Tough Conditions

On Wednesday night Tom managed to find the fish pictured, the wind was NW, it was cold and a lot of weed in the water. In short very difficult conditions so well done Tom. Again the Patchinko did the business.

Fishing has been difficult, I have been in touch with anglers and indeed fished from west Waterford to South Wexford over the last few days and found it hard to catch. I have seen a lot of fish but they are just not in a taking mood and conditions have been against us. However we have managed to find some quality fish today. The clonker pictured was taken this morning by Paul, so a big well done to him. Paul is one of my fishing buddies and let me tell you this guy has invested his time and money into catching this marvelous creature. I know he is still smiling from ear to ear, the fish fought really hard making long runs, staying deep testing Paul's Rod Bar 270 which preformed extremely well. So despite the hard fishing we have still managed to find some quality fish, we moved after getting this fish to another mark, which started to fish just on the turn of the tide.

A couple of bumps on the lure but no hook up, which points to the kind of mood the fish are in they are only half heartedly taking the lure. Then bang I had a good fish on, it fought well and was just within reach when the hooks pulled. i saw the fish and it was some where around the 6-7lb mark. Arthur had a nice fish about the 4lb mark and then I finished with an accidentally foul hooked Mullet that went like a bone fish across the shallows.

One For Spitty

Fishing has been extremely tough, everyone I talk to is struggling to catch on lures in the south east. Some people have done ok but in general things have been hard. Spitty knocked one on the surface tonight though and the Patchinko did the business. Well done mate as the fishing really is tough at the mo so one off the top is a bonus. It looks like it should improve tomorrow and certainly be better by Friday when the wind is due to shift into the south. I know other guides have been struggling to catch so it ain't so bad but you have to go the extra mile to help people get a fish or two so I really hope that things pick up tomorrow. I think the fishing is poor because the temperature is well below average for the time of year as the wind is in the north west. Add to this dirty water and lots of weed and what you have is a fishing nightmare. I will post a couple of pics later.

Tough Start For The Spitfire!

Well we made a go of it at first light this morning but things where racked up against us from the get go. Wexford is un-fishable at the minute so we headed west in search of clean water. Tom was in good form and hopes where high. We fished a mark that just screams Bass! But the gutters where dirty and confidence began to die as the rain came down in buckets. So up the cliff and another move further west and bingo water and ground that looks like a mini version of Jersey, this just produced one follow for Paul and that was that. After watching some huge mullet in the margins we headed for home to re-group and make plans for a dusk assault. Fingers crossed Spit will get hit tonight! In the mean time a couple of young lads from wales, hussbusta(Dan) and his mate Biffa have been on to me they are in Wexford surrounded by dirty water and someone has steeped on their rod while they slept so I have them on the way down here to fish with us and borrow a rod off me! You just have to love the determination of these young lads, they are mad for an Irish bass. These guys are the future of our sport and to my mind the future is bright if you judge it from their dedication and enthusiasm for bass plugging!

Have to say Tom (Spitfire) is a smashing bloke his enthusiasm for bass fishing is infectious, so we are off again this evening to see if we can bag one on the evening tide as the dusk comes in. He had a tough trip to Wales early in the year where the weather was agaisnt him the whole trip so we will fish our socks off this week to make up for it. The tide is building from today and the long range is reasonably good so on we go.

Catch & Release

First of the Summer Double's

So my good buddy and long time fishing pal Cian has nailed a stinker of a fish this morning, we made an early start, at stupid o'clock (3am) to catch the ebbing tide. The tide is small at the moment but we have found in the past that if you put in the hours you wont catch numbers but there is always a chance at a stinker like this one. My hat is off to Cian this morning great job, he read the water right and moved to where he felt the fish would be as the tide slackened and he was bang on. This monster took right at his feet, it butted the lure and Cian thought he had missed the fish but he came back for another go. At first it looked like he was into a normal 4-5lb fish but then the fish caught sight of me avec boga in the water and decided to show Cian who the boss was. Needless top say Cian came out on top and what a cracking fish. We got this chap un-hooked then straight back into the water to let him breath, then up for a couple of quick pictures and returned unharmed to harass sand eels for the rest of the day! Well done Cian on a smashing fish, you put the hours in for this one fair play. Worthy of mention that Cian's wife to be, Ms Amy white is a cracking lure picker, not sure if she picked the winner this time but chances are! Quality on the breakfast as well "you're the best in your game."

Catch & Release

Both these fish where properly revived and went back to the sea in top condition. It takes very little effort and just a small bit of kit to ensure the safety and survival of these beautiful creatures.

Last Minute

A last minute decision to do a bit of fishing late last night has paid off in the shape of five bars of silver. It was one of the smallest tides of the month but conditions where good. We had a south/southwest breeze putting a bit of fizz on top, muggy heat and clear water, you just got to fish in that and damn the tide. So Paul opened the play with a nice Pollock of about 3lb's followed by a bass about the same weight. The bass where all very darkly coloured along the back, pure rock and kelp fish. We finished out with five Bass biggest about 4lb's and three Pollock biggest about 3lb's, all fish where returned unharmed and just a little wiser to the sea. Next time they will double take those plugs as they go past!

My USB for the camera has disappeared so I am off to town to get a new one soon as it is sorted I will post few pics. Tackle news worth mentioning is I am using the new lure bag from ultimate and I have to say it is awesome, far batter than anything else I have used. Comfortable, spacious, sturdy and highly functional. You can get all your bits and Bob's on this little beauty, boga, pliers, water bottle and loads of lure space (they stay in their boxes).