12/09/10 - Dublin Lure Fishing

People: Just myself

Duration: About two or three hours either side of high tide.

Tide: High tide was at about 2:30 - 3:00ish

Weather: Calm and Sunny

Lures: Feedshallow, Morethan X-cross, Smith ULM115

Results: 3 Bass to about 5-6lb. (C&R)

The last few weeks fishing, actually maybe even months, have been a little disappointing, I've been focusing on lure fishing this year and trying a few different things but recently nothing seemed to be quite coming together for me, I'm sure you all know the feeling. Anyway I lost count of the amount of blanks and disappointing sessions I've had in the last while and quite often I'd arrive at marks only to find them pretty much unfishable due to the amount of weed. I even tried a session or two after little pike and perch on the canals but even that didn't quite work out as planned as all I caught were tiddlers.

I did however do a bit more exploring and found a new spot to try when the weed subsided a little bit and the weather improved. When I saw the good weather on Sunday morning I figured hangover or not I was dragging myself down there and when I arrived it was just as I hoped. The weed wasn't too bad, the wind and the swell had dropped and it was nice and calm. It got off to a slow start though and I was beginning to think it might be yet another blank but then a little schoolie took a liking to my Feedshallow and to tell you the truth I was delighted with that and figured it would be my lot for the day but little did I know....

At this stage there was still about an hour and a half or so to high tide and plenty of time to catch another fish or two, so I fished on with the Feed shallow and also an X-Cross for a bit and got a few more hits and follows but no more hook ups and lots of unwanted attention from the seagulls. I had a feeling that a slightly smaller lure might be a bit better so I had a quick rummage in the box to see what I had with me and decided to try a little Smith ULM115. At this stage it was just about high tide and I was starting to make my way back up to a spot that I had seen earlier and within a few casts the line tightened, rod arched over and line started peeling off the reel. This certainly much bigger than the little schoolie I had caught earlier and when I got it up to the surface and saw it for the first time I knew it was definitely a pb for me. My scales is acting up a bit but I reckon 5 or 6lb or there abouts? I got a few photos and then watched her swim off to be caught another day.



Now I thought that it couldn't get any better and sat down for a bit to look through the photos and get my gear together again, after a bit I figured that I might as well have a few more casts since my luck seemed to have changed for the better. I couldn't believe it when again within a few cast the line tightened up once more and started peeling off the reel, after a brief fight another 5-6lb fish came to the surface. I couldn't believe it but it certainly made up for all the crappy sessions I've had recently.



I fished on for another little while but without any more luck and I was just about to head back to the car when I figured that I should probably go back to the spot where I caught the two decent bass earlier and take a few photos to remind myself for next time. While I was there I figured that I might as well have one last cast just on the off chance and again I got nailed buy another decent bass but unfortunately he threw the hooks on the way in. I had a couple more casts and then decided to call it a day but what a day, one of the best session I've had in a long time and certainly made up for all those blanks and crappy sessions I've had recently.

well done hard work paid off in the end

Excellant stuff Dave - well done and well worth the wait.
Some cracking results there..

Mick

Well done, brilliant fish there. I've been venturing out for the odd North Dublin Lure session when I can't go out on the boat. I have been blanking also but your post and pictures show perserverance pays off.

PS You need to get your camera fixed because the background scenery is blurred.

Some lovely fish there nice one Dave.

great looking fish

Briiliant report, pictures and fishing. Well done Dave

congratulations dave - well done on all your hard work

well done dave nice fishing

great report and fish fair play for chipping away at it you deserved your catch for sure

Well done Dave, lovely fishing!

Well done Dave, great session and report.
You will have a smile on your face for a while after that.
If we get some settled weather in the next few weeks I reckon there should be some good lure sessions.

Nice one Dave, but i reckon your being modest with the fish in the first pic id say nearer 7lbs, time to get a new scales

well done. the first is a beauty!

Excellent fishing mate. Great to see some whoppers being caught in Dublin.

Well done Dave, i'm delighted for you I love it when a plan comes together .

Fine Bass & report well done Dave

Thanks lads, I can tell you those fish have been a long time coming but I'm well chuffed with them. I checked my scales and they did seem to be a little off so perhaps the first one was a little bigger than I thought, who knows. I'm just hoping that there'll be a few more where they came from and that the season will end a little better than it started for me.

Btw apologies for being vague about the location, I normally don't mind giving out marks but I'd rather not with this particular one, for the moment at least.

dont even think about aplogizing about the mark after all your hard work finding the feckers
you have a pm not!!!!!!!

I was only joking about the picture background.
You're dead right to enjoy/protect your mark after working hard to find the fish.