The Year in Review 2024 – Personal Catches

My Year in Review 2024 – Personal Catches

Welcome to ‘My Year in Review 2024’ in regard to my ‘Personal Catches’ – a year that if you’ve read ‘The Year in Review 2024 – Client Catches’ from my South Devon Bass Guide Ltd website you would have gathered was highly successful.

Time…

First and foremost however, I need to apologise.

When I created my ‘Marc Cowling – Bass Lure Fishing’ sister website to South Devon Bass Guide (where I promote my guiding operation, that has grown to incorporate not just myself, but also my 2nd Guide Joe) it was with the intention to be able to update you on my personal fishing adventures and endeavours more regularly…

However, although I have done a fairly decent job of keeping my ‘Company Website’ updated with our clients’ catches (including the Client Catches 2024 Gallery) I have had to neglect, for want of a better word, writing about and telling the stories behind my own captures. In tandem with running my business and being a family man, my consultancy work with Westin Fishing has had to take priority at times this year – the reasons for which will be revealed very, very soon. For now, lets just say that I am extremely excited…

So, a lack of ‘time’, or rather working out how I can adjust and manage it is something that I have been deliberating of late. I love sitting down and writing about these marvellous catches, and the moments behind them. as I want to do them real justice. The tactics, methods, equipment, and lure types utilised, alongside the types of environments and the conditions in which I have been successful, clearly build a picture that I hope my readers find both interesting, educational, engaging, and, dare I say it, inspiring.

A new ‘Audio File’ format…

Therefore, as I trial of sorts (and who knows, this could eventually morph into a fully fledged Podcast) to support the photographs, links, and video footage herein, I have recorded Audio Files/Clips, where applicable, for this blog post, concentrating on the scenario, conditions, my thought processes, and my methods with certain lure types, plus any patterns of behaviour experienced within each respective month.

Going forward, with one remarkable capture (a bass of 60cm) already under my belt for 2025, following this 2024 Review, I will be recording an Audio Clip per blog post to support the short narrative(s). This appears to me to be an efficient and effective way of posting far more regularly, both in regard to my personal catches on this platform, and the catches that our (Joe and I) clients achieve via the South Devon Bass Guide Ltd website.

You won’t want to miss my next blog post! As it was an extraordinary moment, achieved on a lure type and a method that has got a lot of bass lure anglers talking: creature bait fishing with the Megabass Sleeper Craw – something I cover, at length, via an audio clip at the bottom of this post within the December section…

January first then, which is a rather apt place to begin talking about the creatures, as this is when I realised what a ‘game changer’ they could be…

January

Eye’s well and truly opened

If you have read my 3rd book (Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective Volume 2) then you will know that I pre-empted the success of utilising ‘creature baits’ within my own bass lure fishing, particularly during the colder months of the year, and when there is less ‘salad’ situated on the estuarine subaquatic terrain I frequent with this style of lure.

The slideshow above depicts the catches I achieved in January, including a stunning bass that I landed on a Bait Breath TT Shad whilst fishing with Henry Gilbey (my blog ‘My Lure Choice Explained‘ covers this capture). But to read more about what were, for me, some extraordinary captures on the Sleeper Craw, you can read the blog posts I wrote at the time (‘A Shift in Approach‘ and ‘Adapt and Adopt‘).

February

Toughest in a long time…

To ‘expect’ to catch a bass on lure during February is, lets be honest, pretty unrealistic and somewhat arrogant – but that’s not to say that it isn’t possible… Indeed, in four of the previous five February’s I had landed lots of bass (I connected with two in 2020 but they didn’t stick!) with fish of 55cm and 57cm being my personal bests during what is, undoubtedly, the most difficult period in the year due to the sea temperatures being at their lowest.

So what happened in February 2024? I fished only three times, and I didn’t get a sniff on any of them… It seemed absolutely ‘dead’ out there too, despite fishing in what I would have ordinarily considered as ‘good conditions’. The reality is that the weather was just too damn brutal over such a protracted period.

With, on average, only 6-12 hours between low pressure systems steaming in, I think this just sent the bass packing for deeper water, and not necessarily warmer water climes, as it was a mild month, and the sea retained its warmth to the tune of around 10^oC (which is well within the normal range of overwintering fish in my experience).

To hear all about the continuation of what was officially my ‘winter project’ (visiting the 112 marks I’d earmarked on Google Earth as potential bass marks) between my 2023 and 2024 guiding seasons, you can listen to the audio clip below.

As an aside, it was during this ‘confirmation period’ of what I considered, from scrutinising various aerial maps, photos, etc. that I conceived my ‘Venue Locating Service‘ – a concept that has proved so popular that I am currently clearing a backlog before commencing with the next round of enquiries!

March

Relentless

The wind and rain was just relentless wasn’t it! After having to endure almost 6 months of seemingly endless wind and rain, despite making the most of my time squaring away the final pieces of admin related to my business expansion (and taking up snooker again!) I was ‘itching’ to get out fishing, guiding, and catching! In total however, I fished only six times in March and guided once – I was literally praying it would stop raining!

But with an anticipated early-spring cold spell simply not materialising, based on the previous years’ quality captures (here, here, and here) I was confident there were bass about around mid-March. As ever, it was just a case of attempting to time my moments to be in the right place, at the right time, and hope that the weather Gods played ball, and that the tides and conditions aligned – which they didn’t…

Yep, unfortunately for my very early-season clients (Ben and Tim – who did both catch that day thankfully) the bass above pounced during a re-demonstration of ‘how to retrieve’ the EVOBASS Sabre. They were really happy to see such a fish this early in the year (it’s not unusual at all I’ve come to realise) but it was a bit annoying for me, as I clearly want the clients to catch! You can read all about that session here: ‘Not Really How I Wanted To Commence The Season!‘

April

Open coastal recovery

With our estuaries essentially a mucky mess, as is often the case in April here in south Devon, it is actually the open coast where you begin to pick up what are lean fish, that are presumably returning inshore to spawn.

My 2nd Guide Joe and I fished from a number of beaches that stretch out over some delicious reef systems in darkness, and we were often rewarded for our efforts – the Needlefish lures accounting for most of the bass that, I believe, would have been feeding on cuttlefish or launce at this time of the year.

To listen to a detailed description of ‘how I work’ the Needlefish lures you can click on the audio clip below:

Major Craft Seabass Custom 88ML 6-32g ‘Marc Cowling’ Edition

It was in early-April that I received the ‘completed prototype’ of a project that I had dreamed of fulfilling: to design my ‘perfect’ bass lure fishing rod! You can read the post that I wrote upon its official release (in June 2024) here, in addition to the extremely positive review that Henry Gilbey wrote about what he described as a ‘true all-rounder’ here.

May

Nothing of note for me…

I caught A LOT of small bass in May – which suited me just fine! The reason for this is that May is always a month of experimentation for me, with my/our South Devon Bass Guide Ltd clients in mind. And to be honest, after another slow April (aside from a clients’ 60cm brute on a Patchinko 125 copy here) it was more about finding where they were, and what they would hit more than personal glory. I would have my moment however…

June

The dog has his day!

Yep, I was due a big one! And a big one I most certainly caught! A very well fed 73cm (9lb+) ‘animal’ on a 4″ Sawamura One-Shad – a lure that I landed a 70cm bass on in 2023 you might recall (here). Anyhow, you can watch the video of this beautiful specimen (that I think a seal might have mauled fairly recently by the look of its right flank) below, and then listen to the story of how this magnificent capture came to be by clicking on the audio clip below the video:

Yep, the fishing was now where you’d expect it to be at the start of the summer, with the unbelievably reliable Xorus Patchinko 100 zigzagged along the margins of some of south Devon’s finest waterways being gobbled up on some wonderful warm, still evenings – the type I’d dreaming about for about 9 months! Plus, once the Sun dropped, the equally reliable white Savage Gear Gravity Stick Pulse Tail 100mm was doing the business out over the open coastal reefs. And with our clients now landing bass left, right, and centre, times were good!

July

Much of a muchness

I mentioned in my ‘The Year in Review 2024 – Client Catches‘ post how July was a very odd month, from the perspective that the bass just totally ‘switched off’ in the second half of July. Again, this isn’t unusual, as they can become totally preoccupied with sand eels, sprat, mackerel and scad. And if chasing these prey items involves swimming a mile offshore, then I believe this is what a good percentage of bass within a few miles radius will do…

Maybe consider a boat Marc…? Hmmm, I worked hard towards achieving it in 2024, but for a variety of reasons it’s been placed on the backburner, for now…

July continued were June left off (as you can see in the slideshow above), with the only difference being that a new surface lure appeared on my radar in the diminutive shape of the IMA Pugachevs Cobra. And at 90mm, it sits nicely between the superb IMA Chappy 80 and 100 – meaning one now permanently resides in both my personal and professional lure boxes.

August

‘Popper Season’

I always take a couple of weeks off in August, and a further week or so at the start of September just so that I can spend some quality time with my family. And yes, once I’ve been a good boy, Bertie Bass and I are allowed out to play! Of course, this generally involves either traipsing miles along the cliff tops, or crunching along the gravel and squelching through the mud of the dozens of creeks I frequent, before getting home at a ridiculous hour, and waking everyone up!

No ‘absolute’ monsters were encountered, but I had A LOT of fun gently ‘popping’ the Tackle House Feed Popper 100 and another new lure that featured in my ‘10 Items of Equipment I Recommend from 2024‘ post – the Fishus Lures Ubuntu 70. To discover how I like to utilise these ‘poppers’ you can have a listen to the audio clip below:

September

If it ain’t broke…

With September being one of my favourite months (there, I’ve said it again!), after taking what is a brief sabbatical from the fishing and guiding during the first week, I do tend to cram in quite a lot of guiding over the remaining three weeks. So yes, my personal fishing time can be at a bit of a premium…

With the above in mind, as I was doing pretty well on the ‘poppers’, once I’d properly gotten over a nasty bout of COVID, I decided to just ‘make hay’ with this enthralling technique when I could get out for a flick, whereby I enjoyed some spectacular sport as you can see below:

I just have to tell the story of one of these captures (the largest bass in the collection above incidentally) therefore, to have a listen, you know what to do – just click on the audio clip below:

October/November

Turbo-charged Guiding…

October and November is when my guiding is at its most intense. Normally, I will only guide a maximum of 17 days in each calendar month. But almost inevitably (I’m too nice!), when I sat down and planned the 3 Day Packages, and then built my Guiding Days around them some two years prior, although I realised I was doing a bit more than that I’d have liked, the Moon phases and the tides were just irresistible! So selflessly (I’m joking) I added in a few more guiding dates – and I’m glad I did as we had a ball!

With my consultancy work with Westin now taking a chunk of my time each month also, alongside my guiding commitments (where the ‘turbo’ had been hit!) and looking at my notes, I actually managed to fish eight times in total in October and November. A note to myself – be more selfish Marc!

December

Full Circle

First up, I’ll place what is my largest, lure-caught bass, in daylight, in December, at 68cm – caught on the morning of New Year’s Eve. And would you believe it, it was a surface lure (yep, the Patchinko 100 yet again) that tempted what was one of the most ‘p****d off’ bass I have ever had the pleasure to hook, land, admire, and release (below):

Although I suspect most anglers (apart from those in The Channel Islands!) wouldn’t normally associate using a surface lure deep into winter, as you can see from the clarity to the water, I felt that it was an inspired choice – especially considering the numerous bass I saw swim right past me that morning, but that were getting too good a look at everything else I had in my armoury!

Only a couple of days prior to the beast above, I had witnessed gulls picking what I presume were small fry from off of the crystal-clear surface layers – owing to the very benign weather we experienced here from mid-month until New Year’s Day. Therefore, it really shouldn’t have come as too much if a surprise when I walloped out the bass below, on a surface lure that now fills what was another void for me – the Rapala Walk’ n Roll 10.

Credence with the Creature…

Aside from the two crackers above, my personal fishing adventures in December centred around the utilisation and the continual learning process (in the types of environments I describe in the audio clip a couple of paragraphs below) of essentially one lure – the Megabass Sleeper Craw.

Could I, or would I have caught the same number of winter bass, in these precise locations, in the conditions I encountered during each session, had I used say a paddle tail, hard minnow, metal, or top water lure? Knowing ‘my’ marks like I do, I can say with a very high degree of confidence, that I would not.

My understanding and overall confidence of how, when, and where to utilise what is clearly a very effective lure has grown exponentially within a matter of weeks. And in the audio clip below I reveal as much as I currently ‘know and have experienced’ whist effectively dragging, hopping, and pausing the Sleeper Craws along the gravelly, muddy labyrinths of south Devon’s stunning tidal inlets…

Summary

So a great deal was achieved in 2024. A 73cm bass, the poppers and creatures came to the fore, some new lures entered my lure box, my 2nd Guide did exceptionally well, I’ve grown the business, improved at snooker, drank less wine, and enjoyed having Bertie the Border Terrier as my constant fishing mate immensely. Here’s to 2025 – and if the bass fishing continues as it has started then I’m in for a treat!

Thank you as ever for following what I do. As always, I welcome any feedback, especially in relation to my blog/audio clip hybridisation that, I hope, will see these pages, and that of my South Devon Bass Guide Ltd website being updated far, far more often. Thank you for your patience.

My Books

As revealed a few weeks back, ‘The Lure of The Bass – ‘Revised Edition’ is due for release in April 2025. I will be updating and amending the narrative, images, and graphs of the original book (that has sold upwards of 4000 copies) and bringing it up to date by supplementing the content with a further 100+ pages.

These additional pages will be dedicated to expanding on the chapter depicting night fishing, plus lure fishing within estuaries, how I decipher my notes, and how I plan and coordinate my personal and guided sessions. Please do complete the Contact Form at the bottom of the page if you would like to be added to the Pre-Order or Waiting List.

In the meantime, I will be commissioning another print run of my second title: Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective (Volume 1) in late-January. Therefore, if you would like be added to the waiting please also complete the Contact Form at the bottom of the page.

My 3rd, and most recent publication: Bass Lure Fishing – A Guide’s Perspective (Volume 2) is IN STOCK and available to purchase via the PayPal. Alternatively, if you would like to pay by Bank Transfer please contact my via: marccowlingblf@yahoo.com

NOTE: The price below includes postage and packaging to UK Mainland/IOM/Channel Islands address. Please contact me if you are looking to purchase from an EU/ROI address as I will have to send it by TRACKED mail.