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Posted 11:16, 30 June 2010
- We have not even got close to scratching the surface of the bass fishing potential around the Copper Coast stretch of coastline here in Ireland, but it's a breathtaking place with awesome looking marks almost every single place you pass by. Like above. If that does not scream bass then I don't know what does. A couple of fish came off it, and Trevor had a big fish free itself right at his feet yesterday afternoon. A day left out here and already I can't wait to come back.
- The bass seem to be super-charged around here. When they hit you there's not much choice but to really pile on the pressure and horse them out. Andy's fish above came on a Duo Tide Minnow Surf 135, an awesome lure for using when there is a good degree of chop and life on the water - hugely stable and a proven fish taker. The chance to really use and test a lot of different gear by fishing relentlessly for a number of days on end is just invaluable. Plus of course the time to really learn, learn and keep on learning.
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- It's as if the fish knew I was perched on a rock photographing Andy releasing his bass. Look at the fish over the light coloured rock in amongst all the green weed. Could not have asked for much more !! Always the best bit of the whole experience is watching these magnificent fish swim off unharmed. Gets me every time that we can so enjoy the sport of catching these fish and then make the decision to release them. Taking the odd fish for eating never hurt anybody, but why would any (sport) angler ever want to take
- As much as this bit of coastline is just sublime, Ireland often has some tricks up its sleeve when it comes to bass fishing. Open coast jumping around on rocks is an awesome way to go bass fishing, but over here it is often the case that the estuaries and bays are the holding areas for some really big fish, plus serious numbers at time. Andy and I took a wrong turn the other day and got a bit lost. My fault, but it's easier to blame Andy !! But then he spotted a bunch of anglers out bass fishing. Looks interesting, so the next day we headed out there ourselves. We saw bass to around 10lbs landed, took a couple ourselves, and learnt a whack load into the bargain. My fish shook itself off as I held the leader ready to Boga it, but I reckon it was around 6-8lbs. Awesome stuff. Saw some really big fish bow-waving around, and you would not believe the kind of spot it was. If that was at home I would not think of going bassing there for one second. Went out early this morning and took one off the rocks on my first cast - guess the lure. MZG..........!! Packing up some gear now to head out again on the back tide.
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Posted 08:13, 28 June 2010
- We are catching good numbers of bass now, including a whack load the other day off the top - no big fish, but to get the chance to work surface lures when you know the fish are on and you can experiment is just awesome. This IMA Popkey surface lure is turning out to be a serious killer lure. And then yesterday afternoon/evening it just went off big time. The sea and the fish were just fizzing. Cian took us down some little corner of a beach where we could tuck out out the breeze a bit and minimise the floating weed problems. Just outstanding for photos and the fishing. Above is Andy into a bass - the power of these fish in that fizzing water was just fantastic. If fishing gets more fun than this, then I have yet to see it. We literally bounced back up the cliff with the sheer excitement and buzz of it.
- A couple of mates working together to land the fish. This is what fishing is all about to me - chasing around this coastline, fishing new waters (for us), having a huge amount of fun, learning so much new stuff, and getting to spend some proper time in this wonderful country. As always, the local anglers we are meeting are just so incredibly friendly - so many people are coming up to talk to us and seem so pleased that there is a bunch of Brits who have made the journey over to fish "their" coastline. This stunning Copper Coast is something else. Loving every single second of it. The quality of the bass fishing I am learning and hearing more and more abourt is just staggering.
- The biggest bass yesterday evening went a shade over 6lbs, and most were taken on the MegaBass Zonk 120 Gataride - almost as per usual out here !! Honestly, this lure never ceases to amaze me with the way it cuts through the wind, provides such stability in lively seas, and just plain smashes bass. Granted, the bib might be a weak point, but as in life, it's personal choice as to whether you want to buy and use one. Personally I would never go bass fishing without at least one of them in my lure box. Cian carries lots !! And catches lots and lots of bass around here.......
- There's the lure in question. It just plain works. Best go pack the gear up and head out again. Buzzing. I will tell you how this country never ceases to amaze me - we stopped around a bridge to have a look at some mullet a couple of days ago. There are decent mullet almost every single place you look around here. So we are looking at the mullet. The mullet are not happy for some reason. Really spooked by something. And then along come a bunch of bass. But not just any old bass. A couple of monsters are there. I am talking about fish well over the double figure mark. We can see them plain as day. Bear in mind that this was dead low water in a little pool that had been left by the ebb tide. The kind of place you go looking for mullet. But in Ireland you can see 10lb plus bass swimming around. Honestly, this place is just so special. Nowhere like it.......
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Posted 06:37, 26 June 2010
- We struggled yesterday, but in retrospect we should have not headed out on the open coast where the water is currently really still and clear - but in our defense, we just so wanted to see some of this awesome looking ground around here. And there is miles and miles of it. I even fell in yesterday and just managed to avoid a complete wader-full - the moment I stood on the tiny little rock outcrop, I just knew it was going to give way !! Plenty of fish around in the estuaries etc., but we had to go and have a look......Here's Andy with another nice fish he took off the top on a small Z-Claw. An all time classic surface lure is it not ?
- Not much time right now - time to pack the gear up and head out again. No two days are ever the same over here. One thing we did do yesterday was to go and visit our mate Cian's new "Absolute Fishing" tackle shop in Tramore - what a place. Seriously, the guy has put so much work in to the place to get it stocked and open, and it's hugely impressive. If you are ever remotely close to Tramore, drop in for about the friendliest welcome any tackle shop could provide - he is a bass nut, and he will also do all he can to help put visitors on to fish. If you are lucky and conditions are good, Cian might just extend an offer to come along fishing with him when he heads out, and you just can't beat tagging along with somebody who knows their local area so well. One of the good guys.
- We are playing around with various bits and pieces of new bass fishing kit out here. Some really interesting stuff as well. Not that any of us would ever admit to being hopeless tackle tarts when it comes to the crunch. Time to head out again....
