A few perch

I haven't really done much fresh water predator fishing since last year so I was excited to get out and chase a few pike yesterday but sadly they didn't oblige. I managed one small little jack on an IMA Melty Nymph in the first 10 minutes but sadly it went quiet.

It wasn't until I was messing around with my lure at the edge that I noticed two or three small perch come in to investigate - I stole a small soft plastic from my friends box, cast out and was straight into this little perch. Stunning looking fish. I really wish I had more access to good perch fishing they just look stunning. 

A few casts later resulted in another small fish and then the shoal moved on. 

Anyway it was nice just to be out and the weather wasn't bad either - for once!

Tight lines.

September Bassing

September holds great promise when it comes to Bass fishing. Last season I had some great success, beating my personal best twice in two weeks ..... this season however I was less fortunate with the weather - but we battled on.

North winds made it less than ideal for fishing the open coast but with some moving around and putting in the hours we managed to track down a few fish.

No monsters this month but it was great to see that any fish we caught were in prime condition. Plump and they all scrapped really well.

Hard plugs produced a few fish but as always when the going gets tough we resorted to soft plastics and quickly got some results.

The 120 mm Fiiish Black Minnow continues to do the business and the Bass simply can not resist.

Meeting friends

It is always great to catch up with friends and acquaintances on the coast - it adds to the over all experience and there is nothing better than sharing a coffee with some enthusiastic anglers and talking all things lure fishing.

It was great this time to meet up with a friend of mine Nick Mackrory on his first trip over to Ireland. Nick runs Bass Go Deeper the creator of the Plug Belt and Plug Rack featured here on my blog.

We sat and gossiped about lures, the season past and what the coming months hold before going our separate ways. Very jealous that he has a week of roaming around and exploring this stunning coastline for the first time - Tight Lines!

Who knows if I will get the opportunity to come back down this season but all being well I will squeeze in a trip before the year is out.

Pollack on light tackle

With howling West winds and stormy seas meant accessing my usual coast marks simply was not possible ...... The Sea Trout decided to switch off and we were looking for some sort of sport to keep us sane.

We headed off to a small back bay which we have fished many times before and it is stuffed full of small Pollack and there is always a shout at a good sized Sea Trout.

The gear was pretty simple, a mixture of small, sub 3inch soft plastic lures and light (3-7g) jig heads:

• Illex Pin tails
• Illex Ishads
• IMA Trilobite
• Megabass Hazedong
• Lunker City Sluggo

It was great to play about with the various colours and to feel the fish plucking away at the lures 'On the drop' ....... Yes, of course it was not rod bending, adrenaline pumped action but it was insightful.

Witnessing fish switch colour preference, feeling how they hit the lure depending on the action and watching them chase and stalk it over the shallow weed beds was educational. 

No monsters but a good way to pass a few hours.