I am happy to hear you are considering a bass fishing holiday in the South East of Ireland with SEAi. On this page I hope to supply you with a quick overview of what to expect and what is needed for your holiday requirements on both fly and lure.
The Service
My international guiding season starts On June 16th and ends on October 31st. Please be aware that there is a closed season for bass fishing between May 16th and June 16th. Prior to this time there are some fish to be had, but experience has thought me that the fishing is simply too unpredictable to recommend that customers travel from International destinations to fish.
Guiding and fishing is carried out on optimal tides only and hence the guiding service has a very short and limited season. I do not guide from the shore on a Saturday or Sunday.
June: 1 week
July: 2 weeks
August : 2 weeks (one dedicated to single days)
September: 3 weeks (one week re-allocated to put back dates)
October: 2 weeks (provisional depending on weather)
Total weeks – 9 weeks - Service Details Here
The International guiding service operates on an optimal tidal weekly basis (Saturday to Saturday) or on a three day basis. Any single day guiding requests are allocated to a specific week – generally the first week in August only, also on an optimal tidal sequence.
I strongly encourage a C+R approach to our fishing, but I am not against the taking of an odd fish for eating.
The Influences
As I regularly encounter problems with weather and date allocations almost on a day by day basis I will advise single day customers 5 days in advance of expected conditions for their allocated date. Put back dates due to poor weather conditions for a single guided day will be allocated to a week in September.
The Atlantic Ocean plays the dominant part in our weather, insulating us from the temperature extremes that can be experienced in other European countries. Our position on the Northwest of Europe places us in the path of Atlantic low-pressure systems hence we are subject to a lot of cloudy overcast, humid and often very wet and windy days. This in turn impacts neagtively on our fishing. But don’t despair, its not all doom and gloom! The sunniest months of the year occur during late spring and early summer and the southeast of the country gets the most sunshine, often up to 6 or seven hours a day during early summer. Air temperatures reach between 18 and 20 degrees C during the summer and average around 8 degrees C during winter. We live in a temperate climate that is heavily influenced by the North Atlantic drift; in fact our seas are considerably warmer than average global temperatures at similar positions. Winter water temperatures along the coast fall to as low as 8 degrees but by August and September they are at their warmest and are as high as 15 degrees C. In fact during winter our seas are warmer than the air temperature while during summer the air temperature is warmer than the surrounding sea.
Please be aware because Ireland is subject to many weather influences during the fishing season these will have a significant impact on your fishing, particularly if you chose to fly fish. If you are not prepared to accept the inevitability of nature then maybe a more predictable and stable weather/fishing environment is for you.
Fly Fishing Equipment
Rod #8 or #9 (it is at times possible to fish lighter)
Line #8 or #9 - Floating Intermediate and sinking WF (T300 or similar) or a shooting head system
Reel - doesnt need to be an expensive model with 75 metres of 10kg backing is perfect
Leaders - Mono for surface work and fluorocarbon for sub - tapered length 3.3 metres (1.5 metres of 17ks, 1 metre of 12kgs, .5 metre of 8/7 kgs) or similar
Stripping basket or line tray
Chest Waders and wading belt
Wading boots with FELT or FELT and STUD combination (heel)
Wading staff
Layering system and waterproof jacket
Sunfactor and hat
Polaroid Glasses
I will NOT guide any person who does not have the correct footwear
Flies - deceivers - flatwings - hollow fleyes - clousers and some poppers or gurglers length from 8 cms up to 24 cms
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Becaue the nature of the fishing is tidal our day will be structured aroud the rise and fall of the tides. It is also interesting to note that different types of locations fish differrently at different states of the tide - some on falling some on rising etc.
I generally try and fish on a multiplicity of location types - estuarine, rocky shore, sandy shore, and in current. The secret to the fishing is having confidence in believing that the fish are there and you fish accordingly (you generally dont see them)- always staying on the move and adapting to the changing environment in some locations whilst remaining fixed in others.
Please be aware that some of the locations involve walking into estuaries, along rocky shores and through the coastal environment which can be very enjoyable but at the same time physically demanding. Some days may be windy, wet and cold so at times the overall sense of the fishing is indeed very challenging
A degree of confidence is neccessary for some of the rock fishing - I will always be on hand to help and encourage of course!
A typical day for your week would look something like this
Morning Fishing Cycle -
Light snack to start your day (coffee snack at house or B+B)
Guided Fishing 04:00 to 08:00 (or similar)
Return to house or B+B at 09:00
Rest period -
Evening Fishing Cycle -
Guided Fishing 16:00 to 20:00 (or similar)
Refreshments included - water/fruit/cake - tea/coffee
Return to house or B+B at 21:00
We do not have to stick to a very early morning schedule every day - but I would like to take advantage of situations as the weather and the tides develop during your week. Any changes regarding schedule times are of course discussed with your group before any decisions are made.
