Bass angling innovator Sam Cox has opened up a brand-new fishery by targeting bass in freshwater on the Norfolk Broads – with staggering results. Here he explains his approach and technique to help you plan your own 2024 freshwater bass campaign in your local river
It is easy for us anglers to get stuck in a rut; our fishing time is precious and often limited to just a few hours. We use tried and tested methods at popular locations. We use sea fishing tackle for targeting fish that live in the sea, and freshwater tackle for fish that live in lakes and rivers. This is understandable; traditionally these methods and locations have produced, and we feel that by following what went before that the odds will be in our favour.
However, if we all followed the crowd nothing would change. Innovation would stop and new locations and methods would not be invented or found.
I am not here to debate the causes of climate change. I can only say that things are changing, and with this us anglers should look at adjusting our outlook at the sport. Things are no longer black and white; fish movements are not set in stone. Nature adapts to changes in climate, and if anglers refuse to adapt too opportunities shall be lost.
In my last article I explained how I had taken an educated punt on there being good numbers of bass in the river systems of the Norfolk Broads, and that it had paid off. This punt has seen me have some truly excellent bass fishing this year – far better than if I had just stuck to targeting bass in saltwater. It does still feel very strange to be catching roach, rudd, perch bream and descent sized bass all from the same swim! I would love for other anglers to take a chance and try to catch bass from rivers in their area. I suspect that given time it would emerge that bass frequent many of the rivers right across the UK.
THE ENVIRONMENT
I can’t say whether these fish have always been there or if this is a recent event, either way they are there. When they arrive and when they leave, I can only speculate as it’s my first season targeting them. I am also limited in finding out quite how far up these rivers the bass travel as I do not want to catch pike in the warmer months, which often can’t survive the stress and lack of oxygen in the water. However, come early October I shall be exploring the middle to upper reaches before the first frosts arrive. The area known as the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads is unique, more akin to the Dutch waterways than any others here in the UK. However, the basic rules still apply: all rivers run into the sea. Therefore, why would bass not run up all our rivers? I am sure that they do to a greater or lesser degree. Obvious reasons to why they would not run u
