Bass Fishing at its Best a day that will never be forgotten

A Fantasic well conditioned Double Figure Bass on Bait

Tap,Tap,Tap Mike Mc Cabe was knocking on my shed door at 5 in the morning,,are we off then in a deep lancashire accent,, hang on mate i said ,,Henry is will be here shortly no sooner said than the big fella wandered round the court yard at shady nook our bed and breakfast in SE Ireland Co Wexford the crabs look great 80 prime peeler just busting a gut to get out there ,,car packed all three of us off to the Bannow Estuary Bait Fishing,,on a sunburst Irish September day,,,

Had any Bass before Mic ??Henry asked ,,not a one thats why i have come to see Gee ,heard he can nail a few now and again ,I love to fish Barbel on the River Rother came mikes reply,,,,,,

well after the photo shoot with Henry, the fish started to come thick and fast heres mike with his first ever Bass of around 3lbs he was delighted with this super fish ,,i thought mine looked a little larger though!!
That great days bass fishing on Bait even got a front cover ,

Until this mother of a Bass Came along second cast second fish on prime Irish Peeler,,this must be some kind of record a 12lb fish for a second bass that Mic had ever caught heres a barbel angler nailing bass it is surreal,,Henry was clicking his camera like a man possesed ,,but eventually even Henrys camera was used up with more than enough Bass pictures,,this was fast becoming a day never to be forgotten,,,,,,,,

Mic and Myself with yet another wexford bass what a fantastic day we had 30 Bass to 12 lbs and 2 personal bests for our camera man

Even today Henrys site is headed by a fishy shot from that fantastic days Bass fishing down the Bannow Estuary

and we even made a front cover and from what i hear a little promotion for the Irish tourist board too,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,was it realy that good a days fishing

i think it was!!!??

Club Tropicana Drinks are Free

This pic goes back to 1990 20 years ago this year,,,even in them days i was nailing a few bass on lures ,,i remember this day very well,,the night before the maccie were in nailing eels and sardine against the shore all we could get was the maccie around 200 if i recall it was mayhem,,we decided to come back at first light and low and behold no eels and no sardine they had slipped away in the night with many dead left on the shore,,, so i slipped on my mother of a lure ,,the best in its day the yo,zuri crystal minnow,,orange,,this was the lure of the day and to be fair is still around today and fishing well,,,and theres no kidding with that picture above the proof is in the pudding
a 4lb Bass from North Wales
Hey Up!!! we are in at 4.00 o'clock in the morning in October 1986 that is 24years ago this year my brother alan took this picture of my first big bass on a lure ,,

I will remember that morning till the day I die with Alan nailing a 5 and a 6 lber in quick succsession on a lure that I just can'not remember for all my life ,,,for all you guys out there that are thinking of having a go at lure fishing ,,i am still at it after all these years ,these pics are from 25 years ago great times and fantastic memories

My first big fella on a lure , around 8 and 9 lb's , don't you just love the greys waders and all the designer gear , HaHa !! But seriously what a morning on the BASS ....On Lure's.

Get the gear and the hair cut ,,,where are the Maui Jims!!!!!

another fine Bass nailed on a lure from the 80's , Wham Bam !!!

Kilty Catcher's were the only Lure's in those day's. Here is a fine Bass, in the picture above, caught on Trevor Beach in North Wales in the Mid 80's.

Is This a Record Irish Bass

Here is The lure ,,the De La Lande GT Shad Blue with Black Back weighted to a 10g articulated jig head and a 3/0 vaviras sharp as you like hook,,normally a crab hook but perfect for the shads

Here's my mate Brian with a absolute stunner of a Bass Caught on a shad in Ireland it has took me a long time to get this picture from him(getting drunk at my bar in the BandB and various calls) of what we both agree was close to a Record Bass Caught in Ireland in November 2008

The fish was 930mm long and that was calculated off a flat beach picture along side Brian's Rod and measured after ,,also there was no allowance for a very well fed November fish with our estimation of size,,

All i can say is that i am in awe!! of a great angler that after this picture was taken gently cradled that magnificent fish in the sea to recovery and then slipped her back to the estuary waters from where she came,,

i will certainly remember this fish for the rest of my life,and the arguments after!!

Thank you and Well Done Brian for sharing your photographand the fish of a Lifetime

Dicentrachus Labrax the Stuff of Dreams

A Handsome Bass Posing for the camera and first up this is picture of a darked backed Bass is one of my favourite ever bass shots

Today was a dream this wonder of Nature was a double figure fish that complimented a 25 plus fish day on a wild Irish Estuary

An Early morning start for a plug caught bass been revived after a long hard fight ready for the release

Another deep bodied plug caught Bass very dogged fighting machine off the rocks

Just Two Mates having a laugh with a 9.8oz Bass coming between them

Bass time another stunner of a early morning Bass ,,what a joy!

A Early morning start is required for any success at fishing for Dicentrachus Labrax the European Sea Bass a great looking fish and this was my little tribute to the joy these magnificent creatures have brought me over the last few years hunting them down to the point of obsession,,

And finally my mate Mark Padfield doing what he does best ,,,,,,catching and laughing
all photographs with permission of Henry Gilbey and Adrian Rodgers

Delalande Shads a great alternative

Below are the brand new110mm buster shads in pearl and blue i know a lot of UK anglers seem to be reluctant to use these French made Plastics but i can assure you that fished in the correct way at the right time these delalande shads are deadly picking out the larger fish too on many occasions for me,,i rig the shads with a 2/0 hook joined to a channelle 5g to 30g ball lead head this is a articulated head that gives the shad its very attractive action,,,

the channelle heads come in various sizes 5 to a pack of 5g,7g,10g,12g,15g,18g,20g,25g,30g
the golden rule with these action baits is to use as light a ball head as your fishing conditions will allow this enhances the action

Below ,a Mega Bass spindle worm that nailed fish from Chesil Beach with a 30g max ball channelle articulated head to a 2/o vaviras hook,,just check out the pebble damage on the head as the lure was bounced up the steep shingle banks of the Dorset Beaches

Delalande fury shad with a twinpoint hook attaced to the lead head this rig up will increase your hook up rate superb presentation of a plastic bait is created when these lures are fished on rough ground in and out of cavernous holes where the Bass and other species lurk,

Here is a example of a 130mm GT Shad with the single vaviras 3/0 large mouth hook connected to the old faithfull articulated head,a little drop of super glue will make this rig up complete sticking the shad to the ball lead,,

designed to imitate sea trout and mullet this lure fishes at its best in estuarys by what i call a trotting method do not cast these shads and retrieve ,cast and hold in the flowing water then holding your rod in the air start letting line off and stop checking every so often,just like trotting a float down a river keep control of the shad in the flowing water,,even when the shad is stopped in the water it will still be working in the flowing water , as i have said use as light a head as possible for the best results,,,

Finally the pearl delalande with the deadly 2/0 twin point hooks all ready for action,,this lure costs around £3.25p complete for a professional bit of kit now that is value in the day of the twenty pound lure

Teasers

I am by no means a fly fisherman but these works of art can still be used by Bass anglers , over the years some very talented bass and trout angler gave me the odd fly the result been i have quite a collection of flys of all shapes and sizes


This little shrimp pattern below was made for me by my good friend Paul Ashbridge what a talent to make such a life like artificial bait by hand

Teaser ahead, below,i tried the give the effect of the lure following the fly ,,i have caught Bass this way on many occasion but using a teaser may increase your chances of a hook up but beware of the double hook up you may loose the fish of a lifetime,,your choice!!

this is a sea trout pattern lure the detail is just stunning with the red flash under belly to the ayu tail and back this fly plus many others was given to me from a great angler and friend from Co Mayo Ireland,, Brian,, thanks mate

I just had to show the world this little devil,,and dont you just love it ,,i call it the fluffy prawn so cheeky any fish just could not resist,

thanks to Paul and Brian,,

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