Sea Angling Ireland

We are trying to gauge interest for a LURES ONLY Bass competition based in Cork Harbour during the summer.

The event would take place over two days, probably Friday & Saturday. Reasonable start on Friday to allow competitors to arrive. Early start on Saturday. Sunday to recover or fish more!

There would be a Kayak section if there is interest.

Teams of three.
There would be places available on the Bella Vista fleet of boats (18 approx places) for people not bringing their boat.

Competition would suit small boats.

Bass the only species… Lures the only method (including fly).

Based in Cobh with the whole harbour and beyond to play in!

Match would be on a Catch, Photo, and Release basis. With the winning team decided on overall length.


Post if interested.



The Labrax Cup is a prestigious event run over five legs in France. Bass on lures only.
You get the idea here: http://www.pecheaubar.com/videos.php?vi ... es_Glenans

As much as I loathe and despise the very concept of competitive angling (different subject, anyone wanting to convince me to see the errors of my ways, or just plain abuse me, please start your own thread ) you might be onto a good idea there Jim.

A successful, popular event would clearly demonstrate the economic potential of having Bass protected from commercial exploitation, especially if it attracts anglers from the UK and further abroad.

ha jim any idea of a date for this yet....

would be interested depending on date also

Hi Jim would be interested myself depending on dates and whether or not a certain persons boat would have a space for me or not and its not a warrior boat ,yet but working hard to convince this person warriors are the way forward .
Tight lines

Could be very interested in this , date dependent

yes jim their are 10 of us kayaking for Bass would give it a go .

hi jim what way does it work with us that dont have a boat or would this be only for experienced boat comp people thanks paudge

I'd give it a shot !

Thanks lads.
We don’t think this has been tried before in this country. Of course it would be open to all anglers of all levels. For guys without boats it is fairly straight forward: Get on board with a buddy who has one or I am sure that there will be skippers looking for crew. We will maintain a list of skippers who have space for extra crew and would place individuals on these boats. There will be the option of hiring a Bella Vista boat. Obviously if you have a team of three you could take a boat yourself. Other than that you would be placed in a team with an experienced skipper on a Bella Vista boat. While this would be a serious competition the element of enjoyment and craic would be paramount. This is one of the reasons of it being a team event rather than individual event. Let’s face it there are many times there will be one guy driving the boat while the other pair make a few casts into a likely Bass holding area. Somebody might also have to man the boat hook to push kayaks out of the way !
Run well, a comp of this nature has the potential to become an international event!

The plan would be to get a date established. This will be tide driven.

Then there will be a deal of organising to be done:
For guys that are not fishing their own boats:
We will see what package deal the Bella Vista Hotel will come up with for three men in a boat for the two days of the event and I suppose overnight accommodation as well.

For boat travelling from outside the county:
We will have to investigate launching and retrieving and secure overnight storage if necessary.

For Kayakers:
There would be many options open here. The Commodore hotel has some secure parking which could be ideal. Obviously launching would be a lot easier with Cobh having good areas to launch.

As I say, there would be a good deal of organising to be done. I will speak to some people who want to get involved and will post back with a date.

By continuing to increase the visibility of the 'recreational potential' of the species to counter the commercial sector this is a good idea. I'm not a big fan of competition fishing, but so what, I still think that one of the ways to protect the species is through the careful development of the recreational aspects.

There is great potential here to slowly turn it into a Festival / Celebration of the resource with many things springing to mind - like presentations - education - demonstrations - techniques - tackle etc etc

best of luck and fun too

Hi Jim C

Defo not a big fan of competition fishing for Bass. Never liked the idea of counting them or bragging about numbers caught.(feel this has part caused commercial interest in opening the fishery again).
i would be very hesitant without getting support and assurances from Bord Failte, fisheries boards and government regarding the potential opening of fisheries to commercials. We would need a guarantee that current ban would remain in force for at least 3/5 years and subject to review before going ahead with this.
Agree with Jim H regarding full festival approach.
Perhaps if presented and promoted properly with assistance of french anglers and organisers at the outset to Bord failte, fisheries boards and govt it would be a very good idea and a successful event.


A

Im in - Team waiting and ready to go. Im willing to give any help thats needed in setting up and running this competition as well if you need help Jim.

Mike

Hi Jim,

As it stands there are three of us with boats that would be certainly be up for this one. Post up the dates and i will be able to let you know if there is any space on board for people.
Give me a call if you need anything.

Mark

www.flyfishireland.ie

Hi Mr Clocksussy would it be possable for novice like me to rent out one of them bella vista boats ??????? if so then i would love to try and catch a Bass, maybee i might be able to get my darling girlfriend to come along.

nice Bass

I would be up for this too - we talked about something similar looping in the Jersey, Guernsey festivals and weymouth lure only fest to create a UK / Eire Bass league - c+r only ...

I am over @ the Bella Vista from 25th July for two weeks - so you have another boat ready to enter if you are organising