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Fishing Tackle
Ireland – Kerry : Bass fishing on the historic Kerry coastline
23 April 2009
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I bet that there are countless anglers out there who dream of selling up and moving across some distant stretch water in search of better fishing. For many of us this dream is as far as we are ever going to get; factors such as work and family naturally cause us to settle and put down roots. To follow a dream and move one’s family is a huge upheaval and must take great courage to do. I would therefore like to introduce you to Kevin Brain : a man so in love with the south west of Ireland that he and his family sold up and moved over there to start a new life.
For twenty years the Brain family (wife Christine and two sons, all mad keen anglers) had been making pilgrimages across the Irish sea from south Wales three times a year, to holiday and fish in Kerry, south west Ireland. A week in May, two weeks in July and another week in September, they simply could not get enough of the place. A perfect area for a family holiday; safe, not that expensive to stay, stunning scenery, easy for them to get to, and of course some of the finest shore fishing that exists in Europe. Early on the idea of a new life in the Emerald Isle was forming, but taking that decision to quit one’s everyday life is not the kind of thing you do everyday.
Kevin reckons the real catalyst for making the move was when he lost his job with the closure of the coal mines. Whilst times were seriously tough, in truth he believes that redundancy simply made his mind up to make the break and take the plunge. The family were right behind him, so in the late 90s the Brain family came to Kerry for good; bear in mind that they moved in a November and lived right through their first Irish winter way down west. The stories of violent storms, lashing rain, leaking roofs and broken boilers in their first rented house are now laughed off, but at the time I am sure the odd “what the hell have we done ?” must have passed through their minds !!
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I have this sneaking feeling that they got through those first few months by living for the bass fishing. Like the chosen few, Kevin and his family have stumbled on the fact that south west Ireland’s best bass fishing for big fish comes during the winter months. Why more bass freaks do not visit such places during winter still amazes me; sure, you take a gamble with the weather, and chances are that your waterproofs are going to get a thorough testing, but what price solitude and a potential big bass from a lonely Irish mark ? It all depends on how much you value your fishing, and to sell up and move to be around the kind of fishing you love is the sign of the ultimate angler in love with their sport.
This move also gave Kevin the chance to fulfil another lifelong dream and ambition : to work in sport fishing. He has chosen this fish rich area of Ireland to set up as a full time shore fishing guide and blast-frozen bait producer. Think of your own fishing for a minute and now think of actually taking paying clients out fishing; it takes huge guts, but more importantly it takes great skill, absolute confidence and of course a strong faith in your ability to find fish for people. I reckon that Kevin has chosen the perfect part of the world to work from.
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And before I forget to mention it, Kevin is a very seriously accomplished shore angler. I knew I was on to something from the moment I met him : no boring talk of ridiculous rigs and complicated set-ups. Kevin talked about fishing !! A man firmly on my wavelength. No rig wallets stuffed full of Christmas trees and endless bits and pieces designed to festoon the sea bed. I like to hear about marks, winds, tides, possibilities, back-up marks, those kinds of things, and Kevin was talking my language. His eyes light up when he talks of his local area and the endless fishing that is on offer all year round. Over twenty years of knowledge has given him a quite awesome array of shore fishing for both himself, his family, and of course his clients.
I only wish that there were more people like Kevin out there : going fishing in new areas is such an exciting thing to do, but finding local fishing information can sometimes be a nightmare. We think nothing of paying charter boat fees either home or abroad, and many of us have paid for guiding services in countries such as Namibia, so why not in a place like Ireland ? A vast coastline full of massive fishing opportunities, but with so little time on our holidays to really get to grips with new areas, why not save yourself a huge amount of hassle and pay to fish with somebody who knows the local waters ? Just as the salmon angler works closely with a gillie, wouldn’t it be great if there were more shore fishing guides out there ?
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The actual fishing on offer around Kerry is quite staggering : real rock-edge fishing for wrasse, pollack, mackerel, cod and conger (and who knows what else ?), estuary fishing for thornbacks, huss, stingray and tope, light tackle fishing for some often very obliging mullet, and of course some of the finest bass fishing there is. Light ledger with baits, bang lures over their heads, or even gently cast flies at them, Kerry offers the bass angler all kinds of fishing, in all weathers, all year round. It goes without saying that Kevin Brain is somebody I would class as a bass freak. You know the kind I am on about, the angler whose eyes glaze over at the mention of the spiked jewel, almost frothing at the mouth as they point out various favoured marks (but not all of them !!) and recount cherished captures and importantly, lovingly released fish. Why move to Kerry and not love the bass ?
For a while Kevin really struggled to source a constant supply of quality blast-frozen sandeels and mackerel in this far-flung corner of Ireland, so instead of giving up he set up his own blast-freezing operation. The family nets sandeels, catches fresh mackerel and other such bait species and then rush home to vacuum pack, blast freeze and store in a huge walk-in temperature controlled freezer. Its every angler’s dream, to have a constant supply of high quality bait always on tap at home, and walking into your own freezer to pick what you need is about as good as it gets !! Kevin also supplies a number of shops under the business name of KB Atlantic Baits. In time I am sure that more and more people will become aware of these top class products.
I make this all sound very matter of fact, but if you stand back for a minute and think about this, its mightily impressive. He teaches himself how to net sandeels (how hard is that ?), spends huge amounts of money on freezing facilities, invests more time and effort in learning to trap local peeler crabs for his bass fishing, walks and fishes many miles every year in the never ending quest to learn more and more about this vast coastline, in fact the list goes on. Kevin is just so modest and talks matter-of-factly about his accomplishments as if it was almost destiny, but take it from me, not many of us have what it takes to do what he has done. You can keep all your wizard gizmos that live in rig wallets and get hurled beyond the horizon with no apparent thought. I would rather visit a place as unspoilt as Kerry and hire a guide like Kevin to show me the ropes. Paying a bit of money to gain access to that much knowledge just seems like perfect sense to me.
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I will never forget seeing a couple of visiting anglers setting their stall out on an inviting bit of Kerry strand and then winding up their beachcasters and belting their baits out into the blue yonder. Meanwhile Kevin and I sneaked around the corner to a tiny patch of rough ground that would be almost invisible to the non-local. On to one swivel (yes, one !!) goes a light hooklength to a couple of 2/0 hooks, another bit of line to a 4oz lead, and a tidy offering of local peeler crab. I kid you not when I say that Kevin underarm cast his bait fifteen yards out. Guess who got nailed ?