That's better...

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Just back from, reflecting on and recovering from another epic trip to the Copper Coast which turned out better than my previous trip 2 Wks ago when it delt me a good hiding in the form of a massive blank for 10 hrs hard fishing including dusk, dawn and night sessions! So this time it turned out better for me but again four hrs fishing at dusk and into the darkness on Friday evening produced nothing in the way of fish landed or even a hit I must admit to getting that "Here we go again feeling" but I kept at it, trying  to be as focused as possible on the key times and locations. On key times remarkably for a Bass fisherman I've rarely made the effort to get out early let alone pre-dawn in the past but this season it's accounted for probably over half my fish, I said of an earlier trip away that I'd made double the effort for half the "Normal" results and I'd extend that to my 2012 season as a whole. So back out early on the Sat morning I got hit OTD pretty much straight away when fishing off a strand and landed a reasonable fish in the darkness before moving onto the rocks as it began to get light and landing a better fish of about 5lb to a 14g weedless jig / One up Shad fished sink and draw, things were looking up.. I then moved and got smashed again on the One up shad off a rocky point which turned out to be a very nice fish probably getting on for about 7lb. I fished on for a couple of hours as the spring tide raced out on a beautiful sunny morning with no further action before returning to the Grand Hotel for breakfast and an hours rest and then on to Absolute Fishing for a much needed cup of Coffee. At Absolute there was a real buzz around the place with a few tales of big fish lost including a possible mid double for one inconsolable local, encouraged I headed back out to fish the flood which I did for a further six hrs until fatigue finally got the better of me and I climbed back up the faboulous cliffs of the Copper Coast one last time and started the weary drive home. So all in all a better result but still not great for about 14 hrs focused fishing, it does have to be said though that my knowledge of the CC is pretty basic but improving with each trip. Great to meet new people such as the Neely's who assisted me with landing the larger fish and who I bumped into at most of the spots I visited (Cheers Guys) and also good to catch up with all the locals. Looking forward to doing it all again some time soon...  

Get a Grip...

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Just got one of these from Cian at Absolute fishing after donating my previous grip to the Copper Coast (Don't ask). First impression are good, well built, 0 -10kg scales incorporated (But please don't hang fish directly off of any grip) decent sheath, comes with lanyard and all for half the price of the original Boga. One feature I like is the single finger action and the protection of the finger by the grip unlike the original Boga which puts the fingers far too close to the action for my liking. 
This looks like a great product from Savage Gear.

Slug-Go-Tastic!

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A couple for the day shift...

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The day game has been pretty tough of late here but there was high drama on Saturday when two decent Bass appeared from nowhere in a kelp strewn gully I was fishing and chased down my small dark softie in crystal clear water and bright sunshine, before dissapearing in the blink of an eye.I returned to said gulley this evening and after pitching a Sebile Magic Swimmer Soft into two converging currents was delighted to hook this beauty, but the best was yet to come... 
I switched to a Spindle worm in Black Beer (Guinness maybe ?!?) + 7g Batchi head and ran it past my feet to "test" the action only for an exact repeat of Saturday's attack to occur again! This time it was a single fish and this time it didn't miss, after a brief battle at close range (I could have caught it on a hand line) a meaty 5lb+ fish was landed, photographed and released.
A few amazing details to consider are, 

  • I'd bet my house on it being the same fish as one of the two I saw on Saturday, behavior and size identical to the larger of those two fish. 
  • The gully was only 5 - 6ft deep, 
  • I'd landed the previous fish on top of where this fish attacked maybe 15 mins previously !?!

Bass fishing never fails to surprise me... 

On Top and Far Away...

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On arriving at my chosen spot just as the sun was setting on a glorious evening I noticed movement on the surface at a distance off the rocks, nothing unusual in that I thought, middle of summer, plenty of Mullet around...I selected a lure and began to fish as normal but again my eye was drawn to what now seemed to un-Mullet like movements coming from those fish. They we now regularly coming clean out of the water, probably Mackerel I thought. To satisfy my curiosity I looked to my metals and selected an Tackle House P-Boy Jig with a single hook and blasted it in the direction of the disturbances, bump bump on the retrieve but no hook up. Switched to a P-Boy with a treble and with the action now at the limit of my casting range I blasted off again and this time connected with who knows what? In my mind I was still thinking Mackerel or even Sea trout as I finally beached a small but energetic Bass !?! So in a summer where they've been hard to find I witness around fifty (Ok small) Bass hammering bait on the surface as if they're Stripers, amazing...