Sat 14th feb. first lure trip of the year.

Went out last Sat. up at 4.30 headed off for a well known rocky mark in East cork.

The weather was milder, and the water clarity not too bad.

Tried all my usual lures and a few new ones i got from the states, but no joy!

I think i should have been retrieving the lure a lot slower, will try this the next time.....

Till then.........

i think this is what they look like...i have forgotten.......

Winter fishing blues.

I have been out several times over the last few weeks beach casting, with little or no results.
The Cod seem to have disappeared from the usual beach marks as have the coals and dogs.
I hope things pick up soon.......................

My P.B. bass.

A couple of years ago, while out fishing on my own, i caught my P.B. bass.
I was watching a pike fishing programme a couple of days previous, and saw a good pike taken on a whole joey mackerel dead bait, with cuts on the flanks to release more sent.
I decided to try this method for bass, and on a cold November night on a well know east cork beach i blasted a joey out into the darkness.
Thirty minutes past with no touch and just as i was thinking of reeling in, the rod went berserk.
I landed a fine fish, photographed it and put it back.
After a few minutes of disbelief went back fishing and caught nothing else worth mentioning.
I will soon put a scanned image, or two of the bass on here and let you decide how big it was........

November.. last.. gasp.. bass ?

Out last night and fished for several hours.

Ebbing tide at a rough, sandy, mixed ground venue.

Loads of good bites, but no hook ups until the very end and one small bass in the bag.(released of course!)

The bites were, i think, from mullet, but cant be sure, just guessing.

Will there be any more bass this year?

Where are the codling??

Things are getting very slow now, had this fish on razor clam at night.

Beach casting rod and 4oz grip lead off the beach. nice sized bass.

I lost possibly the best fish of the year last week.

Spinning a 15cm shallow lure at low tide, a massive bass took it and after a few shakes of its head, the lure popped out! It WAS huge! i was gutted..... thats fishing!!

Went out yesterday and fished for hours ... lovely sunny day...water clear as gin.... no sign of life!

october

Things are very slow at the moment, i have been out three times with only one fish, water colour is poor...getting to look like tea at times, fish was in great shape though, needs to grow its head now!! i had this fish on a ledgered Razor clam, at night and low tide,






one evening at Cork's deep water quay, i had a pouting and my daughter had a whiting and a nice rockling!






No sign of the cod yet....... stay tuned.......

IS THE BASS SEASON OVER?????

Thinking of trying for pike on the fly in jan. (the bass season just dies!)

you cant make it out, but there is a massive mullet right under my feet... wish i could catch them....i had 9 mullet over two mornings in Kerry one holiday, up at 4.30am .... worth it though, great sport!

september...weather improving ..just...

nice 6lb bass on a 15 cm shallow diving plug ..the kind of fish that makes your day!

lovely sat afternoon fly fishing for bass, this one took a white clouser minnow size 4...

a better one 4lb on a clouser white chartreuse size 1/0

a "wafer thin" pollack on the fly...white clouser minnow.....

a better pollack as it turned dark . . again on a clouser, just bigger and white chartreuse with orange eyes!

Sorry about photo... mobile phone on the rocks!

several bait fish jumping in a deep gully to escape the mackerel, cast out a 15cm lure in the hope a bass would be lurking underneath....BANG

NICE ONE........

All these fish were photographed (badly) and released!

august 2008

A Mon. evening in August.....wow!
Force 5 or 6 wind... LASHING with rain....Very coloured water full of weed... very difficult conditions.
I thought... NOT A CHANCE...... but after about an hour and a half ...BANG!
A 5lb fish... i was stunned.... then two more smaller fish as it turned late.....all released....
It just shows.... dont write a trip off ... give it a chance.....

7.5 lb fish on a diving floating lure 15cm long.
rocky mark in cork harbour.
smaller fish taken on a 11cm lure.
fish were released.