HOBBIES

Dungarvan

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Delanlande - Tete agrafes.

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Pollock Frenzy.

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I first became aware that I was surrounded when I lifted a lure out of the water at my feet and a small plucky Pollock propelled itself clear out of the water in pursuit of my lure. I then noticed diturbances on the surface of the water and was immediately tempted by the idea of catching Pollock on the surface, as the Bass hadn't turned up at that stage. I decided to try with a Lucky Craft Sammy, as the fish were small, and for the next half hour the walking lure was attacked and missed half a dozen times per retrieve on average but they just couldn't or wouldn't take it fully. After a couple of foul hooks I switched to some hard metals to learn a bit more about how they work and was able to see the fish attacking the lure under my rod top. I think using something like a Feed Shallow would have led to multiple hook ups, it was very similar to mackerel behavior. As darkness fell I was joined by an Otter who went right through the Pollock which didn't seem to effect their enthusiasm. Walking back to the car through the shallows my headtorch picked up some unusual baitfish in the shallows which I couldn't identify but I think they were the reason for the Pollock frenzy.


Pollock Frenzy Day 2.
24 hrs later I returned to the scene of the crime to see if the action was still on and it sure was. This time I opted for a small weightless soft plastic in white to match the bait fish I 'd seen previously. As I was nearing my chosen spot I stopped to clip on my plastic and whilst doing so I noticed a disturbance in the shallow water to my left, I cast in that direction and Bang, Fish on.....a solid fish....doesn't feel like a Pollock........oh no slack line.......whats happened? I wound in to find the clip had broken, most unusual !?! I quickly retied and cast......again Bang, fish on and this time it was indeed a nice Bass not the Pollock or even Mullet I'd thought was the cause of the disturbance. For the next hour I caught hard fighting Pollock almost every cast and got broken off in the weed and rocks more than once, eventually I was catching  in knee deep water before I moved on in search of Bass......

MTB 80 ML

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Irish Angler.

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The September Issue of Irish angler will be out shortly and has a super photo
by Jim Hendrick on the cover.

This month also contains Part 2 of my articles on soft plastic fishing which deals with the equipment and baits....

Men in black.

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Just back from fishing the Copper Coast with agents Cian O'Halloran and James Barry of Absolute Fishing, I felt distinctly last season in the fashion stakes with my Olive green / tan outfit but thankfully the good news is that a big brute of a Bass didn't mind, the bad news is I lost it due to over egearness. From the off it was starting to look like a tough day by local standards after a usually red hot mark failed to produce but i finally connected with a good fish and the battle was on. The fish was in a rip next to a plateau of rough ground with plenty of surf but I managed to get it to the surface eventually by which time James was standing next to me. We had a good look at the back and tail of a big fish as the trebles finally straightened from too much pressure by me and it was gone. Many thanks for the experiences Guys, I look forward to doing it all again soon.

Fish Fight Update

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Just watched the follow up C4 program on Hugh's Fish Fight and it seems amazing progress has been made with trying to change the Common fisheries Policy on discards, along with the fishing policies of fish processors and also trying to encourage consumption of a wider range of species rather than the old favorites of Cod Salmon & Tuna by the general public. Surely this can only be a good thing if we want to protect fish stocks, just hope it doesn't put pressure those in power to look at our Bass as an alternative.

Feedback to the above............

Sea Bass in Spain is highly prized and is eaten, and has been for many years. This is why myself and others don’t generally publish where we fish them. Sea Bass is bought at about 30€ a kilo in summer and only a couple of days ago a boat came in to port with over 20 tonnes! I’m sorry to say that it won’t be long before it starts fetching these prices in England and Ireland, so be prepared. The technique which is mostly used and criticised is called “embalo”. This involves setting up nets and then the fishermen go out in small boats close up to the coast and bang away at the water with their oars thus scarring the Bass and driving them toward the nets. Sorry to be the bringer of bad news but I thought you should know. Enjoy your catches while they last.

For sale.

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Matthew's first Bass.

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Visiting angler from the UK Matthew Norman, age 10, landed this fish ten minutes in to his first ever Bass fishing trip and sportingly decided to return it to the sea
after a quick photo call. Well done Matthew!