Thursday 27 June 2013

ILLEX–CELLENT Evening with Jean Yves

One of those excellent evenings of fishing that will go down in memory. Two names have featured regularly on this website since I began guiding in 2003 – one of them is Illex fishing gear the other is the regular French customer Jean Yves Quillien.

We both enjoyed an incredible evenings fishing with fish taken on both surface and subsurface techniques – we fished one of my favourites early in the tide through shallow water the brilliant I-Shad fished weedless combined with the Wide Gape Texan hook – finnesse.

Fish came first to the 4.8” I –shad and then later we increased to the 5.8” and continued to take fish right through the rise. Low tide fishing is fun see here from 2010, after a brief lull we changed up to surface lure fishing with increasing depth hiding the weed fronds – these were the first fish we took from the surface this year.

The Illex bonnie both 95 and 128 (featured as one of my top favourites of all time), the Illex Mudsucker 90 and the Illex SK Pop Grande, I couldn't help it I just kept bringing them on.

Rods fished were the Illex 110 and the 220 element rider, paired off with Shimano Ci14’s and sunline braid with Rio fluoro carbon leader – and boy was it fun in the tidal rip taking those fish on the surface with light gear! Its not often I go on about equipment but a session with a customer taking more than 8 fish on the surface is really something special.

All the gear we used is available at  Henrys Tackle, Waterford Angling Centre Murphys of Wexford and Southside tackle too.

I go pink in the sun!

Long time favourite fly colour of mine Lavender and Grey, when combined with pink and grey and a ‘secret ingredient’ blended by Brian is leading to success on these bright sunny days.

Shrinking the flatwing to mini size and tying it sparse almost to transparency then attaching a very fine tippet of fluoro of <= 3kgs has pushed our daytime fly catches up and up.

Great fun watching other members of the shoal mob the fish which had taken the flies in crystal clear conditions.

Thursday 20 June 2013

The bass angler–Part II

‘…this had to do with many things, loss of confidence, three seasons of many customer cancellations, absent fish, resulting financial instability and the sheer difficulty faced by the loss of any forward promotional angling momentum, especially in the false, self Bass fishing Wexfordcreated, belief that everybody else seemed to be having a whale of a time and bass were running the coasts in their multitudes!

This of course wasn’t true but when you work to develop and then market the fishing by yourself most of the time, well..!

The ‘loss of momentum’ was the biggest challenge I faced. Any guide is only as good as the last happy customer experience. Customers are happy for different reasons, new techniques, improved casting or fishing, any significant sense made of the angling environment, but generally a lot of it has to do with the actual fishing. The quality of the fishing for at least the last three seasons in Wexford seemed to be on a sliding scale of deterioration and culminated during 2012 with what I can only consider to be a complete disaster.’ 

Irish Angler Magazine July Edition 2013

Sunday 16 June 2013

Open season

1-DSC_01421-image4

A nice day today with William and Niall – a good start to the season of 2013 too. Under difficult conditions and amidst weather warnings the new ‘normal’, fishing has resumed!

Saturday 15 June 2013

Bloomsday–Fathers Day-Opening Day

XXXV

All day I hear the noise of waters

Making moan,

Sad as the sea-bird is, when going

Forth alone,

He hears the winds cry to the waters

Monotone

The grey winds, the cold winds are blowing

Where I go.

I hear the noise of many waters

Far below.

All day, all night, I hear them flowing

To and fro.

James Joyce

– Chamber Music. Pomes Penyeach (1927)

Tuesday 11 June 2013

Fathers day treat to yourself ?

bass fishing Wexford

June 16th approaches – and the best of luck for season 2013.

I have a feeling its going to be a FAR better one than we have had in either 2012 or 2011. Perhaps a return to the activity of 2010 but who knows?

Of course with wild creatures that are subject to many influences there’s no guarantee of anything but patterns do exist. If fish are not running the coastal shores at least from the 20th of June, and there’s every possibility they will be there on the 16th, then I think we may have a continuing problem that has extended from 2012.

With no evidence available to the contrary there’s every reason to expect fish numbers to build into June and beyond at this time. The high light levels, low rainfall, and good air temperatures of the past few weeks should have really helped. Apart from the extended cool easterly wind ‘project’ and the lower temperatures of May its nicely set up to begin well at this time.

If the weather was to stabilise again with some decent patterns we could witness a return to pre 2007 activity – much hinges on so little but fingers crossed!

Stay safe and bendy for 2013 - Jim

New Website

The beginning AND the end…

Forwarded to - The Irish Bass Policy Group (David McInerny, John Quinlan, Shane O Reilly, Mike Hennessy, Dr William Roche, Dr Nial O'Ma...