New MegaBass 120X SW

Ok so I have said many times that Megbass are one of my favourite companies, they make absolute quality lures and the 120x SW is no exception. I fished this lure for the first time just before the Bass ban and had a fish third chuck. I fish this type of lure on a lighter rod with a more sensitive tip as it allows the lure to work properly, heavy rods will kill the action of a subtle lure like this. It is 120m long and weighs around 14g which on 16lb braid and a light medium action rod goes like a bullet and gets you plenty of distance. It has a lovely action and generally this style of minnow similar in shape and size to our sand eel is one I really like. On the whole I think it is definitely worth getting your hands on because this lure catches fish. It comes in a nice range of colours my favourites are the lure pictured and the emerald green version a colour I have found very effective for Bass. Just a quick review of a lure I think is worthy of any ones tackle box.

Catch and Release

So whilst there is no fishing happening here at the momnet I have an opportunity to take a look at some of the developments in modern lure fishing that not just benefit the fisherman but the fish. Catch and release is ever increasing in popularity and I practice this policy as a rule. Don't get me wrong if a client wants to take a fish that is their own business, but I encourage people to put the big ones back, why? Because practically they don't eat well, they are the heavy spawning fish, they are the future of Irish Bass stocks. Some of these big fish are twenty five years old, I am always struck by that when I handle them, it is like a sense of awe at how long they have been in the sea. I cant help but wonder how many ledgered crab baits they have turned down?

So how do we ensure that the fish we catch are kept in the best condition, landed safely and returned safely. So the must have tool for this job is a boga grip, the original boga can be a bit cumbersome but Berkly have brought out a much lighter easier trigger grip that clips onto your jacket bag etc. These are really useful to protect both you and the fish as we all know how much armour these lads are carrying. Remember always place a hand under fish that you are holding with a boga to support them, try not to just dangle them off the boga as this can stress and damage fish unnecessarily. They are also a very useful tool when it comes to taking some pictures of your fish. I would advise anyone serious about their bassing to buy a digital camera and start to take some pics, there is so much out there worth taking pics of.

A handy trick on the rocks is don't tighten too far down into the fish once you have it close to the rocks. Pull off a bit of line from the reel and lift the rod tip over your head to draw the fish in then use your boga. on rougher days use the waves to help you land your fish and try to be careful about damage on the rocks, always keep an eye on where the trebles are. Once you have taken your pics put the fish back in the water and hold him till he recovers gently pulling water through his gills to re-oxygenate him. Once you feel him kick release the boga and off he goes. A trick I use is when the fish is ready to go, I focus my digital on him and am ready to take a pic on the moment of release you can get some lovely pics this way of fish turning in the water. This is all obviously easier if you are fishing with someone but can also be easily managed by one.

The most satisfying part of all this for me is seeing these beautiful cretures returned unharmed to the sea.

Waterford & Wexford Bass Fishing

The guiding service will cover grounds from wexford to west waterford, this is some of the most stunning and productive coast that Ireland has to offer. The ground is varied and will suit everyone from the novice to the more experienced angler. There is a range of fishing available at our door step, from estuary marks with ripping tide, to deep water rock marks, to shallow reef fishing, salt water lagoons, to classic surf beaches and finally the productive shallow rough ground fishing in west waterford. The guiding service will be fully insured and tailored to meet your needs, those who seek adventure and big seas can tackle some of the classic rock marks in south wexford and west waterford. Those after the fish of a life time can explore some of the estuaries and lagoons that hold some real crackers of fish if you know where to find them. Modern lure fishing is the method of choice the service will offer up to date information on whats new and exciting in lure fishing, from the most successful lures and methods to some of the more off beat plastic fishing that is growing in popularity. I can not begin to tell you just how good the fishing in this part of the world can be, it is possible to fish right through the tide as long as the tide is running if condition are right their are marks that will produce fish. These are all with in reasonable distance of one another and have varying degrees of ease of access that will suit the different types of angler.

Personally I love summer rock fishing, not because I catch more fish but simply because it sums up for me what bass fishing is all about. Traveling light across the rocks usually in a remote spot with nothing but your thoughts and the gannets dive bombing the water. This is always a special experience for me, that sense of excitement in the early morning before the light comes in as you gear up at the back of the van and thoughts on weather, wind, lures and tactics are exchanged. The trek across the fields, optimism is high, a start point is decided and down you drop over stunning cliffs to the waters edge to watch the sun rise as you make your first cast. I wish I could bottle the feeling, I would be a wealthy man and the world a better place.

Tactics for this type of fishing obviously vary to suit conditions, but one simple rule of thumb is keep moving and keep casting to likely looking spots. Remember that bass love cover in which to hide as they lay in ambush of their prey. Off shore reef, underwater boulders, white water around islands etc are all excellent bass holding features. Cast at these and around them, fish hard work your plugs and experiment until you find one the bass want. Remember try to match the hatch so think about what the bass are here for and find a plug that resembles that food source. For example west waterford is loaded with mackrel so you will find in my box lures that match these in size and colour like the tide minnow surf 135. In the late summer really big sand eel show up know as Launce so I make sure to have tide minnow 175 in a sand eel pattern. Don't panic I will post pics of all these lures over the coming weeks and details of how to tackle them.

Optimum conditions are not always easy to come by particularly early in the season, but as the summer progresses things tend to improve. The big issues are water clarity, wind direction, temperature and food supply. Bass are not always at a mark just because you caught them there once, their movements are influenced by all the above factors to mention but a few. So my favourite condition are a moderate southerly/southwesterly breeze, that puts good lift on the water combined with high pressure. These conditions just seem to switch both the bait and therefore the bass on. They also lend themselves to exciting fishing, with decent waves hitting the rocks around you as you cast to feeding bass. My favourite time of day is an ebbing tide early in the morning with the turn coming before the sun gets up, so in the summer that means a really early start. Next we will have a more in depth look at rock fishing, with tips on types of lures, kit and tactics on choosing your mark.

Holiday Advice

So you are into plugging for Bass, been buying tackle on line, checking blogs, wsf and all the other killer sites for the modern lure nut and now starting to think a bass Holiday might e a good idea. Where to next? If you are thinking of a purpose fishing Holiday then there are a couple of main considerations to take into account. One is time of year, is this a productive time of year to try and catch your quarry. Two and most importantly is the state of tide, plan your trip around a good tide. Seek local advice, tide tables etc. Sure a day out fishing on the off chance is great but if you are going to spend some money and have a Holiday that is focused on fishing then do the ground work. I can tell you that I only ever see my good Friend Henry Gilbey around the really good tides, I am actually starting to think the man has an in built lunar clock that draws him to our shores.. Time of year is important book around what suits you, if you love top water then book the summer, if you are after a really big fish then book a bit later in the year, then again this is Ireland and you just never know when a double is going to give you a bang! Don't be shy to drop me a mail and ask a few questions even if you are not booking with me I might help with tides etc. So think before you book! Having said all that if you do find yourself in Ireland on the off chance and the tide is small don't loose hope look through my blog and you will a stinker of a fish caught on a neep tide, the fishing will not be as frantic but there are always one or two about and who knows how big they will be!!! That's why they call it fishing!!!

More On Plastics

Ok the time is getting near when these baits will come into their own, these odd little bits of plastic have the potential to fish their socks off. Again confidence can be an issue to those new to modern bass fishing, they put them on fish them for a bit take em off again and back in the box they go. Persevere fish on, have confidence these baits are killer! I have so much confidence in them that I am sure i will be able to catch a smooth hound on one! They are killer for wrasse so why not hounds! It's certainly worth a shot and I will keep ye posted. So back to palstics, take a look at these baits in the water they are incredibly realistic, i have to say my favourite is the megabass x layer, this is just an exceptional lure. It has consistently caught bass for me and in the right circumstances can be killer.

There is no doubt that are friends in France are at the forefront of plastic fishing they have developed all the really decent kit for European bass plastics. So with this type of lure once again the angler is very much in charge of the lure, how you retrieve etc controls how the lure performs. So again think about your fishing, have you ever watched sand eel as they swim around! As they burrow into the sand! This is what you are trying to simulate. So how is this achieved well there are a variety of ways to get these lures working for you. Keep the rod tip up and jig fish these lures back towards you, make the action somewhat erratic, don't just cast and retrieve. Another trick can be to let these lures bump on the bottom, the puff of sand sent up is of interest to bass the home in on it as that is what happens when their food buries itself to hide! So a bit like fly fishing for trout we are trying to think about and then mimic the fishes food source. As for led heads the heads i like best at the moment are the ones pictured, they are fixed heads with a pointed top which means the plastic sits up on the bottom! Put one in a sink and check out what I am talking about!

Bass Ban!

So this year is proving to be a bit easier than last year, mostly due to the fact that I am so busy trying to sort out my first order for the new business, staying in touch on line etc. looking through lists of lures trying to sort out what is really worth getting in, I have discovered that just because i like it doesn't mean that others will! I like some pretty weird lures! I have my eye on one really strange lure, ye would think I am mad but people said that about the x layer! In fact I remember certain people laughing out load at x layers so don't knock it till you try it lads! But i am keeping that one secret till I know it works then Ill fill ye in. the first rods I am getting in are the bar 270 and supermix 240, i just think these are by far the best suited to our current style of fishing and will be the most popular, but if anyone is looking for anything different then drop me a line and ill sort it out for you. Lures wise I am looking at a good range of tide minnows, lots of megabasss (my fav Company), xorus, zip baits, zenith patchinkos and of course the feeds series from tackle house! loads of led heads and plastics as well! so exciting times and lots of hard work but really well worth it! If you are unfamiliar with this kit check it out here it is the way forward for modern bass fishing.

http://www.ultimate-fishing.fr/index.php?option=com_flippingbook&view=book&id=2&Itemid=53

Shallow Runners

So having had a look at some of the different styles of topwater lures lets get a bit deeper! About six inches deeper to be precise and look at the shallow lures! To be honest the majority of my big bass on hard lures come on this type of lure, now I'm not saying that's the only way to catch and it may in fact just reflect the fact that I like to fish with this type of lure, but there is no doubt that modern shallow lures are incredibly effective for bass. So what I really like about this type of fishing is the buzz it gives me when the bass are about, you know the fish are there and it is just a matter of time as you crank these puppies home till a fish hits it. Again I have confidence in this type of lure so they are a pleasure to use and the excitement is real. Again these lures vary in action, depth and colour. So which is the best one to use? Well my experience is that at different times different lures will out fish each other, mostly based on the match the hatch principle. Sand eel for example a mainstay of the bass diet, get some shallow runners that do a good job of imitation, the tide minnow 120 slim or similar or the megabass(i can't say enough good stuff about this company) 120 sw pictured above in red/pink. Sea Trout, the tide minnow 90s pictured above in white shiner a favourite colour of mine. Seed Mullet another bass favourite, the feed shallow. So how to fish these lures, well a lot of these are just cast and retrieve type lures, there is action is best on a straight retrieve. I do tend to crank some of these at a good speed especially when summer fishing, it also means you get some dramatic takes, particularly on the feed shallow etc as the fish come up to hit the lure. a lot of this info is basic and aimed at the novice lure angler so I hope it is proving helpful. Feel free to post commets about your favourite shallow lurse or anything else you might want to know. Remember fish with your head, if you think about your fishing then you will do better and catch more fish.

Surface Lures Walk The Dog.

Continuing our look at summer surface lures we can take some time to look at more conventional style lure than the previous hybrid type lure. Some of the original style of walk the dog lure whilst being very effective took a lot of effort to work across the surface of the water like the lucky craft sammy. The more modern lures pictured, the xorus asturie 110 and the megabass dog X, have a much easier action and are easier on the angler who intends surface fishing for extended periods of time. Of the two my personal favourite is the asturie, I just really like the way it walks across the surface it has quite a wide action and I think this really turns bass on. It can also be worked fast over flowing tide and has a skip across the surface type action imparted by it's stream lined body. The dog x is a more traditional walk the dog lure. The action for these lures is in the wrist, you almost draw small sharp circles with the tip of the rod, this will get the lure working from side to side in a zig zag motion. Again just like the hybrids mix it up, don't just cast and walk it back, cast walk, pause, walk again, pause speed up slow down, make the lure look like a wounded panicked fish. If you vary your retrieve like this and fish hard, cast tight to any reef tat may be off the mark you are fish, work your surface lure tight to the structure and watch your result improve. Like all summer rock fishing keep moving, do not just find a perch and presume fish will turn up. Cover as much water as you can and you will cover more fish. Finally for lagoon and estuary fishermen, if you have ever watched mullet in the margins then chances are they are not all mullet. I have on several occasions put a small surface lure in the 10-14 g range, like the smaller dog x and bam swirl fish on! Don't just fish with your arms, fish with your eyes and your head!

Surface Lures! Hybrids! WALK & POP.

So when the Bass Ban finishes it will be well time to give the bass a go on the surface. What I love about this type of fishing is that it is sight fishing, you watch the lure on the surface and actually see the fish take it! At times it may also be possible to cast a lure to fish you have spotted! Some people will be very experienced at this type of fishing others may not, so for those less experienced here are a few tips to help get you started! First off yes it does work, I know when I started this type of fishing I really wondered weather it would work or not and my confidence was down, so have faith and persevere. Next is working the lure, some lures like the patchinko above have their own action which is a pop and walk, hybrid kind of action. But don't just cast and retrieve, impart some action to the lure, pause, speed up slow down. Play around a bit and find a pattern that works for you and gives you confidence. Use the rod tip to work these lures and remember the action is in your wrist not jerking the rod! It's almost like beating an egg! Very important if you get a boil behind your lure don't panic, stop the lure let it sit then twitch, often times the fish is still below the lure watching it and will come again and hit it! Always make sure the drag on your reel is set so that once hooked up you don't have to mess about! The lure above is one of my favourites and has caught me many fish. It casts like a bullet and has a smashing action, it walks, pops and almost slides. I really like this lure in calm to moderate conditions, when there is a lot of lift on a prefer the austurie which I will post during the week.

Summer Plastic fishing

Pictured are the megabass hazeldong and xlayer on a decoy nail bomb head! To rig them turn the plastic upside down and pierce the hook through the back of the head then run the plastic down to the tip. Then measure the plastic against the hook keeping your thumb where the hook needs to go through. Then simply push the hook all the way through the plastic and it should be straight! What you end up with is a plastic bait mounted on a texposer head with the shank of the hook running along the edge of the plastic as picture. This can be rigged weedless by piercing the tip of the hook inside the plastic bait! These are incredibly effective on a really light rod, it is summer finesse fishing at its best. you then twitch these through the current and will be amazed at how life like they look! I have yet to try these for sea trout but I am sure they will work, they are a killer for bass! The exact same procedure can be used to rig x-layers.. The texposer hook just offers you another way to present your plastic bait..

Another Nice Fish

Had to wait to get my hands on the pics of this wee fish! well he ain't that wee at all! fish was taken on a tide minnow 90s in white shiner... one of my favourite tide minnows no matter what stage of the season. The action on these lures is exceptional and I think the bass tune in because they are very similar to small sea trout which are a main stay in the bass diet! I will have these in stock very shortly so give me a shout if interested. The bass was taken on a neep tide believe it or not right on the low water just as the light in the middle of April. Didn't weigh or Measure fish cause he was tuckerd out and wanted to get him straight back in the water but you can see he was packing a bit of weight to him!

Photo Bucket

So here is a photo bucket put together by my good friend and fellow bass addict Henry Gilbey. It is shot three or four different days that we fished together and I hope give you some idea of the potential there is for pluggin bass in Irish waters. If you are interested in a days fishing please get in touch as my calender is starting to fill and a lot of the good tides are getting snapped up. My phone number and e mail are both available on the blog leave a message and I will get straight back to you... Just click the title of this post and you are straight in Enjoy!

Bass Guiding...

I will also be setting up a guiding business that will cover some of the finest bass grounds Ireland has to offer. I will link a photo bucket shortly so you can check out a couple of days that I fished with Henry Gilbey and see how we got on. The service will not just be about putting you on a mark and letting you fish away, the idea will be to give you skills should you need them that you can transfer onto your own stomping ground. I am a lover of quality bass tackle there is no doubt but if you don't know where the fish are and why they are there then you can have all the fancy tackle in the world and it will make no difference. The water craft element to the guiding will cover topics like tide, moon phase, food sources and appropriate lures to match these. It is important to think about your fishing, be tactical and watch your catch rate go through the roof. there will also be instruction on soft plastic fishing, how to really work soft baits to there maximum potential and what kit you will need for this. On the lighter side this service really will cover some majic ground that at times is just loaded with bass, with plenty of big fish and there is always the chance at a double.. Again the full details of this service will be listed on the new web site so watch this space but in the mean time do not hesitate to give me a ring and check out soem dates!

Ultimate Fishing

So I am nearly ready to get the ball rolling on the new business. The lures and rods are coming from a company I am sure some of you know well called ultimate fishing. This company was developed in France and of particular interest to Irish anglers because they supply lures and rods that are designed with bass anglers in mind. The lure range is exceptional, covering some of the biggest names in lure production such as Megabass, Duo (TideMInnows), Xorus, and Tackle House to name but a few. The Rods are the red One's from Tenyru, I personally fish with this kit and find it second to none, a bit like pringles once you pop you just can't stop. So all going well within a couple of weeks I will have my first order on Irish shores just in time for the end of the bass ban. Over the next couple of weeks I will regularly review some of the tackle that will be available and give you my views as to why this kit will improve both the quality of your fishing experience and your catch rate! My contact details are in my profile where you will find my phone number and e mail, feel free to get in touch to discuss any tackle you might wish to order! A web site will be coming very shortly that will give viewers access too detailed high res pics and descriptions of the lures and rods etc! So keep your eyes peeled for "the lure store"!!!

Catch and Release

As always here is one of fish being returned. All fish today where returned to live and fight another day!

Another nice wee fish!

Bass Today.

Have been out and about over the last few days checking out some of my marks etc and have seen numbers of fish but the water is just not right. There is still quite a bit of murk in the water and quite a bit of weed about. So given that I decided to give it a go on teh crab and had some success taking five fish in an hour. So the fish are there it's just that the water is not right so they become very difficult to catch. I definetly found a really interesting new mark today but it will be some time before the water has cleared enough to make it worth fishing.

The Best Bit

The best bit is seeing fine healthy fish returned to live and fight another day!

Hard Fishing

Well hopes where high for this last tide but unfortunetly the weather gods had other ideas. There was a big drop in temperature and a south westerly gale that kicked up a lot of weed. One of my winter marks is now becoming unfishable and it is time to move onto summer marks but unfortunetly the weather kept us off those marks this morning. We had an early start arriving at our chosen mark at six with a long walk ahead of us. Plenty of coffee was had on the drive so we where ready for business. When we got on the mark it was obvious that fishing was going to be difficult, weed and water clarity did nothing for our confidence. Cian however did not let the side down and managed to winkle out the fish pictured. Well done Bro! The driving rain and cold came just after the fish and it was time to head for home and bacon butties! The fish was taken on an xlayer AYU!

The Weather Gods.

If you want to give god a good laugh tell him your plans! Mine was to fish my socks off this weekend and try and get started with some more ground work putting my new guiding business together. Well it's a force eight out there at the minute with fifteen footers rolling into the mouth of the river! I don't think they have made the plug yet that will handel these conditions. So god must be having a right good chuckle at my plans right now. So its over to plan B, up to wexford and empty the traps of crab and see if we can find a quiet corner where there are a few bass. The fish are there in numbers on this tide, reports of a lot of birds working on one of my marks and a couple of lads from Co.Down managed a 72cm fish on a mark I gave them so well done chaps. They probably hit the last window to lure fish for a few days. It did this last year, the frony half of the season was terrible weather wise but onceit came right we had soem awesome fishing. I spoke to my good friend and fellow bass nut Henry Gilbey and he is outting together a photo bucket of last years bassing. This is msotly from the summer and autunm when we had some truly awesome fishing. So ill will keep ye all posted on how we do this weekend, secretly Im holding out the hope that by monday there may be a chance at some fish on the lures..

Coming tide.

Expect to get some quality bassing this weekend, the tide is a good one and the weather forecast is im out favour. But won't count my chickens as the weather this year has been poor, it feels like we had no spring and are just going straight into summer, so fingers crossed. Has a great day today with all the fish takinga blue taz devil which is a good little lure, also managed one on teh little pink shad from a previous post I had a feeling it would work.

Day On The Shad.

I spent the day with a mate of mine paul chasing shad on the river barrow. These fish are great fun to catch. They are a herring species and look a bit like a miniture tarpon. A really big fish comes in at three pounds but if you use the right tackle they are great fun and put on a big display. They aroun dthe river and jump often. You will loose as many fish as you land, their mouths are very hard and when they jump they throw the hook. Overall a good day out. I hooked about twenty fish and landed about that number.

I'll Be Home In A minute Love!

Note the concentration on these lads faces at thought of hooking into a decent Bass! NOT! Small tides I think they zap everyone's confidence. Roll on next week and lets all say a prayer to the weathet gods!

Getting The Hump!

Getting the hump with these small tides. Fishing becomes very tight but our friend here did not seem to mind he always has teh hump no matter what the fishing is like!! Not really what you expect to bump into on your way out fishing in south east Ireland but they said global warming was an issue and now I believe them!! So no joy yesterday, not a big surprise really although I thought we might get one between us. Of wrassing today on the lures. We have missed the rise but the drop should fish ok and the soft plastics do the trick. I will post some pics of tackle and fish later with any LUCK!

Not A Sausage

Here is one of may mate paul out with me yesterday cahsing a few fish in fairly difficult conditions. Once down on the water it was obvious that fsih would be hard to find. The water was milky which I have to tell ye does not inspier confidence. We spent most of the day checking a few marks and taking some pics. Off again today on the grounds that the wind has dropped and chances are the water will have cleared up enough for us to have a go! Will keep ye posted! By next thursday things here should really be hotting up, we have a big tide and warmish weather! And then it's the ban! Ahhhhhhhh!

Rain, Rain and More Rain.

Due to fish a rock mark this morning but due to weather conditions we have called it off. Early season the last couple of years has been the same with the weather very slow to pick up! The forecast for the afternoon is much better so fingers crossed the water has stayed clear (it should in a southerly) and off we go!