bass fishing

[carp angler]

hi, i keep reading about bass being caught all round south of ireland, but can anyone tell me if there is any bass around the north of ireland, and if so, which is the best place?

i watch a guy fish for bass at orlock, but he never caught anything

[Tanglerat]

There's Bass in Donegal.

[immunecfg]

I dont think Orlock has BASS might have been somthing else, Benone and Downhill would be the best in Northern Ireland, but nothing like Kerry, Waterford or Cork, you will have to really do your homework for the North Coast as for specific spots i dont know any but i know Bass are there!! Tip, Keep an eye out for a river running onto a Beach usually a good place to start

[alistairh656]

orlock doesnt really fish bass more mack nd that stuff

[weedave]

Benone and Downhill would be the best in Northern Ireland,

Really? why???

i am always curious to know why people always recommend these beaches??

recently i met an angler that said this "i've been fishing downhill/benone for two years and cant get a bass but i was told its the place to be cause my mate caught one here" - surely then he'd of caught one or two himself??

i meet countless anglers who have said the same thing to me - my question is why do people listen to advice and when it doesnt work, why do they not try something else?? i believe conditions are the key to north coast bass fishing.

what about the estuary's, rock marks, piers and all the other beaches that ALL produce bass with more regularity??


@ Carp angler -In my opinion you know the places already, maybe just not fished them enough know why,where,when to be at them and most people dont wanna share everything that the put the hard work into learning so they just tell you benone/downhill.

i am not intending to sound arrogant with this post, i am just baffled by it all.


dave

[Eoghan]

Forgive me if this comes across like "teaching you to suck eggs" but, do you pay attention to conditions much..?
For example - the tides either side or including a spring tide..? Avoid neaps. Wind conditions - east being a waste of time in most venues (there are exceptions) Movement in the water..? As in plenty of white water or a tridal run etc..?
Time of day..? Again not for every venue but I have found early morning before sunrise is great for Bass.
Another great time is after a period of calm settled weather, with easterlies, then it suddenly swings round s/w with movement on the water can trigger feeding. This is no joke but the biggest bass I ever saw caught was in Dublin. I know plenty of cracking marks north of Dublin but in most of them conditions need to be right. I caught my biggest Bass in Wicklow one day after a week of calm sunny weather turned nasty for a day before brightening up in the evening. Great swell coming in, and a 10Ib plus bass pulled the rod out of my hands..!

I am quoting a legend Bass man when I write this bit (U know who u are ) and he is right. Did you ever observe Bass in an aquarium. Most of the time they are pottering around slowly or sitting in the one spot - until the wave machine comes on - then they spring to life.
Its no different in the sea i'd imagine. Hope some of this helps.

[weedave]

Eoghan - were you asking me or Carp angler?

just incase it was me - i keep i diary and i pay great attention to conditions eg water temp, water clarity, surf conditions, wind direction/speed, amount of rain, tide states etc i could go on but you get the picture. the more conditions you get right the better the chances of fish i believe.

i find alot of "car boot" anglers on the north coast - me being one of them on occasion, but its because i mean to be there at that time/conditions etc.

[Al and Jordan]

hi man. i've seen bass taken from venues all over the north and east coast of NI. in the last 4 years i've seen them taken from all the usual suspects like benone, downhill, castlerock, portstewart, portrush (east strand) + (whiterocks), whitepark bay, ballycastle beach, waterfoot and even carnlough. we fish a hell of a lot and over marathon sessions up to 28 hours in a single session throwing a vast assortment of baits and rigs at the sea, and we have only ever hit into bass in the north on the one occasion over the years, when we had a great night landing 6 in a 9 hour session. we fished that same mark for almost a fortnight after that and did'nt get so much as a sniff of a bass again . we just happened to be in the right place at the right time and most importantly in the right conditions .
but i know 1 or 2 lads who go out intentionally chasing bass round the north coast on a regular basis and they have some good results. but these guys have it down to a fine art where they reckon they know the movements of the bass in one particular area and pay close attention to tides, wind direction, moon phases, water temp and clarity and availability of natural bait present in the area at given months of the year. there is a lot of effort put into their fishing to get the odd session when they achieve their goal. but a hell of a lot of blanking too .
so don't give up hope just yet man. put in the hours and be persistant and you just never know what you might end up with .
but just a word of warning. do'nt take the word of some lads at face value as we have done in the past. when they tell you tales of getting 8 bass all over 5lbs on a regular baisis always ask to see a piccy or 2 and all of a sudden you'll see them backtrack with all the excuses under the sun as to why they don't have a single photograph . you'll get a few red herrings along the way that will have you wasting valueable time, money and effort chasing phantom fish that simply don't exist. and you'll always get the boys with tall tales about how easy they are to catch. almost so that they'd have you thinking bass are as prolific along the north coast as mackeral .
but like i already said, don't give up and stick at it and you just never know your luck man. happy hunting (after the 15th of june that is)

[weedave]

Al and jordan- i see you've met the " i can catch bass in a pond crowd then" there are plenty of them about man. but amongst all the crap people spout there are guys around that are more than useful than most.
there are marks out there that just do not get discussed at all - reason being guys have found more regular catching and they dont share the info, which is understandable as marks just get overrun by the fellas who just want to know where they can get a bass and skip all the hard work the rest of us put in.

we are a tight lipped bunch on this coast - generally speakin the guys who boast are not giving you the truth. i even know men who purposly tell porkys.

As you say bass north coast bass fishing is hard work, its 75% of my fishing so i know the form.

Carp angler - stick at it boss, it will pay off, i can assure you of that.

[carp angler]

ya know, from when i first posted this thread, i have caught several bass, and yes, the north antrim coast is best. i have found that the bass are there, but its hit and miss as to catching them. bait wise, its been even with rag and sand eel. they key to catching bass is simple tho. . . dont target the bass. .go enjoy your nites fishing, and if ya catch one, take it as a bonus

[weedave]

thread Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 12:52 pm

i only just caught on to this!!!!

Carp angler - very good way to put it "dont target bass" i laughed at this comment because i've said it a million times - if you want bass, target flatties!!!

[Eoghan]

Hi lads, they catch Bass in Norway...! I dont think Norn Iron is out of the question..!
Im sure just a bit more specialised and hard work.


Just do a search in google, vids n all posted in youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCe1_0l_D-U