Article Irish spring bass 2011
Sat Jan 07, 2012 8:56 pm
Report:
I have written an article for a Dutch fishing website of last years fishing trip to Ireland. I would like to share this with you, so I have translated the article.
Irish spring bass 2011 (19-04-2011 to 24-04-2011)
Ireland has a very special place in my hart. The beautiful wide and rugged country side, the silence, the people and off course the wide variety of fishing opportunities. That’s why I decided last winter, in the middle of the third ice age, to plan another trip to Ireland.
This year I chose, contrary to previous years, for a fishing expedition in the spring instead of the summer. My dad, my trusted travel companion, had planned another trip, so he couldn’t join me. I decided to travel across the pond on my one and, together with fishing guide John, to roam the shores of amazing Kerry.
Because I don’t like driving on the “wrong” side of the road and because I think it is a waste to park a rental car next to the lodge for a week, I took the train from Cork to Killarney. Ther I was greeted by John’s lovely wife Lynn. After an hour drive through the mountains and lot’s of catching up, we arrived at about 16.00 at the Thatch Cottage Fishing Lodge.
The Thatch Cottage Fishing Lodge
John was already wating for me, together with one of his English guests, Nick Gough.
I was instructed: “Get your waders on and your rod ready, because there is a good tide!” In no-time I suited up and grabbed my gear and we were in the 4x4 en route to the beach.
As we arrived on the beach, there were already some people fishing there, including a film crew. The tide was at it’s highest, so we decided to fish a quiet shallow mark with big boulders and kelp: bass-city.
I had already grabbed my little friend Sammy, but John said the bass weren’t exactly going for that at the moment and that weightless softbaits were the way to go. John explained the technique: cast in and retrieve as slow as possible with gentle flicks and whatever you do, don’t strike! This was underlined by a nice bass, that had grabbed his lure. Not being head strong, I put a bit of soft plastic on the line immediately.
A cast, an inquisitive tap, tap, fish and then.. nothing. In a reflex I did strike and pulled the lure out of his mouth. This is harder then I thought! After a few more misses, I had finally mastered the trick, a bang and then wait until the fish hooks itself. There was a good school of bass feeding in front of us and nearly every cast produced a fish. In just over an hour, the three of us had caught over thirty bass, of which seven where my share. And if someone had flipped a switch, it was all over. We were at the right place at the right time. With a big smile we drove back to the lodge, where a nice dinner awaited us. In my rush to go fishing I had forgotten to bring my camera, but that is o.k., because this afternoon is firmly imprinted in my memory.
With the 4x4 en route to a memorable afternoon
The next day started sunny, but soon clouds and haze took over. We have spent the entire day looking for bass, but we only found a few missed bites. In the evening, we went back to the beach we had been so successful the previous day, but there were hardly any bass around. Then you now why it is called fishing and not catching. However there were plenty of mullet around and the boys managed to land some big ones on the fly.
That night, we discussed the battle plan for the next day. Spring is an excellent time of year for catching sea trout. But as the river was very low and at sea it would be like finding a needle in a haystack, we decided on a mark where John said there was a good chance of catching a sea trout.
After driving for one and a halve hour along the rugged coastline and the crystal clear ocean, we arrived at a remote mark. No one to be seen for miles, this is the place! While the upcoming tide pushed through a deep gulley, the bites started to come. Small sea trout, but because of their big tails and the powerful current, at first you thought you had hooked a good sized bass. In total, the two of us hooked thirteen sea trout. Landing them was a different story. Because of their soft mouths and flaring temper, we only managed to land three.
But that doesn’t matter. The ferocious first bite and the idea that we had managed to target these sea trout specifically was satisfying enough for me.
Rugged coastline and crystal clear ocean
After dinner I was dropped of on a beach. Eventually I found a school of bass and caught two. Highlight of the evening was, a breaking wave in front of me. The descending sun was shining through the wave and I could see some twenty odd bass swimming through the wave.
The day ended with a whiskey under the stars. Amazing how many you can see if there is no light-pollution (no I wasn’t seeing double because of the whiskey).
High tech plastic
On Friday, the weather had taken a turn for the worse and the landscape was being swallowed by an enormous cloud with an occasional drip of rain. The plan was to fish for pollack from the rocks. Luckily was very little rain, because climbing the wet, slippery rocks can be quite treacherous. The weather improved and we were able to catch some nice hard fighting Pollack. One of which was transformed to a lovely peace of Fish and Chips.
Addictive
After a small siesta it was back to the sea side. Lot’s of rain and wind but my Max Rap proved to be successful and I caught 5 bass. On the way back we spotted some 30 gannets. Like a squadron of dive bombers they were targeting a school of baitfish with some of our silver friends underneath. The school stayed out of range, but it was a beautiful sight.
Mean while, I had become addicted to the hard fighting pollack. The next morning we had some fun with them. That afternoon we were joined by two French anglers, Will and Julian. Together we were fishing in the surf where they both caught there first Irish bass. I was top dog with four bass.
Top dog
That evening we had a great time in the local pub. A man was celebrating his eightieth birthday and the whole town was in the pub. Lot’s of Guinness until the early hours.
Freshly caught Fish and Chips, it doesn’t get any better!
And then it was time for the last day of fishing. The goal was big pollack, but we had to work for them. After a long walk through mountainous terrain we arrived at the mark. After a bit of mountaineering of the rocks, we were ready to start fishing. The pollack where there and they were big ones as well. What a feeling to tighten up your drag and pull a great big bend in your rod, to prevent a hard fighting pollack from diving back into the kelp.
After a long walk, hard fighting Pollack awaited us
I decided to change to a float and try for a wrasse. The wrasse are little street fighters, that try and power back into the kelp beneath your feet, before they surrender. The are georgeous fish that look like paintings. I caught one wrasse before the incoming tide forced us on a long retreat.
Hard fighting paintings
At night, we had a last go at the bass, but I ended with one fish that came off. For some reason I end each fishing trip with a fish that comes off. Maybe that’s the reason that keeps me coming back to Ireland each year.
Whilst fishing I met an English angler and had a long chat with him. Afterwords, John told me this was Joe Simpson, a former mountaineer and author of some best-sellers, who had nearly lost his life whilst climbing a mountain in the Andes. Always nice how you meet the most remarkable people.
The next day I had to say goodbye to Lynn and John with pain in my heart. After a wild drive through the mountains, I boarded the train to Cork. Ireland is a great country with almost limitless possibilities for the crazed fisherman.
With pain in my heart
In closing I would like to emphasize the Irish conservational effort to protect their bass. The well preserved stocks of bass keep myself and other fishing tourists like me coming back each year. Let’s hope the government can be convinced that this conservational effort has to be sustained for the future.
Conservational effort
I can’t wait to return!
Tight Lines,
Paul Ruiter
I have written an article for a Dutch fishing website of last years fishing trip to Ireland. I would like to share this with you, so I have translated the article.
Irish spring bass 2011 (19-04-2011 to 24-04-2011)
Ireland has a very special place in my hart. The beautiful wide and rugged country side, the silence, the people and off course the wide variety of fishing opportunities. That’s why I decided last winter, in the middle of the third ice age, to plan another trip to Ireland.
This year I chose, contrary to previous years, for a fishing expedition in the spring instead of the summer. My dad, my trusted travel companion, had planned another trip, so he couldn’t join me. I decided to travel across the pond on my one and, together with fishing guide John, to roam the shores of amazing Kerry.
Because I don’t like driving on the “wrong” side of the road and because I think it is a waste to park a rental car next to the lodge for a week, I took the train from Cork to Killarney. Ther I was greeted by John’s lovely wife Lynn. After an hour drive through the mountains and lot’s of catching up, we arrived at about 16.00 at the Thatch Cottage Fishing Lodge.
The Thatch Cottage Fishing Lodge
John was already wating for me, together with one of his English guests, Nick Gough.
I was instructed: “Get your waders on and your rod ready, because there is a good tide!” In no-time I suited up and grabbed my gear and we were in the 4x4 en route to the beach.
As we arrived on the beach, there were already some people fishing there, including a film crew. The tide was at it’s highest, so we decided to fish a quiet shallow mark with big boulders and kelp: bass-city.
I had already grabbed my little friend Sammy, but John said the bass weren’t exactly going for that at the moment and that weightless softbaits were the way to go. John explained the technique: cast in and retrieve as slow as possible with gentle flicks and whatever you do, don’t strike! This was underlined by a nice bass, that had grabbed his lure. Not being head strong, I put a bit of soft plastic on the line immediately.
A cast, an inquisitive tap, tap, fish and then.. nothing. In a reflex I did strike and pulled the lure out of his mouth. This is harder then I thought! After a few more misses, I had finally mastered the trick, a bang and then wait until the fish hooks itself. There was a good school of bass feeding in front of us and nearly every cast produced a fish. In just over an hour, the three of us had caught over thirty bass, of which seven where my share. And if someone had flipped a switch, it was all over. We were at the right place at the right time. With a big smile we drove back to the lodge, where a nice dinner awaited us. In my rush to go fishing I had forgotten to bring my camera, but that is o.k., because this afternoon is firmly imprinted in my memory.
With the 4x4 en route to a memorable afternoon
The next day started sunny, but soon clouds and haze took over. We have spent the entire day looking for bass, but we only found a few missed bites. In the evening, we went back to the beach we had been so successful the previous day, but there were hardly any bass around. Then you now why it is called fishing and not catching. However there were plenty of mullet around and the boys managed to land some big ones on the fly.
That night, we discussed the battle plan for the next day. Spring is an excellent time of year for catching sea trout. But as the river was very low and at sea it would be like finding a needle in a haystack, we decided on a mark where John said there was a good chance of catching a sea trout.
After driving for one and a halve hour along the rugged coastline and the crystal clear ocean, we arrived at a remote mark. No one to be seen for miles, this is the place! While the upcoming tide pushed through a deep gulley, the bites started to come. Small sea trout, but because of their big tails and the powerful current, at first you thought you had hooked a good sized bass. In total, the two of us hooked thirteen sea trout. Landing them was a different story. Because of their soft mouths and flaring temper, we only managed to land three.
But that doesn’t matter. The ferocious first bite and the idea that we had managed to target these sea trout specifically was satisfying enough for me.
Rugged coastline and crystal clear ocean
After dinner I was dropped of on a beach. Eventually I found a school of bass and caught two. Highlight of the evening was, a breaking wave in front of me. The descending sun was shining through the wave and I could see some twenty odd bass swimming through the wave.
The day ended with a whiskey under the stars. Amazing how many you can see if there is no light-pollution (no I wasn’t seeing double because of the whiskey).
High tech plastic
On Friday, the weather had taken a turn for the worse and the landscape was being swallowed by an enormous cloud with an occasional drip of rain. The plan was to fish for pollack from the rocks. Luckily was very little rain, because climbing the wet, slippery rocks can be quite treacherous. The weather improved and we were able to catch some nice hard fighting Pollack. One of which was transformed to a lovely peace of Fish and Chips.
Addictive
After a small siesta it was back to the sea side. Lot’s of rain and wind but my Max Rap proved to be successful and I caught 5 bass. On the way back we spotted some 30 gannets. Like a squadron of dive bombers they were targeting a school of baitfish with some of our silver friends underneath. The school stayed out of range, but it was a beautiful sight.
Mean while, I had become addicted to the hard fighting pollack. The next morning we had some fun with them. That afternoon we were joined by two French anglers, Will and Julian. Together we were fishing in the surf where they both caught there first Irish bass. I was top dog with four bass.
Top dog
That evening we had a great time in the local pub. A man was celebrating his eightieth birthday and the whole town was in the pub. Lot’s of Guinness until the early hours.
Freshly caught Fish and Chips, it doesn’t get any better!
And then it was time for the last day of fishing. The goal was big pollack, but we had to work for them. After a long walk through mountainous terrain we arrived at the mark. After a bit of mountaineering of the rocks, we were ready to start fishing. The pollack where there and they were big ones as well. What a feeling to tighten up your drag and pull a great big bend in your rod, to prevent a hard fighting pollack from diving back into the kelp.
After a long walk, hard fighting Pollack awaited us
I decided to change to a float and try for a wrasse. The wrasse are little street fighters, that try and power back into the kelp beneath your feet, before they surrender. The are georgeous fish that look like paintings. I caught one wrasse before the incoming tide forced us on a long retreat.
Hard fighting paintings
At night, we had a last go at the bass, but I ended with one fish that came off. For some reason I end each fishing trip with a fish that comes off. Maybe that’s the reason that keeps me coming back to Ireland each year.
Whilst fishing I met an English angler and had a long chat with him. Afterwords, John told me this was Joe Simpson, a former mountaineer and author of some best-sellers, who had nearly lost his life whilst climbing a mountain in the Andes. Always nice how you meet the most remarkable people.
The next day I had to say goodbye to Lynn and John with pain in my heart. After a wild drive through the mountains, I boarded the train to Cork. Ireland is a great country with almost limitless possibilities for the crazed fisherman.
With pain in my heart
In closing I would like to emphasize the Irish conservational effort to protect their bass. The well preserved stocks of bass keep myself and other fishing tourists like me coming back each year. Let’s hope the government can be convinced that this conservational effort has to be sustained for the future.
Conservational effort
I can’t wait to return!
Tight Lines,
Paul Ruiter
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Sat Jan 07, 2012 9:25 pm
Great article Paul. Glad you had a fantastic time angling over here, but:
You might be surprised to learn that a lot of Irish anglers don't consider our bass stocks to be well preserved at all. They're recovering, but they're under constant threat from poaching and commercial fishermen wanting to target them again. It seems that every year Irish anglers have to campaign all over again to prevent this commercial nonsense. The current stock levels are a shadow of what they were in the past.
It's great to read your report, because it justifies one of the main arguments Irish anglers have in protecting the Bass - that they attract overseas anglers into the country and promote tourism.
The well preserved stocks of Bass
You might be surprised to learn that a lot of Irish anglers don't consider our bass stocks to be well preserved at all. They're recovering, but they're under constant threat from poaching and commercial fishermen wanting to target them again. It seems that every year Irish anglers have to campaign all over again to prevent this commercial nonsense. The current stock levels are a shadow of what they were in the past.
It's great to read your report, because it justifies one of the main arguments Irish anglers have in protecting the Bass - that they attract overseas anglers into the country and promote tourism.
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Sat Jan 07, 2012 11:17 pm
Hi Paul,
Great write up, I enjoyed reading it and it brought back some memories from when I was there last year.
I wrote a bit about my adventure ( not for a magazine or the like/ just my hobby blog) if you are interested in having a read of it:
http://dannymeagher.wordpress.com/2011/ ... arch-2011/
To be honest I was so impressed with the place ( fishing aside) I got my fishing friends to go with me again later that year:
http://dannymeagher.wordpress.com/2011/ ... of-august/
The comment you made :
'Highlight of the evening was, a breaking wave in front of me. The descending sun was shining through the wave and I could see some twenty odd Bass swimming through the wave.'
I witnessed a similar situation where 4 fish were visible as the crest of the wave rose and the low sun pierced the wave....magic!!!!
Danny.
Great write up, I enjoyed reading it and it brought back some memories from when I was there last year.
I wrote a bit about my adventure ( not for a magazine or the like/ just my hobby blog) if you are interested in having a read of it:
http://dannymeagher.wordpress.com/2011/ ... arch-2011/
To be honest I was so impressed with the place ( fishing aside) I got my fishing friends to go with me again later that year:
http://dannymeagher.wordpress.com/2011/ ... of-august/
The comment you made :
'Highlight of the evening was, a breaking wave in front of me. The descending sun was shining through the wave and I could see some twenty odd Bass swimming through the wave.'
I witnessed a similar situation where 4 fish were visible as the crest of the wave rose and the low sun pierced the wave....magic!!!!
Danny.
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Sun Jan 08, 2012 12:27 am
Great article and an excellent read.
Thanks for posting it.
Thanks for posting it.
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Sun Jan 08, 2012 10:13 am
Best read I've had on the site in a while man, brilliant...! 
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Sun Jan 08, 2012 12:42 pm
Great read, well done on a successful holiday.
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Sun Jan 08, 2012 1:00 pm
That was a good wee read. Thanks for posting.
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Sun Jan 08, 2012 2:01 pm
Paul Thanks for that report.
Most enjoyable read.
tight lines
Most enjoyable read.
tight lines
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Sun Jan 08, 2012 3:08 pm
great report paul and even better pics. the one of you fighting the pollack is just class man
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Sun Jan 08, 2012 4:14 pm
Lovely report! What model of Tenryu have you got there? The action of it in the pick of you fighting the pollock has just scared my bank account...
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Sun Jan 08, 2012 4:46 pm
Great report paul ,thank you for sharing it with us 
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Mon Jan 09, 2012 9:30 pm
Cheers lads!
It was one of the French guys, that was fighting the pollack with the Tenryu.
@ tanglerat: I am fully aware of the Irish situation, but there is hardly any regulation in Holland.
@ Danny: great reports. Brought back some memories.
Regards, Paul
It was one of the French guys, that was fighting the pollack with the Tenryu.
@ tanglerat: I am fully aware of the Irish situation, but there is hardly any regulation in Holland.
@ Danny: great reports. Brought back some memories.
Regards, Paul
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Mon Jan 09, 2012 9:54 pm
Thanks for posting that here Paul !
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Mon Jan 09, 2012 11:24 pm
Well done Paul, great report, gives me the itch to go south next Summer, and I don't mean Ennereilly 
Thank's for spending your holiday's in Ireland 
Thank's for spending your holiday's in Ireland
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:37 pm
Fantasic report, I was totally lost in the moment while reading that, will def be heading down to Kerry again this year!
I've met and fished for salmon with Joe Simpson, really interesting guy if you get chatting to him. His most famous book is "Touching the Void", also made into a film - a super read if you get the chance.
I've met and fished for salmon with Joe Simpson, really interesting guy if you get chatting to him. His most famous book is "Touching the Void", also made into a film - a super read if you get the chance.
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Tue Jan 10, 2012 4:01 pm
Paul Thank for sharing such a well written report and great pic aswell.... Will be heading down south later on in the spring. Its great to have a man who knows so much about the local fishing and has some great marks to bring you to..
Tightlines
Dave
Tightlines
Dave
Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:48 pm
Wow, this could be an ad for the tourist board... Or an Irish magazine article, thanks for sharing!
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:48 am
Top class reading and pix. Next time your over here on a trip, send a report to Irish Angler magazine, they should be happy to get inspiring quality material like this.
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Wed Jan 11, 2012 1:05 pm
Great read Paul and a great way to wrap up with the note on the conservation effort. Well done.
Re: Article Irish spring Bass 2011
Thu Jan 12, 2012 9:42 pm
Fantastic articles both, the one by our Dutch colleague should be shouted from the mountaintops by Tourism Ireland!
It seems to me if we did it properly we could market ourselves as "Bass Capital of Europe". If you put bass fishing Ireland into google the first page you see should be a tourism ireland one, instead all you get is blog posts saying how great it is here (most of them from England!)
It seems to me if we did it properly we could market ourselves as "Bass Capital of Europe". If you put bass fishing Ireland into google the first page you see should be a tourism ireland one, instead all you get is blog posts saying how great it is here (most of them from England!)