Zen and the art of making a cock up!

OR – several questions about fishing.

Ray Molloy's girlfriend thinks he looks like George Clooney, (when she has her eyes closed). Ray doesn’t admit to looking anything like George but does have a twinkle in his eye and a Sahara dry sense of humour.

Tom is Rays best buddy – Tom talks a lot when he’s not focused but becomes inscrutable when he’s in the zone. He’s also prone to sulk for short periods.

I could go on, wont, but will ask the question at this time ‘ When a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to see it, does it make any sound?’ or put differently

‘When a customer catches and lands an eleven pound bass (on his first outing at a bass fishing workshop) and the guide has no camera to make a photograph does the fish really exist?

George, sorry Ray and Tom went through the ringer this morning at a bass lure workshop, influences, timings, seasons, tides, times, hard baits, soft baits, rods, reels, lines nothing exceptional here. Ray was a brilliant student scoring highly on attention to detail, class contribution and participation, Tom got lines!

We went to lunch in The Yard restaurant and then went to fish the rising afternoon tide. I went through the techniques with the guys. My spare waders were too big for Ray so he elected to fish from the shore. Surface lure, splashing, popping, walking, soft trotting lifting dropping jerk twitching stopping phew!

I set the guys free for about two hours to ‘do it’ for themselves and managed them only through the location development over the tide. Tom said he felt like he was going to catch a fish. Then we heard Ray shout from 50 yards – rod bent – ‘heehhh’ fish on! And it happened to be a very considerable fish certainly in excess of the magic 10 and probably somewhere just slightly less than the incredible 11.

I had left the camera at home, my phone (a new rule) was in the car, so was Rays! Tom was IN THE ZONE

Ray asked if he could hug me, I said 'briefly'. Tom called from afar we showed him the fish, I put the fish back – and then the fish swam away. I have several questions that I must ask -

The technique that Ray developed by himself called ‘Shagging the cat’ did it help in catching the fish? I think so.

‘Stop trying to hit me and hit me, or stop trying to catch me me and catch me, does it apply?

If I had remembered the camera would Ray have caught the fish?

Did Tom have a little sulk in the car on the way home?

A classic day of real fun and brilliant company – a fish to dream of again and again – it made life very easy indeed. I learned a lot.

For lessons in ‘shagging the cat techniques’ or a brilliant Taxi service Ray can be contacted at raymolloy@gmail.com

…..and an end.

Confident capable and at home in environments never fished or dreamed of before.

Two brilliant days of fun and exploration.

……a middle......

There's always a beginning...........

Paul Craig from Belfast begins his two day saltwater fly fishing workshop at SEAi

Taken from a guides diary 2008

Up at four o’clock to catch the early morning tide, we will fish for the next four or five hours in one of the many unique locations the south east has to offer. I get sleepy-eyed people into the car with gear already on and quietly we slip down the street and into the countryside away into the peace of a summer’s day, a rising sun over blue seas and golden sands. I remain with my customers on each session, each day throughout the week, getting to know them and their fishing patterns and expectations. I constantly provide advice on lure selection, casting, flies, lines locations, and best advice on any number of subjects.

It’s a week of mental and physical demands that need constant concentration, focus and attention, planning and re-planning to keep customers happy and safe for 10 hours a day for five days. Then of course there’s the fickle fish to deal with! There are times you need to be all things all of the time.

But I don’t want to do anything else. I have a huge sense of pride in being able to give people a unique, quality angling experience in the county where I was born. It is my objective to make that experience as good and as unique as I possibly can each time, for each group. To convey the essence of Ireland’s unique saltwater sport fishery sensibly and sustainably to the rest of the world is indeed a challenging occupation.

See the collection Here

A personal milestone

Probassfisher edges towards 10K page views per week - a demonstration of the significant number of people from the world over whom are interested in Irish bass fishing.

Thank you for spending time here, I hope it has been of some help and interest to you and please continue to subscribe via the e-mail feed on the right hand panel.

I am rebuilding my photo gallery as the business I hosted it with last has closed -
Regards and safe fishing - Jim

On the edge ~ always…

It could have happened at any time over the three days and indeed it sputtered into life a little on the evening of day three. The fact of the matter is that David never let the opportunity, if it existed, pass him by. He persisted, and when fishing is difficult this is what it comes down to. Focus and attention to detail can get you that one or two fish even very late in the game.

I went through the phases with him on each day through rising temperatures, falling temperatures, sun, rain, wind, blue sky, cloud, Northerly, Southerly, it was all there. Clear water, cloudy water, as my daughter says, whateverrrr…..! Overall conditions remained very very fishable and never really deteriorated severely; they only exhibited variability, constantly!

It was Tuesday afternoon that really had my heart racing – a day that I often refer to as a big fish day and certainly the chance was there with everything falling into place but it was not to be. And that’s the way it played out over the three days, the possibility existed and we could have been lucky and eked out a bruiser or a wayward shoal, but it wasn’t from want of trying or tactics or effort or skill on David's part. He’s now the consummate bass angler, perfectly capable of anything.

There were no numbers of fish in the systems but it always felt like we were just on the edge, very close, just out of reach, a fish away from making an experience a permanent memory.

And then at our feet a fish and another - David had hit them with his favourite method - soft baits.

But then isn't that bass fishing - always on the edge, always.

If you want to learn more about David's experiences and his thoughts on soft plastic fishing and presentations for bass then don't miss next months Irish Angler magazine - David is running a three part series packed with information about these techniques.

Some ideas for when its tough HERE