Henry Gilbey

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Showing posts for July 2008 - Show all posts

Recent Irish bass trip photos now online

Posted 07:56, 31 July 2008
- I have created a simple online gallery of selected photos from my bass trip over to Ireland a couple of weeks ago - click here or access it over on the right hand side of the main page, along with the Montana, Argentina and other bass photo galleries. We had a fantastic few days in south east Ireland with three lads who came over from Jersey and I am still feeding off the memories at the moment - especially with this rubbish weather we have got at the moment !! What a place.
- I have been reading a bit of rubbish recently about the handling of the bass we catch. Fishing is what it is. A well hooked fish that has been played hard and therefore comes in "green" can be worked for my cameras with no harm done if they are properly looked after - keep them close to the water or a rock pool, don't keep them out for any length of time, and of course do not return them until they are kicking hard. My whole working life revolves around trying to make fishing look good, and I am not about to harm fish to do so. There are too many "experts" out there who have no idea what I do or how I go about doing it.
- I play fish hard so that I can get them in "green" and return them properly - I do not believe that any good is done to a fish by messing around and playing it too gently. Make that rod bend properly and horse the fish in. A "green" fish is a healthy fish.
- So to that end I bought a really useful couple of tools over in the US recently, specifically for my bass fishing. You can see in the photo above that a lip-grabbing device is being to safely hold the fish in the water for unhooking. We all know how spiky bass are, and it is no good trying to wrestle with them and then drop them when they get you in the hand. This device is called a Berkley TEC Pistol Trigger Grip (see here), and I believe that they are available in the UK. If you can't get hold of them, ring up Pure Fishing (0845 0500091) and ask where you can get one. This little tool sits in a neat holster on a belt around your waist, and I never go bassing without it now - no more getting spiked, no more dropping bass, simply "grab" the bottom lip with the Pistol Trigger Grip and get the hooks out. Safer for you, safer for the fish.
- I also got hold of a decent pair of pliers for getting hooks out and for crushing the barbs on all the treble hooks on my lures - and no, I have not lost any bass because of it, but they are so much easier to unhook. The pliers I got were the Berkley TEC 6 inch Power Pliers (see here), and again, I believe you can get them in the UK. They also cut braid and mono very easily. No lure angler should head out without some kind of unhooking aid.
- Note the lethal lure that has just been taken out of the fish's mouth - the Tackle House Feed Shallow, check here for them. Plenty of anglers I know are raving about this shallow diving killer. Patrick has also emailed me from Ireland to say that the 6 inch Slug-Go lures are working really well for him on the bass - he tells me that on a few times the fish have refused the hard lures, but have then grabbed the Slug-Go immediately. I gather that he is really liking the Arkansas Shiner and the Bubblegum Pink colours. Check here for where you can get hold of these lures. More to add to my collection......
- Here is Graham about to return around 9lbs of bass from the other day. Note as always that he is wearing a decent pair of breathable chest waders - to me these are the first thing that any bass angler should put on his shopping list. Plus a good pair of walking legs as well !! The more you walk for this kind of bassing, the more you catch. Now if only the wind would die here I could actually get out of my office and go and smash a few more bass myself. My ever expanding lure collection keeps grinning at me in the corner......
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Awesome new polarised lenses.....

Posted 14:12, 30 July 2008
- I have been using Maui Jim polarised sunglasses for a few years now and I reckon that they are the best ones we can get our hands on. You can't pick them up dirt cheap like you can with lesser brands, but as with so much in fishing, you get exactly what you pay for. I have a few different pairs that I have used and abused all over the world - take it from me, if you are serious about your eye-wear, get hold of these glasses and a whole different world will open up to you. I only wish that they could make all my my fish a bit bigger !!! I can see them better, but why don't Maui Jim make them larger ?
- I do not work for Maui Jim and they do not pay me to use their products - life is too short and fishing is too small for this kind of nonsense to go on, but I am totally behind products that do their job well. I value a decent pair of polarised sunglasses as much as I do a good rod, reel or pair of breathable chest waders. And I have got my hands on a really interesting new pair of Maui Jim glasses that have a brand new lens colour.......
- The glasses that you can see above are the ones I have just got hold of - I tend to use the HCL Bronze lenses for most of my fishing, whether in the UK or abroad, but the lenses above are designed to work especially well in lower light situations. Rather useful considering how rubbish the weather now is here !! Called HT lenses, they look like they are going to do a really good job for me - they really make the greens especially "jump" at you when the sky is overcast, giving everything a real boost. It goes without saying that these new lenses are outstanding at cutting through the glare and allowing you to see into the water. I'll keep using them and will report back here at a later date.
- I know that you can get a good range of Maui Jim glasses at Hart Flyshop, see here for how to get hold of them. I am seeing more and more anglers wearing Maui Jim sunglasses, so it seems as though this brand is really catching on here in the UK.
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Fantastic Irish bass

Posted 07:39, 29 July 2008
Photo courtesy of Matthew Thomas
- This kind of thing really makes my day here in the office - Matthew Thomas emailed me to tell me all about the huge bass you can see above (thanks for letting me use the photo Matthew). Weighing 11lbs 4oz, he caught and returned this magnificent fish around Waterville over on the Kerry coastline in Ireland. To catch and then return a fish like this really deserves huge respect from us all.
- But what has made me so especially pleased is that Matthew told me he had read some of the Sea Angler articles that I have done with his fishing guide over in Ireland, the extremely talented Kevin Brain. After reading those articles, Matthew booked a day with Kevin over in Waterville and this bass of a lifetime was the result. This proves two things to me - that fishing articles do work in putting anglers in touch with good fishing, and that a guide is as invaluable as a decent fishing rod. There are not many guides in our UK and Irish sea fishing worlds, so we need to use them as much as possible and help ensure their future. Well done to Matthew and to Kevin.
- Check here for a feature on what Kevin Brain does over in Ireland, and then contact him here. We filmed a TV programme over in Kerry a couple of years ago, and we would not have got anywhere without the expert help and guidance from Kevin. If you are heading that way, make sure to get in touch with him and I assure you that you will catch a truck load more fish and learn a staggering amount from him. Better still, make a proper trip out of it and fish yourself to a standstill !! Bass, mullet, wrasse, rays, codling, pollack, huss, sea trout and salmon, you name it, Kerry has the lot.
- Once again this shows that Ireland offers the best shore fishing for bass that I know of anywhere, and Kevin catches some awesome fish on bait, lures and fly. Words can not describe how pretty the Kerry coastline is, indeed when I first saw it my jaw hit the floor and remained there until I was on the ferry back home. I must get myself back over there soon..............
- My mate Graham Hill also landed a big bass the other day from that magical south east corner of Ireland - weighing over 10lbs, he also returned the fish successfully. I know he lost his Tackle House Feed Shallow lure to a real crocodile of a fish earlier in the session, so he went and put on one of his old favourites, the jointed Storm Thunderstick. These Tackle House lures are really starting to get noticed by keen bass anglers, and so they should - they slay big time. You can get them here. Well done Graham, I will be back over as soon as I can. Bass fishing is an addiction, as Matthew Thomas tells me !! Give in, it ain't worth trying to fight it.............
- What on earth is going on with bass fishing ? Granted, it has always been hugely popular, but there is an explosion in interest going on, as I have continually alluded to in this blog. Why is this happening ? Is it because so many anglers are fed up with staring at rod tips and are looking for a more "involved" way of fishing ? Is it because there is more and more press on going bass fishing ? Is it because the bass is the one species we have that crosses the fishing divides ? I have never met a fisherman who did not want to try and catch a bass. Whatever the reasons, it is making me think hard about what to do in the future, so watch this space and if I come up with any decent ideas you will be the first to know. Perhaps I should start looking into guided/led trips over to various locations in Ireland, or perhaps even think about bass fishing clinics ? Believe me, I am learning all the time, but I am very conscious that there are a load of other people out there who are hungry for information.
- How can I go this long without telling you about another great metal release ? I first got into the Danish band Raunchy around the time of their "Confusion Bay" CD, and you really need to check out their new album, called "Wasteland Discotheque". Check out a few tracks here. I love this kind of insanely catchy extreme metal that gets deep into your head and beats your brain to a submissive pulp !! Give me more.
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