Lure V Bait – My 3-Year Verdict

LET’S start with a story about the sort of day Robbie Northman and I have shared perhaps 250 times over the three years that we have been fishing together.

- John Bailey

We recently settled on the idea of a trip to Bay Meadow, one of the loveliest lakes that I have ever fished. I have memories of the water going back over 55 years, no less. Indeed, one mild Christmas Eve in the early 1970s I believe I lost a potential record perch there, and the memory is still painful.

Since then the lake has been hammered by otters and cormorants, but it keeps struggling back. There had been enough rumours of big stripys returning there for Robbie and I to decide to give it a go. As ever, Robbie would be armed with lures and I’d go with bait.

I concentrated around the many fallen trees, giving each sanctuary area about 20 minutes or so. I battered each swim with maggots, fishing a worm under a 2BB waggler. I set the worm a foot overdepth and used no shot on the line, preferring the worm to drift down naturally to the bed. I alternated between dendrobaenas and lobs, and worked hard at my game.

Robbie, as usual, was away like a scalded cat, covering big areas of water. When he is on song, he is good to watch, constantly casting, varying the retrieve and thinking every possibility through. He began to catch perch, nothing huge, but then so did I. I guess it was about honours even when the day stood on its head.

Down the middle of the lake, bold as brass, swam a large dog otter. When it saw me, it had the grace to dive and veer in towards marginal cover. I followed its trail of bubbles down to the outfall where it left the lake, crossed the path and slipped into the neighbouring river. I managed to grab a couple of out-of-focus shots of the animal as it disappeared under a bridge and out of view.

Blast. As expected, when we started fishing again, those perch had disappeared as if by magic. We fished biteless for half an hour and reckoned we were done till dusk.

Never think that wild fish haven’t got otters sussed, because they have.