Bass......

Its officially spring time and I'm curious to know whether or not its too early to be going plugging for Bass. Got a varied selection of plugs and some locations in mind but am I banging my head against a brick wall or is this a feasible option at this time of year? What are the lures of choice around this part of the world (Cork)? Im presuming early morning or late evening on a rising tide probably the best approach.

Nothing to loose by trying a plug now. Personally I think it's maybe a week or two early in my part of the world (wexford). Regardless of whether bass will take plugs at the moment, it's too feckin' cold for long periods of spinning without golves. :)

Having said all that, my spinning rod is staying in the car from now on! If only I could find my waders ....

Jonathan

whats there to loose. we got a good few off the beachs over christmas and the new year, and with the amount of small coalfish, pouting around at the moment you would be led to believe that the have to be preying on them. larger bass have to keep on their eight over the winter and spring and it will soon be breathing season so i doubt theyed turn down a free meal. ive got them on fly up to the end of november and have only not fished for them later in the year because of collage constraints.

whats the worst that could happen?

What do you find the best approach to be lumpy? Surface poppers, floating divers j13s and the like or deep divers?

I'd be no expert on plugging for bass Pete but the ones I've caught in Kerry all came on the Yozuri suface poppers.

Cheers pete, will have a root around and see if I can find any.

if anyone wants yo zuri drop me a line or visit http://www.basslures.co.uk
cheers
jfk

with regards plugging i dont really fish them. flies on the other hand i fish big and deep in the colder months and slow down me retrieve abit as i think these fish are more lethargic at this time of year due to water temp.

Like the lads say nothing to loose. Personally I only start plugging at the end of May onwards. I have never had any luck before then and it's a long drive to get to my favoutite marks. I would be interested in hearing if people catch them at this time of year.

Kev

Of course Mac you mean to say that you don't start plugging until the 16 of June....

Yep :oops: A little hung over this morning. Normally out the first weekend after the Ban is up. Anyone that knows me, knows I'm on Lough Corrib for two weeks at the end of May.

Kev

Like the lads say nothing to loose. Personally I only start plugging at the end of May onwards. I have never had any luck before then and it's a long drive to get to my favoutite marks. I would be interested in hearing if people catch them at this time of year.
Kev

I've seen and heard of good bass being had on plugs around here in April although work has never allowed me to take advantage of this!

This year will be different...

Speaking of which, the wind seems to be from the west and there's an hour extra light so I'm off to try a plug or two now ... :D

Jonathan

Speaking of which, the wind seems to be from the west and there's an hour extra light so I'm off to try a plug or two now ... :D

Well, nothing to report. The conditions were just about fishable with a plug but my waders were six miles away and by the time I got them the rain was coming down :roll:

I did hook a Bass in Kerry towards the end of March about 2 years ago. Small fish that threw the hook after a little bit (Rapala J9) That's the earliest I've come across them.

Kev

Hi,

I's say get started as soon as you can. I have had fish over 6lbs in Cork Harbour in the first few eeks of April. These early fish do tend to be quite sluggish I find, don't really fight as well. I made a few comments about plugs in this post which you may find useful:

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Might be a wee bit early for surface popping yet! As for spinners, Dexter Wedges and Toby's I find good as deeper slower lures to use during the early spring.

Liam

we fish for them 12 months in sth west kerry. have had them on plug in feb. they are caught on fly at this time too down there

Thats the problem. :evil: :evil: :evil:

fail to see how people fly fishing for them and taking maybe one or 2 fish home a year is a problem scara. Care to explain?

I think he thought that "12 months" meant you fish during the banned month. Where I presume you meant year round except the closed season!

Now your talking!!! I have to say it p*&%£ me off when anglers get on their high horse about this silly kind of thing. Rod and line will never do the same damage as nets and if these people were as active about reporting poaching and doing something about it rather than playing silly buggers on websites like this we would have a lot less poaching going on. In saying that I totally agree that we need to be seen to have our shop in order and not flaunt the rules ourselves.