4 Days Bassing in Kerry - Post/Mid Spawn..??

People: Me, Stephen, Art

Duration: Thur - Sunday

Tide: Various

Weather: Mostly hot n sunny

Bait: Lures

Results: Bass, Pollock, Flounder (Shore) Pollock, whiting, cod, (boat)




Report:


So our annual Bass trip to Kerry in May. Frequently unpredictable in a month that can throw anything at you. We have fished the same area now for 17 years, twice a year for 4 days at a time. The plan was to arrive there Thursday afternoon and fish until Sunday afternoon. We got there about 2 pm and literally dropped the bags off and sped off to a mark just 5 mins up the road. Low water on the flood, gin clear and sunny. Not great. Tried all the lures I had bought over the winter, and believe me there were a lot. Did have one rattle and one follow from a small bass, approx 2Ib. That was about it.
Packed up and headed to the estuary. Found a nice spot on a rock, good vantage point to the rough ground in front of me. Casting the lure past this and bringing it in carefully between the seaweed and boulders has been good to me in the past. After about an hour a large trout jumped to my right. The next cast I see 3 large trout following the lure, approx 4ib..! Infuriating..! Fish seemed to be hesitant to take.

A quick bite to eat around 7 and out to a rock mark that usually never lets me down approx 2 hours after high water. The mark is ideal, a set of submerged rocks either side of sandy ground. 3 casts in and stop…..lure grabbed, rod buckles and the fish is on. I can tell it’s not big but I am desperate to land the fish after the earlier sessions. I get the schoolie to the edge of the water and it comes off. Luckily the wave receded at the right time and I knelt in front of the fish to stop it getting away. Just a pup, in ragged condition as were all of the bass this weekend. All around 2Ib mark, thin, fins torn or split etc.. results of spawning..? That’s our guess anyway. Would have thought they were too small to spawn. Anyway quick photo and released, delighted to get a fish notched up.

The rest of the weekend will read like groundhog day so I will spare you the details. Bass and trout follows all over the place. I tried the smallest thinnest lures I could. Stripped soft plastics down, cut them in half etc, but to no avail. They just weren’t bothered. Some of the lads left the shore and hit an offshore reef to get amongst fish, Pollock etc, and some nice fish too.
The weather was a mixed bag but ultimately the wind changed direction and flattened out the coastline on us. Not ideal but we have had Bass here in flat calm warm sunny days so not a deal breaker either. My bass was taken on a rough night, clear water but great swell.
We fished some serious hours. I would say on average 12 hours per day. Covered lots of ground, every mark we could. We know the place backwards. My mate Steve on Saturday tried an old favorite spot of mine, a deep gully that I have caught lots of bass from in the past. Using a feed shallow he took a small schoolie. Again the fish in tatters. Released as usual. Stephen glad to get a bass under his belt with time running out.

We had a few more sessions but blanked. We did try one bait session on the last night to an old reliable mark we have never blanked on…..until now..! Couldn’t believe it. Plenty of flounders but no Bass..??!! That’s our 16 year record gone on this mark. Very strange.
So the fishing was tough but Kerry as ever was breathtaking. Its my happy place without doubt. The fishing, the scenery, the people, the Guinness etc etc..
As ever some lessons learned, notes taken, new marks tried out. We did find a brilliant shallow off shore reef stuffed with Pollock so that’s a bonus.
I will be back down in 4 weeks time with the wife n kids, there will be an Illex and some lures in the car too..!

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Great report Eoghan. Once again it was wonderful to be fishing surrounded by the amazing scenery of the Dingle peninsula. Pity about the low numbers this time , we put in some serious hours on the water. I'm still wrecked , my shoulder from reeling and my knees from rock hopping. Oh and some good company with some wicked banter.

Interesting and well written report Eoghan.
No bass-fest but ye still got your target species, well done.
The time at when Bass spawn seems to be an enigma and it's probably safe to say that they spawn at different times in different areas around the coast.The dates set out for when the Bass ban commences and ends, are in my opinion; based on outdated and incomplete data.
Just like every other species on the planet, Bass are feeling and reacting to the effects of climate change, rising sea temperatures ETC..

I completely agree with you but I dont think we have an option. If the dates varied every year based on data then it would allow people to say they didnt know the dates had moved, or when the closed season was. Its not ideal but better than nothing I suppose. At least it gives the bass some break from anglers for a month, well the honest ones anyway. It has been suggested on another forum that the damage could be from nets and thats very possible. I didnt see any sign of nets but we did run into a pair of divers who said they saw a submerged net not far off a mark we fish.

We had a lot of follows from Bass and I saw two bass cruise right past me, est 6-7Ib fish. I had a dot crawler on at the time, ideal for a big bass, and they didnt give it a sniff. Plenty of fish about, just not interested in lures or feeding.

Nets supposedly set to catch Pollock, or so they say.
Until they ban all inshore netting, that practice will continue.
i don't understand people that have no understanding.

Sounds like tough fishing.
If the damage to the fish was done by nets you would expect to see more damage to the gills and linear marks on the flanks of the fish.
In East Cork it looks like the bass have already spawned. Late March and early April I was getting some very chunky bass in the 2.5-4 lb range when bait fishing. Over the last few weeks most of the bass I have caught have been much more slender. So it would not surprised me that the spawning took place in April in Kerry too.

Yeah true Frank. Maybe just coincidence so. Maybe the bass we running over a shallow reef..? Who knows.
I have had a few people contact me since the report to say that they found the fishing similar to us, died off Thur/Friday after a week of some great fishing. Thats Fishing I guess.

Sounds like tough fishing.
If the damage to the fish was done by nets you would expect to see more damage to the gills and linear marks on the flanks of the fish.
In East Cork it looks like the Bass have already spawned. Late March and early April I was getting some very chunky Bass in the 2.5-4 lb range when bait fishing. Over the last few weeks most of the Bass I have caught have been much more slender. So it would not surprised me that the spawning took place in April in Kerry too.

id second frank observations,iv had a good few bass the past 2 weeks and most seem to be spent

Was down in Kerry last week and had a good few bass but did notice they didnt give much of a scrap bar one that turned out to be foul hooked in the tail. Two of the lads got covered in bass come which was quite amusing. Defo seemed like they were lacking the usual fight you would expect.

nice fishing lads

Perhaps the very heavy spring seas have beaten up the fish a little?

Great report though! Thanks for puttng it together.

Nice one Eoghan, I was out fishing for 3 days last weekend and didn't get a sniff at least you got to a great part of the country and got a few, happy days.

Tnks Richie, worked very hard for them. By all accounts it was a quiet weekend across the country. When John q and Henry Gilbey say fishing was tough then ye don't feel so bad.

Well done to ye all Eoghan. Its good to be catching fish again.

Good report,good reading...I'm just back after a 5 day stint, had a few bass but nothing like the numbers we normally get at this time over the years... I did get chatting to a local angler who said that a guy pulled up on a beach him and 4 other anglers were fishing on and started to put out nets, after some colourful language was exchanged one of the anglers phoned the fisheries officer who arrived 30 mins later and a chase then happened but the culprit got away..but it just goes to show how blatant these poachers are. I'm not totally up to speed with the breeding habits of bass but the larger bass didn't put up the scrap that the smaller ones did.. Personally I agree that there should be a ban to allow the bass peace to spawn but I think it's looking like the period they do it may need to be moved or even extended, maybe just rule out May completely but certainly more evidence and research is needed....

That being said we had a great week and the worst day fishing in Kerry still beats the best day fishing in Antrim which is testament to the work done however little it may seem by the Irish government and anglers to protect the stock..

Thats mad..! Was that in Kerry..? Dont need specific mark but where in kerry we talking..! Some set of balls on the chap.

Was down that way Sunday/Monday, the mate was saying the fishing had been good up to the weekend but maybe the smaller tides didn't help. We fished a few hours Sunday evening and most of Monday for 2 small bass landed, 1 lost after a short fight, and 1 follow seen. What a beautiful part of the country to fish though, even if the the fish aren't taking...

Great report Eoghan. I often find that bass are thin at this time of the year. I very much doubt that a 2lb bass had spawned as they are usually around 4lb when sexually mature.

As the summer goes on bass get fatter and fatter as the bait becomes more plentiful. September/ October are premium months for catching bass in good condition.

Bass around Waterford seem to spawn from March onwards.

As regards the netting it is going on everywhere. The best way to stop this is for the fisheries officers to check restaurants, hotels and shops that have bass on the menu. A couple of prosecutions and heavy fines to these guys and a strong message would stop the sale/purchase of bass.