North Coast Bass: Hen's Teeth

People: just me

Duration: 2 hours

Tide: 1 hour either side of top

Weather: fine day

Bait: mack

Rigs: 2 hook flappers

Report:
needed a bit of fresh air today so no better excuse to pack the car and head 30mins to a north coast beach - to try again to get my first bass from there...

it really was a nice day: the sun was out, there was little to no breeze, and it was mild. there were plenty of people making the most it. long story short.. no bass! but i did manage a nice little trout that obliged to save the blank
after nearly 2 hours at the one place i packed up and headed to the well-known beach marks of Downhill and Benone - to have a look around and see if there was anybody about. I hadn't been up that way in years, its still a stunning beach to say the least.

I met a couple of local guys fishing, they were keen on their bass fishing all right and they told me how they spent a lot of their free time there. we chatted and exchanged fishing ideas, opinions and banter for a while..
I learnt about numbers of fish caught there this year (average sizes, biggest etc), these guys were well informed, it was all interesting stuff. one of the lads even produced a log book where he had tallied his number of bass for the year...
it was then that i realised just how difficult it was to get a bass on the north coast!......

the guy in question lived locally and spent every weekend targeting bass, with an odd evening or two during the week too. quite a commitment!
so, for arguments sake, lets say that he fished 3 sessions (minimum) a week every week this year. 45 weeks makes approximately 135 sessions this year already, and.. his result..: 15 bass. so that is 1 bass in every 9 sessions
ok, so he told me that some other guys had had 20-30 fish this year from that beach but still, i didn't like the odds too much..
i decided not to bother setting up again... and hit the road for home...

bass on the north coast: hen's teeth indeed!!

couple of pics from today:

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Cool report, hard luck not getting a Bass.
Looking down the road, climate change might push a few more Bass and possibly a few smoothies up North.

you might consider trying somewhere in cork, kerry waterford or wexford some time as you would have a better chance of a bass, lots of locations in these counties, im sure a pm or two would be available if requested.

Very interesting. Good to hear suspicions confirmed. Those strands are a complete waste of time, money and effort.

Cool report, hard luck not getting a Bass.
Looking down the road, climate change might push a few more Bass and possibly a few smoothies up North.

yeah, probably one of the plus sides of global warming. lol. cheers

you might consider trying somewhere in cork, kerry waterford or wexford some time as you would have a better chance of a Bass, lots of locations in these counties, im sure a pm or two would be available if requested.

i have been down there beechtrawler and have had my fair share of great bass fishing, the south coast offers so much better bass fishing than the north. one or two of these guys have been down there themselves too and appreciate the difference. it doesn't stop them getting out on the north coast though. thanks

Very interesting. Good to hear suspicions confirmed. Those strands are a complete waste of time, money and effort.

yeah i think that i have had at least a good dozen attempts now at my first bass from the north coast, without success. its well known that they are hard to catch up this way..
and it depends what you see as a waste of time and effort too though... some of these guys just enjoy the banter and the time out on the shore. they seem content to catch by-catch and mess around in the mean time.. ta

cool report charlie lad...who knows maybe a north coast bass could become a massive tick off peoples wishlist? savage sea trout too lad..well done.

Result on the nice trout from the salt!!

Tough but probably expected luck on the bass but a nice little sea trout by way of compensation. Perhaps the right attitude is to fish for flatties and regard bass as the bycatch? I have only fished up there a few times, great for photos, not so great for fish!

as i posted elsewhere im based down in wexford and have clocked up at least 85 sessions this year and no bass - so its no guarantee just being in bass country - you need the knowledge etc.

i might be better off on benone than ballyhealy all along!

Hi Chuckaro. Moved over to West of Scotland last year following 10 years in Ireland. When I left Scotland there were no bass anywhere around where I live. Since my return I have had 2 with countless others taking them big and small. Global warming? Lack of them being poached? Who knows but they are here in decent numbers and moving north all the time. Keep the faith! Oh and they are taking rag and crab here ☺

On my "local" beach on any given tide there's just two windows of opportunity, both just 30-45 mins wide, for catching bass as they move through with the tide. That's a total of 1 to 1 1/2 hours every 6 1/2 hours when you're in with a shout of connecting. Outside those times, you're fishing for something, anything else other that a silver fella.

I always reckon one North Coast 3-4 lb Bass is worthy of a SE/S/SW coasts specimen any day.....

Apologies in advance!

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maybe a north coast Bass could become a massive tick off peoples wishlist?

i'll get one yet lucky cheers

Perhaps the right attitude is to fish for flatties and regard Bass as the bycatch?

indeed JW, i very often opt for a similar approach, maybe my downfall?.. i always have combinations of hook and bait sizes, its just too disheartening catching nothing for prolonged periods with the bigger bass hook sizes on all rods and rigs...
apparently there was a 4.5lb turbot caught from the beach this year. crackin fish. but the exception!...

...you need the knowledge etc...

i think you said it all here Brian..... lol.
jee, thats a lot of bass-less sessions. you need me down that way again, i was your lucky charm the last time you got one..

Hi Chuckaroo. Moved over to West of Scotland last year following 10 years in Ireland. When I left Scotland there were no Bass anywhere around where I live. Since my return I have had 2 with countless others taking them big and small. Global warming? Lack of them being poached? Who knows but they are here in decent numbers and moving north all the time. Keep the faith! Oh and they are taking rag and crab here ☺

thanks for that joe, interesting. I have a friend on the Isle of Whithorn, he has a very productive bass mark close to home. keeps all the info on the mark under tight wraps though.. yeah, rag seems to be the #1 bait for bass on the North coast here. cheers

On my "local" beach on any given tide there's just two windows of opportunity, both just 30-45 mins wide, for catching Bass as they move through with the tide. That's a total of 1 to 1 1/2 hours every 6 1/2 hours when you're in with a shout of connecting. Outside those times, you're fishing for something, anything else other that a silver fella.

yeah Tanglerat, I have always held the notion that the north coast bass travel back and forward in small groups, very possibly in relation to the movements of the tides. the boys fishing on the north coast will sit for session after session (during those times when think should be most productive - tides, moon phases etc etc - these guys have studied it all thoroughly..) catching nothing, then hit a few fish at once..

I always reckon one North Coast 3-4 lb Bass is worthy of a SE/S/SW coasts specimen any day.....

i've had a 8.5lb bass from the south coast and i'm sure that a 3-4lb bass from the north coast will please me just the same!
mind you, the biggest landed off Benone this year was 9lb with plenty of 4 and 5lb fish too...

Apologies in advance!

jes*s, JW..