It's great when a new lure works.....

• Step 1 - admit you have a problem.............yes, my name is Henry Gilbey, and I have a lure addiction. But ain't it great when a new one comes out of the packet oh so sweet, clips on just fine to the end of your line, flies out like a bullet, and then looks even better in the water than you thought it would. Seeing a bass nail it is the icing on the cake, and this happened yesterday afternoon. Check out the new lure above.

• I got hold of this new Duo Tide Minnow 120 Surf lure the other day, and I just knew it was going to work for bass. From my (basic) understanding of French, it says on the packet to wind this thing slow to medium pace, and that it is very stable in choppier conditions. The Surf is somewhat "chunkier" than the other outstanding Tide Minnow lures, but then I guess that is what gives it the extra stability. The action of the lure when you make yourself slow the retrieve down is stunning, with a killer-looking, wobbling, rolling kind of action. The lure swims nice and shallow - not as shallow as the Tackle House Feed Shallow, but on a par with the Maria Chase BW I reckon. Fine by me. I just knew a bass had to nail it.

• I went for the Holo White colour - the more I fish for bass with lures, the more convinced I am that the best overall colour for a lure is a kind of bright holographic silver or white, often with flecks of black in there, and this Tide Minnow Surf has got the lot. The hooks are good as well, and the first thing I did was to crush all the barbs down.

• OK, so the bass was on the small side, but it nailed the lure big time, right where I fancied one might be lying. Andy and I virtually ran down the cliffs yesterday because the conditions looked just so perfect, but the fish decided to kick us hard. Andy caught a couple of pollack, I had some garfish chase and knock my lure, but where on earth were all the bass that we were sure had to be milling around ? Seriously, you could not have asked for better tides and water conditions. Frustrating to say the least.......but then I am hearing a few reports recently from anglers who are struggling for good catches of bass. Why ?

• I eventually made my way out onto a rock that had a great looking weedy gully running out to sea, with a point just in front of it - time to get the new lure on, especially with a bit of gentle surf building up on the first of the push. Kind of what the lure was designed for. This Tide Minnow 120 Surf flies out, and about five casts into its existence it got nailed by a (small) bass - sadly the only one of the session. But at least we got one. I have a feeling that this lure is going to get a few more work outs this year if the conditions allow. To feel confident with a certain lure, I have to like what it does instantly, and this one fits the bill. It is hard for me to make myself slow down a touch on the retrieve, but it payed off. You can crank the hell out of it for sure, but it looks far better to me when you slow it down, and the bass obviously thought so yesterday. Check out the lure right here.

• Step 2 - if the lure works, buy some more !! And if it doesn't work, buy some more anyway, to make yourself feel better.........