Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Sweetwater-Impoundments-Brackish » Sling Bag Bassin
Sling Bag Bassin
By Sean Bekkers
The addition of the Tackle Sling Bag to the TT line up is one that I have been waiting for and am very excited about. The bag has been designed with the land-based angler in mind and for me my land-based sessions consist of mostly wading the saltwater flats and bush bashing tight creeks and impoundments when fishing for bass. On a recent bass session, I found the Sling Bag to be compact and comfortable to use, whilst fishing, trekking, and sliding down the banks to gain access to the water.
When looking over the Sling Bag, the first thing that you will likely notice is the two large, zippered pockets on the outside of the larger main compartment. These equal loads of storage space to carry what you need for a session. It also has three ‘D’ ring attachment points that can be used to attach accessories, such as pliers, snips, or in my case a TT Fish Ruler. There is also a separate tool pocket, on the other side of the main pockets, that is awesome for holding my pliers, with its Velcro tab to secure them. Another nice feature on the outside of the Sling Bag is a looped bit of material on the end that is designed to be used as a rod holder when you need to keep your combo up out of the sand and dirt.
The two pockets on the front are big enough to fit a reasonable tackle tray (such as the Small TT Waterproof Tackle Tray) and I found that I really only needed one tackle tray for a session. So, the other could be used for my packets of ZMan soft plastics and it held an impressive 10-15 packets. The main compartment I used for my GoPro stuff, phone, snacks, and extra tackle, including leader, Pro-Cure scent and basically everything else that I needed for a session. So, to the obvious question... how did it stack up on my recent session?
My plan was to head for a land-based bass session, that would consist of bashing through the scrub and fishing from some rather sporting positions. In a nutshell, a lot of the time I would prefer to keep my bag over my shoulder so that I can flick a few casts at some prospective snags and move on, without too much downtime.
It’s fair to say that when fishing for bass in tight country, you’re going to be donating an amount of gear, even if its weedless, meaning leader and presentation changes happen quite often. In the past I would have been trying to hold my rod, swing my backpack off and then with my third and fourth hand, retie my leader and presentation, or alternatively get back to a spot where I had some flat ground where I could place all my gear. Without thinking about it I was able to slide the bag around, place my rod in the rod holder and get to work retying my leader and presentation, without having to move or place my combo in the dirt or scrub.
Now, I can’t write about the new bag without throwing a little fishing in, so here it is. Like all fishing it sometimes takes a little while to figure out exactly what presentation is going to work on the day and this trip was no different. I went through a selection of presentations, until finding that the ZMan 3” Baby GOAT, rigged on a 2/0 TT ChinlockZ jighead, got their attention. Colours wise I did get some interest on a few; however, Pearl was the clear stand out for the session.
Breaking down the structure, I would pick my way around all the snags, conservatively casting close but not close enough to get snagged. This resulted in an occasional hit, however, after a little while, I figured out that I had to send the Baby GOAT hard into the edge, even landing the presentation a little higher on the bank and then letting it drop onto the surface. Once on the edge, being patient and letting the presentation drop, with an occasional twitch, had them climbing all over it.
Even if they missed it the first time, they were more than happy to come back and have another go at it. Pro-Cure wise I opted for Crawfish Super Gel Scent flavour, just to put the finishing touches on the presentation. The bass ranged in size, with the largest going 46cm and all the fish were in great condition.
Rod and reel wise, on this occasion, I opted for a TT Red Belly 7’, 1-3kg spin rod, matched up with an Okuma 1000 size ITX reel, loaded with 6lb Platypus Pulse X8 Braid and 10lb Platypus leader. As you can imagine, tangling with bass in heavy structure on 1-3kg gear is a barrel of fun and rather addictive.
Reflecting on the session, the Sling Bag was the perfect balance of holding enough gear for my session, while being light and comfortable enough not to notice it when casting or fighting a fish. Overall, I’m stoked and am already packed for another session. If you’re into your land-based fishing and want to keep things light, the TT Tackle Sling Bag is definitely worth a look.
Screaming Dragz...
Cheer for reading, Sean