Jig it!

First off I must admit, I have never caught a fish using any of these .... yet!

However, I am beginning to gain a better understanding of what style of lures to use in certain conditions. This is obviously through my very limited experience / knowledge but everyone has to start somewhere.

I have been out on some marks when the current is strong and a large rolling swell has made it difficult to get your standard 'plug' or 'minnow' lures to dig in - are these the solution? 

Then I thought to myself, maybe not over incredibly rough or snaggy ground due to the fact these lures sink - although less hooks would mean less catching in weed or rocks? I am not sure but I feel this style of lure has its own unique advantage in certain situations which others lures can not provide. 

I have a few marks in my head where these will make an appearance at the end of October when I head back down to the Copper Coast. 

I also think these could be killers for Pollack - again in the correct circumstances.

Only time will tell I guess.

I would love to hear your thoughts or comments on these, I know a few, but very small amount of anglers who carry around at least on in their box for the 'right' moment. 

It keeps getting better - Copper Coast strikes again!

To say this trip was a rather last minute affair is an understatement - the forecast was not great for the latter half of the weekend but we took the gamble, booked a house on Thursday for a few nights and set off early hours of Friday morning.

As always we made the pit stop in Absolute Fishing to chat with the lads and get a well needed cup of coffee. We met Tom, a friend who we recently made during the Bass Festival. We traded a few stories and set off up the coast in search of some silver bars. 

Conditions looked good, a nice bit of stirr in the water and a breeze.

Salt Skimmer - Rattle vs. Silent?

Strangely enough Cian, my father and I had been discussing this exact topic the day before Henry put up his blog post. Our conversation was sparked by Henry's previous trip to Ireland and Cian was relaying the stories to us....

We stood on the first mark looking at the water and decided to try a cheeky surface lure first. Dad stuck on a rattle IMA Salt Skimmer and nailed it out, closed the bail alarm and tightened the line - Swoosh. A Bass rose straight up and just missed the lure. We couldn't believe it, first cast and we nearly got nailed but it didn't come back, nor did anything else show for about an hour. 

We moved around the corner and he stuck on a silent Skimmer this time and on the third cast got nailed by a lovely little Bass with electric blue fins. A stunning start to the trip.

Still no wiser on the rattle v silent debate but what a start to the trip!

Weedless, Weightless soft plastics - they sure do work!

I have tried this tactic before a few times but never really committed myself and I thought it was about time to embrace it and really give it a go. We had made our way out onto a very shallow reef strewn with gullies and weed beds. I stuck on the Bamboo stick and flicked it out, letting the current do the work. A few casts later I got a lurch on the rod and the line started to strip off the reel - my first weedless, weightless Bass!

A lovely fish that engulfed the entire lure. It was safely unhooked and slipped back in.

Out and about and meeting new people .... Dave Norman!

We had met Dave the night before on a mark at the car. We stopped had a good old chat about Bass, marks and both of our blogs. It is always great to meet like minded people, especially when they are as friendly and down to earth as Dave.

We met him on a mark the next morning and I helped him land a lovely solid fish. His third of the session.

Hope to bump into him again one day on the Copper Coast.

The Melty Nympy Strikes!

I have been using the IMA Melty Nymph for a week or two now and it is a fantastic product. I have had good success with it for Pollack and I couldn't wait to get it out for Bass.

I met up with James Barry from Absolute fishing and his friend before heading out together for a night time session.

The conditions were perfect, big sea, clean water - the window of opportunity was brief but to quote James these were 'big fish conditions' - he wasn't wrong....

I rigged the Melty Nymph with a weedless jig head and fired it out in the crashing water, a slow retrieve with the occasional twitch and sink and draw. The lure was right at my toes washing up the pebbles and the reel began to scream and the rod started to thump. 

I had no idea at this stage what size the fish was as it was pitch dark and we couldn't put the head torches on for fear of spooking more fish in the shallows.

I had it at my feet ready to land about four times but each time it screamed off again. Finally James told me to walk back slowly and the fish was beached. My dad grabbed it and lifted it safely up onto the shore. 

My new personal best Bass. A solid bar of silver. Words cannot describe how pleased I was to get a fish in these conditions. It was an epic night and I couldn't have been in better company with the lads and my dad - a night I will never forget.

A quick picture and then it was time to put her back to fight another day.

The power in these creatures is just awesome. There is no other word for it and when you hook into one it lets you know who is boss.

Carbon copy Bass.

After the horrible blow the Copper Coast became too difficult for us to fish and as I didn't know where to tuck away, we made a move back to Wexford in search of cleaner water. 

It proved a wise move with a few School Bass to raise the spirits. 

Estuary fishing - Perfect for tucking away from storms.

With a force 4-5 blowing hard on the coast nearly all my rock marks had blown out - the only solution was to head for the estuary and bounce some plastics.

Everyone has their favourite soft plastic lure and I am no exception. I stuck on my lure and began trotting it down the current. We both fished it hard for about an hour or so with no luck. It was raining hard and the gale was blowing sand all over the place - it wasn't  particuarly pleasant experience but we persevered. 

This was the first fish of the session. 

I then stuck on the new Black Minnow which I had got as a last minute purchase from Nick at Basslures.

http://www.basslures.co.uk/catalogsearch/advanced/result/?manufacturer[]=162

What a lure, it looks real, feels real and has a fantastic action in the water - it wasn't long before a Bass nailed it out in the current. 

http://www.basslures.co.uk/catalogsearch/advanced/result/?manufacturer[]=162

Really worth checking these out.

The weather cleared up for the next session we had in the estuary but the coast was still dirty and weeded up. 

The IMA Melty Nymph was unleashed again after connecting with the big fish a few nights before. The lure was trashed but still hanging in there. I nailed it out and it wasn't long before I connected with another little Bass.

http://www.basslures.co.uk/ima-melty-nymph-003-3-5-inch.html

The Melty Nymph has a great action and easy to use, a great lure for all kinds of situations.

http://www.basslures.co.uk/ima-melty-nymph-003-3-5-inch.html

A photo, behind a photo. Tom took this cool picture of me photographing my fish caught on a Black Minnow.

Every trip has to end sometime.

Every time I go Bass fishing I learn something new, meet new people and find new marks. This trip was no different - I have learned so much from just watching others, talking and absorbing everything I can. I would like to say this won't be my last trip this year but I really don't know if I will get the opportunity to unleash the lure gear again for Bass on the Wexford / Waterford coastline - who knows but you never know what is around the corner.