THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

BASS Dicentrarchus labrax
Bucket List status – result
In my opinion, one of the major reasons why the bass is such an iconic species with anglers is its
physical appearance. Looking every inch the sleek, fast moving predator it is, you cannot fail to be
impressed by its silvery metallic, rough, large scaled body armour, the spiny first dorsal fin which is
separate from the second dorsal fin, and its huge power generating tail.
A fish which requires great care in the handling if it's not to draw blood using these and other anglerunfriendly
features too, particularly around the head and gill cover, with its sharp serrated edges.
In terms of colour, washed over the metallic silver which underpins everything here, the back can be
quite dark, varying in individual fish from almost black through to greyish blue, which quickly fades or
merges into the silver above the lateral line.
On the head this will often extend down around the eye and follow the outline of both the pre-operculum
and operculum (first and second gill cover), sometimes forming a spot or blotch on the gill cover edge.
There can also be a hint of yellow on the otherwise white underparts.
In terms of tactical approach, the bass is without equal in being arguably the most versatile fish in our
home waters, which very likely lies at the heart of its being described as 'the anglers fish'. A quarry
which in theory at least can be caught regardless of how you choose to fish.
A definition which on the one hand has widened over recent times as fly fishing and new approaches to
lure fishing have come in to play, while on the other, it has also narrowed, as population numbers have
become so critically low that even the dinosaurial head burying fisheries ministers of the European
Union are now seriously starting to look at taking last gasp protective action.
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