Package of Goodies

I was lucky enough to have a £20 voucher from Veals and after much deliberation and a lot of chopping and changing my mind I placed my order:

7.5" Slug Go - Albino Shad
Berkley Trilene - 25lb Fluro
Varivas Big Mouth 3/0
2/0 Eel Hooks

Opened my box of goodies today after the post delivery.

I have to say the Slug Go soft plastics look amazing - never fished with them but read some good reviews! Just need to decide if i need jig heads or bigger hooks now!

If anybody is reading this and has some suggestions - please let me know!

Carlingford Bass Trip

Set of around 7 a.m for Greenore Point, after having some basic info about where to try and intercept a Bass. Although not in abundance, Bass can be caught around the Carlingford region. After much debate, we decided to set of an give it a go.

We arrived down at Greenore just after 8 o'clock to find a shingle style beach and a ripping current tearing through the water - looked good! I tried everything; jointed lures, divers, poppers and not a bite.

We moved on up about 1km up the coast to a stony shoreline. The water was crystal clear, sun came out an it looked sub tropical, and yes before you say anything I know it is the end of September and we are in Ireland!!

Tried the same methods as before - plugs, divers etc - never touched a fish, however we saw plenty of large fish boiling and cruising the shallows. Uncertain if these were Bass or large Sea Trout we fished on and then moved further south.

Next on the list was a shallow causeway that ran out into the open sea which had weedy shallows up either side. I stuck  a popper on and waded out to fish the murky water. Again nothing!

The final tactic that we had was bait, although none of the beaches seemed to produce a big enough surf to truly turn the Bass angler on. We cut our losses and tried a sandy shoreline near Templetown, and yes you guessed it - Nothing!

One last ditched attempt was to return to the crystal clear water and try plugs coming on for darkness . . . It looked perfect but the fish just were not there.

Although we did not manage to intercept any Bass or fish for that matter it was an enjoyable trip nonetheless. Scenery was awesome and it was the first proper try out of my rod and reel combo which is truly fantastic!

                                            (When the sun came out, it really did look stunning)

                                               (Water was so clear we could see fish cruising)

                                                    (Just not surfy enough in my opinion)

(The new rod and reel combo)

Preparing for a quick adventure

Now that i have caught the bug I am always thinking of where i can try next and as Carlingford Lough is only an hour or so away I thought i'd give it a bash.

Unsure yet if I will try the coast in Northern Ireland or cross over and try the Southern side (yet to be decided)

Weatehr forecast isn't great for tomorow, but sure that is fishing for you!

I know there have been Bass caught there before but not in any great number like the South East or South West - but sure if your line isn't in the water you won't catch fish!

On the positive side , i will be trying out my new Rod and Reel combo for the first time at Bass - don't know if I will be lucky enough to bang into one but sure, fingers crossed.

I'm sorting out my lure box now and making a few handy pocket sized tubs to save the labourious task of getting the back pack off and changing lures whilst waist deep in water. (Picture Below)

I've also made tubes to fit my Yo Zuri Mags and my cheap but very cheerful purple poppers.

Low tide is about 8.30 tomorow a.m so - early start and see what happens. . . .

I'll be sure to update when i get home!

A quick mention about my new reel

A quick note - I got the reel well and truly broke in on a 7lb Salmon last week.

Fresh in and scrapped like a bugger!

Finally landed after 12mins and safely released to fight another day.

I have the Alcedo loaded with 25lb smoke braid. I will probably re-spool it with High Viz (red) soon but we shall see.

Teklon Concept Spin

So after a somewhat traumatic experience with the delivery men i finally got my new rod and I can tell you this , it is a cracker! Never have i felt or used a finer more refined piece of kit. Well worth the money! I have yet to christen it with a Bass but hopefully by the end of October I shall be able to enlighten you all on that front. I have given it a quick test up the river for Salmon and so far, so good!