A perfect day - very nearly ruined.....

• Yesterday was just about the best day I could have had without going fishing - my girls and I went over to north Cornwall to see some friends, and with the stunning weather, we all had a picnic down on the Camel estuary and basically had a blast building sandcastles, collecting shells and walking out on the sand at low tide. Out of the wind and it was really warm, and my sheepdog Jess was happy to chase sea gulls until we had to head home to Plymouth. What an awesome way to spend a Sunday.

• But the rugby on Saturday afternoon came close to completely ruining my weekend - I know the mature me should rise with ease above such an outright disappointment, but to do this took real strength of will. To say that England were awful (once again) is something I hate having to admit, but surely the time has come now to start dropping players who can not stop giving away daft penalties. I would hate to be Danny Care when Martin Johnson gives him hell - and the idiot deserves it, what an insane way to get yellow-carded. "Professional fouls" I can understand when you have no choice but to try and prevent a score, but the penalties we kept on giving away were mad. The only reason the game was so close was because Ronan O'Gara momentarily forgot how to kick at goal. How much longer can I keep on watching the England rugby team do so badly ?

• I heard from a friend over in Ireland that they had a couple of bass at the weekend, including a fish nudging the 5lb mark. These fish came on crab baits, proving once again that if you go to the right areas, bass are a real possibility all year round. I fully expect reports of good lure caught bass fairly soon from over there. They also had a huge flounder and some small sea trout.

• I generally have a fisheye lens in my camera bag, but it rarely gets used. It's the kind of lens to bring out only on the odd occasion, like the shot you can see above - sometimes a shot simply "jumps" at you, and I took this one a few years ago with my friend Graham Hill. Yet again he was smashing decent fish on lures, and with the generally pretty poor light we had that particular day, I was keen on trying something else photography wise to try and emphasise the majestic lines of these fish. The head of a bass always makes a strong impression on me, and getting in really tight with a fisheye allows me to make something of that feature. Personally I really like the shot, but I do have reservations about using fisheye lenses too much......

At least I christened my new rod....

• I had to make a decision this morning - stay here and work, or head out fishing for a few hours. Not a tough one. Flat calm conditions, hardly a breath of wind, overcast, and good water clarity - any breeze there was seemed to be variable at best. Seemed pretty good for a bash with the bass lures and my new Tenyru plugging rod.

• It all felt pretty good when I saw a nice shoal of sandeels moving into a gully just after low water, and I also saw a decent fish jump right out of the water - a sea trout I am presuming, as it was not a bass. I also saw a fish or two down deep which I am sure were pollack. It is amazing how much more you see with polarised sunglasses, even when it is overcast like it was this morning. In my opinion, Maui Jim make the best ones in the world - worth every single penny. They are as vital as a good rod and reel.

• Anyway, about two hours up I finally got hit by a fish, but pretty quickly I could tell it was not a bass, and also that it was hardly about to test the new rod to the max. But at least it was a fish, albeit a small pollack - see the photo above. It went back fine. I carried on for a bit, but saw not a sniff of a bass.

• But my Tenyru rod has at last been christened !! The more I use this rod, the more I am realising just how good it is for our bass fishing - I seriously can not believe how effortlessly it chucks lures out there, indeed I am actually backing off the power in my casting because the rod works more efficiently like that. I stand by everything I said about the rod the other day, check here for that review. The accuracy with which you can deliver lures, and the lack of effort it requires to work them properly makes fishing with it a complete joy. The less tiring it is to work lures properly, the longer you will work them more efficiently. If you are after what I believe is the ultimate bass plugging rod, check here on where to get one (or two or three !!). This one rod has forever changed my opinion on what makes a good plugging rod - and note the word plugging, not spinning. They are two completely different things.

• The lure that caught the pollack was none other than the ever faithful Maria Chase BW in holographic silver. I love watching this thing "swimming" in the water and I feel very confident every time I fish with it. Get these lures here. Now for some bass please.......

• Another top extreme music tip here - get the new Deicide album, Til Death do us Part. For years these guys have been at the forefront of death metal, with various ups and downs along the way, but this new album is a savage classic. I saw these guys live when they toured their first ever album and they ripped big time back then. Good to hear that they have kept the insanity going for all these years !! What an awesome CD to write a fishing feature to.......