A few days on the Dingle Peninsula

I've been a bit lazy about putting up reports lately but here's one from from my recent trip to Kerry.

I headed down for my annual trip to Dingle last week and whilst the weather wasn't the best the fishing wasn't too bad. We stayed over near Brandon this year and I took it easy and I didn't venture too far for my fishing.

The fishing got off to a good start though, I only had time for a short session of about a hour on the first day as we had guests down with us but that didn't matter as not long into my short session I was into the first fish of the trip and it was a bass, although not a particularly big one but still a bass nonetheless. I've gone home from Dingle in previous years without so much as a sniff of a Bass so I was delighted to be of the mark so early in the trip. Not long after my lift arrived and we headed off to Murphy's Pub on Brandon Pier for a few pints.



We spent most of the next day entertaining our guests and bringing them out to see some of the sights and of course to see Fungi, thankfully though we got back in time for me to go for a proper session. I headed back to the same spot but for a little longer this time. I decided to try one of the lures I picked up in Landers on the trip down, it was a cheap lure called a Kinetic Magic Minnow I think but for a cheap lure I was impressed and so were the fish. I was intending to try and connect with some of the sea trout I could see jumping but instead the bass to a liking to it and I ended up catching two more bass and losing a couple more. I decided I'd see if I could take one off the surface and put on the Pachinko and and my second cast got smashed by a Bass but some how I didn't connect. I cast again and could see a Bass closing in with its back just breaking the surface, another big splash and again I some how didn't connect. I persevered for a while longer but the activity seemed to have died down so I packed up and headed back for dinner.



Things took a bit of a lull after this and the weather closed in and the winds picked up, I still caught a few small Wrasse and Pollock but nothing worth talking about. Well that's not strictly true I did had a Trigger fish swim around my feet while I was out wading in a place I wouldn't have expected to find them and I also lost what felt like a much better bass another morning, three screaming runs and then it all went slack.


At this stage the fact that I hadn't connected with a Sea Trout despite the fact that the were jumping all over the place was starting to bug me so I headed back to the same mark for another go. There had been a fair bit of rain so I was hoping that it would get a few more fish moving. I couldn't believe it within about five casts I had a fish on and it was a little sea trout, success at last and on the same Kinetic Magic Minnow. I fished on and had a few more hits but I could see a couple of lads a little up the way from me were having more luck and landing a few more fish. They were using smaller lures so I rummaged around the bag to see if I had anything smaller with me and dug out a Tazzie Devil. I figured that it might just do the job for the sea trout and it wasn't long before I had a fish on but to my surprise it was a tiny Bass.




I met the same lads the following day but for whatever reason none of us seemed to be having much luck and at this stage I was going through the lure box trying to find something that might do the job and in the end it was my little Smith Ultimate Lively Minnow that saved the blank with another little Bass.



I still hadn't cracked this Sea Trout thing and although I had caught one I figured I should have been catching more and was doing something wrong. I reckoned it was a combination of lure size and casting distance so out came the little lead fish jigs that I had brought for the mackerel and they did the job. The next session I had five Sea Trout and lost a few more all on the same cheapy lure.



The weather turned pretty nasty after that and I figured that it would be the end of the fishing in Dingle for another year but to my surprise when I got up this morning (our last day) it wasn't raining. Time for one more sneaky session before we got on the road I thought, so I got to work packing up our stuff and loading up the car for the trip home but typically just as I finished the heavens opened. Thankfully though by the time we checked out and settled up, the shower had blown over and a sneaky session was back on the cards. It didn't take long before I landed another little Sea Trout, I had a few more casts with the bass lures to see if I could pick up one last bass but with nothing happening I headed back to the car and just in time too as it started bucketing down as I was getting the gear packed into the car.



Not a bad trip in the end, no huge fish but five bass and seven sea trout ain't too bad for a few days relaxed fishing.

Well done Dave, a great little report there,,,,,,,,,,,,,I was out there chucking lures with ya Nice few days away

Brilliant report, pictures and fishing Dave - well done Sounds like a great wee trip was had.
I can't wait to get back down to Co.Kerry myself and give the lures a chuck out again. They are getting very lonely sitting in my tackle box un-used over the past couple of months Hopefully there will be plenty of bass about when I go

Great report Dave, and all in all a good mix of fish. It's defenitely time to get the lures out

Nice trip Dave and a nice few fish too.

Great report, sounds like you had some great fishing.

Thanks guys, it was a very enjoyable trip alright. I just wish I could get down that end of the country more often.

It's defenitely time to get the lures out

It certainly is, although I've been out with them since February, that said I initially blanked more times than I care to think about. Although I'm starting to get into the whole lure fishing thing much more now, learning all the time and even starting to catch a few more species on lures, most recently wrasse on soft plastics which is great fun altogether.

nice fish well done

Nice fishing you sure got some nice fish for your efforts