Back from Jersey

• I got back into Plymouth airport late yesterday afternoon - it is so cool to be arriving back at my local airport instead of the more usual Heathrow, especially when my wife and two girls are there to pick me up. It is so easy to do this trip, and when time and weather allows I have every intention to head back out to Jersey to do a load more bass related stuff, plus of course get in amongst the excellent shore and other boat fishing. There is some great stuff over there, including big blondes, tope and bream from the boats. The Channel Islands are so accessible to many of us, and trips over there can be really cheap.

• I am in serious debt to the people who went so far out their way to help me over in Jersey - a huge thanks to you all. This kind of trip just reaffirms to me just why fishing is the greatest sport on earth, for the people involved in it are without doubt the best there are. So many of the local anglers will do all they can to help visitors out. The buzz around modern bass fishing continues to grow.......

• Above is Trevor Sangan with a nice bass that he caught late on Saturday evening - the fishing really picked up big time as that tide began to push hard, and we landed a few nice bass in amongst the rocks. But we then lost the light and had to run for home. Trevor is continuing to use and abuse the Tackle House Feed Shallow lure, indeed he had it virtually welded to the end of his line over in Ireland and he continues to smash bass with it back home. What a lure - it ain't cheap, but it works. You can get hold of them here. I would not head out lure fishing now without a couple in my box, I feel that confident with them - exactly like I do with the Maria Chase BW in the holo silver colour. To have a few lures you trust implicitly really gives my confidence levels an extra kick.

• Here's a sight for the tackle junkies among you, and I include me here - a fistful of gorgeous red Tenyru rods. This brief trip visit back to Jersey really struck home to me how forward thinking a lot of these anglers are when it comes to their bass fishing. They are so close to the coast of France, and I know a lot of the bass fishing expertise over there travels across to Jersey, and the guys then mix and match it with their own fishing. It is easy to slate expensive gear as being too much when you haven't tried it, but when you start fishing with purpose designed and built bassing gear, it is a different world, and my eyes have really been opening up another notch this year.

• I bought a bunch of bass lures from Mick, including two different sizes of the Duo Tide Minnow SLD-F, and some more Tackle House Feed Shallow lures. These shallow diving minnows have different actions under the water and they can both be lethal at times. I really like ultra-shallow diving minnows for a lot of bass fishing and I also have a problem with lures - many of you are suffering with this addiction, and some of us are going to have to seek help.

• Sunday morning was like a different world - blowing a monster and lashing down with rain, but we managed to get out on the boats for a few hours in amongst the rocks where there was a bit of shelter. There was a real chop on the water and the light levels were very low, so I really fancied a popper might do the trick. It might only have been a small bass, but I nailed one on a Lucky Craft G-Splash popper right over a patch of rough ground. Trevor caught one as well, but we then ran back to port as the wind picked up even more. But within a couple of hours the sun was out and the wind had dropped down - by then though I was having to pack up and head for the airport.

• I simply would not head out bass fishing any more without a lip-grab tool for holding onto the fish. I have not been spiked once this year because I can secure this tool onto the bottom lip of the fish and then keep it nice and relaxed in the water ready for some photos. The fish stays calm and comes to no harm, I get my shots, and then the bass goes back very strongly. I use the highly efficient Berkley Pistol Trigger Grip and it works perfectly every single time. More anglers should carry something like this - bass are spiky as hell, and it makes for far easier unhooking, recovery and then releasing if you can grip the fish safely and securely.

• Here's a shot of the sun going down on the Minquiers from Friday evening - I put my rod and reel against the sky and shot a few frames just before the sun dipped below the horizon. Friday night was something seriously special and I feel so lucky to have visited a place like that. I will never forget that barbecue under the stars. Fishing and visiting wild, out of the way places really gets me going. Too much to do and too little time.

The magic of the Minquiers

• Our brief visit out to the vast Minquiers reef system was one of the most magical things I have ever done in my life. I love heading out to remote places, and to be able to fish these wild waters and then spend the night out there was seriously special. I want to say a huge thanks to the guys concerned before I go any further - it was a blast. The photo above is of some of the huts overlooking the moorings out there at first light this morning. What a view to wake up to, even if you are sharing a room with somebody who snores - no names shall be mentioned, but the clue is that he caught the sun big time yesterday. Check for the red face !! He might have a tackle shop that sells rather nice red rods and bass lures.......

• The fishing was tough, but we saw a few bass and also some nice wrasse on the plugs. Mick and Simon did better on their RIB, and had a fair few bass up to about 4lbs. Below is Steve with one of the fish from yesterday that he took on a dark-backed silver Tackle House Feed Shallow. You can get these killers here. Steve lost a proper bass first thing this morning off the rocks. What awesome looking bass ground, kind of like you would want to show everybody as being completely typical of where bass like to be.

• OK, so it would have been very cool if the fishing had been firing big time, but to be perfectly honest I was just happy to be seeing the Minquiers for the first time. It was a proper adventure, and I can't believe that somewhere like this exists so close to the UK. We arrived yesterday around the high water, and apart from a few big lumps of rock sticking out of the water, it looked fairly innocuous. But when that tide began to ebb, it was simply incredible what was uncovered - acres and acres of vicious rocks, sandbanks, gullies and serious tide tips. When this place fishes for bass it goes off big time. Yes, I will be back of course. Just being back in Jersey has got me seriously going again.

• We fired up a barbecue last night and cooked up a proper feast, and then ate it under the stars with the sound of the sea for company. That is my kind of thing and I loved every single second of the experience. Sometimes a trip is a lot more than just the fishing, and this brief expedition was just that to me. A great bunch of guys, a magical place, perfect light and a few fish to boot. What more can one want ? Any more would just be greed (ok, so a 10lb plus bass would not go amiss).

• Above is a shot of Trevor about to enter the most southerly loo in the UK. Yes, this particular throne is somewhat famous as being the last bastion for a decent evacuation before you hit the French mainland, and I had to get a few photos. Imagine needing to go during a proper winter storm !!

• This is the style of bass fishing around much of Jersey - using small, mobile boats to get in really close to the rocks, gullies, gutters and tide rips, and then casting your plugs right in amongst it all. It is wildly exciting stuff and the gear the guys are using these days is a far cry from many years ago. There are some incredibly talented anglers over here.

• I got the chance to play with a stunning new red rod from Tenryu that is purpose built for boat and kayak fishing with lures. Called the "Top Water", it is about 7' long and is incredibly powerful but eerily light and responsive to fish with. The tip is just stunning for fishing with both surface and sub-surface lures, and it works them with serious ease. Honestly, the efficiency with which you can work lures with this weapon is just staggering. If I was to get into specialist boat fishing for bass in a big way, I would be getting one of these rods straight away. Give Mick a shout here, and ask him about it. Once again, I am blown away by these red rods - everywhere I look I am seeing them over here.

• Here is one of the lures that has been working well for the bass, the Duo Tide Minnow SLD-F. It casts incredibly well, fishes fairly shallow, and has a fantastic, fast wobbling/rocking action. It has a degree of holographic silver colour to the flank which I really like as well. A lot of the Jersey boys have been raving about this lure for a while now. Check here for where you ca get them. I think a few of these might find their way into my lure box for the journey home.

• We met up with some guys out at sea earlier on (it's a small world out here), including Bob who was in Ireland with us a few weeks back, and they had done really well early this morning on the bass close to Jersey, so we are heading back out to fish later this afternoon. I can't get enough of this bassing over here. There is a even a Jersey bass festival in mid-October that is shore fishing only, and it is usually won by a big double figure fish. When I get hold of the details I will post them up here. I know my mate Graham is coming over from Ireland to fish it, and the guys here are ready to take him out for a proper bait collecting session that they assure me will leave him knackered, before they even start fishing for nearly forty eight hours solid !! After a decent karaoke session of course....

So cool to be back in Jersey

• It's been too long since I was last out here, and I am so pleased to be back. Jersey is completely magical, and the fact that the sun came out and the wind died off made it even better. We went out bassing for a few hours around the awesome south east corner as the tide turned, but no photograph can really do this extraordinary place proper justice. Really I need to be above this area in a helicopter to show what goes on when the tide goes out - the amount of ground that is uncovered is just staggering, and of course it is ideal bass country.

• Here's Mick from Mr.Fish banging out a plug on one of these red rods. I got to use the Tenryu Rod Bar 270 yesterday afternoon and it is stunning - both for boat and shore fishing. Everybody I meet around here seems to have these red rods, and they are all raving about them as much as I do. Check here for where you can get them.

• We had a few bass yesterday, including this stunner that I managed to nail very close to one of the millions of rocks that poke their heads out around here. Honestly, as a boat owner you seriously need to know what you are doing on this south east corner - it is some of the scariest but most productive ground to fish. Mistakes around here would prove somewhat damaging to your boat's hull.

• The successful lure for me yesterday was the one and only Tackle House Feed Shallow in the white/siver colour - this thing continues to be seriously bad news for the bass. I spent a large part of yesterday afternoon transfixed by this lure as it wiggled seductively through the water. Yes, I am obsessed !! To get back on the boats and chuck lures into this kind of ground is some of the finest fishing you are ever going to find, and I am over the moon to be back doing it.

• We were fishing from this fantastic RIB that is owned by Mike Tait from Jersey tourism. He also happens to be a fishing junkie like the rest of us, and this morning he is heading over to the coast of France for a holiday with his family - on the RIB of course. How cool is that ? I hope the weather stays good for you.

• Every single bass angler should put Jersey on their "to come and fish" places - and then get yourself down to the south east on the high and then the low tide. I guarantee your jaw will hit the floor !! Mine does every single time. I am staying at this fantastic hotel that actually overlooks this lunar landscape, the Shakespeare, and they are well known for being a really good place for fishermen to stay.

• This morning we are actually heading off the Minquiers, a vast reef system that I have wanted to see for years now, and I am finally getting the chance now. Four of us are heading down in two RIBs, and we are spending the night down there to take advantage of the tides. The Minquiers are uninhabited, but there are a few private houses down there where the owners can simply get away from it all. To say I am excited would be a serious understatement !! Apparently when the tide is out down there, the reef system is larger than mainland Jersey - that is a huge area to fish around, so I had better get on and pack my gear up. The guys I am with love it down there. We should be back sometime tomorrow, so I will post here again when I can.