Confidence is Crucial
Last week I journeyed out to Ireland for a quick visit and as usual the trip produced a whole bunch of things to think about. I would have relished the chance to chuck a fly, but the remnants of a hurricane dispelled any real chance of success using that method so the lure was the way to go.
Cian from Absolute Fishing has been fishing Wave Worms recently and so I decided to give them a go. First session and I pulled a fish, using a weightless soft plastic. Instantly I had confidence in the method and fished it hard throughout the session. But I am convinced that those fish knew the weather was on the way, because we all struggled for the rest of the day.
In fact the weather got so bad that we opted for bait during the next couple of days. I am into all sorts of fishing but so used to the active characteristics of fly fishing that two solid days without a fish (I was very good at missing bites!) meant that I was keen to get back to lures. Then Nick Roberts of Topwater Lures turns up and nails a fish on a Komomo 2. That was it; I would be stringing up the lures the next day.
Highly experienced lure angler Nick Roberts with an lure caught Irish Bass taken in murky water conditions - photo by Henry Gilbey
We arrived quite late in the morning to coincide with a decent tide and I was ready, tooled up with a new rod from Megabass (The Blackshadow) which to all intents and purposes is a fly rod which will cast lures. The water was dirty so I went for a White Wave Worm incorporating a pimped out Chartreuse back … colour bleed from another Wave Worm. Carefully wading into the shallows I cast hopefully towards fish movement which I assumed was Mullet, hoping that maybe there were Bass amongst them. Most of the fish spooked.
I continued fishing and then suddenly there was a huge bow wave heading straight for the worm, but no take? Was it a Mullet perhaps; spooked and rejoining a shoal? Nothing else happens for a good hour and by now both Nick Roberts and I have covered a fair bit of ground. I started changing lures, hoping to find the winning formula. I tried a Chartreuse Wave Worm in an estuary flow and did have one hit, but my confidence was dwindling. More lure changes.
Moving to some moorings (the same area in which Nick had caught the day before) my confidence climbed once more, especially as I had tied on a Komomo 2. Within a few minutes Nick had called over “crank it slower, feel for the action on the rod tip.” Really confident, I followed his advice and then I noticed a loop in my braid. “Damn, why now!?” At which point Nick hooked a fish on some kind of rubber minnow … my mind was all over the place. I didn’t have minnows, the worm had not worked and was I really fishing the Komomo correctly? Confidence back down and a tangle to sort.
He does it again - James Barry with a Bass on a Wave Worm. Photo by Henry Gilbey.
Then James Barry turns up and I begin inching closer to him as he throws a few casts. Fish with this guy and you will know this is wise; he rarely blanks. It was no surprise to see his rod hoop over and I set off to Boga a good fish for him. And guess what it had eaten … yes, a White Wave Worm! I was kicking myself! Why had I not just gone with my instinct and stuck to the method … suddenly the bow wave in the weeded margins seemed more likely to have been a fish.
The worm went back on and when James got back to fishing I watched his every move and asked questions. “What speed should I wind, should I add movement via the rod tip etc” As with all the guys over in Ireland including Cian, Ger and Paul they are only too willing to help. I learned a lot from watching James and once again felt confident, especially when he got hit again, tearing the worm clean off the hook.
Heading towards some rocks we had a particularly exciting few minutes when we could see Bass momentarily in the waves, gliding through murky water little more than 2 feet in depth. One of these fish rushed my lure but refused at the last moment. We continued fishing, following the tide and hopefully the fish, but even James wasn’t getting a take. We must have lost them.
I have fallen in love with Irish Bass this last year and catching them on soft plastics is just so much fun. Photo by Henry Gilbey
The rocks began covering and then my radio crackled into life as Henry explained that they were heading back to drive to a new mark. I could see them about half a mile away and said I would continue fishing until I could see them nearer the car. Waist deep in water I wasn’t confident that we were with the fish and began wading back towards the rocks, there had to be fish hugging this feature! A Tern dived nearby and I turned to shout to James … he was already shouting to me and motioning that I should get a lure in there. The Wave Worm goes out; I give it a moment to sink and then crank steadily, gently flicking the tip of the rod to impart movement, confident that any moment I will hook up. There is slight resistance; I just keep winding and then the fish hits. What a feeling, total satisfaction … confidence had once again won the day.
White Wave Worms, Bass love them! Photo by Henry Gilbey
It’s what I love so much about fishing; it’s about learning,observing, listening, trying stuff, using a bit of instinct and above all being confident. My instinct had been correct (the White Wave Worm, the rocks and the Tern) and who knows, had I stuck with my original plan maybe I would have caught a bunch more fish? That doesn’t really bother me, what does is becoming confident in a method and the only way to do this is to listen and observe those who already have confidence/experience in a technique… then try it for yourself. The result will be that you catch more fish! I have a lot of guiding coming up over the next couple of weeks but at the earliest opportunity I will be throwing a Wave Worm at a Devon Bass; I have total confidence in them!
25 Hour Bass
It’s been a mad few days. On Thursday I was up by 6am for last minute Ireland preparation before heading off to look after Hugh Caslake and Martin Baum. These guys are regulars and make an annual pilgrimage to the Exmoor area to indulge their growing addiction for fly fishing. It is awesome to see how they are improving with Hugh now making a move towards double handed Salmon fishing … he was popping some sweet loops. Meanwhile Martin got to grips with the finer points of hauling to improve casting accuracy while river fishing.
I left the guys fishing by 3.30pm and headed off for Bristol Airport and my evening flight to Dublin. The meet and greet parking was brilliant as usual, but I could have done without the £80 overweight baggage charge levied by Ryanair. Perhaps I should have taken the ferry? Too bad, the Irish Bass are worth it and I kind of forgave the airline company because the flight arrived 20 minutes early! There was to be no lonely trip down towards Dungarvan either because Florida fishing maestro Rodney Goodship was there to meet me for the journey. On a break from his Fish the Dream operation, he was about to sample something quite different, Irish Bass Fishing. The last time I met up with Rodney for a fishing trip was several years ago in Miami so the chatter was nonstop during our 2 ½ hour drive.
We arrived in the wee small hours of Friday morning and after catching up with the guys various members of the party including Henry Gilbey, Andy Bignell and Rodney quite sensibly retired to bed. That left Cian of Absolute Fishing and me. After trying to talk ourselves into getting some much needed shut eye we took the slightly insane decision to put our waders on instead. Cian had been up since 7am too and it was now 2am the following day. Rods were thrown into the car and we set off eager for a fish; we could sleep later. We fished hard but drew a blank, even though conditions seemed perfect. Some thanks for our effort! We had to be back to catch up with the other guys by 4.30am, at which point we did a U turn and set out for a favoured mark that produced fish during our last trip in July. But once again sport was slow and I have to admit that I was starting to feel the effects of 24 hours with no sleep.
The wonderful Wave Worm soft plastic - Bass love them!
Local Bass fishing junkie, Ger, came to the rescue. He had joined us for the morning session and managed a Bass of around 5lb using his favourite Feed Shallow lure. I fished my Wave Worm soft plastic with renewed anticipation, a method of lure fishing that shares many characteristics with the world of fly fishing. Rigged to swim weedless without any weight, I cast into some mouth watering gullies adding lots of tip flicks, pauses and other movements to simulate life. I got it right on one of the occasions and was hit hard by a Bass of 4lb. This was a fish to be savoured, not only because it was my first ever on a soft plastic but also because it looks like the next few days could be no good for anything except bait. Not to mention the fact that I had now been awake for over 25 hours!
The 25 Hour Bass!
The weather is now horrendous! At one point the barometer on my Casio Protek just crashed signalling the arrival of massive South to South West winds and driving rain, interspersed with periods of relevant calm, even sunshine. But the weather has taken its toll and many of our intended marks are now unfishable. Frustrating yes and the forecast doesn’t offer much comfort, but time spent in the company of like minded anglers is just as good and I am sure we will find some more fish in the days to come. Andy has been doing just that and I am constantly amazed at this guy’s ability to extract fish from about every location we go to such as this fish taken on Crab. Hopefully we will get some more fish for Henrys camera soon. Writing this blog late on a Sunday night I should probably do the sensible thing and get some sleep!
Andy seems to extract Bass everywhere we go - despite the weather!
A very Beara(ble) session
Dromagowlane is the perfect anglers retreat with ample space for tackle, drying areas for clothing and very comfortable beds. But the best bit is the food! Paul’s wife Anne was soon filling us with all manner of tasty cuisine (small portions are not an option!), prior to heading out for a quick bash at the Pollack. Henry managed a couple on his soft plastic lures but other than that it was a quiet session. After the amazing fishing we had experienced a few days previously (see more here) we could hardly complain and headed back to base tired but more than happy. After all the next morning was going to be perfect!
Waking to the sound of heavy rain falling from a dreary grey sky it would have been easy to begin moaning, but what good does that do? Fishing is about dealing with conditions and that sometimes means bad weather. One of Anne’s legendary breakfasts had us perked up as we planned a visit away from the salt in search of Trout on one of the Bearas relatively under fished Loughs. The road into our chosen venue, Barley Lake, should have us told that we were about to witness something very special. It reminded me of that famous opening scene from the Italian Job as we wound our way towards Trout heaven, just praying for a little sunshine along the way. Our prayers were not answered.
Bearas Barley Lake, no other word ... stunning!
Instead Henry asked me to teeter on the edge of a high rock in the howling wind for an opening shot, while I chuckled at his efforts to control an umbrella and a camera, various expletives echoing across the valley. I must admit all I wanted to do was run down the steep boggy track to a calm looking bay (well … calmish!) and the chance of an Irish Brown Trout. An hour of fruitless fishing later I did begin to question our sanity. At least I was fishing! Taking pity on Henry who was huddled under his umbrella, 2 eyes peering from a small opening in his jacket, I offered him my second rod so that at least he could have a cast or two. He did not need to be asked twice and was soon casting into a new bay that we had found, home to a cavernous drop off. Counting down for over a minute with a Di-5 40+ I did not touch the bottom … or a fish for that matter!
Heading into the wilderness - Barley Lake in the Beara Peninsula
And then humiliation … Henry was into a fish! Fair enough it was not much bigger than the fly he was using, but it was a fish none the less. Now I HAD to catch a fish or the piss taking would have been relentless. There was only one thing for it, a big Black Minkie pulled at break neck speed. Within 2 casts I heaved a sigh of relief as a half pounder savaged the fly. At least Henry now had a fish for the camera and despite the cold and wet I was feeling that lovely warm glow we anglers experience after being rewarded for our efforts. I managed a couple more takes in the same spot but the whole time my eye had been on a huge ridge jutting out into the lake, probably only 200 metres away as the crow flies, although it seemed more like 2 miles such was the gradient of climb to reach it!
- The drop off was staggering – but the ridge drop off in the background was even deeper!
Arriving at the edge my first thought was to chuck a big Deceiver at the water, this drop off here was even more incredible and looked more like the Atlantic home of a Pollack! Snapping back into reality I used the ample back cast space to throw a long line into the mysterious black depths. First chuck an angry Brown charged the Minkie all the way to the shore, grabbed at it and then I struck like a lunatic … pulling the fly straight out of its mouth. A shame because it was a good fish. Next cast another half pounder. And so it continued as frequently I experienced plucks, follows and takes to a high speed Minkie. There was no doubting the aggressive streak in these fish, obviously required in such harsh conditions.
A gorgeous Beara Barley Lake Brownie
On which note our session came to a halt as the weather worsened and Henry suffered a double sense of humour failure as the rain pounded relentlessly meaning the lens caps needed to stay put and the wind thrashed two of his leaders into oblivion … I promise I did not laugh! All that remained was the long walk back to the car. But do you know I don’t think we would have changed that session. It had been wonderful fun in spite of the conditions. In fact the weather added a moody edge to the scenery. The Trout were perfect. And it means we have an excuse to return when the sun is shining … I am already looking forward to it.
Irish Bass Fishing – Catching the Lure Bug!
Anyone who has ever read Henry Gilbeys blog will know how passionate he is about lure fishing in Ireland. A few years back, in fact almost a decade ago, I travelled to Ireland a few times myself to fish in the company of well known guide John Quinlan. Henry came along on one of those trips in the hope that we would hook a few Bass for his camera. It was a tough week and although we got fish I remember feeling back then that perhaps the fly was not always the best method to target this exciting sport fish.
Granted, there is no doubt that on its day the fly can be truly deadly. But what if the wind is gusting to over 30 miles an hour and the surf is rising to in excess of 3 ft? Add low visibility and there is no doubt that fly anglers will be at a distinct disadvantage when these conditions prevail. Heading back to Ireland with Henry last week there was no doubt that I was hoping for the right kind of weather to allow me to experiment with a bunch of new flies and methods. In reality it was never going to happen …. well, at least not this week!
During his many trips to Ireland I know that Henry has found it invaluable to fish with anglers who know the coastline like the back of their hand enabling fishing over the right place at the right state of tide. One such person is Cian of Absolute Fishing who was certainly getting excited by the prospect of Southerly winds which can turn the fishing on along the Southern Irish coast line, creating the all important “fizz” as he calls it. This highly oxygenated water, crashing in over some of the sexiest Bass features you have ever seen (gullies, weed beds, drop offs and more) can turn the fishing on. A brilliant predator, Bass love the “fizz” and whenever we happened upon yet another brilliant mark I felt that the fish were never far away. However, fishing often boils down to conditions and as the wind whipped up into a series of snorting gales fly fishing became impossible.
I did find some fly action, hooking up a bunch of Pollack (always a great fallback for fly anglers looking for Irish Saltwater action) and also realising a long time ambition to hook up a half decent Wrasse on fly. See more here. But then it struck me. Short, sensitive rods. Mouth watering, silky smooth reels clad with braid. And lures! Lots of lovely, fantastic, shiny, amazing …. Lures! I could feel the kind of buzz I distinctly remember when I first got in to fly fishing.
With brilliant names such as Zonk, Xorus Patchinko or the Jackson Athlete Minnow it is hard not to be drawn into this game. But there is much more to lure fishing than being a tackle tart. What a brilliant method of fishing which has so many similarities that simply must appeal to all but the most ardent of fluff-chuckers. Its highly mobile, the lures have a variety of actions and in many cases it is highly important to “work” the lure with subtle wrist flicks. This is when the specialised rods really kick in, especially when coupled with non stretch braid which offers an unbelievable amount of sensitivity. But best of all this is light tackle fishing which can be enjoyed in conditions which rule fly tactics out.
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Henry for taking me along on one of these trips, as this is his chance to get some fishing after a season spent behind a camera rather than a rod. All manner of lavish tackle was thrown my way, plus lures (sorry, I did lose a few!) and I even learned some new knots. I must also extend my thanks to Cian, plus his friends James and Paul who had never met me before and yet offered advice, their time and knowledge to ensure that we had an amazing trip. The fish were not easy to come by, but fishing is not all about catching. Its the experience. I will never forget this week, especially as I have now found lure fishing. In fact tomorrow I head to Chew Valley Lake with good mate Karl from Leeda to fish for Pike and will be my goal to hook one on a lure! Now that’s a first.
