Best County for Bass?

Just thought I would open a debate on which County everyone reckons is best for bass fishing.

A lot has been mentioned on these forums about Kerry, but having fished there for at least one week every year since 1990 I have noticed a serious decline in the quality of bass fishing.

Is it the same everywhere, or are some areas improving as the years go on due to legislation such as bag limits and close seasons?

I think that the quality of bass fishing in West Waterford is hard to beat. This summer has not been great due to the excess rain and dirt on the beaches after the winds.

However, I would be very surprised if the autumn and winter are not good.

I do not think that the bass fishing comes into its own until the beginning of September

waterford!

Of course it is the centre of the universe but this is a well kept secret.

Look at the returns from Cortaz for evidence.

so far i have caught 3 in kerry(schoolies), 4 in waterford(schoolies) and 2 in galway (not schoolies).. but thats just me..

but looking back at reports though the whole southern end of the country i.e. kerry right around to wexford seem to hold the majority of the bass population. if i was to single out any one county i would have to say waterford, closely followed by wexford then kerry and finally cork..

as i said though.. thats just my thoughts on the matter :)

ive fished wexford and waterford and wexford is the best for me, it just seems that more reports of good fishing are posted here for waterford than wexford.

In my opinion there is quality bass fishing all along our coasts - some areas may be considered better than others simply because its talked about or promoted or posted.

Simply posting a lot of reports doesnt neccessarily make one area better than another - it simply means some person/s is/are willing to talk about it or post it or whatever. It also advertises it as a Hot Spot.

There are many many bass fishermen in Ireland who dont use this site and who catch a lot of bass and have done so for a long time. They very seldom if ever feel the need to discuss their fishing other than a few quiet words on the beach.

I think Rapala Joes posting is an example of where, if you put in the work you can find bass on your doorstep. From April through to December be it Cork, Kerry, Clare, Dublin, Wexford, Wicklow, there are fish on every coastline.

Below is a quote (one of many) that i got recently from a dedicated freshwater flyfisherman who came here for some tuition etc and then went to flyfish in the sea

'.......fish after about an hour and a half in bright sunshine and shorts – makes salmon/trout fishing look like a joke'

This is the opinion of a hardened salmon/trout man.

Sea anglers in this country have, and i'll say it again - one of the best saltwater sport fisheries in THE WORLD on their doorsteps. This year alone and this is not a boast, anglers have come to SEAi from - Denmark, England, Italy, Holland, France, Germany, and even the US to fish in Wexford. Why?

Because the countryside is beautiful, the fish are here still in some numbers, they are a true sporting species, and the service is World Class. I have no hesitation in saying that.

Jim, spotted you on Sky last night - great show!!

Have to agree with what Jim said, if you put the time and effort in you can find Bass most places it seems these days. My best bass fishing has been in Co. Louth and im no stranger to Waterford, Cork and Kerry. Just goes to show you.

Marty

never mind all that jazz...up the deise !!!!!!!!!

A quick count of specimen bass reported since 2000 reveals the following figures:

Cork 28
Waterford 19
Kerry 13
Wexford 8
Dublin 5
Clare 4

This is obviously a reflection on the skill of Cork anglers :wink:

(Figures may not be exact, it was a quick count.)

P.S. I think JimH is on the ball.

I'm with Jim on this one also!! Put in the work to find the fish!

Like Marty, I've done well in Louth this year, albeit a small stamp of fish, but plenty of them. Unfortuntely, we don't get bass up here in the winter (well, I don't anyway!) so maybe the southern counties might edge it on that score?

Anyone here regularly catch north of say Dublin and Clare in winter?

Mick

I do my bass fishing in Cork and perhaps my familiarity with my local patch is why I am successful here. Recently I decided to make the effort and travel down to Inch in Kerry to see if it is all it is cracked up to be. To be honest I was disappointed, nice scenery but the fishing there doesn't compare to the marks in West Cork. That's just my opinion. :)

It's quite a funny debate really, 'cos people are gonna want to defend their patch, but at the same time not give too much away on a public forum. Perhaps, Chiggywig, what you really meant to say is that the bass fishing at Inch was top notch, and West Cork is actually pretty rubbish! :wink:

some guy caught 2 bass today 1, 13 lb and a 4lb from a mark on killiney beach, he also landed a specimen flounder, meanwhile i blanked.

13lb? That's a cracking fish.

This is obviously a reflection on the skill of Cork anglers :wink:

Feckin' Cork langers blowing their feckin' trumpet again!!! Real capital my arse! :wink: :lol: :lol:

In my humble opinion its down to familiarity of a mark. If you study a mark and fish it often enough you will know when and how to fish it.
Obviously geographically it helps to be in a southern county but having said that my one and only specimen was caught in Wicklow of all places.

I have also seen more specimen Bass caught in Dublin than in any other county - again go figure. These Bass are rare and require patience and time but when all the right factors come together Dublin has one or two cracking spots for Bass.

I have a few marks in Kerry that I have fished for years and without trying to sound boastful I am pretty sure I would outfish anyone at these marks. Prime example to this too would be Cortaz and his marks in Waterford. I doubt there are many times that he will be outfished on them.

I know if I could have chosen where I was born though it would be a tough decision between Kerry and Waterford.

yes it was, he bullied the fish after hooking it on a whole fresh peeler, took a photo and well, killed it! id say it was 3ft or so long with a fat belly.

Donegal!




No seriously, it's true. If you can catch a Bass in Donegal then you too will reckon it's the best!