Article By Iain Sellors

Another fruitless trip. The light has now faded; your eyes adjust to the dim haze, the welcoming sounds of day birds replaced by the more sinister hoot of the nocturnal hunter. The mile or so walk back through the winding, wooded cliff path leaves you wet with sweat, the pungent smell rises up from your waders.

The screech of a fox now accompanies the sound of the owl. Back at the car park you notice another car that was not there earlier in the evening. Loud music and laughter penetrate the still air and welcomes you back to civilization.

A black cat scurries out from under your car as you open the boot; the predators are all doing their work tonight. Your drive home is pre occupied with thoughts as you ponder and try and come up with a rational solution to your empty fish bag. Maybe the sea was too coloured, maybe not coloured enough. But you were confident tonight; everything seemed to be right, after all it was very similar when you caught that four-pounder last year, or was it, maybe the tide was smaller, or the recent heavy spell of rain affected the fish?

Not all bass trips end like this, many though do, but as your experience and skills grow they will hopefully become less and far between. To consistently catch bass with lures you have to serve a long and hard apprenticeship, and you will forever be questioning your approach.