Winter Bass

The weather for coming up to the new year up to arriving in Ireland at one of my favourite spots Tramore was poor to say the least so fork at the ready and off to dig a few worms bait fishing looks order of the day,,this is just a small update of a few days fishing,,

  A Small December Bass on bait but hey any bass in December is a bonus,also had a few storm beach Flounder which were in fantastic condition a decents evenings sport ,,then !!!!!

 Off to the Pub for a few well earned pints of the Black stuff,,we are staying at O,Sheas hotel right on the beach in tramore very nice place Take a look HERE

 Bait digging is actually one of my favourite pastimes in sea angling and if the lures are not working theres still a few Winter Bass to be had of that classic Irish surf Beach Tramore Strand,,

 Black lug ,,just the job!!!!got this little lot for a night session tonight the weather seems to be calming too so there may be a small chance of a lure caught bass up the estuary,,,

Winter Bass off To Ireland

The last trip over to Ireland was a little rough to say the least Adrian and myself, even came back to the UK a day early the weather just was not playing ball at all we met up and had some great craic with anglers like us were chomping at the bit to get out there but with the coloured water even in Ireland ,,forget it really ,fish can be caught in coloured water on lures but that's another story for another day Cian and the Lads from absolute fishing kept us entertained with tea and biscuits with all those Irish fishy stories,talk eventually went back a to when Cian and i fished together through the winter months of previous years with a few years where Bass were captured all year round on lures so if the weather plays ball the posibilities for catching Bass are endless



Above a Tidy bass was nailed the second week in March 2009 on a plastic shad the last couple of years have been severe with the weather this year is a lot warmer some 20 degrees on this note i remember winter 2007/8 when the Bass ran through all year on the wexford waterford coast ,,Kerry does seem to be place on a regular basis for winter Bass,,

A fiesty Christmas ,New Year Bass one of a dozen Bass nailed on X Slayers in the festive period of 2008 so these  fish are around taking lures when the conditions prevail,

Carol ,Arron and Myself are getting the ferry over to Ireland on the 27th December for a winter fish,, in last year Temps were minus15 this year is a different ball game fingers crossed the weather looks OK have a look at  magicseaweed i know you all have your own weather stuff but i find this the most accurate guide we have to the winds swells and tides,

So,I have had a great year and to all of you out there that have looked  in on my Blog ,joined ,fished, fell out ,loved and lost have a great and peacefull Christmas with your Family and loved ones,i am packing and off to Ireland soon so my thoughts are not on Santa bringing me that  st criox down the chimmey,  find them here dorsetfishingrods

Delalande Shad time again

Long Trotting for Bass in Estuaries with soft plastic lures i have spoken about before but what a lethal way of Fishing when presented correct,a method that cannot be ignored by any Bass Angler,

Here's a few tips to help you on your way,

Pick your water my personal favourites are the fast moving deep water channels and the slower back eddies of Clearwater lagoons and estuaries moving even further up estuaries into Fresh water ,Bass do lurk in these areas too,,

The choice of rigs and plastics are endless in the world of fishing today, Paddle Tail shads are my personal favourites best when the sea trout are running the estuaries and the and worm type with the sand eel are around both very effective on their day.

For this description I am relating to the paddle tail shad.

Find your area and work out the normally ebbing tide where the most likely place for Bass are going to lie ,on sandy underwater dunes , weed strewn margins, back eddy bait gathering areas, this will come with experience and developing your watercraft and this bit is the fun part,, working it all out,

The approach to trotting is exactly the same as trotting an Avon float for Chub and Barbel species in freshwater a skill I worked out in my younger days that terminal gear is all important which then relates to the natural presentation of the plastic lure to the Bass.

Cast your lure at one o’clock keeping your line as high as possible out of the water by raising your rod tip check and mend your line getting all your line behind the lure keeping as much line out of the water as possible, feel for the paddle tail working, then you are in business, keeping your bail arm disengaged and letting line off between your thumb and forefinger of your left hand giving you controlled trotting your swim with the odd time checking the line feeling for the shad tail working in the current this will tell you the angler that the bait is working weed free and in the zone.

Stopping the Trot will have the effect of lifting the bait off the bottom and restarting will have the effect of dead sticking the bait to the bottom and keeping the line slack, strikes are common in this phase

An upstream wind is ideal for this method, keeping your lure in the Bass zone for a considerable amount of time holding your tackle and lure back in the current, water moving faster than the lure will make your paddle tail work even faster for you with a natural presentation over trots as much as 120yds long and covering vast amounts of ground obviously increasing your chances of a Bass Nailing you with that well presented lure.

The following steps are essential for successful soft plastic lure fishing in estuaries

• Always use the minimum weight (g) that you can possibly get away with 5 to 10g on a worm or paddle tail shad

• Articulated jig heads are a must with the use of short shank hooks for a more natural set up for the plastic lure and will give a natural roll and action to the soft plastic you are using, its all about keeping it real

• In a sensitive environment of clear ,shallow water a fluro carbon leader of 15lbs BS optimum length of around 5 ft Longer leaders with floating greased line are a advanced option

• Concentrate on the presentation of your lure the use of longer light rods will assist with the presentation

• In the shallows of estuaries sight fishing can be so exiting and a pair of top quality Polaroid’s are a must

I have used this method for a long time now and is successful Bass do go for the shads find them here i have got a few on the burner as we are off shadding in Ireland next week and with the picture above taken on our last trip the excitement is beginning to build,
i have with others probably had more success for larger Bass with the delalande shad with the articulated head than any other lure i own ,for me it is a no1 soft plastic lure,,,

Megabass ,IMA and a trip to Ireland

For years i always looked at the original Megabass vision 110 as a viable Bass lure ,,
just could not get on with it at all ,casting,action just certain things that didn't suit my style
i know there are you out there screaming at the screen and yes i agree to a point a great lure but sadly not one in my box ,, i got a few lures sent out from bass lures  and the 130 ONE TEN MAGNUM was in there amongst them and certainly builds on the success of the vision 110,,i really fancy this lure for bass i am sure as a shallow diver to a depth of around 2ft will do the business i cannot wait to try this lure on a few marks  i know,,

A suspending lure that works in fresh water

,just upgrade the trebles and it will suspend in the salt water balancing is crucial for success in the salt i also love the colour of flashing wagasagi colour,,, looks like the Legend of the vision just got bigger,,

Another lure that has caught my attention is the Nabarone 125 slim ,
below in Sand Bora this lure has worked all over the place for me in the old model ,,but what i like about this slim is the 2 trebles instead of the three and that helps with the landing and hookup of the Bass and about time we got back to two trebles on a Bass Lure ,makes the hook up a lot more sensible with two trebles
a brilliant price of £16.99 here

Anyhow ,,

,got the pass out to SE Ireland from the FPO and our Saga will continue into deep November weather permitting, and boy i cannot wait, this time of year can and regularly does produce some really tidy Bass ,,I will be traveling to Ireland on the 23rd November with a couple of mates for another Crack at those Bass the weather can be fickle though , in the picture below courtesy of Henry Gilbey was a fantastic day we had on a very Frosty November morning a few years back,

Ireland toppers (part 3)

Would you believe a lure that i picked up in a Tackle shop on a recent visit to Gochec in Turkey would turn out to be a killer lure off the top up the quiet estuaries on our recent trip to Ireland ,the River2Sea Rover 98 flashing plate Ghost turned out to be a revelation for me fished so slow it turned the Bass on so much the balmy calm back water of the estuary would explode with the ferocity of the strike i cannot find anyone who stocks the rover 98 lure in the UK but take it from me this is a really nice bit of kit to have in your Lure box,, 



The Rover 98 was loved by the Irish Bass





Looks so innocent but a killer in the correct conditions

 The Lucky craft gunnish is a tried and tested lure that has been around since time began and is probably the best topper out there and has certainly stood the test of time catching Bass in every scenario from crashing Beach waves holding the troughs between monster waves to fished so slow up a estuary in the flat calm,such a versatile lure ,and it catches Bass, this lucky craft lure has it all on our trip to Ireland the Gunnish accounted for a dozen fish between 4 and 7lb off the top for Mark and Adrian both are very accomplished anglers with the gunnish you will find them here

6LB Bass off the top

Below a really tidy 7lb Bass off the top for Adrian

7lb Bass off the top for Adrian on the Gunnish

The other lure that really opened my eyes was the small sammy 100 a stealth lure that Mark used as a master i have not witnessed a angler for a long time pull Bass to 5.8oz out of nothing,on a rising tide in a estuary where the mullet were running most normal lure anglers would walk away but not this guy ,he had tried other lures that evening ,the bass had shown an interest but would shy away at the death so out came the sammy 100 he fished this at a snails pace nailing 4 bass off the far sand bar that just seem to suck the lure in ,it was a masterclass to watch

Mark Padfield caught Bass on the pearl white 100 sammy

the 100 sammy does it again for Mark

The Look says it all ,,you wont beat me!!!!

so,, we had a great few days smashing a few Bass in Ireland Thanks for your great company Lads we had a Blast,

Must do it again soon,,

Ireland the lures(part 2)

Of course the megabass gataride yoyo is a killer lure here Adrian nailed this corker of a Bass on the Hama isitsu sandeel colour with a ghost effect a lure that will work have a look here a superb shallow diver in the bright sunlight that accounted for 4 Bass from 3 to 9lbs that first morning in Ireland

a stonking 6lb+ Bass off the top on the gunfish by mark Padfield ,,,he nailed this Bass in flat calm conditions keeping the lure nice and slow in the early morning light and what a whack these Irish Bass will give the ever young  Lucky Craft Gunfish,,,

The wonderful Megabass XSlayer ayu a tried and tested lure from the past,,
 There has been a lot of talk of late that this lure is not what it was and yes the old slayer was a fantastic groundbreaking lure but after getting into a few Bass with the new slightly larger slayer i am not convinced that there is any real problems the Bass still love them ,,

My personal favourite the Delalande GT Shad a really wonder full big bass catcher i have developed the trotting method in the estuaries and faster moving water, the method has  really not caught on but just look in the picture from a couple of days ago the Bass just love them and you will always have the chance of nailing that biggy on the articulated jig head 10g have a look here a fantastic reduced price of £3.49 for this October and November shad time,,Happy Days!!

Looking back the soft lures are really good but there are only the special few that work time after time in my book develop your methods read the water and conditions and apply your ideas and it will come together soon enough,,
tomorrow i will blog like myself a couple of old timers that worked in Ireland last week that still work and have stood the test of time,,,

till then,,,,tight lines

Irish Bass (part 1) first 2 days

 A overnight drive from Essex picking up Adrian in Kent and a visit on the way in wales just over the welsh border to have a cuppa with Steve Hound dog thanks for the Tea and cheese sandwich mate ,,then look what turns up Mark Padfield ,he was on and off for the trip but with a few yelps from all of us it was great to have him along for the ride,,all was now set with the weather looking good  for a very interesting trip to Ireland,as usual the with them two on board on this trip the Craic will be mighty!! 

Early Start off the ferry on to the amazing wexford coast

Arrived at one of my old marks with my Mates and set them loose ,,fill your boots boys this is Bass Heaven Adrian and Mark were off like a shot and boy was it worth it these lads make my life real easy for me the old man they can work it out for themselves the sun came up with a sunrise i will never forget and within the hour Adrian had bagged this 74.3cm Bass a nice 9lb and returned to scrap another day well done mate,,,,

74.3cm Bass for Adrian

 Double Trouble ,,just great when the Lads nail a pair together not big but what a happy picture two mates with a pair of bass ,,no arguments when the Bass are coming thick and fast,

Double trouble love the reflections

Yours truly with a Bass taken off the top ,my next post will be showing the lures we have used on this trip ,some surprises in store and thats a cert,,and some more rather tidy Bass

4lb Bass off the top at high tide up the estuary brilliant early morning fishing with your mates

 Mark with a fine 6lb Bass off the top hit the lure ar 100mph  this guy is a master of the art of topping second to none in my book some realy large bass will come to some of Marks topping methods in Ireland ,simply off the scale,

Mark looks pleased with this Bass Next cast after the Photo shoot i felt so sorry for the guy a potential double lost off the top but hey theres another day ,,

Another fine 6lb fish for Adrian and again off the top ,Adrian and Mark have opened my eyes to fishing off the top in Ireland god after all those years !!! well i will have to put up another report as i have said with more fish and Methods,,

Bye for now ,,and more to come soon,,,,,,,,,