Honour Satisfied

Went out for an hour today in the wind and rain, brought the injection but it was no day for it so stuck it out with the 270. Now every bone in my body said fish deep so I put on the feed popper, what is that about! I fished for about an hour and at that stage new well that they would not come up top! So on with a plastic and bang hit by this little beauty that tipped the scales on the new boga at exactly four pounds. Reckon I could have had a few more but at that stage i was wet cold and honour had been satisfied. Plus there was the promise of a big fat juicy rib eye (cheers lads best staek in ages), so good luck to the fishing and off for a feed.

The plastic sticking out his mouth is just new in and they are deadly so give me a shout if interested.

Joe From Devon

Hi Joe I just missed your call and my phone did not pick up your number so this seemed like the logical way to get a hold of you. Either try me again on the mobile or drop me an e mail. patrickgallagher73@gmail.com type it in though dont copy and paste cause it wont work.. Cheers man sorry I missed you..

Plugging Rods

New rods on the way. These are a more affordable plugging rod, yet still retain the fast action that is required to deal with modern plugging tactics. Give me a shout for details on these, but i have to tell you whilst being kind on the pocket these beauties are no light weights, I have fished them hard and am really impressed with how they preform, in fact so impressed I have bought them in for my customers who travel without their own kit. I know I am being a bit secretive not posting pictures etc bit give me a shout on 087 7403445 and I will fill you in. I am not sure of the exact price of these yet as I am waiting for confirmation on shipping charges but they are somewhere around 150-160 euro. I recently sold one of these rods to an angler in Waterford who fishes some demanding ground and i know he is delighted with his and that it has handled some really decent fish for him.

The Big Hand

The big hand says "buy a tenyru." Even if you don't catch fish if you buy enough you can always build a tee pee at the back of the jeep and camp out.

On a slightly more serious note I have got the injection in stock,(pictured above with black but section)my god what a serious piece of kit. I know that in certain circles men would be seen laughing if you suggested you where going to land a bass on this rod, but then again these are the same people that brought you 6oz grip leads heavy beach casters and hours of "yeah I'm pretty sure I have a fish on or maybe or is it?"

I know these are some what of a luxury but if you are serious about your plastic fishing then this is the Rod for you, you will feel if a bass farts next to your plastic, matched with a 3000 size Shimano or Daiwa this is going to balance perfectly. 15lb power shot braid which I have to say I reckon is the mutts and you will be so in touch with your plastics that the odds are seriously stacked in your favour. At last i have the right kit to really prove the deadly potential of plastic fishing. Fish wont find it so easy to suck it in and spit it out on me anymore, there is no doubt that when plastic fishing the takes can be very gentle and fish are missed, well I reckon a large portion of that is about to go out the window. I also got a call from my good friend Michelle (a plastic nut) who is back in France, to say he has sent me a parcel via secret squirrel mail service and I have feeling it may just be full of some of the lovely bits of rubber i saw him playing with whilst over here for three weeks. Quality timing Michelle, trust the French to pull it out of the bag at just the right time! Happy Days!

If you are interested in one of these rods give me a shout and ill arrange for you to get a gander at one.

Personal Best

Here is David's fish taken on a mark I showed him in Waterford. As you can see the fish was taken on a tide minnow 145 sld an absolute cracking jerk bait I know I never leave home without one. Well done David on a smashing fish in less than perfect conditions.

Sept &Oct Guiding

Lads the fishing is about to start getting really good so if you are thinking about booking days wih me then I encourage you to get in touch, really truly the fun starts here, so don't miss the boat give me a shout and get the best tides available.

Patrick

Two Cracking Sessions

The fishing over the last couple of days has been great. Things just work out well sometimes and you have to roll with it, so roll on I say.

My guys have had two personal bests over the lats two trips and I have to say im just delighted.

We had some serious top water action tonight on the feed popper, this is a beast of a lure that will handel some really rough conditions. On our way out fishing we bumped into another angler who was heading home. He looked at us with that "look at these two gobshites kind of a look" and said "it's too windy ye may go home." Fair play I thought, take it handy and good luck to ye.

On we went bit of a trex to this mark but when we got there I knew we had a shot at them. Sure it was blowing and raining but it looked pretty good, water was clear and it was warm.

I missed one on the yellow patchinko and just thought fish would find it hard to have the lure in such rough conditions. So bit a sift through the box produced the feed in chartruse and silver, an animal of a lure. Up she went out she went pop pop pop, bang, fish on! We only had the one so I gave mine to Pat, "no he said I can't" "go on" said I "ye will I insist", three casts later fish on, funny he didn't try to give it back to me after that!!!! Well what a popper the feed is truly awesome. in total Pat had three on the top and missed a few, best of all he took his personal best at 6.5lb, well P a great nights fishing for your first really serious bash at the top water. A true gent a plaesure to fish with.

Packing up then to head home I recieved a call from David who i fished with last night to say he had returned to the same mark and nailed his personal best bass, it just don't get much better than this. Well done to both the lads, two gentlemen that it has been a pleaseure to fish with.

Proper Fishing

So we fished last night, over some incredibly rough ground, in what can only be described as perfect conditions. Sometimes as i am sure you all know it just feels right, we had a nice sw breeze, warm air, clear water and the juices start to flow. The tide was not a big one but that was not a big concern as the three most important boxes had been ticked, conditions, conditions, conditions.

David opened things up, I was just explaining why a bass might hold in a certain spot and showing David where and why, when a very obliging fish nailed his lure. Sometimes things go your way and it actually looks like you know what you are talking about! We fished on for a bit talking lures, techniques etc. Then time for a move.

The next spot is my favourite on the mark, extremely rough, full of boulders with a good rip of tide running through it. David had a follow, then hooked a fish at his feet. Quickly it was obvious this was no small fish, after a short battle David was broken off by what he reckons was his personal best. Well he knows where she lives so he can come calling again. All in all a really good evenings fishing with some really nice black backed Bass being caught over lovely terrain.

I know i will be back for another go this evening and I am pretty sure David will be a regular visitor to this mark until he hooks up with that fish or her big sister! I will post some pics later unfortunately I forgot my camera but I am sure David will e mail me on a coule of pics.

Sea Trout

Take a look at these stunning little lures from megabass the sw beat gg akakin and the baycat. The bay cay is the smaller of the two pictured just above, it is just 68mm long but weighs 6.5 grams, basically this equals castability. I am about to give these two a serious going over in the hunt for big sea trout. Unfortunately I have had little time this year to devote to these beautiful fish but tonight that is about to change, the weather is good, winds light, small tide and so hopes are high. I love these fish, i love that they do your head in, they are by no means easy to hook and once you hook them they are even more difficult to land. If you loose the cool for one second (incredibly hard not to if you hook a decent trout) then they are gone.

The sw beat is another little cracker, it measures jut 80mm and weighs 11.5g, again castibility, it has an interesting scoop taken out of the lip which alters the action and makes it more erratic. I have no doubt that both these lures will catch bass also, in fat at this time of year when the water can be full of fry and the bass get preoccupied with scooping up mouth fulls I reckon these two will come into their own.

The top picture gives you some idea as to why i work my ass off all the time, trying to stay on top of what is hot and what is not in lure fishing takes more work than you might think. There is however a definite up turn in the numbers of Irish guys getting involved, interested, and hooked on lure fishing. I say "good stuff" the more the merrier, anglers could not do in a season indeed five seasons the damage done by netters in a week. The more responsible anglers and I don't use that word lightly, the better as their presence makes it increasingly hard for illegal fishing to take place.

Note the healthy living! Coffe, Coke and Fags, the go to breakfast for any angler worth his salt! Quality! (don't forget the occasional red bull)

Guiding Cancellation

Lads I have had a cancellation for the 23rd through to the 25th which should fish very well. If anyone got in touch about fishing and is still looking for a day drop me a line and book it now. These are really healthy tides lads and it looks like we are going to get some slightly more settled weather. So the fishing should be good.

Check out this Wrasse, I hooked it, it broke me off, then ten minutes later after catching it's big brothers, bang fish on again. Hungry little devil.

New Lures

Another Lure order has landed men, so drop me a line, I have some really classy stuff coming in! Ill post some pics over the weekend.

Worthy Of Mention

For obvious reasons I will not name the bailiff that I am talking about lads but i have to tell you this guy really is great at his job. He is motivated dedicated and truly wants to protect the fish. I just think it is worthy of mention as so often people give out about nothing being done well in Waterford that is just not the case anymore this guy is top class! So a big shout out and well done on a class job. Remember a bailiff can only be as good as the people who pass him information so if you see anything suspicious, don't remove it(it is probably too late and the damage is done) call your bailiff and they can stake out the net and catch the poachers in the act. Don't leave it to the next guy, if you love your fishing then protect the fish.

More On Tide Minnows

Ok I could be wrong but Im not sure that many really rate these lures as much as others. I have to tell you I fish the life out of these little beauties and catch some really cracking fish on them. They will not perform when fish cast and retrieve, these are lures that are begging to be fished, you need to do the work. So have a look around or book a lesson with me and find out how to properly jerk bait fish it will up your catch rate. i fished with James recently and have to say he is a good angler his years of match fishing show through. he has obviously applied what he learned to a new type of fishing, the single most important thing you have is bait (lures, plastics, heads, jigs, spinners).

James I know is switched onto a particular colour in the tide minnow, it is the chartreuse with silver sides. this lure really seems to do the job, it certainly worked extremely well for both of us the day we fish together. Give me a shout to get your hands on one of these they will be back in the end of the week.

Happy Ending

First off guys a big thank you for all the kind words of support. Blogging is weird some days you feel like no one is tuned into this thing so why bother but then something like this happens and it is obvious from the response on here and the phone that there are lots of chilled out anglers about who give a damn. I can't say how much these fish mean to me, I got into bass angling as a kid. I was a pretty messed up kid locked away in boarding school which I hated and found a book in the library written by the legendary Des Brennan, called angling in Ireland. most of the tales of their exploits where out chasing Irish sea bass, as I read the book as a young lad it was like I was there and could feel the salt spray on my face, he breakers rolling to shore on warm wexford July evenings, the excitement as the rods doubled into another decent bass. In fairness to these guys back then they where putting these fish back into the sea, anyone who has looked a big bass in the eye knows it is a thing of wild beauty and power, perfectly adapted to it's environment, to put them back alive and well is a privilege, And that was it I never looked back, I have been, besotted and in awe of these tremendous fish ever since. I had my first fish at 15, a 6lb on half a sand eel and the rest is history.

But back to the car, first off this incident has spurred me to get off my ass and look for the jeep I have wanted for ages and can now just about afford after many hard hours of guiding. And anyone who knows me when I guide I work hard, go that extra mile, to that next mark to try find some decent fish for guys who have put their faith in me. So that's the first result, I am looking at a 03 freelander any thoughts much appreciated.

Lastly the car cost me the princely sum of 40 euro to fix, so I think we all know who came out worst of this little debacle. Cheers guys for all your support I really do appreciate it.

Also worth mention is I have a new order of lures and rods arriving this week so if you are after some kit then drop me a line.

The hairy chap in the picture by the way live on the hill up the road from me and early in the morning (stupid o'clock) come down to graze on the road side. Only in Ireland, you just got to love it.

Smashed Car

Went out this morning to a spot where some nets have been showing up lately, in fact some one was caught there two nights ago. Parked up the van and headed off fishing. What you see is what I returned to, someone had taken a hammer to my car. At the end of the day that is the kind of mentality you are up against. If these illegal netters think this will deter me they have me very wrong, very wrong indeed. In fact we will all now make a point of showing up on this mark and double our efforts to find nets. I love these fish and they are worth protecting, they are certainly worth more than a car light and mirror to me. They are my way of life, what I do, what I am about, so go ahead smash all the cars you like but you will still have to put up with me showing up, catching and releasing fish and watching your nets. Fair play to our local bailiff for a top job catching these guys the other night and whatever the car costs me, their day in court will definitely be a bit more costly! I Had one nice fish this morning, got up a bit late and missed the best of it, but hey there is always tomorrow.

Day Off

Had the day completely to myself so thought I could catch up on some paper work for the business or I could go fishing? So maybe it will rain tomorrow and ill get to that paper work... The guys are safely back in England and we had a great time, would have liked to see more and fished more with them but unfortunately I have to work as hard as I can this time of year.

So I fished today with James, a mad keen angler who has regularly be ringing me looking for all sorts of shining bits of plastic to tempt bass from the shallows and recently got his hands on a new sakura which i know he is very happy with.

We hit a handy few fish today over so some truly awesome looking bass ground, I recently sold James a tide minnow 125sld to cover this very water so decided to try it myself today and boys oh boys did it do the business in what was at times fairly murky water.

James started things with a nice fish on the 125, then I had one on the patchinko, then one on the 125. Then I got crunched by a really decent fish, he thrashed about then made a steaming run, turned ran back at me and then the hooks pulled! Like Henry says some fish just aren't meant to be landed. All in all a cracking way to spend your day off! Great company and great fishing.

Good Fishing

Fished again today with Nigel (Guns) from devon, it was his last day so we really wanted to hit it hard. Nigel is from Devon and my souces tell me he is well know in his part of the world for smashing really decent bass and a bit of a Dab hand it the flounder. So we hit the rocks this morning where Nigel opened his account with a nice fish about 3lbs. It looked good, I had had one on the Zonk Gateride, (fast becoming my go to lure), but things failed to develop. So we moved to another spot where Henry had a decent fish, but it didn't feel right to me and I could see that Nigel wasn't really turned on by it. So my gut said I know where there will be some decent fishing, but it was a long drive away. I put it to Nigel who was up for the spin and so we went for it.

We arrived at our next mark 90 minutes later and I knew we where a bit late but some fish should still be catchable. Up with the Patchinko for both of us and off we set, wading and casting as we went. Turns out my gut was right between three anglers 13 fish where caught.

Nigel had nearly all his fish on the surafce this week and this from a guy who had not really used this technique before. Bit of a natural if you ask me. All in all a really good couple of days, it is great to get to fish with guys who know and love their fishing.

Over all the red rod brigade have been samshing a handy few fish this week and often in conditions that could only be descirbed as "less than perfect." Things look right now though so I have a feeling that tomorrow could be really good. Lesson for today for me was trust your gut feeling, because some times it really pays.

Thanks for your company Nigel and I hope you come back fishing soon.

Above is a picture of Damien who I hear tell had a handy few fish today, well done mate!

Weather At Last

So a bit of better weather out there today thank god! I have been out since early morning with a customer from Devon, Nigel. Nigel got in touch early in the summer to say he fancied a go at an Irish croc and would love to come over. Nigel has been banging some nice fish in his part of the world and wanted to check out what we have been up to. Fishing was limited this morning due to water clarity, the coast is blown out. We reached our mark at 6.30 bang on the high water and it felt right. Andy opened play early on with a nice fish on the plastics, soon followed by Nigel who showed the Irish lads how to do it also on the plastics. We made a move then to another spot and weed was an issue so on with the surface lures. This is a technique that Nigel had little confidence in but was eager to check out. So up with the patchinko and first chuck he had is wobbling nicely back across the surface. I had a random cast (I don't end to fish much at all when I guide) and bang good fish on. Fish went nuts on the surface and put up a decent scarp, choosing to have it out in plain view, thrashing around. On the scales she weighed in at roughly 8.5lb. Nigel went back on the Patchinko and flash behind the lure, stopped it and bang fish on. First one off the top for Nigel so a result. Watch out Devon Bass as I think you might be seeing quite a bit off the business end of a Patchinko. All in all a great mornings fishing and hopes are high for the next couple of days producing some decent results. I will add some pics later as we are having a few technical difficulties with transferring the pictures.

Beat Tierd

Ok so really shattered at this stage so I'm in bed at nine! There is a god! Had a days guiding called off due to weather so cruised round to Henry's to get the sp! So it seemed a good idea at the time but you learn from your mistakes, or do you? So crap weather out with the light bait rods and off we went. That was at some ridiculous hour. Mr Hill nailed a nice fish and it looked lie it might fire then the brown water arrived and that was that. So we chased it all day for no more fish. But it gets better we are all the way down in waterford when Graham gets a call from his Mrs to let him know she has just nailed a nice fish back up in Wexford! I ask you? Moral of the story is dont chase it cause if it ain't right it ain't right! Well done Carol on kicking our collective arse!

Here is a nice pic sent in by a keen cork angler of a cracking fish that has been zonked! I really love these lures especially if the bass are just a bit deeper.