeker really really fast
Fish at estuary mouths, on shallow reefs & in the surf for them!
Sea trout are essentially brown trout that take to the sea for a portion of their lives. Arriving back into fresh water around April time. Very cool! I should do some more digging into them.
Piscator fishing on YouTube has some great Sea trout videos
Fly Fishing in Spring
On the freshwater front, fly fishing enthusiasts aren't left out of the spring delights. Trout season, which officially started on March 22nd, sees activity intensifying as we move deeper into spring. The rising water temperatures coupled with longer daylight hours make conditions ideal for a dip in your local stream.
If you are looking for nice easy access fishing beats for trout, then look no further than the Fishpass passport, which has a good selection of beats across the south west UK. I would imagine there are other forms of this for those of you around the country.
It’s a low cost and approachable way into fly fishing with the fishpass app and I was kindly shown by my good friend Archie how good it is!
Optimism for Good Weather
Lastly, after enduring the wettest winter on record here in the UK, Im bloody hopefully that the weather starts to improve! April is the perfect time to head outdoors, enjoy the beauty of nature, and partake in the timeless activity of fishing.
In conclusion, whether you're a lure fisherman eager to start the sea bass season or a fly fisher anticipating the trout's spring activity, April brings a bounty of opportunities. So, gear up, head out, and enjoy the fruitful fishing that April has to offer!
Thanks for reading,
Id love to know you all have got on the cards fishing wise this spring. Even anything non fishing related, what does April mean for you? Let me know in the comments
Tight lines 🎣
