Fish Photography

As there is very little fishing happening at the mo and there is only so much I can think and talk about tackle before I go nuts I thought a change as good as a rest when this topic occurred to me this morning as I leafed through old copies of sea angler etc over morning coffee.

I tried to imagine what it would be like for someone with no interest in fishing who pickled up one of these magazines and leafed through it, what would they see? Well lots of things, cover stories, tackle articles, competitions and lots of pictures of dead fish. People holding dead fish in their kitchen, or in front of their garage (a personal favourite of mine), you know the kind of shots I'm on about, one's where the fish have been dead a while and lost their natural shine, bass in particular look terrible at this stage.

I have no objection to people keeping a fish or two for themselves, in fact if you fish solely for food then fair play to you it really is none of my business as long as people adhere to by laws they will get no guff from me but surely the powers that be in the magazine world can see that these pictures do nothing to promote our sport. Neither am I suggesting that we all need to turn into Henry Gilbey and take outstanding bass photographs (fair play Henry keep up the good work) but a few less of these types of photos and more taken at the beach, pier, headland or on the boat where the fish where caught would be nice. I think it would paint a far nicer and closer to the truth picture for anyone who happened upon one of these issues and had a bit of an auld read.

Not All About Catching Fish

We hit a couple of marks the other morning despite conditions being less then favorable, we knew in our hearts that Bass would be hard to find but with a sun rise this beautiful and that "well you just never know feeling to keep you going," it is hard to resist a few hours chucking plugs.

On the tackle front the new Sakura rods have arrived both the 8 6" and 9 6" if you are interested give me a bell or drop me an e mail, these are a fast actioned, light weight and a good looking pole to boot. Dare I say it but I think I prefer it to the shukan it is certainly lighter and feels a big more balanced and just a touch faster. Combined with a new Stradic 4000 and a spool of 20lb power shot you have a light weight fast actioned Japanese plugging outfit that did not cost the world. I am doing the lot all three, Rod, Reel and Braid for 340 euro.

The Fishing has remained tough in this part of the world, my theory is that it is still too warm, the crab have not started to moult in earnest and this is delaying the arrival of the big fish, I could be talking rubbish or maybe there is something to it only you can decide weather, Ye buy it or not!

Soft Plastics In Stock and Coming Soon.

Anyone who knows their winter fishing knows it is all about soft plastics, I have a big selection in at the minute including the long awaited AYU Xlayer available in both the normal and giant size.

Coming shortly will be the the one up shad, I have used a lot of shads over the years and this is by far my favourite, it has a lovely profile long sausage like body, jointed with a tail that gives extraordinary action to the lure in the water. It is also available in a range of colours and sizes that should cover most eventualities. Mark my words these bad boys are going to nail some serious bass in the coming months. They can be fished either on a weighted jig head or texposer style. I have yet to try then texposer but i will keep ye informed, I think it might be good when the bass are being a bit shy.

I will also be getting some new colours in the xlayer, giant xlayer and mother worm based on the information freely shared with me by the French crew when they where here for a brief stay. It was a pleasure to watch these guys fish they have really put some thought into it and it shows. Both their top water and plastic fishing where top class.

Another bait these guys liked a lot was the spindle worm, it is simple to use and has a great action, I nailed a bass in current i would have thought was too strong to pick fish up in, but this lad had it.

There are a number of really obvious advantages to soft plastic baits, one is they are relatively cheap, two they are at times incredibly effective, three they can be fished in a huge variety of styles using a huge variety of methods. A lot of guys who ring me for lures say " I don't think I'm ready for soft plastics yet," rubbish get them fish them and see for yourself how well they work. Bass will actually take a completely static xlayer.

Credit where credit is due Cian aka "the winkler" was really the first of us to find out just how good these soft plastics where, in February of all months he had one on and turned to me and said "I think I had a pull there", I was sceptical to say the least then next cast he had a nice bass on, it has been a journey of discovery since then with some good, some great and plenty of bloody awful plastics being bought and used. In fact I remember certain parties who shall remain nameless nearly wetting themselves with laughter when they first saw xlayers in the boot of the trusty old focus, we did a lot of bass miles together me and that van

The Masked Man

So the lads have come and gone again, until next time. As usual we had a great time we hit it hard trying our best to find the fish in what can only be described as difficult conditions. I feel the end of October is almost like limbo not quite summer fishing and not quite winter fishing. The big fish are coming I can almost feel it in my bones and no doubt the lads will be back with the thoughts of a monster grabbing their plastic driving them nuts.

It has been unusually warm for the time of year and this I think has had a big impact on the fishing over the last tide. The winter fishing when we target the really big females is dependent on the crab moult, this is why these fish come ashore, they are migratory fish possibly spending the summer months on deep water wrecks and reefs feeding on Pollock, pouting, mackerel and anything else unlucky enough to stumble into their path. The French have a beautiful name for bass they call them "le loop de la mer" the wolf of the sea. So my theory is that the warm weather has slowed the big male crab from peeling which in turn has slowed the arrival of the big bass that come to gorge on them. If you have ever had peelers in the boot of your car for a couple of days then you will know all about scent now imagine this on an immense scale, thousands of large male crab all emitting scent into the water this trail being carried by the tide up to seven miles out to sea and the subsequent reaction of the bass that make their way inshore to hunt for crab.

South East Ireland in undoubtedly a very special place that we get this kind of quality lure fishing right through the winter months of November and December, I know that in the south west of the country they say the basing only gets interesting in December.

Bass theory aside it was a great tip and really good to meet our French counter parts who like ourselves work in fishing but are still just fishing junkies at heart, so a farewell to Yannick, Stephan and Bruno we hope to see you soon. As for the English crew well they just keep showing up like clock work at the first sniff of a decent bass. I have to say I have never seen Henry fish so much and shoot so little in all the times that I have fished with him, his photo's are outstanding and he has a way of working with you that puts you at ease. It is not easy having a big camera pointed at you, but I am getting more used to it and feeling more confident the more practice I get.

Always Learning!

First off apologies for delay in posting anything on the blog in a few days, but I have just been flat out. I have been fishing with my good friends and fellow bass addicts Henry, Andy and Graham. Joining us on this trip where the lads from Ultimate Fishing and I have to say they picked the right name for their company, because it surely is ultimate fishing equipment.

There is so much to learn about bass fishing, about bass behaviour, about water craft, about the rods and most importantly about the lures. These French guys really do know what they are at. For example we hit a mark that I always head right on but Bruno stayed in the middle of the beach and fished the giant Dog X (french pearl from megabass) so slowly it barely moved and sure enough it was nailed by a 6lb fish.

These lads fish seriously light, injections, and total precisions where the order of the day. They really work the lures, not just chuck and chance but thoughtful, calculated fishing, the zonk for example fished finesse style proved deadly, with fish taking the lure on the drop. They introduced me to some new colour patterns that I would never have gone for and yet proved deadly effective. To be honest I think a lot of what I learned is still sinking in.

I fished a favourite mark on Henry's last day, I arrived "late" which in Henry's book is anything after 5.30am. So I fished a different part of the mark and bang third cast nailed by a nice 4lb fish, next cast another then about ten minutes later I lost a really good fish. All these fish fell to the "one up shad" which is definitely the most exciting soft plastic i have seen all year, the action is awesome, it can be fished in a variety of styles and most importantly it hammers fish.

I find it difficult to understand that the best of our bassing is on the way and I am quiet for guiding bookings compared to summer time, If you are a serious bass angler and want a real chance at some really big fish 13-15lb, then get in touch now and book the dates, mark my words the big male crab are starting to moult and the autumn sea trout have arrived and with these come the big female bass that have stayed in deep water up till now.

I am out guiding tomorrow with Micheal who has had an 11lb on bait this week so the big fish are arriving and can be caught on the plastics, fingers crossed for a record fish this winter, she will be measured weighed admired, photographed and returned to the sea where she belongs.

The Lure Store Supports and encourages catch and release.

Last but not least i bought an underwater camera so expect to see some pretty interesting video clips over the coming months, I just need to get my hands on a dry suit and it's away we go to observe these wonderful fish their environment.

Pictured with his first bass is my nephew Jack, this picture was taken the day after my mum's funeral, Granny Meg was looking after us that day we had eleven fish the best was just over 10lb, Jack had 4 and dropped one all of which he struck and landed himself, what a top man! He is coming down in november to get a double no doubt!

The Guides Day Out.

So I'm off today to fish Cobh and Cork harbour at Pat's kind invitation. This man has been sending me some ridiculous pictures of Bass over the summer that he has been nailing (and releasing) down there in the harbour. It is believe it or not my first time ever to fish cork harbour despite it's proximity.

So no guiding today, just fishing. Don't get me wrong I love my Job and nothing gives me greater satisfaction than seeing my clients bend into decent fish, but guiding and fishing are two very different things. Today the only person I need worry bout is mise.

I'm up since 5.30 am, I just thought I could reorganise the clips or maybe re-label the plastics boxes, final check on the reels. I wonder is pat a tea or coffee man sure I will bring a flask of both. These are the kind of cutting edge questions that have drawn me from my slumber at this hour. Funny thing is I don't need to be in Cork until 10 bells so I reckon I should be on time!!! Ha..

Isn't it great though it's what fishing is all about, we all get it otherwise why would we bother that childish excitement before a good fishing trip, the joy of sorting your gear, figuring out lures and led heads. Making sure everything is oiled and working. I don't know about any of you guys but since I got really into lure fishing it has gotten better, "maybe because there are more toys to play with" but mostly I think it is because there is always a real chance of hooking an absolute monster on light gear and having the fight of your life.

Previous to this type of fishing we really had our Sea Bass out gunned, what chance do these fish have against 13ft of carbon fiber trailing 5Oz's of lead with them, none at all. But against 8 6" of wand with 15lb braid after picking up a barb less 7 g led head then they can show you what they are made off. I love lure fishing everything about it, they all fishermen find their niche well I have found mine.

It give these marvelous sport fish a chance to show just how strong fast and intelligent they really are. If you have hooked a decent bass in a good run of tide on a wild rock mark you will know what I am talking about. So roll on today,good company,light kit, and boxes of soft plastics I am going to have a ball!

Above is a 3.5lb flounder hooked fair and square on a white rolling shad fished off the bottom, on the new Tenryu Injection, this fish actually fought really hard and made a couple of runs back under the boot that put the rod tip in the water, so again with the right kit there is great sport to be had out there. I am really looking forward to my first decent sea trout on the Injection I would say it will be deadly. I do stock a cheaper alternative to this type of 7ft plastic rod so if interested give us a shout and ill fill ye in.

Guess that weight!

Ok so here is one from the winkler, though i bet when this puppy hit he had to do a bit more than winkle to get it to the boga. Out of divilmemt and just to get a bit of interaction going I am asking you all to post a comment and guess the weight of the fish and lets see who knows their weights. It is just another prime example of why you should come baassing to waterford, out coast is literally loaded with fish of this stamp and particularly so at this time of year, when all the big females move in-shore for the crab moult. God I love the autumn and winter fishing it still baffles me that loads of guys book their fishing holidays in the summer I still have some slots for November which is prime monster time so get in touch now and avoid disappointment for the shot at the bass of a lifetime. I think I have five personal bests so far this season and all from fairly experienced and some very experienced anglers, not bad considering it is only October.