Previous weeks have seen me searching the estuaries while the seas calm, enjoying the sport of shoals of young bass. Here the water is always muddy adapting the lures to suit has produced the bites. The TPE Minnows in clown colour and LT Seekers in copper are great attractors in low visibility. Now, I’m looking forward to walking the miles of sand and shingle beaches in East Anglia, searching for bigger specimens.

A LT Seeker was irritable to this bass

The Line Thru Seeker lures will remain my favourite pattern, perfect for casting long-range, retrieving with a slow steady wind as they swing through the rip. Lures like this, where you can cover lots of water fast are perfect for vast beaches. Once I find some fish, I become more selective switching to the sandeel kit or at times hard lures like the Surf Walker. Keep an eye out for feature to and target those areas. Estuary mouths, piers and groins are among the visible features. Searching GPS maps for submerged feature as well as seeking local knowledge helps to.

Basic bass kit. For estuaries you can have lots of fun with perch tackle making them a great starting point for those looking to have go

Line Thru Seeker and a 20lb Fluorocarbon leader is a great match.

When targeting the beaches, making long casts with heavy lures, I scale up. I use a 9ft 6” 15-42g Salt CCS paired with an Okuma Epixor 30 reel. On the east coast with few snags to lose fish on I keep the braid light 13-15lb is strong enough without compromised casting. A fluorocarbon leader of 4-6ft helps protect the braid from anything abrasive. 20lb is my usual choice.

Give the bass a go this summer it’s great relaxation and exercise. Combining walking and fishing with pure adrenaline when you get that massive take out of the blue.