Bass fly fishing Ireland - P6 - Choosing the right fly lines

To be successful when targeting early season bass or sea trout or indeed throughout the variable summer season in Ireland then your presentation or depth of fishing is going to be key. Slow steady retrieves are often the norm while fishing as close to the bottom as possible. At the early times of year bass are still somewhat lethargic and still in their energy conserving mode. Their noses are down as they root through muddy estuary bottoms in search of small marine worms and other tiny invertebrates. Here is where a variety of sinking and intermediate lines or sink tips will greatly add to your success not only in the early part of the season but throughout the summer as well!

Many fly fishers however don't carry the right equipment, in this case lines, to get the job done. As we grow in the sport the majority of us have spent our time or money accumulating a wide assortment of flies that we have to choose from. Deceivers, clousers, poppers, half and half’s, on and on and on they goin so many different colours…we've already discussed this in part 5 and 4.

If you're like some fly fishers I know you probably have so many flies that you can't find room in your box to carry them all. You probably also carry many flies that have never been cast into the water at all. These are the flies we label for that "just in case scenario", or "I like it so much i dont want to fish with it".

With the new season now getting underway I think it is time for many of us to change our way of thinking or the approach that we take. We need to start to measure how effective our time spent fly fishing at sea actually is. Do you keep a mental note of any of your success? Or do you just move along casting and casting, putting in another bad day where you say the fish weren't there or they weren't hungry or the sky was too blue ?

Or does this sound familiar? The fly fisher next to you is catching fish and you are not. You cast just about every fly in your box but each one yields the same result, nothing. Or how about this, you move from a spot and another fisher comes along steps in and catches a fish on the very first cast.

I think all of us can honestly say that at least one of these scenarios has happened to each one of us sometime in our fly fishing adventures. I know they have to me and it can be rather frustration especially if the angler repeats the catch. Dont worry though, there arent that many saltwater flyfishers for this to become a normal occurrence!

So what is the answer? What should go through your head when you are not producing fish and you know that you should be? One of the big keys to your success in saltwater fly-fishing is going to rest with your presentation at different depths. You will need to look at two components of your presentation that are important. One is the retrieve that you are using and the other is putting the fly in the right place. In other words putting the fly where the fish are. Which of these is more important? Well, I think it is safe to say that putting the fly where the fish are should be your first and most important consideration. If you have the correct retrieve but there are no fish anywhere near your fly then good luck, because you are going to need it.

I would recommend the following lines as essentials for the Irish saltwater flyfisher to cover all presentations at many depths.

Rio Outbound - #9F
Rio Outbound - #9I
Rio Outbound - #9S (rate as needed)
Rio Aqualux Striper Bass line -(Recommended)

or
Scientific Anglers saltwater mastery series fast and slow sinking lines plus a floater

Plus

Jim Teeny - Ts-350sw
Jim Teeny - Ts-450sw
Jim Teeny - Xd- 300

Alternativley and often more simple and cost effective

Custom built shooting heads or sink tips

Next month (September) - where should I fish?

In 'BASS FISHING FILES' Now -

Water Clarity and Bass Fishing - causes, effects, and how to adapt you fly & lure fishing techniques.
Tight lines - Jim

Bass Fishing Influences - Water Clarity (I)

I'll try and post some thoughts on water clarity over the weekend. This foto was taken on opening day 2008.

Water clarity is a factor that will strongly influence your bass fishing. The extent of that water clarity; be it too clear or too unclear are at opposite ends of the tactical fishing spectrum. Fish behaviour is different at both ends and hence you will need to apply different methods to catch them. In clear water fish are often visible when swimming and when hooked will often see them been ‘mobbed’ by other members of the shoal. Often as you bring your fish closer to hand, this exciting activity can be clearly observed. Clear water fishing is often full of refusals and other challenges whilst on the other hand ‘brownish green’ water is impenetrable to our gaze and we wonder what’s going on down there, are there indeed any fish in there?

All of my guiding services operate below the point at Rosslare burrow shore. In other words I never go ‘up north’ to do any bass fishing with clients. The reasons for this are related to water clarity and the challenges it presents to the fly and lure fisherman. As you move into the estuary at Wexford and North past the Raven point the sea is in constant contact with sand. The currents and wind are in constant interaction with this sand and depending on their strength and direction as well as longevity there is a lot of ‘suspended’ particles in the water for long periods of time. There is sand all along the East coast and this is further complicated by channels and bars and strange and complex tides.

Further south past the southeast corner, there is of course vast quantities of sand, but I suspect this sand and the geography has different qualitiesand 'behaves' differently than that on the east coast.

There’s not as much of it – no long golden beaches of fine grains
The sand particles have different qualities on the southern coasts (bigger/heavier)
There are rock platforms and deeper water closer to shore
Currents tend to be stronger and faster
There are less straight lines

We are talking strictly shore fishing at the moment – bear in mind that estuary fishing has its own complexities like run off from the land and rivers.

After a long period of say North or Northwesterly breezes the water clarity is often amazing on the south coast. A westerly breeze doesn’t affect this clarity adversely but as it swings further south towards the southwest or south then this breeze or wind begins to have its affects. The longer the wind blows and the greater its strength the more unclear the water becomes. Waves crashing and rolling puts particles into the water, the windy weather changes the environment!

If you witness a lot of seaweed deposits on the beach its usually an indication of previous high wave and wind activity. This seaweed will rot and will often decompose into the sand where you are walking. When waves hit this sand it adds these smaller often-minute decomposing particles to the water and then you can witness quite a vivid two-colour scenario of blue and green (or even brown) at the sea close to shore.

The water clarity and its longevity/components and causes are not an easy thing to understand. Because I’m exposed to it on an almost daily basis I try not to rationalise it but have developed a ‘sense of conditions’ based on experiences. Unclear water on the south coast is a different phenomena than that on the east coast and hence the fishing is different and you’re expectations should be too.

You arrive at you fishing destination – its warm, a little cloudy and misty, high tide is in about 3 hrs and it’s a spring tide, wind is from the southwest force three. Perfect. Then you walk into he water and you can’t see your feet. Not so perfect! The cause of this unclear water has been wind force, wind direction, and the previous number of hours it has blown for. Combine this with heavy rain and you get miserable water conditions.

One of the reasons I emphasise the need for anglers to tune into the weather systems is to try and enable the elimination of surprises and often disappointments. Taking the example above and applying it to today July 05th for example. It’s a nice sunny day here; it’s a bit breezy the tides are good I might go fishing! But. Already the water was murky, the wind blew very strong from the east in the last 12 hrs, and its still blowing at 4- touching 5. It will get worse this afternoon. There has been no settling period for particles to descend. Sunday looks like a calm day with winds dropping this evening and all day tomorrow so by Monday morning or maybe even Sunday evening – fishing will return somewhat as particles descend, barometric pressure builds again and the water clears. The nature of the particles are heavier than those along the east coast, I believe they descend faster.

Can you calculate the extent and the longevity of the unclear water?







The table above is a representation of wind force and a recovery rate for fishing. Please do not interpret this as 'definitive' or 'carved in stone' in any way. Its based around observations and experiences of the last 6 years or so. The way it works as a guide is that any number below three has a negligible if any effect upon the fishing. So for example if it blows force three for 4 days its value is 2 and has no effect real effect on your fishing (we are not considering direction). If it blows force 4 for four days its value is 3 and this does have an effect on your fishing or rather - water clarity and fish behaviour.

It should be noted that if it blows force six for 2 days its value is 2 this is in fact a 2+ and probably closer to three. The table values for force 6 and 7 should be treated with this in mind.

The values also give a rough indication of the number of tides it takes to recover so if it blows force 5 for three days we have a value of 3. Multiply this by 12 and this is the recovery time for water clarity from the time of the decrease in windspeed on your forecasts. A sudden drop in windspeed may increase the clearing process.

Please bear in mind this is an indication from clear to unclear on the south coast - it does not take into account the current clarity of the water. In other words if the water is already unclear this table is meaningless. It is also based on a slowing of wind speed to the negligible end of the table for a period of time, the 'future wind' on your current forecasts will decrease in speed from the value you are now taking.

A value of two is merely an indicator and can often be a heads up to change. Any value in the range of 3 or 4 and water clarity is affected and consequently so is your fishing - beyond the factor of 4 fly fishing is generally impossible and even at 3 it can be downright difficult. Lure fishers can expect to fish up to a value of 4 and even an early session at 5 but not for any extended periods.

Because the south east coast is subject to so many influences - water depth, current speed, geography, weather, its possible to locate areas of 'clearer' water even when winds are blowing hard. This is where again, ground work and perserverance pays of. By constantly fishing in the one location you may well become accustomed to its patterns but you are also subject to its negative influences. You need to find fallback locations when your favourite is full of weed and brown sandy dirty water.

You learn more by exploring and expanding your fishing - I dont know exactly what a bass does when the water is dirty but i know they hunt differently and in different places - change your techniques and strategies and you will find them!

Andrew and Philip - aka 'The Nolan Sisters'

Andrew decided to give Philip his brother two days bass fishing and guiding with SEAi for his 40th birthday. This meant they would fish twice on Thursday 04th and once on friday morning. The days were sandwiched between two weather systems and I felt it wasnt going to be easy! Fishing, and working hard they both got the results they deserved in less than ideal conditions. I had great fun as the digs and slagging flew........and the fish were on!

Landing Gear

Rods - Smith Bayliners - 7'-4"
Reel - Shimano stradics and twin powers
Line - Powerpro 8 kgs
Tippett - Rio flouroflex and fluoroflex plus 9 kgs
Lures - Various
Location - The south east

Fishing Report July 4 - Andrew & Philip Nolan

Thursday Afternoon

Landing Gear

Lures – Zara super spook
Colour – White and white and red
Rods - Smith Bayliners
Reels - Shimano twin powersLine - Powerpro - 8 kgs
Tippett - Rio flouroflex - 8 kgs

Conditions

Temperature - 16 degrees
Wind - South/South west 4- 5
Cloud – A little cloud cover long sunny spells
Water - cloudy to 20 metres then less so -
Tide - Full at 07:35
















Friday Morning
We repeated much of what we had done and used on the previous two sessions this morning. The brighter conditions of yesterday afternoon was a pleasant change and Andrew had a fine fish at around 16:00 hrs on the surface (amongst others). Today I was accutely aware of the strongish east south easterly breeze which later turned easterly at around 09:30. Andrew had a fish of about 1.5kgs and then another of 2.4kgs on the surface - that was it for the morning. The approaching system obviously has them in a different feeding pattern a little earlier than i anticipated.

This is the last session of Andrew and Philips visit.

Fishing Report July 3 - Andrew & Philip Nolan

I had an early morning session today with the two guys. It was Philips first time using surface lures, Andrew was the expert of the group!

They landed and returned seven fish the best of which ran close to 3 kgs all in VERY shallow water. The simplest of lures, the Rapala skitter walk took all the fish and they refused many others even the so called best. Fished slowly with short walks and long stops. Philip outfished Andrew. Dare I say more as the mornings fun was great! Looking forward to this afternoon.


Thursday Morning
Landing Gear

Lures - Rapala skitter walk - all fish taken on these lures
Colour - White and white and brown
Rods - Smith Bayliners
Reels - Shimano twin powers
Line - Powerpro - 8 kgs
Tippett - Rio flouroflex - 8 kgs

Conditions

Temperature - 13 degrees
Wind - North/North west 3- 4
Cloud - Heavy cover with lots of rain
Water - cloudy to 20 metres then less so -
Tide - Full at 07:00

Conditions South East -Week 27

Rather than me getting tied into a continuous update situation as the weather constantly changes - I think i'll post with a broader sense of things. The tides on the wexford coast and indeed most coastlines are very suitable for bass fishing in general over the next seven days. Here in Wexford high tides are early in the next few mornings over the 'change of light period'. This to me is one of the singular most important factors as fish have moved closer to shore under the cover of darkness with a spring tide. Accompanying this is low cloud cover, southerly winds, and mild temperatures.

Having been on the forlorn point at Kilmore quay today water clarity whilst down does not have that brown colour that immediately spells trouble. There are suspended particles but little weed and I feel in the next 24 hours it will 'fine down' even more.

What really has me going is the fact we have two days 'trapped' (thursday and friday in particular) between weather systems. It looks like a break down and a low pressure system is approaching on late friday night. The period over the next 72 hrs is one when fish will often feed frantically, just before the low pressure arrives. If the system arrives and moves through quickly fishing will improve dramatically on Sunday evening or Monday morning. It may be fresher though with Northerly cooler winds.

Some fish are on the surface but are more likely to be caught in the mid tables in the next 24 hrs (wed),they should be more active on the surface on thursday and friday.

keep casting