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PROBASSFISHER - fishing through the years

Bass fishing reports

To bass fishers everywhere

Contents
In the beginning - July 2003 Fishing ReportSeptember -2003 Fishing reportAugust 22 2004 Rest Ashura d from Illex Fishing ReportOctober 2005 Fishing reportSeptember 2006 Allez les bleues Fishing Report - Seatrout on the fly from the sea guiding the guide.... Fishing Report - May 06th - Niall Kelly Fishing Reports - Ger Potter Fishing Reports - some days are better than others Fishing Report July 3 - Andrew & Philip Nolan Fishing Report July 4 - Andrew & Philip Nolan Andrew and Philip - aka 'The Nolan Sisters' Fishing Report July 16 - Stuart Duncan New Zealand girls - a can do attitude! Fishing Report July 18 - Ger Potter - The copper coast Fishing Report July 20 - Ollie Price Fishing Report July 25 - George and Marc Fishing Report July 29th - Jim Hendrick Fishing Report - August Andy, Pat and Gerry Fishing Report - August 15 - Jim Hendrick Fishing Report - Sept 01 to Sept 07 - Jim Hendrick 8 9 10 11 11 12 13 14 14 17 18 19 20 21 21 22 23 24 25 25 27 28 29 30

Fishing Report - Sept 15 to Sept 19 - Jim Hendrick 83 cms of Solid Silver Landed Today on the FLY Fishing Report October 07 - A Big Fish on the fly October Bass on the Fly and Lure - A week with SEAi Fishing Report - Mackerel on the fly - Childs Play Fishing Report - April 04 David Anchell Fishing Report - Spring day in march Fishing Report - DAvid and Peadar Fishing Report - May 10 - Andrew and Jim Latest Reports A great mornings fishing. The Big White One Fishing report July 10 Rolfe Andrew Jim Fishing Report - July 15th Allen This morning is marked forever Evening time and a close to a spectacular day Last Guiding Session of the week Fishing Report - Sept 7th - Hani Ghali September satisfaction Fishing Report - Sept 19th Jim and John Fishing Report - Ian's pesonal best - this morning. Fishing Report - Sept 29th Ian And Martin Indian Summer Workshop - with Fran and Ger Fishing Report - Oct 9th - Fran and Ger Colins beautiful bass on the fly Daiwa Day Breaker performs at Day break!

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Fishing Report - Day One - Andros South - Monday Nov 16th Fishing Report - Barracuda at the airport Fishing Report - April 11th Andrew and Philip Fishing Report - April 23rd - David and Jim Fishing Report - April 24th - David and Jim 8 Years, 8 Fish - OPENING DAY 2010 Release I Fear of what exactly? A simple example. A difficult but rewarding week Made in bubbleland 1000th bass on the fly from the shore It continues...... Release II Salt water fly fishing Ireland Bass Fishing Workshop Today Moody Misty Mysterious Release III Sunday Sterling Silver on a sticker The Danes are back in Wexford Red sky in the morning bassfishers warning? Saltwater fly fishing Ireland A morning session on the fly On the fly this week Bass fishing Cork harbour Conditions tough for fly and lure Monday, September 06, 2010

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Release IV The spirit of where the fish lives a rising tide Jean Yves goes home happy Bass Fishing Open Week Sept 4-11 2010 at SEAi Monday, September 13, 2010 Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Taking silver today Great danes in Wexford we catch 'average' size fish too - 80/20 Proving the French can do it too! Didier Rodriguez - bass on the fly in Wexford Blown away by the blow shot Bass fishing in Cork A note that makes it all worthwhile New kid on the block Prowrassefisher!~from April 2005 Catch Report22-04-2011Wexford a day a place a superb fish Pike fishing in the West of Ireland Western Chronicles I will find you and I WILL catch you Andrews first bass for 2011 Release VI Not catching On the edge ~ always

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a middle...... Zen and the art of making a cock up! The importance of good loops The Wexford Worm Three of their five a day Bass fishing Wexford Tough times in Wexford A red jacket and a yellow rod Soft plastic workshop Bass fishing influences Theres something about Marys! Bass fishing Wexford, first day out specimen A note from a friend The best built fly for Irish bass? ..the magic bass fishing month. Estuary bass fishing Alan lands in Wexford Alan continues in Wexford Alan concludes in Wexford Look closely For no mean achievement An early customer returns - five years later! Black eyed angels swimming with me

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In the beginning - July 2003


Wednesday, August 06, 2003
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Bass fishing reports

Fishing ReportSeptember -2003


Monday, September 22, 2003
Sept 2003 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Bass fishing reports

Fishing reportAugust 22 2004


Sunday, August 22, 2004
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Rest Ashura d from Illex


Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Landing Gear
Rod Illex ashura 7-7 Reel Shimano twin power 3000 Lure Rapala skitter walk A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing ReportOctober 2005


Monday, October 03, 2005
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing reportSeptember 2006


Wednesday, September 20, 2006
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Allez les bleues


Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Fred - friends from France VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - Seatrout on the fly from the sea


Sunday, March 09, 2008
Its getting close to that time of year again where I look forward to seatrout fishing in the sea. Beware - it can become an obsession! A little bit of fishing in your day Jim

guiding the guide....


Monday, March 17, 2008
So you start the week on a Saturday morning by cleaning, polishing and hoovering the car, checking water and oil and diesel and placing some conversation pieces on the dashboard, a few flies or lures or something to spark a few words that will inevitably 14
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generate the first of many debates over the coming days. You get dressed in your best guiding gear and of you go to the airport. This is always a strange time for me mind games are played as you ask yourself What will they look like? What will they be like to fish with? and then as you continue to wait for their arrival one of the party coming through recognises you with a smile that says so many things, and then the week begins. Introductions, hellos, flight ok? Hungry? No, ok, lets go to the car, its this way; Im sorry what was your name againseven days of intense focus and interaction. Its often that when the week is over I am left with a strange sense of anti-climax as I say goodbye to whom were once strangers but are now friends and close companions. Welcome to the world of the saltwater fishing guide. It is inevitable that the customer will often not know what to expect when he arrives. He will be quite prepared to ask lots of questions, questions you will have heard before and you will provide answers that are an integral part of the service that you provide. Questions in relation to tides and moon phases, weather conditions, temperatures and various other external influences will help you place the fisherman into a category. Other types of questions about local politics or the countryside or history will also force you to categorise the angler. Speed of questions, the number of questions, the type of questions, how the question is asked, and the oftenanimated conversations amongst the group in home languages before the next question follows helps you in forming and managing the customers expectations. And here we come to the greatest challenge of the next seven days anticipating managing, and providing that expectation to the best of your abilities. Each customers expectation is unique and each customer is a fisherman. So when I met Steen Ulnits from Denmark at the airport in August not only had he a unique expectation, not only was he a fisherman, not only was he a fisheries biologist but as well as that he was an international fishing guide. A new challenge lay in front of me how to successfully guide a fishing guide? For your information Steen is a fisheries biologist by education from the University of rhus but is now a full time outdoors writer and photographer. He works for a number of magazines - mostly the Scandinavian fly only magazine "Flugfiske i Norden" where, besides being one of the founders and present co-owner, he is on the editorial staff. He also has his own angling page in "Jyllands-Posten", the largest Danish newspaper with a circulation of some 250.000 during weekends.
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Being a fisheries biologist by education (and profession for some years) he has dealt a lot with environmental issues where and when they pertained to fish and water. He also specialises in fly-fishing and travel all over the world, sampling exotic fishing and thus obtaining new material for articles and books. Speaking of which he has written 20 so far - in his own name. Besides that he has translated 7 books into Danish and co-authored another 10 international books. Mmmmmmmmh Now here he was in Wexford looking to catch an Irish bass on the fly! After day two of gentle fishing I felt something was wrong. So what was it? I had made two mistakes. One, I assumed that because of Steens vast experience and knowledge that he would know exactly what to do and how to do it, and two, I wasnt managing his expectations based on my assumptions, and hence he wasnt catching any fish. Simple really. The fact was, he was not like any other customer and at the same time he was exactly the same. I had categorised him immediately as an expert who didnt really need much interaction from me as I assumed he knew how to catch bass on the fly. Steen had had some experience of them in Denmark as they are now increasing their range into the Nordic countries. Or maybe they were already there and people just didnt fish for them, and anyway he surely didnt need me to show him how to catch a predator on the fly! However after four sessions Steen hadnt hit a fish and I needed to put it right very quickly. Of course we had discussed equipment and flies and lines and fishing and tactics in detail but what had we missed? Steen was using a #8 rod and a #8 integrated floating shooting head with a ten-foot leader and a traditional leftys deceiver size 1/0. There was nothing spectacularly wrong there as I suspected. His casting was what I like to refer to as a relaxed style with an equally relaxed retrieve of a slow strip and stop. The thing was, as I stood and watched him on the last session of day two he was continuously casting and 16
Bass fishing reports

retrieving to the same place and retrieving at the same pace with the same fly. Nothing changed in his almost robotic and yet effective technique. I say effective in as much as the fly was presented correctly, was fished correctly but it was monotonous, too monotonous almost without confidence and with a degree of uncertainty. He needed to change and so did I. On the third session I went into super guide mode. I didnt care if he was a world-class expert; from now on he was been treated as if he was a novice saltwater fly fisherman. I have as a preference started to use Varivas tapered leaders so I suggested to Steen that he do likewise. Our fly choice was my default clouser minnows in white and white and chartreuse, coupled to the same colours in a bucktail deceiver pattern that had proven successful all spring and summer long. I ensured he had sufficient supply of both types. This session was an evening one and as the wind was north northwesterly the sky was prone to dramatic light and colour changes as had been the case for many days. Temperatures were down slightly and water clarity was incredible. However over the last few evenings I had noticed baitfish appearing in shoals along the coast often chased by hunting mackerel. As yet they remained out of reach of our flies. The venue was an open beach with some rocky outcrops. Recently I had picked up fish cruising along the outcrops as they hunted with the rise of the tide. Takes were fierce and often as not the fish were deep hooked so I also removed the barbs from the flies we were using. So I positioned Steen along one of the outcrops and explained in detail some of the observations I had made over the past few weeks. I drew in the sand some of my theories not really knowing whether they were true or not but at this stage I wanted him to have a very positive attitude and feeling of confidence. So we began to fish again fan casting over the outcrop and. nothing happened. I moved up the beach to explore the next set, took a lazy cast and hit a small fish of about two pounds; whilst I was landing him I noticed another bigger fish hunting through the channels of the outcrop. I walked back down the beach and spoke to Steen telling him of the fish I caught and of the possibility of him catching the one I had also seen. We attached a grey and white bucktail deceiver pattern and Steen made his first casts in the direction of the fish. He stripped the fly and bang was on, at last! During the evening as the light continued to amaze us and the evening sun began to set we were treated to more fish. Mackerel chased sprats onto the beach and Im sure some bass chased the mackerel too. We changed our rods to #4s and simple silver patterns and had some real fun. Just before the light disappeared Steen had another bass on the deceiver. It happens a lot like this. Sometimes its a little mysterious. I believe you can make things happen in fishing simply by talking and communicating to someone that they are doing fine and by making them feel more confident suddenly they catch fish. I felt I didnt need to make Steen feel confident, I assumed he was more than capable and Im sure he was. However, that extra ingredient, that last piece of the jigsaw was missing you can never assume anything in fishing least of all that either you or someone else knows exactly what to do. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - May 06th - Niall Kelly


Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Vision XLA 8/9 reel Vision 3zone SW #9 Rio Outbound #9F
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Rio Hard alloy mono Rio Flouroflex plus Oceanflies chartreuse and white deceiver Whilst guiding for Niall this week he had a real treat - it had been blowing easterly most of the week but was still mild. Water was loaded with weed for the first ten metres or so but Niall picked the fish up at about 15-18 ms out. Hit the fly hard in a big current fished across and down with little or no retrieve, loads of wave activity so he was in 'good spirits' - went back fine too.

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Reports - Ger Potter


Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Scierra XDA #8/9 Vision GT4 #9 Rio Outbound intermediate Custom leader - Rio Hard alloy mono - and flouroflex 35 lbs > 15lbs Hand built half and half (olive/white) size 2/0 Mangrove hip shooter line tray Ger Potter from Drumcondra is attending a two day SWFF workshop at SEAi - after some casting tuition this morning we went fishing in very strong south westerly winds - looks

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Bass fishing reports

like the practice casting paid off as Ger landed his first bass on the fly! Ger also ties his own flies and this excellent example of a half and half proved ideal in the rough seas today. A great achievement under any circumstances. I will put the step by step guides to the fly and more pics in the gallery later this week http://www.swsfd.fotopic.net/ A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Reports - some days are better than others


Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Daiwa Certate Smith Blowshot B90 RS Powerpro - 8kgs Rio flouroflex Smith Zipsea pen A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report July 3 - Andrew & Philip Nolan


Thursday, July 03, 2008
I had an early morning session today with the two guys. It was Philips first time using surface lures, Andrew was the expert of the group! They landed and returned seven fish the best of which ran close to 3 kgs all in VERY shallow water. The simplest of lures, the Rapala skitter walk took all the fish and they refused many others even the so called best. Fished slowly with short walks and long stops. Philip outfished Andrew. Dare I say more as the mornings fun was great! Looking forward to this afternoon.

Thursday Morning Landing Gear Lures - Rapala skitter walk - all fish taken on these lures Colour - White and white and brown Rods - Smith Bayliners Reels - Shimano twin powers Line - Powerpro - 8 kgs Tippett - Rio flouroflex - 8 kgs Conditions Temperature - 13 degrees Wind - North/North west 3- 4 Cloud - Heavy cover with lots of rain Water - cloudy to 20 metres then less so Tide - Full at 07:00 A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report July 4 - Andrew & Philip Nolan


Friday, July 04, 2008
Thursday Afternoon Landing Gear Lures Zara super spook Colour White and white and red Rods - Smith Bayliners Reels - Shimano twin powersLine - Powerpro - 8 kgs Tippett - Rio flouroflex - 8 kgs Conditions Temperature - 16 degrees Wind - South/South west 4- 5 Cloud A little cloud cover long sunny spells Water - cloudy to 20 metres then less so Tide - Full at 07:35

Friday Morning We repeated much of what we had done and used on the previous two sessions this morning. The brighter conditions of yesterday afternoon was a pleasant change and Andrew had a fine fish at around 16:00 hrs on the surface (amongst others). Today I was accutely aware of the strongish east south easterly breeze which later turned easterly at around 09:30. Andrew had a fish of about 1.5kgs and then another of 2.4kgs on the surface - that was it for the morning. The approaching system obviously has them in a different feeding pattern a little earlier than i anticipated. This is the last session of Andrew and Philips visit. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Andrew and Philip - aka 'The Nolan Sisters'


Friday, July 04, 2008
Andrew decided to give Philip his brother two days bass fishing and guiding with SEAi for his 40th birthday. This meant they would fish twice on Thursday 04th and once on friday morning. The days were sandwiched between two weather systems and I felt it wasnt going to be easy! Fishing, and working hard they both got the results they deserved in less than ideal conditions. I had great fun as the digs and slagging flew........and the fish were on! Landing Gear
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Rods - Smith Bayliners - 7'-4" Reel - Shimano stradics and twin powers Line - Powerpro 8 kgs Tippett - Rio flouroflex and fluoroflex plus 9 kgs Lures - Various Location - The south east A little bit of fishing in your day Jim

Fishing Report July 16 - Stuart Duncan


Wednesday, July 16, 2008
This was Stuart Duncans (who travelled from Angola) first ever bass! I'm estimating the fish to be very close to specimen weight - it (amongst others) went back nicely today. Landing Gear Lures Zara super spook - LC Sammy Colour Brown and grey Rods - Smith Bayliner Reels - Shimano Tecnium 2500 Line - Powerpro - 8 kgs Tippett - Rio flouroflex - 12 kgs

Conditions Temperature - 16 degrees Wind - South/South west 4- 5 Cloud Lots of cover and rain Water - Clear Tide - Mid Spring A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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New Zealand girls - a can do attitude!


Thursday, July 17, 2008
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Bass fishing reports

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Fishing Report July 18 - Ger Potter - The copper coast


Friday, July 18, 2008
Details later - too tired! A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Bass fishing reports

Fishing Report July 20 - Ollie Price


Sunday, July 20, 2008
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report July 25 - George and Marc


Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Marc and George arrived from Ballina on Sunday for some bassfishing. Marc spends his winters in Paris and his summers at Ballina. George doesnt do anything as exotic as that, but gets a head start on the spring salmon! We've had a reasonably good few days even if at times it is tougher than i expected. Numbers of fish whilst good are down a little, but we have had fish every day on both tides. There are lots of net marked fish in many of the systems and the usual poaching activity and its core exponents remain highly visible. There is no intervention by any of the authorities except that placed on anglers. 25

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Spirits are high as we reach mid week and the fun is great - Marc missed what I would consider to be a VERY big fish on monday we intend to re-introduce ourselves before Saturday. Various lures and techniques have worked well all week Landing Gear Lures Sammies, spooks, and others Colour Brown, grey and brown, black Rods - Smith Blowshots Reels - Shimano stella Line - Powerpro - 8 kgs Tippett - Rio flouroflex No particular lure seems to want to stand out this summer so far with most types working well - at the moment I have a slight inclination towards the spook! Conditions over the week varied from bright sunshine to heavy and muggy overcast days. We were managing on average 9 fish per day which is below my expectations given the almost ideal weather and tides. Thursday proved the most fruitful with the sharp easterly putting some action into the sea and generating some nice little waves providing oxygen. We will fly fish today and saturday for more bass! A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report July 29th - Jim Hendrick


Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Between Kinsale and Crosshaven - 2hr session 4 bass - 3 landed Landing gear Redington CPS #7 Danielsson LW 6/9 Vision extreme distance #7 intermediate Fly - Ger potter hand built half and half 7 inches. - Fishing conditions were a little difficult with the #7 and the large fly, and as winds blew SWesterly during the afternoon F4-5 throwing diagonal waves onto rocky promontories, and this was of course accompanied by the inevitable rain. The water remained clear and air temperatures very high. Casting was made on the seaward side of the promontories and the fly was allowed to be carried over them into deeper water and then stripped. The fish were hunting along and down behind the wave action and each take was visible often at less than 20 yards - several of the landed fish were mobbed on the way in even in the rough conditions. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - August Andy, Pat and Gerry


Saturday, August 09, 2008
Jim I think I can speak for the three of us when I say that the guiding, education, accommodation - the whole package - exceeded by uncountable orders of magnitude anything we could have hoped for and I sincerely hope that you got as much sheer enjoyment out of it as we did. Two specimen bass to lures/fly for the lads and two personal bests for me on consecutive days is not to be sneezed at at all, especially given the conditions we had to deal with - well, you had to deal with. You're the one who had to do the hard work - we just did our best to follow your advice. I know that Andy and I had a certainty from last year that you could put us where the goods could be produced, god willing and weather permitting, and I think Gerry (globally experienced angler that he is) is in absolute awe of your abilities. His comment as we stood on the roadside with his knackered engine was 'well, could have been worse - it could have calved on the way down - and I wouldn't have had my specimen bass'. Once again, we have returned from our stay with you enriched by the experience and with much to ponder and practice in the next year and a couple of days, which, believe me, we will be counting. And thanks for putting up a prize for the SWFF competition - I'll not be taking part sadly as I'm taking a few friends out and introducing them to fishing for blues, porgies and tope that day and since I have to drive them there and back and entertain, I can't even sneak off for an hour to get the fly rod out. Give my regards to you lovely wife and teach your children what three generations of the Hendrick clan already know. The world will be a better place for it.
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim 28
Bass fishing reports

Fishing Report - August 15 - Jim Hendrick


Friday, August 15, 2008
I had a nice short session on the fly this morning taking four - best to about 4,5lbs all on a chartreuse and white deceiver stripped at speed. Landing gear Redington CPS #7 Danielsson LW 6/9 Vision extreme distance #7 intermediate Fly - Oceanflies white and chartreuse deceiver

I was also introduced to a new technique by Andrew - a spinning reel on a fly rod Luying I believe its called.I was a witness to Andrew catching two fish using this method - good fun!
The two guys below (bottom) were fishing with Kiltys and had several fish too - Take a closer look at the photo just to the right of the guy in red at the level of the top of his head - see the BIG fish jumping!!!!! click on the foto to see bigger version A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - Sept 01 to Sept 07 - Jim Hendrick


Monday, September 08, 2008
The sea bass team of Patrick, Philipe and Gerard had lined themselves up with the first week of Septembers good tide. You can see some of the photos of the week below conditions remained very variable and as a consequence fishing was very difficult at times. Highlight of the week was Patricks excellent fish of 5.65kgs on the evening of the first day. With the large amount of runoff and onshore breezes the search for clear water continued on a day by day basis - Thursdays rapidly descending barometric saw us stopped in our tracks. With perservereance and hard work all three guys managed fished each day even on Friday and saturday which im sure you will remember as been particualrly inclement! Landing Gear Reels - Daiwa Certate, Daiwa Exist, Shimano Stella Rods- Illex, Zenaq, Tenryu, Smith and the Daiwa BASS Certate 902ms Lines- Powerpro Lures and Techniques A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - Sept 15 to Sept 19 - Jim Hendrick


Sunday, September 21, 2008
I'm limited and unable to publish many of the photos of the fish we had last week as we are saving them for European publications. It was a tough weeks fishing made tougher by the added expectation of the fishery and its performance. 30
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A rapid change and settling of the weather produced flat seas and little activity, coupled to NE breezes, fishing, well catching at least was, at times was very difficult. Once the wind turned south westerly or southerly it was like throwing a switch - on they came! But with perserverance and hard work we managed both editorials and I'm happy with the results! Several fish over 3 KGs were taken and once again it continues to be a learning process. Its never going to be easy, good weather, bad weather, different weather - the challenges certainly exist. Good anglers recognise the subtle differences, the changes, and acknowledge these challenges as different experiences. No fishery can perform at its optimum all of the time - this was one of those weeks when it didnt. We are in peak season, with good even if sometimes too settled weather - however next week is another challenge! A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

83 cms of Solid Silver Landed Today on the FLY


Sunday, September 28, 2008
How I caught this Bass on the fly - flies, techniques and strategy used all in bass fishing influences A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report October 07 - A Big Fish on the fly


Tuesday, October 07, 2008
On the particular day of my catching this fish I was guiding three men from Bordeaux. I didnt deliberately set out to catch it nor was I fishing at the time, I generally dont fish whilst guiding. We were fly-fishing in a small estuary and had already fished through the optimum time for fish quantity. I had instructed the three guys to move towards a corner where there is a slow reverse tidal flow and it is often the last opportunity before I say the window has passed and call a halt to the session. Some fish often tend to hang here after they have spread out over the estuary with the rising tide. I put the three guys in position and on the first cast Edouard had a little fish of about 1.5Kgs. Then after 40 minutes no more action. I always keep my own rod rigged and ready for use in case a customer has a problem with his and a quick exchange is necessary. I had my Redington #7 ready, lined with a Rio streamer tip and a Rio saltwater tapered leader. This was loaded on my Danielsson LW 6/9. No fly was attached. I was standing behind and somewhat away (200 metres) from the three guys avoiding back casts when suddenly there was a massive surge and splash of water down to my left in a shallow section of weedy water. Then I saw the fishs tail and dorsal fin cruising through the weed very slowly I immediately suspected he might have been hunting for small seatrout or mullet. Dominique also saw and heard the giant splash but couldnt identify it as a fish. He was to far away to take advantage of the opportunity as I called to him. I immediately ran to my rod, tied on a bucktail deceiver in lavender/grey and white and walked slowly in the direction of the fish and the weed bed. I could see him clearly now as he had emerged from the weed somewhat and was cruising down the outside using the tide to push him along. I had no basket and felt that wading to him would probably spook him and so I remained on the beach at ankle depth, walked along at fish cruising speed, stripped the line to about 25 yards, hoping it wouldnt catch in the weed during the cast. I made one false cast to get the head out then cast with a slight mend to place the fly in front of the fish and the line closer to shore. Remarkably for the circumstances the fly landed about three feet to the right and about five in front of the fish. I made one strip and stopped and figure of eighted. Then the fish took the fly. The time it took for the fish to realise it was hooked appeared to be quite considerable although it was probably only three seconds or so. The power of a big fishes tail when he swims away using the tidal flow is quite considerable. He swam towards deeper water 32
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and began using the tide running up the little estuary. It was a dogged slow and hard fight, with short powerful runs, rather than the usual more frenetic type you get from smaller more energetic fish, and in the end he gave up rather peacefully but thankfully not exhausted either. That big eye made contact of some sort, we quickly made the photographs and he slowly swam off. Landing gear Redington CPS #7 Danielsson LW 6/9 Rio Streamer Tip - #7 intermediate/Floater combination Fly - Oceanflies white, grey and lavender bucktail deceiver Tactics I hadn't intentionally set out on this particular day to catch a big fish, but rather the opportunity was presented to me. The best tactic I can advise is try to remain calm and avoid getting flustered. Try to read the situation as quickly as possible before the opportunity passes. My big fear was spooking the fish and realising that I would probably only have a 'one shot chance' at him. The cast was VERY important and it was probably one of the best of my life so far - especially as i'm partcularly weak at 'reach casting'. I knew where I wanted to put the fly - I was conscious of the coiled line lying in the shallow water surrounded by weed, I was conscious of not lining the fish loading the rod and making a slight change of direction with a 'reach' to put the fly in a position so it would pass across in front of him rather than towards him, I was also conscious that behind me were three customers who werent really sure what was going on and were now moving in my direction - the violent nervous shaking wasnt helping either! A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

October Bass on the Fly and Lure - A week with SEAi


Sunday, October 19, 2008
A nice surprise in a holding area - Day One Oct 12 The week got off to a great start as I took this nice fish on Sunday morning. I was working with a good friend of mine demonstrating a how to approach regarding fish holding areas on the fly. Eventually after I got my cast going away from the key area we made a stealth approach to a nice lie and suddenly the fish was on! Its always much more fun when demonstrating when something like this happens and I think Paul was flabbergasted. And that was it for our very short session the hollow fleye works again. Landing gear Redington CPS #7 Vision composite - #6/9

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Rio Striped Bass Aqualux - #8 InterBassFlies 2/0 White, grey and lavender hollow fleye from Andy Elliott Rain, more rain and then some wind - and fish, oh and flies! - Day Two & ThreeOct 13,14 Colin Rigney from Blackrock joined me on Sunday evening, we had two days of guided Bassfishing on the fly lined up. Monday morning was spectacular with bright blue skies but a chilly westerly kept it a little cooler. We fished the rising tide over a normally prolific area and a family of seals closely accompanied us. Up to six seals were present at any one time normally one or two wouldnt bother the fishing but a family posed us some serious problems. We enjoyed the company though. Colin and I fly-fished on Tuesday in extremely wet and windy but considerably milder conditions. As the wind reached force five and even six during the afternoon we werent to be deterred. Persistence paid of and we landed several bass in challenging conditions. The fish were again taken on the lavender and grey/white hollow fleye. Landing Gear Redington Super Sport #9 Vision 3-zone carbon composite Rio Aqualux Striped Bass Intermediate #9 Rio Hard alloy mono and Flourflex + handbuilt leader Hollow Fleye - 2/0 Lavender/Grey and White tied sparse from Andy Elliott.

Comment
Conditions although mild were particularly tough. It blew hard all day (4-5 bft) and the rain fell very heavy, the fish were at 25 meters or more. Double hauling and casting backwards is a skill learned by right handers who want to catch bass whilst fly fishing on the Southern coasts prevailing winds tend to be South or Westerly so its both safe and efficient. Waves were running increasingly bigger as the day progressed and as the tide rose the water was fizzing with oxygen, it remained clear for most of the afternoon. A patience game ensued in the heavy rain - it was just a question of when! We took all the fish on the same pattern. Cooling conditions and chilling out! - Day Three & Four Oct 15,16 Andrew dropped in on Wednesday evening far a late season session of surface lure 34
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fishing. We had a quick chat and a cup of tea with Colin before he left for home. The fish were played hardball on Wednesday afternoon probably because of the sudden downward shift in temperature. After Tuesdays warm, wet and windy conditions things were now very much different and a little difficult with a fresher cooler feel to the air. We had seen some fish and missed a few on Wednesday, but on Thursday morning we landed a number of beautiful fish as they got used to the 'newer' conditions and they returned to form a little. We managed to avoid going sub surface; a risk given the conditions but Andrew is a surface lure addict. This is Andrews account of his experience in a mail to me really really had a great time wed and thurs. I dont know how you can keep going tho your a fit man. you will defo be knocking on the presidents door for the 3k grant when you hit the 100! Imagine the lures you will be able to get in 60 years time. Will the swim themselves on remote control?

i really appreciate you trying so hard for me in the two sessions. And as usual it paid off. i was wrecked yesterday and struggled on the drive up. but im fine now. in fact im thinking of doing a runner this pm. hw at 1.30 if tide change brings the expected shift to southwesterly...................... love the fishing corners strategy. enjoyed seeing them lunkers swim by got good crack outa shifting that near in seal. was amazed at the moon rise sunset moment, the dark sea and the white water fizzing over the rocks near sunset. the company the meal and conversation the tips the autographed articlefrom the kids The quiet moments even tho i never really shut up cuda done without: falling down(again) loosing bonnie bending xwrap 13 walker
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getting shock from fence rolling in cowshite having a stitch in every muscle in my body getting lures stuck in the bumper of the car Funny thing is the cuda done without things were down to me, the good things were down to you and eileen and the kids. looking at the lists above isnt it amazing what you can pack into 36 hrs? was driving home yest and everything looked and seemed weird, i cudnt talk to people on the phone. it was down to me trying to step back into the "real" world. It knida takes 12 hours or so doesnt it. dont forget, its the overall package.
Landing Gear Smith Blowshot Smith Bayliner Shimano Stradics, powerpro with fluoroflex leaders Surface lures - sammy, spook and tanto. A Galway man in Wexford! - Day Five & Six Oct 16,17 Seamus Hartigan the Galway salmon fishery manager WRFB arrived on Thursday evening in time for the opening of the Wexford Festival Opera. Eileen Dan Ruth and I accompanied Seamus to the opening ceremony fireworks, which were spectacular. Earlier that afternoon I had walked Seamus to a potential bass fishing location, taking him through fish lies, current developments, and fishing strategy. We were ready for Fridays fly-fishing. Friday morning was spectacular. Seamus was new to saltwater fly-fishing and over four hours slowly managed to get into the swing of things. I managed a fish of about 3.5 kgs just to keep things interesting and Seamus on his toes! We finished the session and had a short lunch at The Yard restaurant before session two. Friday afternoon and things were looking different as winds increased from the south and west. We had changed to a completely new location and a different fly-fishing strategy. Seamus had borrowed an integrated shooting head for this afternoons session and this 36
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helped his casting and presentations no end. I managed a nice fish in the early part of the session just to keep things interesting but as wind speed increased the water clarity diminished the fishing became more difficult, the sunset however was spectacular. David Byrne from the CFB joined us on Friday evening for a chat and a pint or two. Landing gear Redington CPS #7 Vision composite - #6/9 Rio Striped Bass Aqualux - #8 InterBassFlies 2/0 White, grey and lavender hollow fleye from Andy Elliott. Comment - Its not always easy to catch bass on the fly. It can be a difficult task at times due to line management, casting, wind, footing, big flies and distant horizons. However, all the customers who visited SEAi this week either caught or witnessed the catching of bass on the fly. For many people who visit SEAi, realising and discovering the techniques and strategies creates the urge to try it again and again and then to succeed - it can be done!

3 Wexford men get lost in town! - Day Seven Oct 18 Three enthusiastic and beginner saltwater fly fishers attended a workshop on Saturday at SEAi. MJ, Michael and David (aged 16) whom are avid freshwater fly fishers now wanted to learn the requirements for fly-fishing in the sea. We spent three hours between 09:30 and 12:30 at the theory of Bass fishing on the fly and then we took ourselves to the sea to practice casting, techniques and strategies. After some initial difficulties in locating my house we had a wonderful day and the craic was mighty. We covered topics like -tides,locations, safety, biology, timings and many many more! A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - Mackerel on the fly - Childs Play


Thursday, October 23, 2008
The surface of the water boiled with hungry mackerel, baitfish jumped for their lives and they swam as a tightly knit group believing in safety in numbers. But they had nowhere to go as the mackerel had them cornered in the little coves, they tear through the massive bait ball time after time, hammering the shoals, picking off dinner almost at leisure. Here they come again cruising at flank speed up one side of the little bay; the sprats momentarily turn the brown rocks silver in an attempt to avoid the saltwater tigers, they jump out of the water to escape.
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A Mexican wave of tiny jumping and frantic fish spreads along the side, then across the shore and down the other side of the little cove. The water is full of tiny flashing scales, and green and blue striped merciless hunters. The vast mackerel shoals on our shores during late August and September are a great example of a migratory fish. Mackerel dont reside inshore but rather take advantage of bait movement. Here in Wexford the shoals generally dont arrive until the first spring tides in September but further south they can be caught much earlier. If conditions are favourable they can be caught right through until late October. Of course its a great time for many anglers and the beaches of the south Wexford coast are often at their busiest. Because of their vast numbers, suicidal tendencies and sheer ease of accessibility, mackerel fishing is great fun for children who like fishing or would like to catch fish in the sea for the first time. Often within spitting distance, casting to hundreds of fish with the simplest of flies life can be fun in the middle of a blitz. The whole phenomenon is a big visual fishing treat. Standing and watching the water with my two guys, Dan aged eight and Ruth aged six, they would literally scream with excitement as the shoal moved along the surface of the sea towards us. Here they come again Daddy, look. Look. And sure enough as the fish came closer not only could we see the surface of the sea boiling but we could hear it as well. The frantic baitfish swam as best they could, hundreds of mackerel charging at the shoal fleeing for its life, it sounded like the heaviest downpour you could imagine. They swam and hunted past us and were gone again. We turned all three of us and looked back up the shore anticipating the arrival of the next shoal and the excitement of it all. Eileen had phoned me earlier that week from Cork to say Dan had been catching sprats in his swimming trunks during the evening and both he and Ruth were eager to get their rods from Wexford. I had two days off and decided I had better head down that way as they both sounded like things possessed on the end of the phone. They both told me stories of swimming in mackerel shoals, ..the fish were all around us Daddy! 38
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I had a light spinning rod and some spinners and a #5 seven-foot fly rod loaded with a floating line that we used regularly for exploratory fishing. Im not the kind of person to force the situation and both kids will tend to sometimes want to go fishing and sometimes they dont. Admittedly spending a lot of time fishing with people, when you arrive home and are asked can we go fishing Daddy can we, can we? It makes me smile a bit. Neither do I force them or encourage my children towards any particular aspect of fishing but rather tend to steer them towards the activity itself. Fly or lure who cares at this point its better than sitting in front of the TV on a grey summers day! What I want and would like them to learn is to carefully catch some fish, handle them with some respect and either kill one or two for eating or return them to the sea. I also want them to have as much fun possible doing this. Last year Dan had a problem with the killing of some mackerel that we had caught, so much so that he stopped fishing for the rest of the summer. I didnt want this to affect his fishing adversely and had little chats here and there and let him reason it all out for himself, answering questions (when prodded by Eileen) regarding his fishing logic, farms, trawlers, etc. He arrived at a position where this year he instructed me that we needed only to kill two fish per person and only if we wanted them or we knew somebody else who did. So off we went that evening on our great mackerel hunt. Ruthie with her light spinning kit and Dan with the rod with the backwards reel as he calls it. I had been watching the wind and knew that in this bay as it blew westerly and offshore the sprats would ball up and swim tight to the shore. Personally I was thinking a little ahead I knew it would swing and increase southwesterly in the next few days, this created white water and confusion amongst the baitfish and fired up the BASS. Well leave that to later. Walking down the slope to the beach Ruthie said rather matter of factly, like a seasoned striper fisherman on the east coast of the US theyre there all right. She had learned to spot individual fish as they cruised and picked off wounded or confused sprats, they were visible as individual splashes on the surface. I was impressed. Were not after those guys said Dan were going to the creek to catch them. The Creek as its known locally is a deep gully with high sidewalls that forms a natural collection area for sprats. Dan said to me that he could see the seagulls flying over the creek and that was a sign of fish. Thats what grandpa says Dad! Good man Jim Powell.
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Its only a short walk but it takes us of the beach, which can become a little crowded and somewhat dangerous at times. But its somewhat easier and anyway a little walk never did anyone any harm. We arrived and sat down and watched. The seagulls had fallen back to another feeding spot and the bay was a dark mass of hundreds of thousands of sprats. And here they came, leisurely feeding at will, swimming through the bait ball stuffing themselves on small fish. I cast at first for Ruth and she retrieved the spinner, almost immediately a vibrating fish was on. The little rod rattled and shook as if electricity was passing through it and Ruthie fought her fish valiantly! I can feel him, hes a big one Daddy a HUMUNGOUS one I think. Then it was Dans turn, a fish every cast. I had de-barbed the hooks for safety and ease of release. I wanted them both to get used to feeling the fish in their hands and been able to hold them properly and not be afraid. With wet hands and a gentle grip they managed this many times although its not easy with a vibrating, electro fish like a mackerel. From then on we released all our fish simply by shaking them of the hooks and not touching them at all. Then I introduced the fly rod, Ruthie from a practical point of view said she preferred spinning. At this point in time Dan can lift and cast the head of a #5 and retrieve enough to hook a mackerel and enough to get that feeling. He very much takes it or leaves it and thats fine. We huddled together over little pools and I explained to them both how the flies and lures we were using fooled the mackerel into believing they were sprats. We examined the mackerel we caught closely, marvelling at the colours, their big eyes and Ruthie remembers that mackerel have a spike too! We put one in a big pool and watched it swim around and around and I explained that they never stop swimming, we watched him powerhouse his way through shallow water back to sea and Dan says Im going to catch him again and he made a cast and caught him again. And then we had had enough, and already as we walked up the hill to the house in the autumn dusk the questions were fired, the conversation was fishing. Where will we go tomorrow? Do you think I caught the biggest one Dan? Did you see me casting far? How many did we catch Dad? Im not touching anneee tomorrow Dan. Its funny now, listening as we neared the house, with the porch light on, I had heard similar words earlier that week, but from people a lot older than Dan and Ruth. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - April 04 David Anchell


Thursday, December 04, 2008
I spent Monday and Tuesday of this week fly fishing for pike in the Northeast. As part of my continuous development plan for SEAi I have partnered up with a pike fishing guru. Peadar OBrien is a fully qualified pike fishing guide with more than 15 years experience in Pike guiding including International clients. We have been working together now for some time and I am learning the ropes, locations, boat management, safety and much more. I hope to bring you excellent opportunities in the next few months for some quality 40
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pike fishing both on fly and lure in some truly remote and beautiful locations. I had invited David as a test client to fish with us for the last two days in order to demonstrate and experience the quality of the fishing available. David is a widely experienced fly fisher having fished in many locations like Alaska, the Bahamas, and Belize to mention a few. David is also a regular customer of SEAi and has been bass fishing with me now for four seasons. The weather in the run up to our two day expedition proved to be ideal and on Sunday as temperatures dropped to below zero I made the dash to Peadars house some two and a half hours away. David was to meet us on Monday morning and we would go straight to the fishing. Temperatures had dropped overnight to well below freezing and on monday morning as we headed towards the first location, along and over rolling backroads, the sun rose slowly into a perfect blue sky. Launching the boat was an adventure and as we headed down the little river heading into the lake, shoals of roach and perch were active all around us. Water temperature was reading between 3.3 and 3.8 degrees so sinking ines were the order of the day and we headed towards the leeward side of the lake into the sun. We were fishing for some 10 minutes before David had his first fish to the fly and thats the way it continued for most of the morning and into the early afternoon. Fish on then fish off as we had hit after hit in the glorious winter sunshine. Yes we went through quiet patches too but we had eleven fish to the boat and probably missed as many if not more again. Anticipation was already building for tuesday. Tuesday dawned a little cloudier and windier and Peadar had us lined up for a new location that had a reputation as an excellent fly water. I changed tactics slightly on this occassion and shortened my leader to less than 1.5ms of .6mm fluorocarbon and a 20 cm wire trace. I also increased the size of my fly and was fishing with a giant 25 cm beast, at times it felt like I was casting a wet sock. The tactics paid off and I had some wonderful fish take the fly. It was good times for David too and as Peadar worked around the lake we continued to take fish in many key areas. So over the the two days of fishing we took 22 fish all on the fly to the boat. Water temperatures varied from 3.2 degrees to a positively tropical 4.4 at its best. The fish performed in little windows and tactical placing of the boat and the fly produced the best results. I'm back working with Peadar next week and we will keep you informed of our continuing adventures. Landing Gear Rod - Redington CPS #9
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Reel- Danielsson - LW #6/9 Line - Jim Teeny T300 and T400 Leader - .6mm Gamma Fluorocarbon (1.5ms) and proleader Flies - as above up to 25cms A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - Spring day in march


Sunday, March 15, 2009
Andrew enjoyed a nice spring day today with some beautiful sea trout landed in midafternoon. Taking our time, we waited for the strategic state of tide and suddenly the fish were there. All fish were caught on single barbless hooks retro fitted to the lures. Trebles can really damage these fish very easily. . . Landing Gear . Rod: Smith - Troutin Spin Interboron Line: Varivas supertrout advance braid
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Reel: Shimano tecnium 3000 Lure: Sinking minnow details available HERE Remember sea trout are a designated sport fish, it is neccessary to have a licence to fish for seatrout irrespective of your fishing in fresh or saltwater. Go HERE for more details. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - DAvid and Peadar


Saturday, May 02, 2009
Things got off to a pleasant start on Thursday morning. The sun was shining there was only a gentle breeze and the company was good. The last time I had fished in the Northeast was way back in December so this was a new experience for me. It was great not to have the skin whipped from your face as you fished! David suggested a small snifter before we started so we shared a toast to the new season of summer a hoped for good fishing. Peadar had warned us that three days of torrential rain previously had put levels up by about three feet and the fishing would be difficult.

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A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - May 10 - Andrew and Jim


Sunday, May 10, 2009
Andrew and I took some wonderful fish on this mornings tide. Andrew fished the lure whilst I fished the fly. One or two of the eleven fish landed and returned ran to over 6o cms one > 65cms. Success came both on fly (5) and lure (6) more details of the landing gear, flies, lures and tactics now in Bass Fly Fishing Files A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Latest Reports
Sunday, June 21, 2009
With lots of fish now showing in all the systems plus the prospect of a great weeks weather and tides ahead its all systems go. Mike hits and returns an 8-pounder confirming Richard is a Jonah! All details of the latest catches, techniques and tactics in BASS FLY & LURE FISHING FILES tomorrow! Plus Allens SWFF Journey - Bass Workshop May 5th, Casting WorkshopGlenda Powell June 01st, Refresher bass fishing techniques June 12th - JUNE 22 first bass on the fly (see above)! The first of many. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

A great mornings fishing.


Friday, June 26, 2009
Paul provided the thunder with his snoring whilst Nick did a great job on the silver lightning - Bill caught his first ever bass. A day I will never forget, great company - great fishing. Landing gear and a full report of the week is dicussed in Bass Fly&Lure Fishing Files later this weekend. 46
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A classic mornings bass fishing at todays workshop with Nick, Paul and Bill - with over twenty fish landed it proved to be a great ending to a very up and down week, but one with lots of nice fish! A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

The Big White One


Friday, July 10, 2009
The BWO continues to produce fish - today I had a 7 an 8 and a >10 all on this fly. Its been an excellent week. When a sandeel or launce swims which part of its body moves the least? The head is the prime target area for any hungry bass looking to attack immobilise, kill and eat one. DO NOT worry about bass nipping the tail, or applying stingers or more hooks........ Listen to very few! A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing report July 10 Rolfe Andrew Jim


Friday, July 10, 2009
Returning a NUCLEAR SUB . Thanks to Rolfe and Andrew for taking the opportunity to realise a dream I've had for quite some time now. But a special thanks to the support team at home, the invisible people who make it happen for us. Today will certainly go down as one of the best - for me the smiles continue to say it all. Fish came both on fly and lure - a report later. . .......the flyline snapped tight against my fingers at the rod handle, it hurt, the Danielsson whirred into life and seconds later the albright went clink clink clink out through the rod rings. This was a BIG fish and as it powered downtide I saw its tail push it faster and further away from me. The redington #9 was almost horizontal, the fight of my life was on, I thought this surely is the best way to catch these fish, this is an experience of a lifetime! Ten minutes later..... A full report in Bass Fly&Lure Fishing Files later today. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - July 15th Allen


Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Allen asked me to work with him on home ground for a short tide session today. So I drove south to meet him. In very difficult conditions he landed this beauty on a white deceiver. His persistance is paying off as he works at his casting his fishing his presentations - its all coming together. Landing Gear Redington - 9'-0" #9 CPX Rio Outbound #9 Inter Rio tapered saltwater leader Oceanflies - White Decever A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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This morning is marked forever


Friday, August 07, 2009
This mornings short session before breakfast was a wonderful experience - I shall leave it to the lyrical Mr Boyle to describe it a later date, much better than I ever could! In fact Gerry, Andy and Pat had a great time here Last Year as well recalled at this link HERE ! A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Evening time and a close to a spectacular day


Friday, August 07, 2009
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Last Guiding Session of the week


Sunday, August 09, 2009
For the second time since wednesday I witness an angler catch more than 10 bass between 4 and 8 lbs in one session! Well done Andrew and Gerry. Whilst creating this blog I try to portray Ireland and Wexford in a very positive light. I do this by making the most interesting photographs that I can, not only of the fish but of the people who are fishing with me and also the environment and time in which they find themselves. There are many other things other than fishing that make any trip to Ireland and Wexford worthwhile and its important for me to remember that when Im out there. Not only am I looking to capture that trophy moment but Im also hoping to record the influences that are shaping peoples experiences of the country in which they are investing a lot of personal time. The more that I do this it becomes more obvious there are times when I dont see what visitors marvel at or appreciate and I find myself missing the moment for them. Its possible to see the same thing so many times that you dont appreciate it any more. I am always conscious that over selling a product could have a negative impact on any business, its true also of a fishing guiding service. Fishing is often very tough and contrary to popular belief, there are plenty of days when we dont see many or indeed any fish. The Wexford environment doesnt possess dramatic jaw dropping scenery, it doesnt have the ruggedness or sense of wilderness that you get on the west coast. It doesnt have outstanding architecture. What Wexford does have is a multiplicity of different smaller environments that are much more complex and which interact in a way that is so subtle it can almost be overlooked. You must look closely at each one to experience the detail. And not only is it important to realise each one is unique, but spending time in many different fishing environments forces people to realise the interdependence and influences one environment has upon another and the angling challenges each one presents. Ultimately this impact is what I try to create for my customers the readers and visitors to my blog. By facilitating people into a multiplicity of venues, the sanctuary of estuaries, the excitement of rocky shores, the thrill of fast moving powerful currents, the more likely they are to see and feel the Wexford experience that I try to create. Not only do I hope that
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this provides a positive environmental impression and experience of Wexford and indeed Ireland, but it also creates a realisation that even after spending a lifetime of fishing for bass in these venues that you are simply scratching at the surface of the sheer number of methods, techniques and presentations that you could make to catch them. There are no experts, but there are many who think they are ! Today was the last guiding day of the week - a week of difficult days and fantastic days depending on how you looked at it - fishing was tough and became easier - the company was superb and the shared experiences continue to make it a great bass fishing destintion. Thanks to all the people who went through here this week. Tony and Paul - Cork - Two Days - Saltwater Fly Fishing Workshop Bass Pat and Gerry - Donegal - Three Days - Bass Guiding Fly & Lure Phil - Dublin - One Day - Saltwater Fly Fishing Workshop for the tropics Andrew - Dublin - One Day - Bass Guiding Lure Im off to Ballina for the week - a long drive ahead! Monaghan for three days pike on the fly and home just in time around the seventeenth of August for bass on the tides again all in the company of dutch anglers. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - Sept 7th - Hani Ghali


Monday, September 07, 2009
Anyone visiting on the Wexford coast in the last few days will know how far away we are from 'normal' September weather. The grip that the wind and rain now has on the sea will take some time to 'settle'. Of course today is a nice day but tomorrow there are gales forecast so theres little chance of stability or indeed fish on the fly in the next few days. After a day like yesterday......... but then its part of fly fishing, the challenges are not like any other fishing - its not always about catching. As Stefanie, Hani and Cedric whom have come from Switzerland ride the roller coaster of weather - spirits are high and we chat and sit and watch, maybe even make a few casts who knows? After three seasons at this level of difficulty for fly fishing maybe its time for a new strategy ! Its looking good from wednesday onwards though with a return to better conditions - lets hope it stays that way and we could have a spectacular Autumn! A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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September satisfaction
Saturday, September 19, 2009
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - Sept 19th Jim and John


Saturday, September 19, 2009
John Weir from Ennis Co. Clare had spent Thursday and Friday with me working at a Saltwater Fly Fishing for Bass Workshop. Conditions were improving all of the time and this morning was going to be one of those days. I convinced John to stay for just one more short morning session of fishing. I took the fish in the post below just at high water at a local mark on a lavender white and grey sloopy droopy built by Andy Elliott. Measuring in at 81 cms he proved to be a worthy adversary and was returned after a few photographs. Its not often that I post photos of myself and many thanks to John for taking the time out to make them. Brian whom was also on the two day workshop returned to cork mid morning after a big breakfast at cuasnog, convinced more than ever that fly fishing is the best way to catch bass!

This afternoon John, having seen the fish of the morning and having caught some himself, decided this was the last shot of the weekend as he was returning to Ennis whilst John battled on I managed another good fish for the day at 79 cms. It was great to have someone there to witness it two specimen bass on the fly in one day. A big thank you to Brian and John for the company, the fishing, the pints and all the craic! A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - Ian's pesonal best - this morning.


Friday, September 25, 2009
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - Sept 29th Ian And Martin


Saturday, September 26, 2009
To Ian and Martin who made life easy and fun for two days - thanks guys! We experienced some great fishing and Martins battle with a > 10 was a series of images I will never forget. Personal bests, quality fish, great weather and superb locations all combined for a change. All fish were taken on surface lures - we felt why look for numbers when you can have such visual angling treats!
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You can see some of the great experiences we had over the last two days in the sequence HERE - both have already booked for Autumn 2010. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Indian Summer Workshop - with Fran and Ger


Thursday, October 08, 2009
Thursday Morning Landing Gear Rods - Smith bayliner boron BRF 66ML 6'-6" casting 2-10 grammes for 4-10lb line Reels - Shimano tecnium 2500 Lines - Powepro - 4kgs Lures - Smith Chinupen floating 8.8 grammes - clear Leader - Varivas Power Finess Fluorocarbon 0.235.mm Several bass all taken with surface lure fishing techniques A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - Oct 9th - Fran and Ger


Friday, October 09, 2009
Thursday Afternoon Landing Gear 56
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Rods - Lucky Craft ESG 8'-7" casting 3- 16 grammes for 6-14lb line Reels - Shimano tecnium 3000 Lines - Powepro - 6kgs Lures - Smith Sticky 12.8 grammes - 08 Leader - Varivas Power Finess Fluorocarbon 0.3 mm Several bass all taken with surface lure fishing techniques A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Colins beautiful bass on the fly


Saturday, October 17, 2009
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Daiwa Day Breaker performs at Day break!


Sunday, October 18, 2009
... Rolfe Deppe took several bass this morning - all on surface lure fishing techniques Landing Gear Rod - Daiwa Morethan Branzino 82 ll Reel-Shimano Stella Line Powerpro Leader - Seagaur fluorocarbon Lure - Zipsea pop A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - Day One - Andros South Monday Nov 16th


Thursday, November 26, 2009
Target Bonefish Guide Sparkles Partner David Location Somewhere west in the Bahamas Landing gear Rod Redington Cpx #7 Reel Danielsson LW 6/9 Line Bruce Chard Bonefish line Backing Rio 250 metres 20lbs Leaders Rio IGFA hard alloy mono 4 section tapered 12-0 Flies Gotchas, charlies, clousers and variants from Bruce Chard The anticipation that I felt on Monday morning was almost at times overwhelming. We had been in the US for 24 hours before flying across to Andros and then I attended the bonefishing school with Bruce on Sunday, more of which later. What I had been waiting for was here at last, this was the real thing, my first days bonefishing on the fly. Everybody from the lodge in our group was up and about each morning at 05:30 for a quick coffee and orange juice from the dining room, breakfast was served each day at 06:15. I had a quick coffee then followed my strict regime of sun factor application, the last thing I needed was a bad burn. The fly-fishing gear, our lunches in cool boxes, and all the safety packs for the guides were loaded on the jeep and we were bussed to the little harbour about ten miles away. Arriving at the quay we waited for our guides to arrive in their flats skiffs. We donned life jackets and speculated as to our locations and weather conditions and fly choice. Our guide for the first day was Sparkles and David having had the experience of Andros

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before, spoke about our requirements to him as an intro we would stalk some individual fish in the morning and then try to locate a school in the afternoon. The gear was loaded on the skiffs, everything expertly managed by Rick, the rods slid into their little chutes already loaded with leaders and flies. Out here things happen so fast you dont get second chances! I removed my cap as the guide and the skiff fell away from the little quay and accelerated into the tidal rip that was pushing west this was our ultimate destination a run for perhaps one hour through the middle of the island at break neck speed in shallow water to find the fish feeding in the gleaming flats the adventure had begun and as we sped along into an unexplored wilderness the temperature had already risen above 25 degrees, the sky was blue, the water was crystal clear, the low green mangrove jungle lay in miles upon miles of impossible tangles. It was 07:45. One hour later David was on the casting platform of our little skiff. The silence descended. Sparkles poled us along the margins of the mangroves. He said couldnt see properly as the sun was hidden behind some cloud cover. We persisted for a while and then he told us to jacket up again we would run further west over the ocean flats to a distant island where the sun was shining. This time I was on the casting platform. The skiff coasted to a stop in a slow tidal rip running downwind behind a little island, sparkles poled me down the length of the white sandy beach and at the end of a little sand bar he swung around and began to pole back up the other side, 20 metres from the shore against the wind. The next twelve minutes of my life I will never ever forget I held the fly in my left hand and about 10 feet of fly line outside the rod tip, I had about 50 feet lying in the bottom of the boat, I stood rocking slightly, scanning the impossibly blue and clear water for fish then Sparkles spoke very quietly over my left shoulder the words that I will never forget and in some strange way was almost afraid to hear Big fish comin straid atcha - eleven o clock fifdee feed 60
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I oriented myself on the clockface and peered into the rippling water Do ya see im ? No Twelve o clock, goin ride, fordee feed Do ya see im ? To say that at this time that my level of attention and focus was high is one thing. I was so hyper conscious I could hear the guides pole sliding into the sand and out again, the water dripping from the end, the gentle flapping of my shirt in the warm breeze, the fly line tapping against my fingers, the call of a disturbed bird in the midst of the island, the peppery smell on the wind, I couldnt see the fish and waited for Sparkles words again.. then Make a cast for me one o clock fifdee feed I did my best under the circumstances Pik id up an doo id agin More ride Led id sink Now I saw the fish, and two more! Strip the fly I saw the fish move to the fly excited, almost cat like - Sparkles said Stop Strip Keep strippin mon hes a big fish he whispered (just what I needed) Stop Strip, strip agin Hes comin atcha and then, fish on he said His voice had never risen above a gentle conversational tone, the word on was spoken loudest, but still as quiet as a priest in a confessional. The big wheel of the loop opti spun at an incredible speed as the fish realised he was hooked, I applied gentle pressure to the line to let it slip evenly and within two or three seconds I heard the clink clink as the bimini passed out through the rod rings. Then the reel spun into a halo of orange mist as the fish accelerated upwind away from David Sparkles the boat and I, this was the first run into the backing. At eighty yards the fish stopped. I wound, he swam and my knuckles were rapped HARD as he
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accelerated again for ten yards more. He turned and swam at the boat, at speed, I wound frantically. The fish passed us and Sparkles whispered mon dats a gud fish ade pounds Id guess'. The fish swam away again and Sparkles poled us downwind towards him. I could not comprehend the speed and the power, the ability to accelerate was incredible. Ten minutes later he was at the side of the boat, I got his head up a little and the perfection loop passed over the tip ring. David reached for the leader then he swam away again, unbelievably for another thirty yards, I wound and then Sparkles spoke again from over my shoulder, I heard the chilling words expressed calmly and low but also containing a sense of frustration. Shark comin ad im I bullied the fish as best I could but there was a sudden fierce flurry of red and white and dark yellow as the fish on my line was eaten by the shark. The line went slack the fish and the fly were gone. I replay it again and again - the experience of the first bonefish that I ever caught, I will never forget it. We had a long day ahead of us, my life was changing. We ran to another location.......only eight days left. This surely was the greatest fly fishing in the world! A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - Barracuda at the airport


Monday, November 30, 2009
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone.It's not warm when she's away.Ain't no sunshine when she's gone and she's always gone too long anytime she goes away. And I know, I know, I know............
Fred sang all day. He was the happiest and the funniest guide I fished with all week. Fred loved barracuda fishing and here we were at location B, a barracuda shopping mall where they cued up to eat Bruces special fly. At a barracuda fly fishing primer Bruce Chard discussed his theory that the fish hit the fly half way down the body rather than at the head, he reckoned long flies produced less fish due to tail biting. Cuda cut their prey in half, then turned and came back to mop up. All these points were discussed at length but when I hooked and fought my first cuda on the fly these finer items of the take were not at the forefront of my mind believe me! It was a long run to location B, just a little over an hour for a distance of some fifty miles. The further south we ran the greater the sense of sheer isolation. There was no Monday or Tuesday here, no production meetings, no shirt and ties, no schedules or timetables, and the more I considered the vast expanses of the ever changing flats, watching them light up and disappear only to re-appear again in vastly different colours the more I realised how far I had moved away from the normal world. I was completely unplugged. We were way south of Andros Island. The next stop was Cuba. 62
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We were charging towards a green horizon with no visible landmark insight, Andros was already left far behind. Fred pointed at something that only he could see Dats where were goin he said, de ariport! Slowly a bright bar silver appeared in the distance. As we powered closer I realised the tide was fully out and just beginning to rise over a long single sandbar of impossibly white tough gritty sand. In the distance on top and slightly to one side of the bar lay the ruins of a twin engined light aircraft. Long rusted into a hulk of barely recognisable metal. Now ya know why day call id de airport Fred said, and he laughed and sang a few bars from a John Denver song. Lets get oud an wade to the bones Momentarily I wondered was he referring to the crew that had perhaps remained in the cockpit and were now nothing but skeletons in ragged blue uniforms, the heat does strange things. I shook my head. The skiff scrunched to a stop and I picked up my trusty number 7 ready to do battle with some bonefish. Earlier Fred had instructed us that later into the morning as the tide flooded was perhaps the best time for cudas as the bonefish schools streamed over the sand bar. I wondered how fast something had to move to catch a bonefish! In the first few hours we could wade and hunt a few single bonefish in the glittering silver flats. My casting was off and I insisted on trying to put my crazy Charlie into the fishs mouths from sixty feet. This did nothing for my chances and of course I spooked every fish I cast too, Fred grumbled several times (who could blame him). I went and got my camera. David was catching a lot of very good fish; I sulked and took some photos! Some days there is no point in forcing things. I pointed and clicked and made my way back over the flats towards David and Fred. As I got closer to the pair I whispered to David excitedly Two fish, eleven o clock at about fifty feet. Dats ok Mon , said Fred dares aboud five n half thousan of em at one o clock at fordee feed.
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I looked Slowly I became aware that the darker underwater patch that lay waving and moving slightly in front of me wasnt some grass or seaweed or different sand colour, it was a vast school of bonefish, and as my eyes adjusted I could see thousands of tails and fins flashing in the sun, fish moved towards me and away from the shoal, groups broke off, swam away and returned, feeling scared. It was a shimmering pool of biological silver. The school of bonefish stretched as far as I could see both left and right and into and over the horizon. David smiled at me. Fred chased away a six foot lemon shark with a crazy splashing dance; he hummed the theme dun dun, dun dun, dundundundundundun. My brain was shortcircuiting; I needed a sit down under a tree. I couldnt speak for a long time. We had a lot of fun that morning in the middle of nowhere the three of us. It was a very special moment. Fred said the sharks were coming too close now as the water was getting deeper and they would start eating our fish, or us. Apparently they had the advantage when the water got to calf level I looked behind me a few times on the way back to the boat, not sure whether my wading was attracting them or putting them off. As I was leaning over the boat washing the sand out of my shoes Fred advised me to keep my hands out of the water. He smiled! We went on the hunt for CUDAS as the tide was ripping over the sandbar and down the gullies. Fred manoeuvred the little skiff into a shallow channel through which the tide was flooding. He took his position up on the poling platform and asked me to be ready to cast. I was fishing with my number nine and the Bruce Chard cuda special fly. Bruce had already explained to me to strip fast. I simply wasnt ready and didnt know what to expect Fred called to me that he could see a fish holding at two o clock at about 120 feet. For me it was always going to be easier to distance cast I made the cast (couldnt see the fish) and began to strip roly-poly style, faster said Fred. My hands disappeared into a sewing machine blur. Then what I saw next left me dazed and confused (as if I needed more sensory overload). The fish was swimming not from behind the fly but rather charging from the left hand side, at least I assumed it was a fish. A closer description might have been a 64
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prototypical silver torpedo with teeth that also had the address of my fly in its memory. I simply couldnt comprehend the speed of the fish travelling more out of the water than in it, and then he had hit my fly and the reel screamed in terror at the prospect of what lay ahead. In the shallow water the fish ran for maybe fifty yards and then decided that going vertical might achieve more in terms of an escape plan. There was an explosion as the fish jumped from the water and shook his head far from the boat so far I wondered was that MY fish? And then he ran and jumped and tail walked again and again This went on for ten minutes until finally he was brought to the side of the boat and expertly handled by Fred. These were the little ones. Fred said lets go to fish quay! I agreed, David smiled knowingly; he was in one of his been there done that type of moods that meant you dont know what youre in for Hendrick. At the back of the tiniest sandbar in the lee of an island where two lemon sharks snoozed in the afternoon sun I cast and hooked another renegade torpedo. The take was fierce and I was pulled over and had to take a step forward and plant my foot, then lean back a little. The reel was emptying rapidly, screaming in protest and even though I had the drag nailed tight it made little or no impact on the fish. One hundred yards later it stopped suddenly, the silence was deafening and then out of the sea jumped the barracuda, again and again! Swimming at speed, jumping with ferocity, head shaking and finally, finally giving up. I landed him on the beach as Fred had poled the skiff up to the little island. He told me to step out of the water as I had one big and angry cuda on the end of my line! I looked at David baffled and searching for words that I still cannot find. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - April 11th Andrew and Philip


Sunday, April 11, 2010
photos blogged live via a Sony Ericsson Mobile
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - April 23rd - David and Jim


Friday, April 23, 2010
photos blogged live via a Sony Ericsson Mobile A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - April 24th - David and Jim


Tuesday, April 27, 2010
David and I stole two days freshwater fly fishing in Irelands north west last week. We made a dash across the country to spend two days fishing with Kenny Sloane a well known fishing guide from the area. The plan was to fish for pike on thursday and again on friday morning with a sprinkling of trout fishing on Friday afternoon. We had an exceptional few days fishing with 18 pike to the boat (several over the 5kg mark) on Thursday and similar numbers on Friday. The highlight of the two days was the fish David took on Friday morning in excess of 20lbs on the scales. Some of the photos I made can be seen in the posts below. Landing Gear Rods: Sage xi2, Redington CPx, Guideline, Reels: Danielsson LW 6/9, Lamson Velocity, Hardy Angel Lines: Rio Outbounds inters and floaters Leaders : Rio toothy critters (adapted) Flies: As per photos below A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

8 Years, 8 Fish - OPENING DAY 2010


Wednesday, June 16, 2010
David has a great morning session on opening day 2010 - all fish taken on surface lures A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Release I
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fear of what exactly? A simple example.


Monday, June 21, 2010
A thin sliver of silver moon provided enough light for us to see a little. It was all we needed. Casting regularly into the distance of the rocky bay, Davids lure splashed down once again and as he worked it closer we used our now highly tuned hearing to track its progress across the calm surface. We listened intently for that aggressive attack that unmistakable sound - PHLOW, PHLOW! I anticipated a big fish under the circumstances. The big fish never showed up, but thats just one part of bass fishing for you! The heightened sense of anticipation and at the same time remaining realistic, enhances the experience. There is always the possibility of success when things are right, and even if it doesnt quite materialise, the acceptance that both you and I having worked hard at the fishing without a magic end result does not lead to disappointment. Both of us have done our best. Its part of the service, part of the experience the close interaction leaves you with something meaningful, only wanting to return in anticipation again. David Norman first chose to fish with me for three days fully utilising the guiding/workshop services for bass lure fishing during 2009. He had, over the winter considered other ventures for 2010 a visit to the spring show in Nantes, France for a weekend, a trip to the UKBASS AGM, but instead he chose to come to Wexford and to fish with me again. The socio-economic impact of his visit over those three days, whilst by itself may not seem significant, but the knock on effects of repeat business and referrals is considerable, not only to myself but to other small businesss in Wexford. Look closely at Davids spend, for his three days of bass fishing he has contributed to the bottom line of at least four different business in the Wexford town area http://www.cuasnog.com/ http://www.probassbasfisher.com/ http://www.theyard.ie/ http://www.greenacres.ie/

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Leaving with something worthwhile after his three days fishing in Wexford encourages customers like David to return. The low impact and sustainable fishing, the opportunities to learn, the uncrowded environments that David enjoys ensures that he can return next year to expect the same quality of fishing. The superb facilities and customer care David, and many others, have felt at Catrionas Cuasnog fills me with the confidence that once I dropped David at the door I knew he was been completely and competently looked after. The food and the services at both Greenacres and The Yard are exceptional and accessible all of this and more is within 500 metres of SEAi. On the opening day of the 2010 bass fishing season between seven thirty and nine thirty in the morning, David Norman caught and returned 18 bass. All fish were caught on surface lures in crystal clear water often less than ten feet deep in an absolute pristine environment. This was a unique experience for David, for me as a guide I had seen it many times before. David fished with a seven foot six light rod and small spinning reel many of these fish were taken at less than 15 yards which were followed by other members of the shoal we witnessed this many times and much much more over the three wonderful days. Both he and I have combined memories that are priceless and beyond compare. Memories that will stay with me forever. It still continues to be an experience for me too. Regrettably there is an inherent fear inside of me somewhere that speaks when I mention numbers of fish or try to portray the quality of the fishing available. I mention it here this time only to describe the quality of the fishery but I remain anxious that others would use the data and similar sources like it to build an alternative case for exploitation that would destroy the fishery in a very short space of time. Apart from that both size and numbers of fish don't impress me. I believe that you cannot develop a quality recreational fishery and sing its praises and possibilities without having the support of comprehensive fisheries protection, management and education. In a country where Government policy makes no sense, interpretation of data can be used in all sorts of creative ways. Unless you have alternative reasons that go beyond concern, thought, and creating sustainable angling experiences into the future, it is absolutely necessary to be responsible in your portrayal, actions and interactions with the bass fishery in this country. David was here for the first time in 2009 for a two day workshop, he was back at the end of July 2010. He has also booked for 2011 So have many like him. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

A difficult but rewarding week


Thursday, July 01, 2010
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Made in bubbleland
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Landing GearRod - Smith Blowshot Reel Shimano TP 3500 Line - Powerpro 9kgs Leader - Rio Fluoroflex plus Lure - Lucky Craft Gunnfish A short session between weather systems produced some nice fish this morning. We were lucky and happy. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

1000th bass on the fly from the shore


Wednesday, July 21, 2010
With todays light winds high temperatures and dark brooding skys combined with the possibility of thunder I was pipping! We had abandoned any notion of sailing. I messed around in Cork harbour with Dan an Ruth in the little tender in between heavy showers. Then I went off to meet the tide to a new untried shore location. It was probably one of the greatest bass fishing sessions of my life taking several fish in excess of eight pounds and two greater than ten pounds. Fish lay in the current chasing giant sandeels to the surface in a boiling frenzy! I took what I estimate as my 1000th bass on the fly during this session. . It was a true JULY

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SESSION as indicated HERE.Landing Gear.Rod Redington CPX - 9'0" #8 Reel - Vision XLA - #7/9 LineShooting line A.Jensen .25" 30 metres - Sinking shooting head then Intermediate shooting head - 9.30metres the Teeney T350 later in tidal sequence (taking the two bigger fish) Leader - 10'-0" self built tapered leader - Rio Fluoroflex Plus Fly - Custom built 9 inch hollow fleye variants from Andy Elliott Note I - I never attempted to match the hatch once (colour) Note II - The pollack loved the Steve Farrer flies. Note III The speed of retrieve was critical Note IV - The take was gentle and so subtle at times beyond belief Note V - The bigger fish took later and as always deeper in the tide A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

It continues......
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The fly fishing continued today in a strong Northerly breeze - touching force seven at times. Feeling a lot fresher and considerably brighter didnt seem to affect the fishing to any great extent. I fished a Teeny T400 deep and fast with smaller brighter flatwings - white and chartreuse. First came several pollack then a quiet period followed by the spiky thugs! The action came thick and fast with several fish running greater than 80 cms's. Then I was hit by a train - the last time I heard the allbright go clink clink clink at such a rate was way back in November in the Bahamas - stripping at least thirty yards of backing and staying deep my heart was racing - then ten yards more and finally, finally surfaced - breaking
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white water around a massive shaking furious head. Even holding the fish in the current was a struggle - then he decided to use that tail what an afternoon - I gained back five then ten - the fish swam upcurrent and took it all back - then swam down current again oh joy - the Redington arced nicely fight him off the butt, fight him off the butt - Dan and Ruth called from the shore 'Is it a big fish Daddeee?' I saw Eileen slip with the camera! Fish landed, photos made, returned, swam away properly - I smiled - its not often I get my own photo taken with fish - 84cms's. Thanks Eileen. Landing Gear Rod - Redington CPX #8 Reel - Orvis Battenkill LA Line - Jim Teeny T300 Leader - Rio Fluoroflex - 2 meters non tapered 9kgs Fly - White and Chartreuse Flatwing - size 1/0 See some of the fish taken in the sequence above A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Release II
Sunday, July 25, 2010
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Salt water fly fishing Ireland


Saturday, July 31, 2010
Silver on the Fly David Anchell went to the forge on Thursday and struck silver on an olive and white sloopy. Rising tide freshening south-westerly wind and crystal clear water breaking over a reef....delicious. David took several fish to 5lbs as the afternoon progressed. Landing Gear Rod - Hardy Zane #8 Reel - Hardy Zane #8 Line - Rio Outbound intermediate Leader - Rio sltwater tapered Fly - Sloopy Droopy - Olive A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Bass Fishing Workshop Today


Saturday, July 31, 2010
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Moody Misty Mysterious


Sunday, August 01, 2010
Gold on the Fly A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Release III
Saturday, August 07, 2010
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Sunday Sterling Silver on a sticker


Sunday, August 08, 2010
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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The Danes are back in Wexford


Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Caspar Hansen from Denmark is enjoying an early start to a flying visit. Arrived Dublin airport yesterday afternoon and by 18:00 Caspar had landed two nice fish. His luck continued this morning with fish taken on a special fly more of which later.

Landing Gear Rod Self built #8 Reel Danielsson LW6/9 Line - Rio Aqualux Leader - Rio saltwater tapered Fly More later A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Red sky in the morning bassfishers warning?


Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Caspar Hansen continues his bass Fly Fishing success breaking his PB in two consecutive days. Caspar from Denmark fished his own hand tied flies and hand built rod. A little bit of
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fishing in your day - Jim

Saltwater fly fishing Ireland


Thursday, August 12, 2010
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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A morning session on the fly


Thursday, August 12, 2010
Caspar Hansens' three day saltwater fly fishing trip to Wexford came to a head this morning. Casper took seven fish and continued to improve on his personal best record - he has now broken it so many times I've lost count Lots of fish were taken in the 50 to 54 cm bracket with the best of the bunch running to 58 cm's. See more photos below!

A more comprehensive report of flies gear and tactics will follow in the next few days A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

On the fly this week


Saturday, August 14, 2010
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Bass fishing Cork harbour


Sunday, August 22, 2010
Neap tides, brown water, low barometric, gale fore winds (challenging to say the least) - an impromtu and very pleasant day in Cork harbour with great company Jean Louis Max and Richie who produced on the day! A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Conditions tough for fly and lure


Monday, August 30, 2010
Conditions during last week remained very tough and unsettled on the Wexford coast. Winds veered westerly to North easterly and Northerly with a mid week blow from the south west. Some fish were to be had but again the fishery didnt perform at its normal late August potential. This is what you often have to accept as a bass angler - regardless of many things, the significant impact the weather plays on the fishery and your abiity to fish 'through' and adapt to that impact is vital. Fine tuning your fishing and your expectations when its tough doesnt mean its impossible to catch fish - its just more difficult. Out of that difficulty comes a greater reward. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Monday, September 06, 2010


A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Release IV
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

The spirit of where the fish lives


Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Yesterday I fly fished with David Jean Yves and for a little while with Seamus. During the afternoon the sun shone, the wind blew strong and the sea picked up. Clean clear and fizzing with life. My heart was racing as I felt the energy of expectation. I managed to take two fish in an environment that for me has become the essence of bass fishing - the challenge of remaining safe whilst casting into a strong head wind with breaking white seas and current, trying to fly fish is without doubt one of my favourite experiences. It was enhanced in many ways yesterday, the personal history attached to the location, the weather, the battle to fight, land and return the fish, and the company of good friends. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

a rising tide
Thursday, September 09, 2010
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Jean Yves goes home happy


Friday, September 10, 2010
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Bass Fishing Open Week Sept 4-11 2010 at SEAi


Sunday, September 12, 2010
Marty Harrisson David Norman Colin Rigney Andy Elliott John Weir Andrew Nolan Jean Yves Quillien David Wolsoncroftt Dodds Seamus Hartigan Patrick Molitor Alan Larkin Colm Gallagher Its difficult to describe the feeling this morning when I open the door on an empty house at number 7. After such a brilliant experience from last week, fishing, talking, laughing with the guys above who stayed during the week its going to take a while for me to gather my thoughts. Fish were landed, flies were tied, tactics tried and tested, dicussions were heated, interesting and valuable, so much was shared it goes beyond measure. Thanks to everyone who fished this week. I will get some fotos and words about the week up soon. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim
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Monday, September 13, 2010


A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Wednesday, September 15, 2010


A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Taking silver today


Monday, September 20, 2010
Spent a wonderful day today in the company of Thomas, Jan, and Didier from Denmark. The guys saltwater fly fished through strong winds to catch some very nice fish - the best running to 77 cm's. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Great danes in Wexford


Tuesday, September 21, 2010
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

we catch 'average' size fish too - 80/20


Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Although I dont consider any bass taken on the fly as average - we do take a lot of fish in particular weight ranges. As much as 80% of the fish we catch are between 1.5 and 4.5 pounds. Bigger fish are exceptional and often are only targeted either in specific weather windows or on particular locations with specific flies. Taking bigger fish without using a 'fly fishing strategy' to do so is a rare occurrence. There are many days when we wont catch any fish - this is not because the fish are not here but rather because a combination of conditions have forced them to behave in ways that puts them beyond the range of the fly. The biggest barriers to our fly success are suspended particles and debris in the water. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Proving the French can do it too!


Wednesday, September 22, 2010
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Didier Rodriguez - bass on the fly in Wexford


Thursday, September 23, 2010
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Blown away by the blow shot


Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The Smith Blow Shot 90RS has long been my favourite bass lure fishing rod. Anyone who owns one knows they are beyond compare. Andrew did own one - it was stolen last year, he decided recently to purchase another. These were the first fish he landed on his new rod. We took all the fish from the surface this morning in bright cool conditions at extreme range- aided by the BS's super casting ability.
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Quality never dissapoints - simple! A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Bass fishing in Cork


Friday, October 15, 2010
Did a little trip yesterday to Cork and fished with Richie and David. Chilly, overcast north easterly breezes and neapish falling tides were the order of the day. I stuck to a 'down' fishing strategy and loaded the #7 G-loomis with the Rio T11 custome cut. Terminal tackle consisted of a short tapered leader 35->18 of 5'-6" in length. Attached to this via a reverse allbright was 10 inches of 8kgs Rio Fluoroflex plus. This was loop knotted to a white mini sloopy droopy of 5 inches. . The fish were taken with a particular postioning of the boat, the lines and the flys in relation to the strength and speed of the tide. The retrieve was once again critical - I missed two takes that I felt i should have at least 86
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hooked - lifting the rod on the strike, inexcusable - as well as the spiky guys David and I landed both pollack and mackerel on the fly during our short trip. . I read somewhere on a forum recently about THE RULES OF BASS FISHING, a pet hate of mine - Rules, what rules? There simply are none. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

A note that makes it all worthwhile


Thursday, October 21, 2010
by mail today....
Dear Jim I enclose a couple of photos of a Bass Fishing session last friday morning. In all I took Five Bass, the smallest 3lbs and the largest 10lbs, all fish were returned unharmed and swam away strong. I would like to take the time to thank you for the amount of information you gave me through you

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website, which helped contributed to a successful year bass fishing in Wexford. I hope the season will continue to be as pleasurable. Again many thanks and keep up the good work, it is of such value and education to all anglers. Kind Regards Padraig A little bit of fishing in your day Jim

New kid on the block


Friday, March 25, 2011
Looks like I have some competition William my younger brother caught his first bass on a lure today its gonna be a long summer of texts and mobiled fotos! A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Prowrassefisher!~from April 2005


Sunday, April 03, 2011
Looking back through older April photos I found these from a softlure workshop a few years back - bass assassins and bachi sv-67 heads! Go ahead - zoom bang and tapout - leaders in the field. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Catch Report22-04-2011Wexford
Friday, April 22, 2011
The window of opportunity opened this afternoon for a short while and I was lucky to be there to take it. Taking four fish in a 45 minute period the action was thick and fast with the best fish running to 3.25kgs. All of the fish were caught at less than 50 feet distance with the fly stripped very quickly Landing Gear Rod: Jensen High Tide #8 Reel: Danielsson LW 6/9 Line: Guideline coastal slow intermediate #8 Leader: 9-6 Tapered Rio fluorocarbon Fly: 4 white mini sloopy here A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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a day a place a superb fish


Friday, June 03, 2011
Landing gear Rod: AV Jensen High Tide #8 Reel: Vision XLA Line: Teeny T300 Leader: Rio alloy hard saltwater mono with Rio powerflex wirebite tippet Fly: Tied by Rudy Van Duijnhoven Fish: Pike ~/= 10kgs A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Pike fishing in the West of Ireland


Sunday, June 05, 2011
The second fish I hooked was different. We drifted back over the zone, the water depth shallowed up to about fifteen feet, gleaming white sands and bottom features becoming very obvious. I could clearly see vertical columns of weed, rocks as big as cars, rippling fields and waves of golden light. The underwater visibility once again blew my mind. I cast and counted then retrieved and within thirty of forty feet of the boat I could see my fly tracking close the bottom. Strip strip stop, strip strip stop, opening then closing, breathing enticing. The fish not so much as swam but rather, sidled up to the fly, stopped, bristled ready - tensed. Appearing from behind a pale cream coloured rock, I had that same familiar feeling of brain refusing to acknowledge or comprehend what was going on and

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hence was going into some sort of protective mode of disbelief which stops itself from frying - But yes it was a big fish, yes it was inches behind my fly, and yes I was in fifteen feet of water and I could clearly witness what was happening. I could see the fly, I could see the fish then I couldnt see the fly and suddenly I felt the fish on. Moving very quickly to my right, my fly line tracing through the water leaving a skinny bubble trail zzzzzzzziiiiiiiiiipppppppppppp John, I heard myself speak as I eased and controlled the fly line under tension from my hand and then the drag started up John, take a look at this quick I sounded in hindsight, remarkably calm Two other fish had joined mine and were tracking him as he sped across the white bottom, twisting and turning in a strange ballet threesome of escape and inquisitiveness. The fish were about 5 or 6kgs and their light, smashed up blonde and green patterns of colour at times rendered them invisible in their world of gold and silver. I was pike fishing in the west of Ireland in one of the most remarkable fishing environments I had ever seen. Landing gear Rod: AV Jensen High Tide #8 Reel: Vision XLA Line: Teeny T300 Leader: Rio alloy hard saltwater mono with Rio powerflex wirebite tippet Fly: Tied by Rudy Van Duijnhoven Thanks Brian for making it happen A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Western Chronicles
Friday, June 10, 2011
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

I will find you and I WILL catch you


Saturday, June 18, 2011
Landing GearRod : AV Jensen High Tide #8 Reel: Danielsson LW 6/9 Line: Guideline coastal #8 fast intermediate Leader: Airflo 10-0 saltwater tapered poly leader Rio fluoroflex tippet Fly: White mini sloopy droopy One of the joys and the challenges of catching bass is actually finding them in new places. Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Andrews first bass for 2011


Saturday, June 18, 2011
Landing Gear Rod: Smith B90 RS Reel: Shimano Twin Power 4000 (salt water) Line: Daiwa tournament pro Leader: Rio saltwater hard alloy mono Lures: Orion Mr Joe Its not easy out there at the moment on the open shore and from a fly perspective its downright damned difficult at least the shift to westerly may help but it looks tough for the next few days into next week lower water presentations with soft baits or sinking lines will help significantly. __________________________________________________________ __ Teccie specs on the twin power. Born of the same engineering pedigree as the worlds number one threadline Stella, the TwinPower carves its own niche amongst the range of ultra-high performance reels that Shimano has become renowned for. The TwinPower will handle anything thrown at it and continue asking for more, displaying many of the same qualities that make the Stella so successful and Shimano a pioneer in heavy saltwater sportfishing and jigging applications. Built on the SR philosophy (smooth, silent, strong and reliance), the TwinPower gets its unbelievable cranking power and strength from a heavy-duty cold-forged drive gear paired with a Brass pinion, near frictionless efficiency from intuitive design and

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reliability from decades of research and development unrivalled by any other manufacturer in the industry. All these features are housed in a waterproof hybrid aluminium body which is then super-charged by the same Hyper-disk drag found in the Stella SW. Less wear on parts and effortless operation are thanks to no less than 11 Shimano bearings. Each reel also features AR-C spool design, Aero Wrap II, Rigid Support Drag, one-piece bail, Super Stopper II, Power Roller and Floating Shaft II. A little bit of fishing in your day Jim

Release VI
Sunday, June 19, 2011
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Not catching
Monday, June 20, 2011
Not catching bass is an integral part of the fishing. It adds mystery and intrigue and forces us to apply reasons as to why. This of course is normal and many of our derived reasons are probably very wide of the mark - but it makes us feel better if we apply our
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fishy logics and thoughts to our 'failures'. What it doesnt mean is that we are bad fishermen or I am a bad guide, or you havent got the latest hottest thing or we are doing something wrong. These are wild creatures living in the ocean, swimming free around an island influenced by many many things. What it does mean is that the next time we catch them the more we appreciate what we really missed - the fish and the experience. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

On the edge ~ always


Saturday, June 25, 2011
It could have happened at any time over the three days and indeed it sputtered into life a little on the evening of day three. The fact of the matter is that David never let the opportunity, if it existed, pass him by. He persisted, and when fishing is difficult this is what it comes down to. Focus and attention to detail can get you that one or two fish even very late in the game. I went through the phases with him on each day through rising temperatures, falling temperatures, sun, rain, wind, blue sky, cloud, Northerly, Southerly, it was all there. Clear water, cloudy water, as my daughter says, whateverrrr..! Overall conditions remained very very fishable and never really deteriorated severely; they only exhibited variability, constantly! It was Tuesday afternoon that really had my heart racing a day that I often refer to as a big fish day and certainly the chance was there with everything falling into place but it was not to be. And thats the way it played out over the three days, the possibility existed and we could have been lucky and eked out a bruiser or a wayward shoal, but it wasnt from want of trying or tactics or effort or skill on David's part. Hes now the consummate bass angler, perfectly capable of anything. There were no numbers of fish in the systems but it always felt like we were just on the edge, very close, just out of reach, a fish away from making an experience a permanent memory. And then at our feet a fish and another - David had hit them with his favourite method - soft baits. But then isn't that bass fishing - always on the edge, always. If you want to learn more about David's experiences and his thoughts on soft plastic 94
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fishing and presentations for bass then don't miss next months Irish Angler magazine - David is running a three part series packed with information about these techniques. Some ideas for when its tough HERE A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

a middle......
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Zen and the art of making a cock up!


Thursday, June 30, 2011
OR several questions about fishing. Ray Molloy's girlfriend thinks he looks like George Clooney, (when she has her eyes closed). Ray doesnt admit to looking anything like George but does have a twinkle in his eye and a Sahara dry sense of humour. Tom is Rays best buddy Tom talks a lot when hes not focused but becomes inscrutable when hes in the zone. Hes also prone to sulk for short periods. I could go on, wont, but will ask the question at this time When a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to see it, does it make any sound? or put differently When a customer catches and lands an eleven pound bass (on his first outing at a bass fishing workshop) and the guide has no camera to make a photograph does the fish really exist? George, sorry Ray and Tom went through the ringer this morning at a bass lure workshop, influences, timings, seasons, tides, times, hard baits, soft baits, rods, reels, lines nothing exceptional here. Ray was a brilliant student scoring highly on attention to detail, class contribution and participation, Tom got lines! We went to lunch in The Yard restaurant and then went to fish the rising afternoon tide. I went through the techniques with the guys. My spare waders were too big for Ray so he elected to fish from the shore. Surface lure, splashing, popping, walking, soft trotting lifting dropping jerk twitching stopping phew! I set the guys free for about two hours to do it for themselves and managed them only through the location development over the tide. Tom said he felt like he was going to catch a fish. Then we heard Ray shout from 50 yards rod bent heehhh fish on! And it happened to be a very considerable fish certainly in excess of the magic 10 and probably somewhere just slightly less than the incredible 11. I had left the camera at home, my phone (a new rule) was in the car, so was Rays! Tom was IN THE ZONE Ray asked if he could hug me, I said 'briefly'. Tom called from afar we showed him the fish, I put the fish back and then the fish swam away. I have several questions that I must ask - The technique that Ray developed by himself called Shagging the cat did it help in catching the fish? I think so. Stop trying to hit me and hit me, or stop trying to catch me me and catch me, does it apply? If I had remembered the camera would Ray have caught the fish? Did Tom have a little sulk in the car on the way home? A classic day of real fun and brilliant company a fish to dream of again and again it made life very easy indeed. I learned a lot. For lessons in shagging the cat techniques or a brilliant Taxi service Ray can be contacted at raymolloy@gmail.com A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

The importance of good loops


Monday, July 04, 2011
Jobst Seevers travelled from Kiel in Germany for a three day saltwater fly fishing holiday hes in pursuit of bass and has done very well so far taking fish both yesterday and today. Best fish today ran to 3kgs A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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The Wexford Worm


Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Selby Knox from Bristol took this wonderful 4kgs fish this morning on a 7 inch Senko worm. The worm was fished weedless with an owner weighted twistlock hook. This Weighted Twistlock hook employs the same hook as the 5132 Twistlock, but also features a nonmovable weight attached to the shank. Designed for both fresh and saltwater fishing. The hooks added weight helps to sink or swim the bait into the strike zone. With its Twistlock Centering-Pin-Spring (CPS patent pending), baits can be permanently secured by inserting the pin in the center of a soft plastic, which can then be screwed on the Twistlock coil spring to rig perfectly everytime! Ideal for weedless style fishing without having to add a separate weight. Great for fishing into deep cover and optimum fish lies. Open gap allows for more positive hook sets. Features include a 97

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30 eye-bend, XXX-strong forged shank, Super Needle Point, and black chrome finish. You can see more detail HERE A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Three of their five a day


Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Dallas: Something has attached itself to him. We have to get him to the infirmary right away. Ripley: What kind of thing? I need a clear definition. Dallas: An organism. Open the hatch. Ripley: Wait a minute. If we let it in, the ship could be infected. You know the quarantine procedure. Twenty-four hours for decontamination. Dallas: He could die in twenty-four hours. Open the hatch. Ripley: Listen to me, if we break quarantine, we could all die. Lambert: Look, could you open the god-damned hatch? We have to get him inside. Ripley: No. I can't do that and if you were in my position, you'd do the same. Dallas: Ripley, this is an order. Open that hatch right now, do you hear me? Ripley: Yes. Dallas: Ripley. This is an order. Do you hear me? Ripley: Yes. I read you. The answer is negative. _________________________________________________ ____ I have some pet hates they are not big ones but they do exist. Matching the hatch for bass fishing is one of my favourites, opportunities for matching are often few and far between. Its very rarely these fish on the Wexford coast can afford to be selective. I opened the hatch on a bass that we caught this morning and I found the following A cuttlefish (.75kgs) two hard backed crabs and a giant sandeel selectivity is generally not an issue! The fish will be prepared in a local restaurant later today. A little bit of fishing in your day Jim

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Bass fishing Wexford Sunday, July 17, 2011


Martin Allison Scotland, kicked off his four day stay this morning. We decided to go soft as Martin hasnt had much exposure to the techniques and methods used. The pin tail is a soft jerk from Illex with a ringed section over the last 2 cm of the body then finished with a short needle which vibrates at the slightest stimulus. This is the perfect model for weightless or drop shot fishing and is best worked slowly through weed beds or on a light jig head in clear water or when the fishing is particularly difficult. I rigged the pintail on a Texas jig head. This head gives you all the advantages of a Texas style rig combined with all the presentations of a jig head. The triangular shaped head gives you two key advantages: 1) Stability and excellent presentation of the bait on the bottom 2) It helps with a swimming jig action on the retrieve. The Texan hook benefits from the patented Aeropoint system and is made from strong wire with an extra large gape to guarantee a better hook penetration and hook hold. Martin took a few moments to get into his stride and after a short warm up we were into fish in pleasant sunshine and broken cloud. We took and missed several fish all part of the game. We changed colours and the range of the jig head weight throughout the session and tide moving from 1.8 through the 3.5 and onto 5.5 grammes. Colour choices were chartreuse tail, blue w/Holo, and pearl white. Illex soft baits and jig heads are available at Henrys Tackle and SEAi A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Tough times in Wexford


Monday, July 18, 2011
But Martin keeps on coming up with the fish. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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A red jacket and a yellow rod


Tuesday, July 19, 2011
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Soft plastic workshop


Friday, July 22, 2011
Niall VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL Landing Gear . Rod : Savagegear bushwacker Reel: Shimano Exage Line; Dynacable Leader: Rio hard alloy saltwater mono . Lure: 7" Senko worm on Illex Gambit 5.5 gramme jig head A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Bass fishing influences


Sunday, July 24, 2011
In July and August, the largest fish, occasionally bass of fifty and even sixty pounds, rejoice the heart of the angler by surrendering to his skill, while in the Fall, although more numerous, they are smaller. In both these particulars, the fishing at point Judith and West Island, and further Northward, differs from that in the vicinity of New York. Great success, however, depends upon several contingencies. It is supposed that the Gulf Stream, that prolonged current of the Mississippi River, which sweeps with its warmer temperature through mid ocean carrying a genial atmosphere and fertilizing showers to the otherwise arid shores of France and England, changes its course yearly, approaching our coast and sending its swarms of living creatures among the rocks of Narragansett Bay, or
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withdrawing so as to leave us desolate and to increase the severity of our winters. We all know that our cold seasons differ greatly in intensity, and bass fishermen know that success in fishing varies equally; but from what cause these results flow, no one can positively say.Robert Barnwell Roosevelt The Striped Bass Published 1865 Martin Alisson Scotland Wed Jul 20th a tough cold week in Wexford. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Theres something about Marys!


Saturday, July 30, 2011
ronan VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL Landing Gear

Rod : Illex element Rider S210M Reel: Shimano Tecnium 3000 Braid: Power pro 8Kgs Leader: Rio Fluoroflex plus Lure: Illex Gambit Texan jig head 5.5gs and Olive 5" Waveworm A big thanks to Bob and Ronan for the company craic and solving of the worlds problems. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Bass fishing Wexford, first day out specimen


Wednesday, August 03, 2011
An incredible day Anne Curran caught played and landed and returned this magnificent fish this afternoon. Using soft plastics for the first time Anne applied the technique to deadly effect resulting in a masterful display of control and patience in high seas and difficult conditions, a big fish window! The fish measured 83 centimetres with a calculated weight certainly in excess of ten pounds Congratulations Anne Anne and Pat attended a bass fishing workshop in April 2011 Landing Gear Rod: Smith Tidewader Blow shot boron 8-6 Reel: Daiwa Certate Line: Powerpro 9kgs Leader: Rio Fluoroflex 8kgs Lure: Sluggo and Illex gambit 5.5g Texan jig head. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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A note from a friend


Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Hi Jim Just got back from Norway. Bass fishing was disappointing. I didn't catch or have contact with a single bass. But I talked to the guy who did the video from Oslo fjord and he usually know where and how to catch them. Even he hadn't done as well this year as previous year. Last year he also had a decline in his catch rate. His explanation for this was partly due to cold an long lasting winters the last few years and this year the ice didn't break until April. Another factor is the commercial fishing. It seems the bass stay in the fjord during the winter but stays still in deep holes and the commercial fishermen has found out so they net them. Runar (the guy from the video) was quite worried aboubt the impact on the recreational fishing. Any way... I caught 3 new species that I never caught on fly before so I have enclosed some pictures of them and some pictures of the surroundings I was fishing in. Also as a bonus I came within 30 metres of a feeding humpback whale - awesome creature. I am not completely sure what the fish are called in english but I know one is cod and I think the others are pollack and haddock. I follow your wonderful newsletter closely and it seems fishing is reasonably good. All the best Caspar Caspar in Norway VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

The best built fly for Irish bass?


Friday, August 19, 2011
It certainly is one of them. Watch the fly land on the water and then instantaneously orientate to the correct profile (the hands held in prayer) - took time out this afternoon in stormy conditions just the way I like them - casting a mini sloopy variant on the GLX #7 - fished an outbound inter with a short 5'-0" poly leader tipped with Rio fluoro on a loop knot (that's a mouthful) - result!

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The up and down 'bobbing' motion of the fly is assisted by a loop knot at the hook - tying 'straight' to the hook with a stiffer leader changes the action of the fly to a 'flatter' plain Here's the thing I fished a 700 euro rod with a 25 euro reel - the okuma airframe. Its the same okuma that I've had since 2002 - its been dropped, kicked, thrown, and excuse me, 'fucked' into the water in a rage, left in a damp shed over winter and most importantly landed probably 400 + bass, plus pollack, pike and seatrout in rain sand and all sorts of weather and still going strong today - dont spend A LOT of money on unnecessary middle crap! Take a look HERE for more help on fishing the rocky shore

Watched the blitz above for a while when I was fishing - awesome display - I was on shore by the way and apologies for poor quality - little camera pushed to its limit ! Bass fishing the Rocky Shore - some help HERE A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

..the magic bass fishing month.


Monday, August 29, 2011
Neil Driver dropped in this morning for a guided soft plastic workshop a beautiful morning of great company sun, surface blitzes and silver too!

September dreams VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Estuary bass fishing


Sunday, September 04, 2011
Landing Gear Rod: Smith blowshot B86SP Reel: Shimano twin power 3000 Line: Yamotoya Famell 20lb Leader: Maxima Chameleon 7kgs mono Lure: Bacchi head 7g and 5" Kinami flash - chartreuse pumpkin A little bit of fishing in

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your day - Jim

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Alan lands in Wexford


Saturday, September 17, 2011
I-shad result VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Alan continues in Wexford


Monday, September 19, 2011
Days of wind and waves and fish VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL Having dropped my much loved Nikon D40x its been with me through all the fishing and experiences you can see on this blog for nearly four years now Ive had to fall back to my little Fuji XP for a while. Christmas is coming Alan continues to take fish on a day by day basis in challenging and interesting environments. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Alan concludes in Wexford


Tuesday, September 20, 2011
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Look closely
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Ronan continues to do very well on day two. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

For no mean achievement


Friday, September 30, 2011
Ronan gets a silver medal VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL More details later on four days of hectic crawling, climbing, catching, slipping, sliding I think my toe tails emerged through my boots in an attempt to grip the rocks type of times! All part of the Wexford bass fishing experience. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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An early customer returns - five years later!


Tuesday, October 04, 2011
I met Colm the best part of five years ago for a Bass Workshop during 2006 - he returned again this week for a few days an accomplished and very experienced bass angler. Hard work and determination creates lifetime experiences which we have shared over the last few days. We are also enjoying difficult but rewarding fishing! A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Black eyed angels swimming with me


Thursday, October 06, 2011
A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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