Boat/Shore Angler turned Plugger

It was a dark rainy winters evening when i first met Mick Boland 10years ago in a Pub car park off the N25 in Wexford I had a boot full of prime Irish peeler crab waiting for him,after our introductions and me thinking this guy from North Dublin seems a alright sort of guy he asked if i knew any Local marks that may fish with the crab i had just sold him,The Hack!!i replied the River(Waterford Estuary) is full of fish at the moment Mikes eyes lit up as i mentioned shore Cod great he replied i off ,seemed a great guy as he drove off down the road to the Hack,,the mobile was bouncing at 7 am it was mick,Gee i have bagged up the Cod were bangging all night and fair play he had stuck it out in terrible weather ,,come to ours for your breakfast and sure enough this has led to a great friendship,,

For years mick was a pure out and out boat and shore angler in Ireland i was was plugging off the coast telling mick to get the gear get into this sport ,,it took around 8years to convert this guy,
heres mick now a converted plugger and soft plastic man and with his own watercraft skills and a little help from his friends ,he has certainly got the bug now,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,some great fish here


Mike above with a fine Bass from a south Wexford Mark bagged on a Green Tide minnow Surf this Bass realy nailed that lure,,

Them XSlayers do the buisness with a hard fighting Ballan Wrasse

A hard fighting Bass is this a Albeno!!! or just a pale fish caught over the sandy bottom

What a nice picture of the rolling surf behind and a bright day when the bass are feeding this 4lber took the K10 tackle house minnow looks like she wanted it too

Same day a couple of casts later on a prime secret wexford mark another Bass nailed the legend of a lure the Feed Shallow ayu great stuff Mr Boland ,,,,beats them beachcasters any day!!and Keep up the great work,,

Mike gets most of his tackle from Henrys Tackle in Dublin www.henrystackleshop.com/as i have over the years Henry will give you sound advice regarding lures and all aspects of shore plugging.

all photos care of Mick Boland

Megabass X Slayers

A super Bass of 6lbs caught by my nephew mark hill on a recent trip to the wonderfull Co Wexford Ireland this plus many other Bass on the day were lured on the soft plastic method of trotting and bottom rolling proven methods for many years with Bass fishing in fast running estuarys with soft plastic lures , This was Marks first bass on the soft plastic lure,he was so pleased with that super fish

returning the majestic Bass,, what a feeling when that fish just swims off after the take,fight and photo call great stuff it just tingles the hairs on your neck when the Bass glides into the depths,i just think that is what fishing is all about

Heres my mate Mike Boland from Dublin with a nice Bass nailed on a Aniseed XSlayer trotted on the bottom with a 20g articulated head great stuff again this was mikes first Bass on a soft plastic lure and i will tell you he is hooked,,,

i thing this is the same picture but so what it is so cool taking pictures of a happy man with a bass

heres another prime bannow bass on a articulated jig head backed up by the XSlayer this method of fishing is mabey underated or misunderstood but is very effective for the Irish Bass working in estuarys,,

To summarise the Megabass XSlayer and the articulated jig head, this combination lure has to be fished and presented correctly allowing for conditions and tide, read waters , tides and always have these plastics in your arsenal and you will not go far wrong ,,my personal favourite is the ayu medium pattern
Happy Hunting

IMA LURES (The new kids on the Block)

Nabarone Stuka 90 this lure looked uninteresting and bland ,,until i cast in and the lure dropped on the water and what a surprise with the rolling action and big head shakes this lure is a definate devil in disquise a sinking lure that has as described a fantastic action and new for 2010 use this on your high tide marks in deeper water i would say a killer

The IMA Sasuke i have seen this lure kill in Ireland at the Hands of Henry Gilbey a shallow running lure for Bass,, the sand borer colour is very striking somehow he got hold of one of these ages ago ,,
Komomo 2 this lure is on its way to the UK for 2010 and personally cannot wait to get my hands on this Fantastic lure its a shallow diver and in trials we found that if you let it float it can easly turn into a popper dual action hybrid what a selling point for a new lure
Honey Trap horse mackeral95S this is a bullet of a lure that casts miles and flutters on the sinking,, sink and draw with this lure and your catch rates will rise i have seen this very lure nail Bass off the Chesil Beach in Dorset to have this in your box can be the difference between catching and not catching
Nabarone cotton candy 150 with that very blue eye a smashing looking lure for sure a sinking and sub surface a deepish diver down to around 6/7ft are available a prediction is that this lure and the range of many great and interesting colours may become a favourite of many lure anglers in the UK in 2010

Dungeness the Hallowed Ground

Went for a ride down Dungeness Kent today for a couple of hours for a walk with the family mixing buisness with pleasure,, chatting to local anglers,and may i say a very polite bunch of guys they were too

Above a handsome looking dab these flat fish are a prized eating fish from the SE England on the Kent coast,, anglers today has just set out their tackle just to aim for catching Dab and below the Whiting risking hooking a bigger fish as the Cod that frequent this area up to 22lb this year and many reports of doubles

Afew anglers on the beach here,,fishing off the steep staired shingle beach of Dungeness

Two at a time great fishing is to be had ,this kind angler let me take a picture of the pair of whiting he had landed in his fishing compertition thanks mate,,,,

Then as we were walking off the beach along the line of anglers chatting as we went i spotted this
ABU 464 that one guy was using,,took me back 35 years,,oh my goodness it was in total original condition great to see these fine rods going strong and still able to mix it with the best,,i told him if that was mine i would have it in a glass case at home,,

We had a great family day out down at the Hallowed Ground and meeting a great bunch of guys fishing on the beach so forthcoming with infomation on how and where to fish the area of Dungeness

The Magic Of The Night

Dust is approaching fast on a Irish Strand Two Anglers wait in pure exitement and anticipation ,,loaded to the hilt with soft plastic and back up bait rods waiting for the tide to receed and smash a few fish on the Estuary Sand Bars

This is a typical Estuary Mark at dusk this angler is sat in front of a fish gathering area around 30yds out fishing a trotting method with a soft plastic shad,,one of the most effective ways of Nailing the larger bass is on the shad make sure you know your surroundings before the darkness moves in

Proof is in the pudding,,Delalande shads are tops fished correctly can be the most effective lure around this fish of around 4lbs nailed the shad just on a drop off like the one above where the water is rippling in front of the angler a under water sand bar with meeting currents a Bass Magnet ,,Pure Magic

And of course shads can work in all situations from rock marks to steep beaches gin clear waters to murky waters great for boat fishing and shore work alike ,,take the time and persivere with these modern lures and it will pay off,,

Mark Padfield with a shad caught Bass Off the magnificent Chesil Beach

Some of myFavourite Pictures of 2009

Heres me with a bass on a boga grip ,when using a boga grip try not to hang the fish support the underside as i am here in 2009 i would have been lost without the boga grip a must have not only for Bass anglers but all aspects of angling

Patrick Gallagher ,below, with a fine fish caught off the Tramore beach this guy realy knows his stuff and you wont go wrong getting guided by this man let him show you the magic of South East Ireland in 2010

Super Bass for my Mate and south coast Dorset bass guide Mark Padfield on chesil beach this picture just gets to me every time i look at it, my fish of the year (Personally)for 2009

Action in South East Ireland

Just look at the concentration of Bruno Pebe from Ultimate Fishing the Frenchman is in a world of his own with all that water around and may i say i have been lucky enough to fish with him on a few occasions a very talented and knowledgable Bass lure Angler , and a nice guy too...i just wish my French was a little better??

And to finish off my mate Adrian(joe stepi from wsf)who had some quality fish weymouth way this year,,I just love the rod stand,,patent that one Adrian!!!!!!!!!!

For me personally the year has ended a lot better than it started (in my Bass world)thanks to a few people out there and you know who you are, so thankyou from the bottom of my heart and with that thought i will take this oppetunity to wish you all and your familys a Happy and Prosperous 2010

My Family

Carol and Arron my family on a recent holiday to Madiera I know I am fishing mad but Arron just will not have it yet,he spends all his time with his Cobra golf clubs ,,i just dont get it,,!! wacking a ball around a field,,

maybe he will come chucking a lumps of plastic into the sea with me soon,,,





Below is a super shot of Carol on the Throne just could'nt resist this one Ha ! Ha ! gotcha!!





Carol showing off again what a stunner ,,it always confuses me as a Fisherman, how did I manage to catch that one ,,







Finally a close up of Carol below,I realy love this picture ,and if I keep telling her she looks so cool,, and no wonder looking at these few pictures I suppose the fishing permits will keep coming,

Thanks Carol and Arron for your Love and Understanding

Your very Lucky Husband and Dad ,,,,,,Graham