Brandon - Kerry

Fished all around thge Brandon area, know it very well.
No Bass..! :( Cant understand it. 4 of us fished it from Friday Morning until Sunday Morning. I had 2 sea trout and 5 pollock but not even a sniff of a bass. Very unusual. I was fishing lures all weekend and was the only one to land a fish but as a group we tried bait, plugs, spinners etc on marks that I have fished for years.

What ever about fishing for bass in closed season but putting a report up that you were fishing for them isn't the smartest thing in the world especially on this forum :shock:

Donagh

Good man Eoghan, don't mind the law, or conservation, you go right ahead and target those bass during the close season... imagine - a whole month out of the year when they're protected, far too long for you I guess... :roll:

Fished Brandon last year- early June.

Best day , had 6 sea-trout on a no.3 Mepps.

Had a few bass on legered peeler. I wasn't particularly targeting the
bass, as it was the close-season and more importantly ,
great care was taken to return the fish unharmed. Best bass was
just over 4 pounds.

Also fished the very small strand , to the west of Brandon-
couldn't believe that such a beautiful little beach, giving access
to deep water would produce nothing ! Later, one of the
guys in Landers (Tralee), told me the same tale !

Any other suggestions for sea-trout spinners ? I've not found
anything better than this small Mepps, just isn't ideal for distance-casting.

Hi Pyr

Try a small delta or white / silver eddystone eel.
Alternatively try a small German sprat lure retrieved quickly...

FWIW

And don't forget your salmon & sea trout licence and tags! 8)

I hear what you are saying but I dont keep any bass at all. I take a pic and put them back. The last bass I kept was about 4 years ago and had taken the hook right down and releasing it with a hook in it like that would have been cruel. Previous to that I cant remember when I last kept a bass. I think the bass ban during these dates is aimed at people who take a couple of bass at a session for the table and I totally agree with this.

About 3 years ago I caught my one and only specimen fish. It weighed approx 10Ib 5oz. I hadnt a camera with me at the time just my brother in law as a witness. The fish was returned alive.

Firstly, Fair play on the old 'Catch and Release' Eoghan, I know a lot of people would have held onto that fish with thoughts of a specimen in mind. In relation to the Bass Ban, whilst catch and release is all well and good, isnt the whole point of the ban to allow them a bit of peace for spawning. Its my understanding of the ban that it relates to fishing for bass and not just taking them. Just to make a comparison, you wouldnt be seen dead on a river waving shrimp flys or flying C's around looking for Salmon in late November, try telling a bailiff on the Moy or elsewhere you were going to practise catch and release......theres no difference between having a close season for salmon and one for Bass.

At the end of the day, getting impaled on a treble hook, fighting for your life before eventually being brought ashore into an unnatural environment and then released is hardly going to be an ideal preliminary to procreation. I know I'd struggle! :lol:

Once again, so Im not taken up wrong, serious Kudos for the catch and release you are practising, I just dont think that continuing to fish during the ban is really in the spirit of things.

Who came up with the bass ban - is it something official and enforced or is it just an informal thing? The reason why I ask is the ISFC speciman listings lists a bass caught on the 13th June...

The ban is legally applicable only in the Republic of Ireland, there is no closed season in Northern Ireland. The fish listed in the ISFC was caught on Benone strand, which is in the North, but as the ISFC covers specimen fish for the whole island it is listed, as it was legally caught.
A bass caught in the south on the 13th June would not be accepted for the specimen list...

eoghan - if i had 2 sea trout and 5 pollack id be delighted - look at the positives :wink:

Its a fair point on the bass ban and believe me I do limit the amount of times I fish during this time. The trip was originally planned for 3 weeks ago but we had to move it as one of the lads couldnt get time off.

Its a true story about the specimen too and to be honest at no time did I think about keeping it but god would I have liked a pic of it. As I said before any bass I have ever kept were done so on humane grounds. I caught my first bass when I was 11 and am 31 now. Hand on heart I have kept approx five out of hundreds caught and most of those were when I was younger.

As for the weekend, was delighted with the sea trout. Had never landed one before.
Was going to go fishing tonight to a local mark but feel too guilty..! :D

i dont want to be cynical, but i dont see how you can have a ban on bass fishing anyway cos to implement ban to the letter you would need to ban fishing with lug,razor,crab and sandeel inthe allocated month. anyone fishing for seatrout, flatties and rays on any bass beach would use the above baits and as you all know they are all effective for bass. i think you either adopt catch and release, close certain beaches for the month(hmmmmmm...cant see that) or best of all ban all casts within the first three breakers!! u are just as likely to catch bass as anything else on these baits so anglers reallistically you are gonna have to trust each other to do the right thing. but ban has to stay in place to remind us all of the plight of the bass. glad i got that off my chest!!!