Fishing for the smaller bass (up to 3lb) from a boat in Langstone Harbour

When you say to someone "we are going out to catch some school bass" they will most likely look at you as if you have just crawled out of somewhere. However, just what do we define as a school bass? Most people seem to think of them as silver anchovy-sized fish which don't fight at all. In actual fact, this term means any bass up to about 3lb. This can be one of the most rewarding types of fishing. To ensure a good time, you really need a rowable dinghy, as most channels are neither deep enough for an engine or wide enough for a large boat. Armed with that knowledge, a very light fly or quiver rod and a handfull of slipper limpets, rag or even better, lug worm (which can be dug from nearby) and you can be in for a good days fishing. The easiest way to do this is to have a look around at low water, and find a suitable channel (you are ideally looking for a wide, deep channel with a slim enterance, as this will make for extremely fast tide run which bass love.) and then mark it with a small bottle tied to a brick or rock. Then, come back at about high water and anchor up around the entrance. Now you are ready to start fishing. ****Beware!- from when the banks begin to uncover to slack water, the tide is extremely strong, making rowing against it virtually impossible, so plan to leave at slack water, or with the tide.*** Fishing for these bass is best done with very light rods (preferrably quiver or carp rods) and leads of about 1-2oz, despite the tide. For best results, use a running ledger with a trace of about 1 or 2ft, witha hook of between size 1/0 and 12, depending on what size fish you are going for. As far as bait goes, it depends on what size fish you are going for, for the small fish, 1 lugworm is plenty, but for the bigger bass, try 3 lugworm, 2 rag or about 15 limpets. Peeler crab is also worth a try for the big ones, as is a very small (anchovy sized) shoal bass as livebait, although pout aren't so effective here.