Bass Fishing Reports from PBF

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Bass fishing reports PROBASSFISHER - fishing through the years

Transcript of Bass Fishing Reports from PBF

Page 1: Bass Fishing Reports from PBF

Bass fishing reports

PRO

BASS

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ars

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To bass fishers everywhere

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Contents

In the beginning - July 2003 8

Fishing Report–September -2003 9

Fishing report–August 22 2004 10

Rest Ashura ‘d – from Illex 11

Fishing Report–October 2005 11

Fishing report–September 2006 12

Allez les bleues 13

Fishing Report - Seatrout on the fly from the sea 14

guiding the guide.... 14

Fishing Report - May 06th - Niall Kelly 17

Fishing Reports - Ger Potter 18

Fishing Reports - some days are better than others 19

Fishing Report July 3 - Andrew & Philip Nolan 20

Fishing Report July 4 - Andrew & Philip Nolan 21

Andrew and Philip - aka 'The Nolan Sisters' 21

Fishing Report July 16 - Stuart Duncan 22

New Zealand girls - a can do attitude! 23

Fishing Report July 18 - Ger Potter - The copper coast 24

Fishing Report July 20 - Ollie Price 25

Fishing Report July 25 - George and Marc 25

Fishing Report July 29th - Jim Hendrick 27

Fishing Report - August Andy, Pat and Gerry 28

Fishing Report - August 15 - Jim Hendrick 29

Fishing Report - Sept 01 to Sept 07 - Jim Hendrick 30

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Fishing Report - Sept 15 to Sept 19 - Jim Hendrick 30

83 cms of Solid Silver Landed Today on the FLY 31

Fishing Report October 07 - A Big Fish on the fly 32

October Bass on the Fly and Lure - A week with SEAi 33

Fishing Report - Mackerel on the fly - Childs Play 37

Fishing Report - April 04 David Anchell 40

Fishing Report - Spring day in march 43

Fishing Report - DAvid and Peadar 44

Fishing Report - May 10 - Andrew and Jim 45

Latest Reports 46

A great mornings fishing. 46

The Big White One 47

Fishing report July 10 Rolfe Andrew Jim 48

Fishing Report - July 15th Allen 49

This morning is marked forever 50

Evening time and a close to a spectacular day 50

Last Guiding Session of the week 51

Fishing Report - Sept 7th - Hani Ghali 52

September satisfaction 53

Fishing Report - Sept 19th Jim and John 54

Fishing Report - Ian's pesonal best - this morning. 55

Fishing Report - Sept 29th Ian And Martin 55

Indian Summer Workshop - with Fran and Ger 56

Fishing Report - Oct 9th - Fran and Ger 56

Colins beautiful bass on the fly 57

Daiwa Day Breaker performs at Day break! 58

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Fishing Report - Day One - Andros South - Monday Nov 16th 59

Fishing Report - Barracuda at the airport 62

Fishing Report - April 11th Andrew and Philip 65

Fishing Report - April 23rd - David and Jim 66

Fishing Report - April 24th - David and Jim 67

8 Years, 8 Fish - OPENING DAY 2010 67

Release I 68

Fear of what exactly? A simple example. 68

A difficult but rewarding week 69

Made in bubbleland 70

1000th bass on the fly from the shore 70

It continues...... 71

Release II 72

Salt water fly fishing Ireland 72

Bass Fishing Workshop Today 73

Moody Misty Mysterious 73

Release III 74

Sunday Sterling Silver on a sticker 74

The Danes are back in Wexford 75

Red sky in the morning bassfishers warning? 75

Saltwater fly fishing Ireland 76

A morning session on the fly 77

On the fly this week 77

Bass fishing Cork harbour 78

Conditions tough for fly and lure 79

Monday, September 06, 2010 80

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Release IV 80

The spirit of where the fish lives 80

a rising tide 80

Jean Yves goes home happy 81

Bass Fishing Open Week Sept 4-11 2010 at SEAi 81

Monday, September 13, 2010 82

Wednesday, September 15, 2010 82

Taking silver today 82

Great danes in Wexford 84

we catch 'average' size fish too - 80/20 84

Proving the French can do it too! 84

Didier Rodriguez - bass on the fly in Wexford 85

Blown away by the blow shot 85

Bass fishing in Cork 86

A note that makes it all worthwhile 87

New kid on the block 88

Prowrassefisher!~from April 2005 88

Catch Report–22-04-2011–Wexford 89

a day a place a superb fish 90

Pike fishing in the West of Ireland 90

Western Chronicles 92

I will find you and I WILL catch you 92

Andrews first bass for 2011 92

Release VI 93

Not catching 93

On the edge ~ always… 94

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……a middle...... 95

Zen and the art of making a cock up! 96

The importance of good loops 96

The Wexford Worm 97

Three of their five a day 98

Bass fishing Wexford - 99

Tough times in Wexford 99

A red jacket and a yellow rod 100

Soft plastic workshop 101

Bass fishing influences 101

There’s something about Marys! 102

Bass fishing Wexford, first day out specimen 103

A note from a friend 104

The best built fly for Irish bass? 104

…..the magic bass fishing month. 105

Estuary bass fishing 106

Alan lands in Wexford 108

Alan continues in Wexford 108

Alan concludes in Wexford 109

Look closely 110

For no mean achievement 110

An early customer returns - five years later! 111

Black eyed angels swimming with me 111

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In the beginning - July 2003Wednesday, August 06, 2003

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report–September -2003Monday, September 22, 2003

Sept 2003 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL A little bitof fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing report–August 22 2004

Bass fishing reports

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

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Rest Ashura ‘d – from Illex

Bass fishing reports

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Landing GearRod – Illex ashura 7’-7” Reel – Shimano twin power 3000 Lure – Rapala skitter walk Alittle bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report–October 2005Monday, October 03, 2005

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing report–September 2006Wednesday, September 20, 2006

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Allez les bleuesWednesday, August 15, 2007

Fred - f r iends from France VIEW SLIDE SHOWDOWNLOAD ALL A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - Seatrout on the fly from the seaSunday, March 09, 2008

Its getting close to that time of year againwhere I look forward to seatrout fishing inthe sea. Beware - it can become anobsession! 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 thecar, checking water and oil and diesel and placing some conversation pieces on thedashboard, a few flies or lures or something to spark a few words that will inevitably

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generate the first of many debates over the comingdays. You get dressed in your best ‘guiding’ gear andof you go to the airport. This is always a strange timefor me – mind games are played as you ask yourself‘What will they look like’? ‘What will they be like to fishwith?’ and then as you continue to wait for their arrivalone of the party coming through recognises you with asmile that says so many things, and then the weekbegins. Introductions, hellos, flight ok? Hungry? No,ok, lets go to the car, it’s this way; I’m sorry what wasyour name again…seven days of intense focus andinteraction. Its often that when the week is over I amleft with a strange sense of anti-climax as I saygoodbye to whom were once strangers but are nowfriends and close companions. Welcome to the worldof the saltwater fishing guide.

It is inevitable that the customer will often not know whatto expect when he arrives. He will be quite prepared toask lots of questions, questions you will have heardbefore and you will provide answers that are an integralpart of the service that you provide. Questions in relationto t ides and moon phases, weather condit ions,temperatures and various other external influences willhelp you place the fisherman into a ‘category’. Othertypes of questions about local politics or the countrysideor history will also force you to categorise the angler.Speed of questions, the number of questions, the type ofquestions, how the question is asked, and the often-animated conversations amongst the group in homelanguages before the next question follows helps you informing and managing the customers expectations. Andhere we come to the greatest challenge of the next sevendays – anticipating managing, and providing that

expectation to the best of your abilities.Each customer’s expectation is unique andeach customer is a fisherman. So when Imet Steen Ulnits from Denmark at theairport in August not only had he a uniqueexpectation, not only was he a fisherman,not only was he a fisheries biologist but aswell as that he was an international fishingguide. A new challenge lay in front of me –how to successfully guide a fishing guide?

For your information Steen is a fisheriesbiologist by education from the University of Århus but is now a full time outdoors writerand photographer. He works for a number of magazines - mostly the Scandinavian flyonly magazine "Flugfiske i Norden" where, besides being one of the founders andpresent 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 250.000during weekends.

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Being a fisheries biologist by education(and profession for some years) he hasdealt a lot with environmental issues whereand when they pertained to fish and water.He also specialises in fly-fishing and travelall over the world, sampling exotic fishingand thus obtaining new material for articlesand books. Speaking of which he haswritten 20 so far - in his own name. Besidesthat he has translated 7 books into Danishand co-authored another 10 internationalbooks. Mmmmmmmmh……

Now here he was in Wexford looking tocatch an Irish bass on the fly!

After day two of gentle fishing I feltsomething was wrong. So what was it? Ihad made two mistakes. One, I assumedthat because of Steen’s vast experienceand knowledge that he would know exactlywhat to do and how to do it, and two, Iwasn’t managing his expectations based onmy assumptions, and hence he wasn’tcatching any fish. Simple really.

The fact was, he was not like any othercustomer and at the same time he wasexactly the same. I had categorised himimmediately as an expert who didn’t reallyneed much interaction from me as Iassumed he knew how to catch bass on thefly. Steen had had some experience ofthem in Denmark as they are nowincreasing their range into the Nordiccountries. Or maybe they were already

there and people just didn’t fish for them, and anywayhe surely didn’t need me to show him how to catch apredator on the fly! However after four sessions Steenhadn’t hit a fish and I needed to put it right veryquickly. Of course we had discussed equipment andflies and lines and fishing and tactics in detail but whathad we missed?

Steen was using a #8 rod and a #8 integrated floatingshooting head with a ten-foot leader and a traditionallefty’s deceiver size 1/0. There was nothingspectacularly wrong there as I suspected. His castingwas what I like to refer to as a relaxed style with anequally relaxed retrieve of a slow strip and stop. Thething was, as I stood and watched him on the lastsession of day two he was continuously casting and

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retrieving to the same place and retrieving at the same pace with the same fly. Nothingchanged in his almost robotic and yet effective technique. I say effective in as much asthe fly was presented correctly, was fished correctly but it was monotonous, toomonotonous almost without confidence and with a degree of uncertainty. He needed tochange and so did I.

On the third session I went into super guide mode. I didn’t care if he was a ‘world-class’expert; from now on he was been treated as if he was a novice saltwater fly fisherman. Ihave as a preference started to use Varivas tapered leaders so I suggested to Steen thathe do likewise. Our fly choice was my default clouser minnows in white and white andchartreuse, coupled to the same colours in a bucktail deceiver pattern that had provensuccessful 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 wasprone 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 lastfew evenings I had noticed baitfish appearing in shoals along the coast often chased byhunting mackerel. As yet they remained out of reach of our flies. The venue was an openbeach with some rocky outcrops. Recently I had picked up fish cruising along theoutcrops as they hunted with the rise of the tide. Takes were fierce and often as not thefish 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 theobservations 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 himto have a very positive attitude and feeling of confidence. So we began to fish again – fancasting over the outcrop and…. nothing happened. I moved up the beach to explore thenext set, took a lazy cast and hit a small fish of about two pounds; whilst I was landinghim I noticed another bigger fish hunting through the channels of the outcrop. I walkedback down the beach and spoke to Steen telling him of the fish I caught and of thepossibility of him catching the one I had also seen. We attached a grey and white bucktaildeceiver pattern and Steen made his first casts in the direction of the fish. He stripped thefly and bang – was on, at last! During the evening as the light continued to amaze us andthe evening sun began to set we were treated to more fish. Mackerel chased sprats ontothe beach and I’m sure some bass chased the mackerel too. We changed our rods to#4’s and simple silver patterns and had some real fun. Just before the light disappearedSteen had another bass on the deceiver.It happens a lot like this. Sometimes it’s a little mysterious. I believe you can make thingshappen in fishing simply by talking and communicating to someone that they are doingfine and by making them feel more confident suddenly they catch fish. I felt I didn’t needto make Steen feel confident, I assumed he was more than capable and I’m sure he was.However, that extra ingredient, that last piece of the jigsaw was missing – you can neverassume anything in fishing least of all that either you or someone else knows exactlywhat to do. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - May 06th - Niall KellyTuesday, May 06, 2008Vision XLA 8/9 reelVision 3zone SW #9Rio Outbound #9F

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Rio Hard alloy monoRio Flouroflex plus

Oceanflies chartreuse and white deceiver

Whilst guiding for Niall this week he had areal treat - it had been blowing easterlymost of the week but was still mild. Waterwas loaded with weed for the first tenmetres or so but Niall picked the fish up atabout 15-18 ms out. Hit the fly hard in a bigcurrent fished across and down with little orno retrieve, loads of wave activity so hewas in 'good spirits' - went back fine too.

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Reports - Ger PotterTuesday, June 17, 2008Scierra XDA #8/9Vision GT4 #9Rio Outbound intermediateCustom leader - Rio Hard alloy mono - and flouroflex 35 lbs > 15lbsHand built half and half (olive/white) size 2/0Mangrove hip shooter line tray

Ger Potter from Drumcondra is attending a two day SWFF workshop at SEAi - after somecasting tuition this morning we went fishing in very strong south westerly winds - looks

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like the practice casting paid off as Gerlanded his first bass on the fly!

Ger also ties his own flies and this excellentexample of a half and half proved ideal inthe rough seas today. A great achievementunder any circumstances.I will put the step by step guides to the flyand more pics in the gallery later this weekhttp://www.swsfd.fotopic.net/ A little bit offishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Reports - some days are better thanothersTuesday, June 24, 2008

Daiwa CertateSmith Blowshot B90 RSPowerpro - 8kgsRio flouroflexSmith Zipsea pen

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report July 3 - Andrew & Philip NolanThursday, July 03, 2008

I had an early morning session today withthe two guys. It was Philips first time usingsurface lures, Andrew was the expert of thegroup!

They landed and returned seven fish thebest of which ran close to 3 kgs all in VERYshallow water. The simplest of lures, theRapala skitter walk took all the fish andthey refused many others even the socalled best. Fished slowly with short walksand long stops. Philip outfished Andrew.Dare I say more as the mornings fun was

great! Looking forward to this afternoon.

Thursday MorningLanding Gear

Lures - Rapala skitter walk - all fish taken on theseluresColour - White and white and brownRods - Smith BaylinersReels - Shimano twin powersLine - Powerpro - 8 kgsTippett - Rio flouroflex - 8 kgs

Conditions

Temperature - 13 degreesWind - North/North west 3- 4Cloud - Heavy cover with lots of rainWater - 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

Bass fishing reports

Friday, July 04, 2008Thursday Afternoon

Landing Gear

Lures – Zara super spookColour – White and white and redRods - Smith BaylinersReels - Shimano twin powersLine - Powerpro - 8 kgsTippett - Rio flouroflex - 8 kgs

Conditions

Temperature - 16 degreesWind - South/South west 4- 5Cloud – A little cloud cover long sunny spells

Water - cloudy to 20 metres then less so -Tide - Full at 07:35

Friday MorningWe repeated much of what we had doneand used on the previous two sessions thismorning. The brighter condit ions ofyesterday afternoon was a pleasant change

and Andrew had a fine fish at around 16:00 hrs on the surface (amongst others). Today Iwas accutely aware of the strongish east south easterly breeze which later turnedeasterly at around 09:30. Andrew had a fish of about 1.5kgs and then another of 2.4kgson the surface - that was it for the morning. The approaching system obviously has themin 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, 2008Andrew decided to give Philip his brother two days bass fishing and guiding with SEAi forhis 40th birthday. This meant they would fish twice on Thursday 04th and once on fridaymorning. The days were sandwiched between two weather systems and I felt it wasntgoing to be easy! Fishing, and working hard they both got the results they deserved inless than ideal conditions. I had great fun as the digs and slagging flew........and the fishwere on!

Landing Gear

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Rods - Smith Bayliners - 7'-4"Reel - Shimano stradics and twin powersLine - Powerpro 8 kgsTippett - Rio flouroflex and fluoroflex plus 9 kgsLures - VariousLocation - The south east A little bit of fishing in your day -Jim

Fishing Report July 16 - Stuart DuncanWednesday, July 16, 2008

This was Stuart Duncans (who travelled from Angola) first everbass! 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 SammyColour – Brown and greyRods - Smith BaylinerReels - Shimano Tecnium 2500Line - Powerpro - 8 kgsTippett - Rio flouroflex - 12 kgs

Conditions Temperature - 16 degreesWind - South/South west 4- 5Cloud – Lots of cover and rainWater - ClearTide - 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

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Fishing Report July 18 - Ger Potter - The coppercoast

Bass fishing reports

Friday, July 18, 2008 Details later - too tired!

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report July 20 - Ollie Price

Bass fishing reports

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

Fishing Report July 25 - George and MarcWednesday, July 23, 2008Marc and George arrived from Ballina on Sunday for some bassfishing. Marc spends hiswinters 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 bothtides. There are lots of net marked fish in many of the systems and the usual poachingactivity and its core exponents remain highly visible. There is no intervention by any ofthe authorities except that placed on anglers.

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Spirits are high as we reach mid week andthe fun is great - Marc missed what I wouldconsider to be a VERY big fish on monday -we intend to re-introduce ourselves beforeSaturday. Variouslures and techniques have worked well allweek -

Landing Gear

Lures – Sammies, spooks, and othersColour – Brown, grey and brown, blackRods - Smith BlowshotsReels - Shimano stellaLine - Powerpro - 8 kgsTippett - Rio flouroflex

No particular lure seems to want to standout this summer so far with most typesworking well - at the moment I have a slightinclination towards the spook!

Conditions over the week varied frombright sunshine to heavy and muggy overcast days.We were managing on average 9 fish per day which isbelow my expectations given the almost ideal weatherand tides.Thursday proved the most fruitful with the sharpeasterly putting some action into the sea andgenerating some nice little waves providing oxygen.

We will fly fish today and saturday for more bass! Alittle bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report July 29th - Jim HendrickTuesday, July 29, 2008

Between Kinsale and Crosshaven - 2hrsession 4 bass - 3 landedLanding gearRedington CPS #7 Danielsson LW 6/9Vision extreme distance #7 intermediate Fly- Ger potter hand built half and half 7inches.- Fishing conditions were a little difficult withthe #7 and the large fly, and as winds blewSWesterly during the afternoon F4-5throwing diagonal waves onto rockypromontories, and this was of courseaccompanied by the inevitable rain. Thewater remained clear and air temperaturesvery high. Casting was made on theseaward side of the promontories and thefly was allowed to be carried over them intodeeper water and then stripped. The fishwere hunting along and down behind thewave action and each take was visibleoften at less than 20 yards - several of thelanded 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 GerrySaturday, August 09, 2008

Jim -I think I can speak for the three of us when I say thatthe guiding, education, accommodation - the wholepackage - exceeded by uncountable orders ofmagnitude anything we could have hoped for and Isincerely hope that you got as much sheer enjoymentout of it as we did. Two specimen bass to lures/fly forthe lads and two personal bests for me on consecutivedays is not to be sneezed at at all, especially given theconditions we had to deal with - well, you had to dealwith. You're the one who had to do the hard work - wejust did our best to follow your advice. I know that Andyand I had a certainty from last year that you could putus where the goods could be produced, god willing andweather permitting, and I think Gerry (globallyexperienced angler that he is) is in absolute awe of

your abilities. His comment as we stood on the roadsidewith his knackered engine was 'well, could have beenworse - it could have calved on the way down - and Iwouldn't have had my specimen bass'.

Once again, we have returned from our stay with youenriched by the experience and with much to ponder andpractice in the next year and a couple of days, which,believe me, we will be counting. And thanks for putting upa prize for the SWFF competition - I'll not be taking partsadly as I'm taking a few friends out and introducing themto fishing for blues, porgies and tope that day and since Ihave to drive them there and back and entertain, I can'teven sneak off for an hour to get the fly rod out.

Give my regards to you lovely wife and teach yourchildren what three generations of the Hendrick clan already know. The world will be abetter place for it.

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - August 15 - Jim HendrickFriday, August 15, 2008

I had a nice short session on the fly thismorning taking four - best to about 4,5lbsall on a chartreuse and white deceiverstripped at speed.

Landing gear

Redington CPS #7Danielsson LW 6/9Vision extreme distance #7 intermediateFly - Oceanflies white and chartreusedeceiver

I was also introduced to a new technique byAndrew - a spinning reel on a fly rod -Luying I believe its called.I was a witness toAndrew catching two fish using this method- good fun!

The two guys below (bottom) were fishingwith Kiltys and had several fish too - Take acloser 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 thefoto to see bigger version

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - Sept 01 to Sept 07 - JimHendrickMonday, September 08, 2008The sea bass team of Patrick, Philipe and Gerard had lined themselves up with the firstweek 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 attimes.

Highlight of the week was Patricks excellent fish of 5.65kgs on the evening of the firstday. With the large amount of runoff and onshore breezes the search for clear watercontinued on a day by day basis - Thursdays rapidly descending barometric saw usstopped in our tracks.

With perservereance and hard work all three guys managed fished each day even onFriday 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 TechniquesA little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - Sept 15 to Sept 19 - JimHendrickSunday, September 21, 2008I'm limited and unable to publish many of the photos of the fish we had last week as weare saving them for European publications.

It was a tough weeks fishing made tougher by the added expectation of the fishery andits performance.

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A rapid change and settling of the weather produced flatseas 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 waslike throwing a switch - on they came!

But with perserverance and hard work we managed botheditorials and I'm happy with the results!

Several fish over 3 KGs were taken and once again itcontinues to be a learning process. Its never going to beeasy, good weather, bad weather, different weather - thechallenges certainly exist.

Good anglers recognise the subtle differences, the changes, and acknowledge thesechallenges 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 ifsometimes too settled weather - however next week is another challenge! A little bit offishing in your day - Jim

83 cms of Solid Silver Landed Today on the FLYSunday, September 28, 2008

How I caught this Bass on the fly - flies,techniques and strategy used all in bassfishing influences

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report October 07 - A Big Fish on the flyTuesday, October 07, 2008

On the particular day of my catching thisf ish I was guiding three men fromBordeaux. I didn’t deliberately set out tocatch it nor was I fishing at the time, Igenerally don’t fish whilst guiding. We werefly-fishing in a small estuary and hadalready fished through the optimum time forfish quantity. I had instructed the three guysto move towards a corner where there is aslow reverse tidal flow and it is often thelast opportunity before I say the windowhas passed and call a halt to the session.Some fish often tend to hang here afterthey have spread out over the estuary withthe rising tide.

I put the three guys in position and on thefirst cast Edouard had a little fish of about1.5Kgs. Then after 40 minutes no moreaction. I always keep my own rod riggedand ready for use in case a customer has aproblem with his and a quick exchange is

necessary. I had my Redington #7 ready, lined with a Rio streamer tip and a Riosaltwater tapered leader. This was loaded on my Danielsson LW 6/9. No fly wasattached.

I was standing behind and somewhat away (200 metres) from the three guys avoidingback casts when suddenly there was a massive surge and splash of water down to myleft in a shallow section of weedy water. Then I saw the fish’s tail and dorsal fin cruisingthrough the weed very slowly – I immediately suspected he might have been hunting forsmall seatrout or mullet. Dominique also saw and heard the giant splash but couldn’tidentify it as a fish. He was to far away to take advantage of the opportunity as I called tohim.

I immediately ran to my rod, tied on a bucktail deceiver in lavender/grey and white andwalked slowly in the direction of the fish and the weed bed. I could see him clearly nowas he had emerged from the weed somewhat and was cruising down the outside usingthe tide to push him along. I had no basket and felt that wading to him would probablyspook him and so I remained on the beach at ankle depth, walked along at fish cruisingspeed, stripped the line to about 25 yards, hoping it wouldn’t catch in the weed during thecast. I made one false cast to get the head out then cast with a slight mend to place thefly in front of the fish and the line closer to shore. Remarkably for the circumstances thefly landed about three feet to the right and about five in front of the fish. I made one stripand 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 considerablealthough it was probably only three seconds or so. The power of a big fishes tail when heswims away using the tidal flow is quite considerable. He swam towards deeper water

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and began using the tide running up the little estuary. It was a dogged slow and hardfight, with short powerful runs, rather than the usual more frenetic type you get fromsmaller more energetic fish, and in the end he gave up rather peacefully but thankfullynot exhausted either. That big eye made contact of some sort, we quickly made thephotographs and he slowly swam off.

Landing gear

Redington CPS #7Danielsson LW 6/9Rio Streamer Tip - #7 intermediate/Floater combinationFly - 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 theopportunity was presented to me. The best tactic I can advise is try to remain calm andavoid getting flustered. Try to read the situation as quickly as possible before theopportunity passes. My big fear was spooking the fish and realising that I would probablyonly have a 'one shot chance' at him. The cast was VERY important and it was probablyone of the best of my life so far - especially as i'm partcularly weak at 'reach casting'. Iknew where I wanted to put the fly - I was conscious of the coiled line lying in the shallowwater surrounded by weed, I was conscious of not lining the fish loading the rod andmaking a slight change of direction with a 'reach' to put the fly in a position so it wouldpass across in front of him rather than towards him, I was also conscious that behind mewere three customers who werent really sure what was going on and were now moving inmy direction - the violent nervous shaking wasnt helping either! A little bit of fishing inyour day - Jim

October Bass on the Fly and Lure - A week withSEAiSunday, October 19, 2008

A nice surprise in a holding area - Day OneOct 12

The week got off to a great start as I tookthis nice fish on Sunday morning. I wasworking with a good friend of mine -demonstrat ing a ‘how to’ approachregarding fish holding areas on the fly.Eventually after I got my cast going awayfrom the key area we made a stealthapproach to a nice lie and suddenly the fish

was on! Its always much more fun when demonstrating when something like thishappens and I think Paul was flabbergasted. And that was it for our very short session -the hollow fleye works again. Landing gear

Redington CPS #7Vision composite - #6/9

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Rio Striped Bass Aqualux - #8 Inter-BassFlies – 2/0 White, grey and lavenderhollow fleye from Andy Elliott

Rain, more rain and then some wind - andfish, oh and flies! - Day Two & ThreeOct13,14

Colin Rigney from Blackrock joined me onSunday evening, we had two days ofguided 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 prolificarea and a family of seals closely accompanied us. Up tosix seals were present at any one time – normally one ortwo wouldn’t bother the fishing but a family posed us someserious problems. We enjoyed the company though.

Colin and I fly-fished on Tuesday in extremely wet andwindy but considerably milder conditions. As the windreached force five and even six during the afternoon weweren’t to be deterred. Persistence paid of and we landedseveral bass in challenging conditions.

The fish were again taken on the lavender and grey/whitehollow fleye.

Landing Gear

Redington Super Sport #9Vision 3-zone carbon compositeRio Aqualux Striped Bass Intermediate #9Rio Hard alloy mono and Flourflex + handbuilt leaderHollow Fleye - 2/0 Lavender/Grey and White tied sparsefrom Andy Elliott.

Comment

Conditions although mild were particularly tough. It blewhard all day (4-5 bft) and the rain fell very heavy, the fishwere at 25 meters or more. Double hauling and castingbackwards is a skill learned by right handers who want tocatch bass whilst fly fishing on the Southern coasts -prevailing winds tend to be South or Westerly so its bothsafe and efficient. Waves were running increasinglybigger as the day progressed and as the tide rose thewater was fizzing with oxygen, it remained clear for most of the afternoon. A patiencegame ensued in the heavy rain - it was just a question of when! We took all the fish onthe same pattern.

Cooling conditions and chilling out! - Day Three & Four Oct 15,16Andrew dropped in on Wednesday evening far a late season session of surface lure

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fishing. We had a quick chat and a cup oftea with Colin before he left for home. Thefish were played hardball on Wednesdayafternoon probably because of the suddendownward shift in temperature. AfterTuesdays warm, wet and windy conditionsthings were now very much different and alittle difficult with a fresher cooler feel to theair.

We had seen some fish and missed a fewon Wednesday, but on Thursday morning we landed a number of beautiful fish as theygot used to the 'newer' conditions and they returned toform a little. We managed to avoid going sub surface; arisk given the conditions but Andrew is a surface lureaddict. This is Andrews account of his experience in amail to mereally really had a great time wed and thurs. I dont knowhow you can keep going tho your a fit man. you will defobe knocking on the presidents door for the 3k grant whenyou hit the 100! Imagine the lures you will be able to getin 60 years time. Will the swim themselves on remotecontrol?

i really appreciate you trying so hard for me in the twosessions. 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 doinga runner this pm. hw at 1.30 if tide changeb r i n g s t h e e x p e c t e d s h i f t t os o u t h w e s t e r l y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

love the fishing corners strategy.enjoyed seeing them lunkers swim bygot good crack outa shifting that near inseal.was amazed at the moon rise sunsetmoment, the dark sea and the white waterfizzing over the rocks near sunset.the companythe meal and conversationthe tipsthe autographed articlefrom the kidsThe quiet moments even tho i never reallyshut up

cuda done without:

falling down(again)loosing bonniebending xwrap 13 walker

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getting shock from fencerolling in cowshitehaving a stitch in every muscle in my bodygetting lures stuck in the bumper of the car

Funny thing is the cuda done without thingswere down to me, the good things weredown to you and eileen and the kids.looking at the lists above isnt it amazingwhat you can pack into 36 hrs? was drivinghome yest and everything looked andseemed weird, i cudnt talk to people on thephone. it was down to me trying to stepback into the "real" world. It knida takes 12hours or so doesnt it. dont forget, its theoverall package.

Landing Gear

Smith Blowshot Smith BaylinerShimano Stradics, powerpro with fluoroflexleadersSurface lures - sammy, spook and tanto.

A Galway man in Wexford! - Day Five &SixOct 16,17Seamus Hartigan the Galway salmonf ishery manager WRFB arr ived onThursday evening intime for the opening of the Wexford FestivalOpera. Eileen Dan Ruth and I accompaniedSeamus to the opening ceremonyfireworks, which were spectacular. Earlierthat afternoon I had walked Seamus to apotential bass fishing location, taking himthrough fish lies, current developments, andfishing strategy. We were ready for Friday’sfly-fishing.

Friday morning was spectacular. Seamuswas new to saltwater fly-fishing and overfour hours slowly managed to get into theswing of things. I managed a fish of about3.5 kgs just to keep things interesting andSeamus on his toes! We finished thesession and had a short lunch at The Yardrestaurant before session two. Fridayafternoon and things were looking differentas winds increased from the south andwest. We had changed to a completely newlocation and a different fly-fishing strategy.Seamus had borrowed an integrated shooting head for this afternoon’s session and this

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helped his casting and presentations no end. I manageda nice fish in the early part of the session just to keepthings interesting but as wind speed increased the waterclarity diminished the fishing became more difficult, thesunset however was spectacular. David Byrne from theCFB joined us on Friday evening for a chat and a pint ortwo.

Landing gear

Redington CPS #7Vision composite - #6/9Rio Striped Bass Aqualux - #8 Inter-BassFlies – 2/0 White, grey and lavender hollow fleyefrom Andy Elliott. Comment - Its not always easy to catchbass on the fly. It can be a difficult task at times due to

line management, casting, wind, footing,big flies and distant horizons. However, allthe customers who visited SEAi this weekeither caught or witnessed the catching ofbass on the fly. For many people who visitSEAi, real ising and discovering thetechniques and strategies creates the urgeto try it again and again and then tosucceed - it can be done!

3 Wexford men get lost in town! - DaySevenOct 18

Three enthusiastic and beginner saltwater fly fishers attended a workshop on Saturday atSEAi. MJ, Michael and David (aged 16) whom are avid freshwater fly fishers now wantedto learn the requirements for fly-fishing in the sea. We spent three hours between 09:30and 12:30 at the theory of Bass fishing on the fly and then we took ourselves to the seato practice casting, techniques and strategies. After some initial difficulties in locating myhouse we had a wonderful day and the craic was mighty.

We covered topics like -tides,locations, safety, biology, timings and many many more! Alittle bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - Mackerel on the fly - Childs PlayThursday, October 23, 2008 The surface of the water boiled with hungry mackerel, baitfish jumped for their lives andthey swam as a tightly knit group believing in safety in numbers. But they had nowhere togo as the mackerel had them cornered in the little coves, they tear through the massivebait ball time after time, hammering the shoals, picking off dinner almost at leisure. Herethey come again cruising at flank speed up one side of the little bay; the spratsmomentarily turn the brown rocks silver in an attempt to avoid the saltwater tigers, theyjump out of the water to escape.

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A Mexican wave of tiny jumping and franticfish spreads along the side, then across theshore and down the other side of the littlecove. The water is full of tiny flashingscales, and green and blue str ipedmerci less hunters.

The vast mackerel shoals on our shoresduring late August and September are agreat example of a migratory fish. Mackereldon’t reside inshore but rather takeadvantage of bait movement. Here inWexford the shoals generally don’t arriveuntil the first spring tides in September butfurther south they can be caught muchearlier. If conditions are favourable they canbe caught right through until late October.Of course it’s a great time for many anglersand the beaches of the south Wexfordcoast are often at their busiest.

Because of their vast numbers, suicidaltendencies and sheer ease of accessibility, mackerelfishing is great fun for children who like fishing or wouldlike to catch fish in the sea for the first time. Often withinspitting distance, casting to hundreds of fish with thesimplest 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, Danaged eight and Ruth aged six, they would literally screamwith excitement as the shoal moved along the surface ofthe sea towards us. ‘Here they come again Daddy, look.Look.’

And sure enough as the fish came closer not only couldwe see the surface of the sea boiling but we could hear itas well. The frantic baitfish swam as best they could,hundreds of mackerel charging at the shoal fleeing for itslife, it sounded like the heaviest downpour you couldimagine. They swam and hunted past us and were gone

again. We turned all three of us and lookedback up the shore anticipating the arrival ofthe next shoal and the excitement of it all.

Eileen had phoned me earlier that weekfrom Cork to say Dan had been catchingsprats in his swimming trunks during the

evening and both he and Ruth were eager to get their rods from Wexford. I had two daysoff and decided I had better head down that way as they both sounded like thingspossessed on the end of the phone. They both told me stories of swimming in mackerelshoals, ’..the fish were all around us Daddy’!

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I had a light spinning rod and somespinners and a #5 seven-foot fly rod loadedwith a floating line that we used regularlyfor ‘exploratory fishing’. I’m not the kind ofperson to force the situation and both kidswill tend to sometimes want to go fishingand sometimes they don’t. Admittedlyspending a lot of time fishing with people,when you arrive home and are asked canwe go fishing Daddy can we, can we? Itmakes me smile a bit. Neither do I forcethem or encourage my children towardsany particular aspect of fishing but rather

tend to steer them towards the activity itself. Fly or lure whocares at this point its better than sitting in front of the TV ona grey summers day!

What I want and would like them to learn is to carefully catchsome fish, handle them with some respect and either kill oneor two for eating or return them to the sea. I also want themto have as much fun possible doing this. Last year Dan hada problem with the killing of some mackerel that we hadcaught, so much so that he stopped fishing for the rest of thesummer. I didn’t want this to affect his fishing adversely andhad little chats here and there and let him reason it all out forhimself, answering questions (when prodded by Eileen)regarding his ‘fishing logic’, farms, trawlers, etc. He arrivedat a position where this year he instructed me that weneeded only to kill two fish per person and only if we wantedthem 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 withthe ‘backwards reel’ as he calls it. I had been watchingthe wind and knew that in this bay as it blew westerly andoffshore the sprats would ball up and swim tight to theshore. Personally I was thinking a little ahead I knew itwould swing and increase southwesterly in the next fewdays, this created white water and confusion amongst thebaitfish and fired up the BASS. We’ll leave that to later.Walking down the slope to the beach Ruthie said rathermatter of factly, like a seasoned striper fisherman on theeast coast of the US ‘they’re there all right’.

She had learned to spot individual fish as they cruisedand picked off wounded or confused sprats, they werevisible as individual splashes on the surface. I wasimpressed. ‘We’re not after those guys’ said Dan ‘we’re going to the creek to catch them’.The Creek as its known locally is a deep gully with high sidewalls that forms a naturalcollection area for sprats. Dan said to me that he could see the seagulls flying over thecreek and that was a sign of fish. ‘That’s what grandpa says Dad!’ Good man Jim Powell.

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It’s only a short walk but it takes us of thebeach, which can become a little crowdedand somewhat dangerous at times. But itssomewhat easier and anyway a little walknever did anyone any harm. We arrivedand sat down and watched. The seagullshad fallen back to another feeding spot andthe bay was a dark mass of hundreds ofthousands of sprats. And here they came,

leisurely feeding at will, swimming through the bait ball stuffing themselves on small fish. Icast at first for Ruth and she retrieved the spinner, almost immediately a vibrating fishwas on. The little rod rattled and shook as if electricity was passing through it and Ruthiefought her fish valiantly! I can feel him, he’s 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 easeof release. I wanted them both to get used to feeling the fish in their hands and been ableto hold them properly and not be afraid. With wet hands and a gentle grip they managedthis many times although its not easy with a vibrating, electro fish like a mackerel. Fromthen on we released all our fish simply by shaking them of the hooks and not touchingthem at all. Then I introduced the fly rod, Ruthie from a practical point of view said shepreferred spinning.

At this point in time Dan can lift and cast the head of a #5 and retrieve – enough to hooka mackerel and enough to get that ‘feeling’. He very much takes it or leaves it and that’sfine. We huddled together over little pools and I explained to them both how the flies andlures we were using fooled the mackerel into believing they were sprats. We examinedthe mackerel we caught closely, marvelling at the colours, their big eyes and Ruthieremembers that mackerel have a spike too! We put one in a big pool and watched it swimaround and around and I explained that they never stop swimming, we watched himpowerhouse his way through shallow water back to sea and Dan says I’m going to catchhim 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 theautumn dusk the questions were fired, the conversation was fishing. ‘Where will we gotomorrow?’ ‘Do you think I caught the biggest one Dan?’ ‘Did you see me casting far?’‘How many did we catch Dad?’ ‘I’m not touching anneee tomorrow Dan’. Its funny now,listening as we neared the house, with the porch light on, I had heard similar wordsearlier that week, but from people a lot older than Dan and Ruth. A little bit of fishing inyour day - Jim

Fishing Report - April 04 David AnchellThursday, December 04, 2008I spent Monday and Tuesday of this week fly fishing for pike in the Northeast. As part ofmy continuous development plan for SEAi I have partnered up with a pike fishing guru.Peadar O’Brien is a fully qualified pike fishing guide with more than 15 years experiencein Pike guiding including International clients. We have been working together now forsome time and I am learning the ropes, locations, boat management, safety and muchmore. I hope to bring you excellent opportunities in the next few months for some quality

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pike fishing both on fly and lure in sometruly remote and beautiful locations. I hadinvited David as a ‘test’ client to fish with usfor the las t two days in order todemonstrate and experience the quality ofthe fishing available. David is a widelyexperienced fly fisher having fished in manylocations like Alaska, the Bahamas, andBelize to mention a few. David is also aregular customer of SEAi and has beenbass fishing with me now for four seasons.

The weather in the run up to our two day expedition provedto be ideal and on Sunday as temperatures dropped tobelow zero I made the dash to Peadar’s house some twoand a half hours away. David was to meet us on Mondaymorning and we would go straight to the fishing.Temperatures had dropped overnight to well below freezingand on monday morning as we headed towards the firstlocation, along and over rolling backroads, the sun roseslowly into a perfect blue sky. Launching the boat was anadventure and as we headed down the little river headinginto the lake, shoals of roach and perch were active allaround us.

Water temperature was reading between 3.3 and 3.8degrees so sinking ines were the order of the day and weheaded towards the leeward side of the lake into the sun.We were fishing for some 10 minutes before David had hisfirst fish to the fly and thats the way it continued for most of

the morning and into the early afternoon. Fish on then fishoff as we had hit after hit in the glorious winter sunshine.Yes we went through quiet patches too but we had elevenfish to the boat and probably missed as many if not moreagain. Anticipation was already building for tuesday.Tuesday dawned a little cloudier and windier and Peadarhad us lined up for a new location that had a reputation asan excellent fly water. I changed tactics slightly on thisoccassion and shortened my leader to less than 1.5ms of.6mm fluorocarbon and a 20 cm wire trace. I also increasedthe 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 paidoff and I had some wonderful fish take the fly. It was goodtimes for David too and as Peadar worked around the lakewe continued to take fish in many key areas. So over thethe 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 producedthe best results. I'm back working with Peadar next week and we will keep you informedof our continuing adventures.

Landing GearRod - Redington CPS #9

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Reel- Danielsson - LW #6/9Line - Jim Teeny T300 and T400Leader - .6mm Gamma Fluorocarbon(1.5ms) and proleaderFlies - as above up to 25cms A little bit offishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - Spring day in marchSunday, March 15, 2009Andrew enjoyed a nice spring day today with some beautiful sea trout landed in mid-afternoon. Taking our time, we waited for the strategic state of tide and suddenly the fishwere there. All fish were caught on single barbless hooks retro fitted to the lures. Treblescan really damage these fish very easily. . . Landing Gear . Rod: Smith - Troutin SpinInterboron Line: Varivas supertrout advance braid

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Reel: Shimano tecnium 3000 Lure: Sinkingminnow details available HERERemember sea trout are a designated sportfish, it is neccessary to have a licence tofish for seatrout irrespective of your fishingin fresh or saltwater. Go HERE for moredetails. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - DAvid and PeadarSaturday, May 02, 2009

Things got off to a pleasant start onThursday morning. The sun was shiningthere was only a gentle breeze and thecompany was good. The last time I hadfished in the Northeast was way back inDecember so this was a new experience forme. It was great not to have the skinwhipped from your face as you fished!

David suggested a small ‘snifter’ before westarted 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 byabout 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 JimSunday, May 10, 2009

Andrew and I took some wonderful fish on thismornings tide. Andrew fished the lure whilst I fished thefly. One or two of the eleven fish landed and returnedran to over 6o cms one > 65cms.Success came both on fly (5) and lure (6) more detailsof the landing gear, flies, lures and tactics now in BassFly Fishing Files

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Latest ReportsSunday, June 21, 2009

With lots of fish now showing in all thesystems plus the prospect of a great weeksweather and tides ahead its all systems go.Mike hits and returns an 8-pounderconfirming Richard is a Jonah! All details ofthe latest catches, techniques and tactics inBASS FLY & LURE FISHING FILEStomorrow!

Plus Al lens SWFF Journey - BassWorkshop May 5th, Casting Workshop-Glenda Powell June 01st, Refresher bassfishing techniques June 12th - JUNE 22

first bass on the fly (see above)!

The first of many. A little bit of fishing inyour day - Jim

A great mornings fishing.Friday, June 26, 2009 Paul provided the thunder with his snoring whilst Nick did agreat 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 Fileslater this weekend.

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A classic mornings bass fishing at todays workshopwith Nick, Paul and Bill - with over twenty fish landed itproved to be a great ending to a very up and downweek, but one with lots of nice fish! A little bit of fishingin your day - Jim

The Big White OneFriday, July 10, 2009

The BWO continues to produce fish - todayI had a 7 an 8 and a >10 all on this fly.

Its been an excellent week.

When a sandeel or launce swims whichpart of its body moves the least? The headis the prime target area for any hungry basslooking to attack immobilise, kill and eatone.

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 JimFriday, July 10, 2009

Returning a NUCLEAR SUB . Thanks to Rolfe andAndrew for taking the opportunity to realise a dream I'vehad for quite some time now. But a special thanks to thesupport team at home, the invisible people who make ithappen for us. Today will certainly go down as one of thebest - for me the smiles continue to say it all. Fish cameboth on fly and lure - a report later. . .......the flylinesnapped tight against my fingers at the rod handle, ithurt, the Danielsson whirred into life and seconds laterthe albright went clink clink clink out through the rodrings. This was a BIG fish and as it powered downtide Isaw its tail push it faster and further away from me. Theredington #9 was almost horizontal, the fight of my lifewas on, I thought this surely is the best way to catchthese fish, this is an experience of a lifetime! Tenminutes 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 AllenWednesday, July 15, 2009

Allen asked me to work with him on homeground for a short tide session today. So Idrove south to meet him. In very difficultconditions he landed this beauty on a whitedeceiver. His persistance is paying off ashe works at his casting his fishing hispresentations - its all coming together.Landing Gear Redington - 9'-0" #9 CPX RioOutbound #9 Inter Rio tapered saltwaterleader Oceanflies - White Decever A littlebit of fishing in your day - Jim

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This morning is marked forever

Bass fishing reports

Friday, August 07, 2009This mornings short session beforebreakfast was a wonderful experience - Ishall leave it to the lyrical Mr Boyle todescribe it a later date, much better than Iever could! In fact Gerry, Andy and Pat hada great time here Last Year as well -recalled at this link HERE ! A little bit offishing in your day - Jim

Evening time and a close to a spectacular dayFriday, August 07, 2009

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Last Guiding Session of the weekSunday, August 09, 2009

For the second time since wednesday Iwitness an angler catch more than 10 bassbetween 4 and 8 lbs in one session! Welldone Andrew and Gerry.

Whilst creating this blog I try to portrayIreland and Wexford in a very positive light.I do this by making the most interestingphotographs that I can, not only of the fishbut of the people who are fishing with meand also the environment and time in which

they find themselves. There are many other things other than fishing that make any trip toIreland and Wexford worthwhile and itsimportant for me to remember that whenI’m out there. Not only am I looking tocapture that ‘trophy’ moment but I’m alsohoping to record the influences that areshaping peoples experiences of the countryin which they are investing a lot of personaltime. The more that I do this it becomesmore obvious there are times when I don’tsee what visitors marvel at or appreciateand I find myself missing the moment forthem. Its possible to see the same thing so

many times that you don’t appreciate it anymore.

I am always conscious that over selling aproduct could have a negative impact onany business, its true also of a fishingguiding service. Fishing is often very toughand contrary to popular belief, there areplenty of days when we dont see many orindeed any fish. The Wexford environmentdoesn’t possess dramatic jaw droppingscenery, it doesn’t have the ruggedness or

sense of wilderness that you get on the west coast. It doesn’t have outstandingarchitecture. What Wexford does have is a multiplicity of different smaller environmentsthat are much more complex and which interact in a way that is so subtle it can almost beoverlooked. You must look closely at each one to experience the detail. And not only is itimportant to realise each one is unique, but spending time in many different fishingenvironments forces people to realise the interdependence and influences oneenvironment 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 tomy blog. By facilitating people into a multiplicity of venues, the sanctuary of estuaries, theexcitement of rocky shores, the thrill of fast moving powerful currents, the more likely theyare 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 indeedIreland, but it also creates a realisation that even after spending a lifetime of fishing forbass in these venues that you are simply scratching at the surface of the sheer number ofmethods, techniques and presentations that you could make to catch them. There are noexperts, 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 companywas superb and the shared experiences continue to make it a great bass fishingdestintion. Thanks to all the people who went through here this week.

Tony and Paul - Cork - Two Days - Saltwater Fly Fishing Workshop BassPat and Gerry - Donegal - Three Days - Bass Guiding Fly & LurePhil - Dublin - One Day - Saltwater Fly Fishing Workshop for the tropicsAndrew - 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 ofAugust for bass on the tides again all in the company of dutch anglers. A little bit offishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - Sept 7th - Hani GhaliMonday, September 07, 2009

Anyone visiting on the Wexford coast in thelast few days will know how far away weare from 'normal' September weather. Thegrip that the wind and rain now has on thesea will take some time to 'settle'. Of coursetoday is a nice day but tomorrow there aregales forecast so theres little chance ofstability or indeed fish on the fly in the nextfew days. After a day like yesterday.........but then i ts part of f ly f ishing, the

challenges are not l ike any other fishing - its not always about catching.

As Stefanie, Hani and Cedric whom have come from Switzerland ride the roller coaster ofweather - 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 newstrategy !

Its looking good from wednesday onwards though with a return to better conditions - letshope it stays that way and we could have a spectacular Autumn! A little bit of fishing inyour day - Jim

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September satisfactionSaturday, September 19, 2009

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - Sept 19th Jim and JohnSaturday, September 19, 2009

John Weir from Ennis Co. Clare had spent Thursdayand Friday with me working at a Saltwater Fly Fishingfor Bass Workshop. Conditions were improving all ofthe time and this morning was going to be one of thosedays. I convinced John to stay for just one more shortmorning session of fishing. I took the fish in the postbelow just at high water at a local mark on a lavenderwhite and grey sloopy droopy built by Andy Elliott.

Measuring in at 81 cms he proved to be a worthyadversary and was returned after a few photographs.Its not often that I post photos of myself and manythanks to John for taking the time out to make them.Brian whom was also on the two day workshopreturned to cork mid morning after a big breakfast at

cuasnog, convinced more than ever that flyfishing is the best way to catch bass!

This afternoon John, having seen the fish ofthe morning and having caught somehimself, decided this was the last shot ofthe weekend as he was returning to Ennis –whilst John battled on I managed anothergood fish for the day at 79 cms. It was greatto have someone there to witness it – twospecimen 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 - thismorning.Friday, September 25, 2009

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - Sept 29th Ian And MartinSaturday, September 26, 2009

To Ian and Martin who made life easy andfun for two days - thanks guys!

We experienced some great fishing andMartins battle with a > 10 was a series ofimages I will never forget. Personal bests,quality fish, great weather and superblocations all combined for a change.

All fish were taken on surface lures - we feltwhy 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 thesequence HERE - both have already booked for Autumn 2010. A little bit of fishing inyour day - Jim

Indian Summer Workshop - with Fran and GerThursday, October 08, 2009

Thursday Morning -

Landing Gear

Rods - Smith bayliner boron BRF 66ML -6'-6" casting 2-10 grammes for 4-10lb lineReels - Shimano tecnium 2500Lines - Powepro - 4kgsLures - Smith Chinupen floating 8.8grammes - clearL e a d e r - V a r i v a s P o w e r F i n e s sF l u o r o c a r b o n 0 . 2 3 5 . m m

Several bass all taken with surface lurefishing techniques

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - Oct 9th - Fran and GerFriday, October 09, 2009Thursday Afternoon -

Landing Gear

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Rods - Lucky Craft ESG 8'-7" casting 3- 16grammes for 6-14lb lineReels - Shimano tecnium 3000Lines - Powepro - 6kgsLures - Smith Sticky 12.8 grammes - 08L e a d e r - V a r i v a s P o w e r F i n e s sF l u o r o c a r b o n 0 . 3 m m

Several bass all taken with surface lurefishing techniques

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Colins beautiful bass on the flySaturday, 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 techniquesLanding Gear Rod - Daiwa MorethanBranzino 82 ll Reel-Shimano Stella Line -Powerpro Leader - Seagaur fluorocarbonLure - Zipsea pop A little bit of fishing inyour day - Jim

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Fishing Report - Day One - Andros South -Monday Nov 16thThursday, November 26, 2009Target Bonefish Guide SparklesPartner DavidLocation Somewhere west in the Bahamas

Landing gearRod – Redington Cpx #7Reel – Danielsson – LW 6/9Line – Bruce Chard Bonefish lineBacking – Rio 250 metres 20lbsLeaders – Rio IGFA hard alloy mono – 4 section tapered12’-0”Flies – Gotchas, charlies, clousers and variants fromBruce ChardThe anticipation that I felt on Monday morning was almostat times overwhelming. We had been in the US for 24hours before flying across to Andros and then I attended

the bonefishing school with Bruce onSunday, more of which later. What I hadbeen waiting for was here at last, this wasthe real thing, my first days bonefishing onthe fly.Everybody from the lodge in our group wasup and about each morning at 05:30 for aquick coffee and orange juice from thedining room, breakfast was served eachday at 06:15. I had a quick coffee thenfollowed my strict regime of sun factorapplication, the last thing I needed was a

bad burn. The fly-fishing gear, our lunches in cool boxes, and all the safety packs for theguides were loaded on the jeep and we were bussed to the little harbour about ten milesaway.Arriving at the quay we waited for our guides to arrive in their flats skiffs. We donned lifejackets 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 tohim – as an intro we would stalk someindividual fish in the morning and then try tolocate a school in the afternoon. The gearwas loaded on the skiffs, everythingexpertly managed by Rick, the rods slid intotheir little chutes already loaded withleaders and flies. Out here things happenso fast you don’t get second chances!I removed my cap as the guide and the skifffe l l away f rom the l i t t le quay andaccelerated into the tidal rip that was pushing west – this was our ultimate destination – a

‘run’ for perhaps one hour through themiddle of the island at break neck speed inshallow water to find the fish feeding in thegleaming flats – the adventure had begunand as we sped along into an unexploredwilderness the temperature had alreadyrisen above 25 degrees, the sky was blue,the water was crystal clear, the low greenmangrove jungle lay in miles upon miles ofimpossible tangles. It was 07:45.One hour later David was on the castingplatform of our little skiff. The silencedescended. Sparkles poled us along themargins of the mangroves. He said couldn’tsee properly as the sun was hidden behindsome cloud cover. We persisted for a whileand then he told us to jacket up again – wewould run further west over the ocean flatsto a distant island where the sun wasshining. This time I was on the castingplatform.The skiff coasted to a stop in a slow tidal riprunning 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 poleback up the other side, 20 metres from theshore – against the wind.The next twelve minutes of my life I willnever ever forget

I held the fly in my left hand and about 10feet of fly line outside the rod tip, I hadabout 50 feet lying in the bottom of theboat, I stood rocking slightly, scanning theimpossibly blue and clear water for fishthen Sparkles spoke very quietly over myleft shoulder the words that I will neverforget and in some strange way was almostafraid to hear‘Big fish comin’ straid atcha - eleven o clock – fifdee feed’

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I oriented myself on the clockface and peered into therippling water’Do ya see ‘im ?NoTwelve o clock, goin ride, fordee feed’Do ya see ‘im ?

To say that at this time that my level of attention andfocus was high is one thing. I was so hyper conscious Icould hear the guides pole sliding into the sand and outagain, the water dripping from the end, the gentleflapping of my shirt in the warm breeze, the fly linetapping against my fingers, the call of a disturbed bird inthe midst of the island, the peppery smell on the wind, Icouldn’t see the fish and waited for Sparkles wordsagain.. then

Make a cast for me – one o clock fifdeefeedI did my best under the circumstances

Pik id up an doo id aginMore rideLed 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 saidStopStripKeep strippin – mon hes a big fish hewhispered (just what I needed)StopStrip, strip agin Hes comin atcha – and then, fish on hesaid – His voice had never risen above agentle conversational tone, the word ‘on’was spoken loudest, but still as quiet as apriest in a confessional. The big wheel ofthe loop opti spun at an incredible speed asthe fish realised he was hooked, I appliedgentle pressure to the line to let it slipevenly and within two or three seconds Iheard the clink clink as the bimini passedout through the rod rings. Then the reelspun into a halo of orange mist as the fishaccelerated upwind away from DavidSparkles the boat and I, this was the firstrun into the backing. At eighty yards the fishstopped. I wound, he swam and myknuckles 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 woundfrantically. The fish passed us and Sparkles whispered ‘mon dats a gud fish ade poundsId guess'. The fish swam away again and Sparkles poled us downwind towards him. Icould 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 theperfection loop passed over the tip ring. David reached for the leader then he swam awayagain, unbelievably for another thirty yards, I wound and then Sparkles spoke again fromover my shoulder, I heard the chilling words expressed calmly and low but alsocontaining a sense of frustration.

‘Shark comin ad im’ I bullied the fish as best I could but there was a sudden fierce flurryof red and white and dark yellow as the fish on my line was eaten by the shark. The linewent 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 willnever forget it. We had a long day ahead of us, my life was changing. We ran to anotherlocation.......only eight days left. This surely was the greatest fly fishing in the world! Alittle bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - Barracuda at the airportMonday, November 30, 2009

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone.It's notwarm when she's away.Ain't no sunshinewhen she's gone and she's always gonetoo long anytime she goes away.And I know, I know, I know............

Fred sang all day. He was the happiest andthe funniest guide I fished with all week.Fred loved barracuda fishing and here wewere at location B, a barracuda shoppingmall where they cued up to eat Bruce’s

special fly. At a barracuda fly fishing primer Bruce Chard discussed his theory that thefish hit the fly half way down the body rather than at thehead, he reckoned long flies produced less fish due to‘tail biting’. ‘Cuda cut their prey in half, then turned andcame back to ‘mop up.’ All these points were discussedat length but when I hooked and fought my first ‘cudaon the fly these finer items of the take were not at theforefront of my mind believe me!

It was a long run to location B, just a little over an hourfor a distance of some fifty miles. The further south weran the greater the sense of sheer isolation. There wasno Monday or Tuesday here, no production meetings,no shirt and ties, no schedules or timetables, and themore I considered the vast expanses of the everchanging flats, watching them light up and disappearonly to re-appear again in vastly different colours themore I realised how far I had moved away from the ‘normal world’. I was completelyunplugged. We were way south of Andros Island. The next stop was Cuba.

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We were charging towards a green horizon with novisible landmark insight, Andros was already left farbehind. Fred pointed at something that only he couldsee

‘Dats where we’re goin’ he said, de ariport!

Slowly a bright bar silver appeared in the distance. Aswe powered closer I realised the tide was fully out andjust beginning to rise over a long single sandbar ofimpossibly white tough gritty sand. In the distance ontop and slightly to one side of the bar lay the ruins of atwin engined light aircraft. Long rusted into a hulk ofbarely recognisable metal.

‘Now ya know why day call id de airport’Fred said, and he laughed and sang a fewbars from a John Denver song.

‘Lets get oud an wade to the bones’

Momentarily I wondered was he referring tothe crew that had perhaps remained in thecockpit and were now nothing but skeletonsin ragged blue uniforms, the heat doesstrange things. I shook my head. The skiffscrunched to a stop and I picked up mytrusty number 7 ready to do battle withsome bonefish. Earlier Fred had instructedus that later into the morning as the tideflooded was perhaps the best time for‘cudas as the bonefish schools streamedover the sand bar. I wondered how fastsomething had to move to catch a bonefish!In the first few hours we could wade andhunt a few single bonefish in the glitteringsilver flats.

My casting was off and I insisted on tryingto put my crazy Charlie into the fish’smouths 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 goodfish; I sulked and took some photos! Some days there is no point in forcing things. Ipointed and clicked and made my way back over the flats towards David and Fred. As Igot 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 – atfordee feed.

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I looked

Slowly I became aware that the darker underwater patchthat lay waving and moving slightly in front of me wasn’tsome grass or seaweed or different sand colour, it was avast school of bonefish, and as my eyes adjusted I couldsee thousands of tails and fins flashing in the sun, fishmoved towards me and away from the shoal, groupsbroke off, swam away and returned, feeling scared. It wasa shimmering pool of biological silver. The school ofbonefish stretched as far as I could see both left and rightand into and over the horizon. David smiled at me. Fredchased away a six foot lemon shark with a crazysplashing dance; he hummed the theme – dun dun, dundun, dundundundundundun. My brain was short-

circuiting; I needed a sit down under a tree. I couldn’tspeak 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 thewater was getting deeper and they would start eating ourfish, or us. Apparently they had the advantage when thewater got to ‘calf level’ I looked behind me a few times onthe way back to the boat, not sure whether my wadingwas attracting them or putting them off. As I was leaningover the boat washing the sand out of my shoes Fredadvised me to keep my hands out of the water. Hesmiled!

We went on the hunt for ‘CUDAS as the tide was rippingover the sandbar and down the gullies.

Fred manoeuvred the little skiff into ashallow channel through which the tide wasflooding. Hetook his position up on the poling platformand asked me to be ready to cast. I wasfishing with my number nine and the BruceChard ‘cuda special fly. Bruce had alreadyexplained to me to strip fast. I simply wasn’tready and didn’t know what to expect –Fred called to me that he could see a fishholding at two o clock at about 120 feet. For

me it was always going to be easier to distance cast – I made the cast (couldn’t see thefish) and began to strip roly-poly style, faster said Fred. My hands disappeared into asewing machine blur.Then what I saw next left me dazed and confused (as if I needed more sensoryoverload). The fish was swimming not from behind the fly but rather charging from the lefthand side, at least I assumed it was a fish. A closer description might have been a

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prototypical silver torpedo with teeth that also had the address of my fly in its memory. Isimply couldn’t comprehend the speed of the fish travelling more out of the water than init, and then he had hit my fly and the reel screamed in terror at the prospect of what layahead.

In the shallow water the fish ran for maybe fifty yards and then decided that going verticalmight achieve more in terms of an escape plan. There was an explosion as the fishjumped from the water and shook his head far from the boat – so far I wondered was thatMY 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 andexpertly 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 don’t know what you’re in forHendrick. At the back of the tiniest sandbar in the lee of an island where two lemonsharks snoozed in the afternoon sun I cast and hooked another renegade torpedo. Thetake 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 eventhough 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 ofthe sea jumped the barracuda, again and again! Swimming at speed, jumping withferocity, head shaking and finally, finally giving up. I landed him on the beach as Fred hadpoled the skiff up to the little island. He told me to step out of the water as I had one bigand angry ‘cuda on the end of my line! I looked at David baffled and searching for wordsthat I still cannot find. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Fishing Report - April 11th Andrew and PhilipSunday, April 11, 2010

photos blogged live via a Sony EricssonMobile

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - April 23rd - David and JimFriday, April 23, 2010

photos blogged live via a Sony EricssonMobile A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Fishing Report - April 24th - David and JimTuesday, April 27, 2010David and I stole two days freshwater fly fishing in Irelands north west last week. Wemade a dash across the country to spend two days fishing with Kenny Sloane a wellknown fishing guide from the area. The plan was to fish for pike on thursday and again onfriday morning with a sprinkling of trout fishing on Friday afternoon. We had anexceptional few days fishing with 18 pike to the boat (several over the 5kg mark) onThursday and similar numbers on Friday.

The highlight of the two days was the fish David took on Friday morning in excess of20lbs 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 AngelLines: Rio Outbounds inters and floatersLeaders : Rio toothy critters (adapted)Flies: As per photos below A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

8 Years, 8 Fish - OPENING DAY 2010Wednesday, June 16, 2010

David has a great morning session onopening day 2010 - all fish taken on surfacelures A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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

Fear of what exactly? A simple example.Monday, June 21, 2010A thin sliver of silver moon provided enoughlight for us to see a little. It was all weneeded. Casting regularly into the distanceof the rocky bay, David’s lure splasheddown once again and as he worked itcloser we used our now highly tunedhearing to track its progress across thecalm surface. We listened intently for thataggressive attack – that unmistakablesound - PHLOW, PHLOW! I anticipated abig fish under the circumstances.The big fish never showed up, but that’s

just one part of bass fishing for you! Theheightened sense of anticipation and at thesame time remaining realistic, enhancesthe experience. There is always thepossibility of success when things are right,and even if it doesn’t quite materialise, theacceptance that both you and I havingworked hard at the fishing without a magicend result does not lead to disappointment.Both of us have done our best. Its part ofthe service, part of the experience the closeinteraction leaves you with something

meaningful, only wanting to return in anticipation again.

David Norman first chose to fish with me for three days fully util ising theguiding/workshop services for bass lure fishing during 2009. He had, over the winterconsidered other ventures for 2010 – a visit to the spring show in Nantes, France for aweekend, a trip to the UKBASS AGM, but instead he chose to come to Wexford and tofish with me again. The socio-economic impact of his visit over those three days, whilstby itself may not seem significant, but the ‘knock on’ effects of repeat business andreferrals is considerable, not only to myself but to other small business’s in Wexford.

Look closely at David’s spend, for his three days of bass fishing he has contributed to thebottom 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 encouragescustomers like David to return. The low impact and sustainable fishing, the opportunitiesto learn, the uncrowded environments that David enjoys ensures that he can return nextyear 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 Idropped 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 andaccessible – 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 thirtyin the morning, David Norman caught and returned 18 bass. All fish were caught onsurface lures in crystal clear water often less than ten feet deep in an absolute pristineenvironment. This was a unique experience for David, for me as a guide I had seen itmany times before. David fished with a seven foot six light rod and small spinning reelmany of these fish were taken at less than 15 yards which were followed by othermembers of the shoal – we witnessed this many times and much much more over thethree 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 mentionnumbers of fish or try to portray the quality of the fishing available. I mention it here thistime only to describe the quality of the fishery but I remain anxious that others would usethe data and similar sources like it to build an alternative case for exploitation that woulddestroy the fishery in a very short space of time. Apart from that both size and numbers offish don't impress me.

I believe that you cannot develop a quality recreational fishery and sing its praises andpossibilities 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 havealternative reasons that go beyond concern, thought, and creating sustainable anglingexperiences 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 endof 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 weekThursday, July 01, 2010 A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Made in bubblelandWednesday, July 14, 2010

Landing GearRod - Smith Blowshot Reel -Shimano TP 3500 Line - Powerpro 9kgsLeader - Rio Fluoroflex plusLure - Lucky Craft GunnfishA short session between weather systemsproduced some nice fish this morning. Wewere lucky and happy. A little bit of fishingin your day - Jim

1000th bass on the fly from the shoreWednesday, July 21, 2010With todays light winds high temperatures and dark brooding skys combined with thepossibility of thunder I was pipping! We had abandoned any notion of sailing. I messedaround 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 ofthe greatest bass fishing sessions of my life taking several fish in excess of eight poundsand two greater than ten pounds.

Fish lay in the current chasing giant sandeels to the surface in a boiling frenzy! I tookwhat 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 Line-Shooting line A.Jensen .25" 30 metres - Sinking shootinghead then Intermediate shooting head - 9.30metres theTeeney T350 later in tidal sequence (taking the twobigger fish) Leader - 10'-0" self built tapered leader - RioFluoroflex Plus Fly - Custom built 9 inch hollow fleyevariants 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 wasgentle and so subtle at times beyond belief Note V - Thebigger 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 strongNortherly breeze - touching force seven att imes . Fee l i ng a l o t f resher andconsiderably brighter didnt seem to affectthe fishing to any great extent. I fished aTeeny T400 deep and fast with smallerbrighter flatwings - white and chartreuse.

First came several pollack then a quietperiod followed by the spiky thugs! The

action came thick and fast with several fish running greater than 80 cms's. Then I was hitby a train - the last time I heard the allbright go clink clink clink at such a rate was wayback in November in the Bahamas - stripping at least thirty yards of backing and stayingdeep 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 allback - then swam down current again oh joy - the Redington arced nicely fight him off thebutt, fight him off the butt - Dan and Ruth called from the shore 'Is it a big fish Daddeee?' Isaw Eileen slip with the camera!

Fish landed, photos made, returned, swam away properly - I smiled - its not often I getmy own photo taken with fish - 84cms's. Thanks Eileen.

Landing Gear

Rod - Redington CPX #8Reel - Orvis Battenkill LALine - Jim Teeny T300Leader - Rio Fluoroflex - 2 meters non tapered 9kgsFly - 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 IISunday, July 25, 2010A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Salt water fly fishing IrelandSaturday, July 31, 2010

Silver on the Fly

David Anchell went to the forge on Thursday and strucksilver on an olive and white sloopy. Rising tide fresheningsouth-westerly wind and crystal clear water breaking over areef....delicious.

David took several fish to 5lbs as the afternoon progressed.

Landing GearRod - Hardy Zane #8Reel - Hardy Zane #8Line - Rio Outbound intermediateLeader - Rio sltwater taperedFly - Sloopy Droopy - Olive

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Bass Fishing Workshop TodaySaturday, July 31, 2010

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Moody Misty MysteriousSunday, August 01, 2010

Gold on the Fly

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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

Sunday Sterling Silver on a stickerSunday, August 08, 2010

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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The Danes are back in WexfordTuesday, August 10, 2010

Caspar Hansen from Denmark is enjoyingan early start to a flying visit. Arrived Dublinairport yesterday afternoon and by 18:00Caspar had landed two nice fish. His luckcontinued this morning with fish taken on aspecial fly – more of which later.

Landing GearRod – Self built #8Reel – Danielsson LW6/9

Line - Rio AqualuxLeader - Rio saltwater taperedFly – More later A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Red sky in the morning bassfishers warning?Wednesday, August 11, 2010Caspar Hansen continues his bass Fly Fishing success breaking his PB in twoconsecutive 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 IrelandThursday, August 12, 2010

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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A morning session on the flyThursday, August 12, 2010

Caspar Hansens' three day saltwater fly fishing trip toWexford came to a head this morning.

Casper took seven fish and continued to improve onhis personal best record - he has now broken it somany times I've lost count -

Lots of fish were taken in the 50 to 54 cm bracket withthe best of the bunch running to 58 cm's. See morephotos below!

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

On the fly this weekSaturday, August 14, 2010A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Bass fishing Cork harbour

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

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Conditions tough for fly and lureMonday, August 30, 2010

Conditions during last week remained verytough and unsettled on the Wexford coast.Winds veered westerly to North easterlyand Northerly with a mid week blow fromthe south west. Some fish were to be hadbut again the fishery didnt perform at itsnormal late August potential.

This is what you often have to accept as abass angler - regardless of many things,the significant impact the weather plays onthe fishery and your abiity to fish 'through'and adapt to that impact is vital. Fine tuning

your fishing and your expectations when itstough doesnt mean its impossible to catchfish - its just more difficult. Out of thatdifficulty comes a greater reward. A little bitof fishing in your day - Jim

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Monday, September 06, 2010

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A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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

The spirit of where the fish livesWednesday, September 08, 2010

Yesterday I fly fished with David Jean Yves and for a littlewhile with Seamus. During the afternoon the sun shone,the wind blew strong and the sea picked up. Clean clearand fizzing with life. My heart was racing as I felt theenergy of expectation.

I managed to take two fish in an environment that for mehas become the essence of bass fishing - the challengeof remaining safe whilst casting into a strong head windwith breaking white seas and current, trying to fly fish iswithout doubt one of my favourite experiences.

It was enhanced in many ways yesterday, the personalhistory attached to the location, the weather, the battle tofight, land and return the fish, and the company of good

friends. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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

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Jean Yves goes home happyFriday, September 10, 2010

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Bass Fishing Open Week Sept 4-11 2010 at SEAiSunday, September 12, 2010

Marty HarrissonDavid Norman Colin Rigney Andy ElliottJohn Weir Andrew Nolan Jean YvesQuillien David Wolsoncroftt Dodds SeamusHartigan Patrick Molitor Alan Larkin ColmGallagherIts difficult to describe the feeling thismorning when I open the door on an emptyhouse at number 7. After such a brilliantexperience from last week, fishing, talking,

laughing with the guys above who stayed during the week its going to take a while for meto 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 beyondmeasure.Thanks to everyone who fished this week. I will get some fotos and words about the weekup soon. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Monday, September 13, 2010A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Wednesday, September 15, 2010A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Taking silver todayMonday, September 20, 2010

Spent a wonderful day today in thecompany of Thomas, Jan, and Didier fromDenmark. The guys saltwater fly fishedthrough strong winds to catch some verynice fish - the best running to 77 cm's.

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Great danes in WexfordTuesday, September 21, 2010A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

we catch 'average' size fish too - 80/20Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Although I dont consider any bass taken onthe fly as average - we do take a lot of fishin particular weight ranges. As much as80% of the fish we catch are between 1.5and 4.5 pounds. Bigger fish are exceptionaland often are only targeted either in specificweather windows or on particular locationswith specific flies. Taking bigger fish withoutusing a 'fly fishing strategy' to do so is arare occurrence.

There are many days when we wont catch any fish - this is not because the fish are nothere but rather because a combination of conditions have forced them to behave in waysthat puts them beyond the range of the fly. The biggest barriers to our fly success aresuspended 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, 2010A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Didier Rodriguez - bass on the fly in Wexford

Bass fishing reports

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

Blown away by the blow shotTuesday, October 12, 2010

The Smith Blow Shot 90RS has long beenmy favourite bass lure fishing rod. Anyonewho owns one knows they are beyondcompare. Andrew did own one - it wasstolen last year, he decided recently topurchase another. These were the first fishhe landed on his new rod.

We took all the fish from the surface thismorning in bright cool conditions at extremerange- aided by the BS's super castingability.

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Quality never dissapoints - simple!

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Bass fishing in CorkFriday, October 15, 2010Did a little trip yesterday to Cork and fished with Richie and David. Chilly, overcast northeasterly 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. Terminaltackle consisted of a short tapered leader 35->18 of 5'-6" in length. Attached to this via areverse allbright was 10 inches of 8kgs Rio Fluoroflex plus. This was loop knotted to awhite mini sloopy droopy of 5 inches. . The fish were taken with a particular postioning ofthe boat, the lines and the flys in relation to the strength and speed of the tide. Theretrieve was once again critical - I missed two takes that I felt i should have at least

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hooked - lifting the rod on the strike,inexcusable - as well as the spiky guysDavid and I landed both pollack andmackerel on the fly during our short trip. . Iread somewhere on a forum recently aboutTHE RULES OF BASS FISHING, a pethate of mine - Rules, what rules? Theresimply are none. A little bit of fishing in yourday - Jim

A note that makes it all worthwhileThursday, October 21, 2010

by mail today....

Dear Jim I enclose a couple of photos of aBass Fishing session last friday morning. Inall I took Five Bass, the smallest 3lbs andthe largest 10lbs, all fish were returnedunharmedand swam away strong. I would like to takethe time to thank you for the amount ofinformation you gave me through you

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website, which helped contributed to asuccessful year bass fishing in Wexford. Ihope the season will continue to be aspleasurable. Again many thanks and keepup the good work, it is of such value andeducation to all anglers.

Kind Regards

Padraig A little bit of fishing in your day -Jim

New kid on the blockFriday, March 25, 2011

Looks like I have some competition –William my younger brother caught his firstbass on a lure today – its gonna be a longsummer of texts and mobiled fotos! A littlebit of fishing in your day - Jim

Prowrassefisher!~from April 2005Sunday, April 03, 2011

Looking back through older April photos I found thesefrom a softlure workshop a few years back - bassassassins 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 Report–22-04-2011–WexfordFriday, April 22, 2011The window of opportunity opened this afternoon for a short while and I was lucky to bethere to take it. Taking four fish in a 45 minute period the action was thick and fast withthe best fish running to 3.25kgs.All of the fish were caught at less than 50 feet distance with the fly stripped very quicklyLanding 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 littlebit of fishing in your day - Jim

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a day a place a superb fishFriday, June 03, 2011Landing gearRod: AV Jensen High Tide #8Reel: Vision XLALine: Teeny T300Leader: Rio alloy hard saltwater mono with Rio powerflex wirebite tippetFly: Tied by Rudy Van Duijnhoven

Fish: Pike ~/= 10kgs A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

Pike fishing in the West of IrelandSunday, June 05, 2011The second fish I hooked was different. We drifted back over the zone, the water depthshallowed up to about fifteen feet, gleaming white sands and bottom features becomingvery obvious. I could clearly see vertical columns of weed, rocks as big as cars, ripplingfields and waves of golden light. The underwater visibility once again blew my mind. Icast and counted then retrieved and within thirty of forty feet of the boat I could see my flytracking 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, bristledready - tensed. Appearing from behind a pale cream coloured rock, I had that samefamiliar 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 ofdisbelief which stops itself from frying - But yes it was abig fish, yes it was inches behind my fly, and yes I was infifteen feet of water and I could clearly witness what washappening. I could see the fly, I could see the fish then Icouldn’t see the fly and suddenly I felt the fish on. Movingvery quickly to my right, my fly line tracing through thew a t e r l e a v i n g a s k i n n y b u b b l e t r a i l –zzzzzzzziiiiiiiiiipppppppppppp ‘John’, I heard myself speakas I eased and controlled the fly line under tension frommy hand – and then the drag started up ‘John, take a lookat this quick’ I sounded in hindsight, remarkably calm Twoother fish had joined mine and were tracking him as hesped across the white bottom, twisting and turning in astrange 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 renderedthem invisible in their world of gold and silver. I was pikefishing in the west of Ireland in one of the mostremarkable fishing environments I had ever seen.Landing gear Rod: AV Jensen High Tide #8 Reel: VisionXLA Line: Teeny T300 Leader: Rio alloy hard saltwatermono with Rio powerflex wirebite tippet Fly: Tied by RudyVan Duijnhoven Thanks Brian for making it happen

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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

I will find you and I WILL catch youSaturday, June 18, 2011

Landing GearRod : AV Jensen High Tide#8 Reel: Danielsson LW 6/9 Line: Guidelinecoastal #8 fast intermediate Leader: Airflo10’-0” saltwater tapered poly leader – Riofluoroflex tippet Fly: White mini sloopydroopy One of the joys and the challengesof catching bass is actually finding them innew places. Sent from my BlackBerry®wireless handheld A little bit of fishing inyour day - Jim

Andrews first bass for 2011Saturday, June 18, 2011

Landing Gear Rod: Smith B90 RS Reel:Shimano Twin Power 4000 (salt water)Line: Daiwa tournament pro Leader: Riosaltwater hard alloy mono Lures: Orion MrJoe Its not easy out there at the moment onthe open shore and from a fly perspectiveits downright damned difficult – at least theshift to westerly may help but it looks toughfor the next few days into next week – lowerwater presentations with soft baits orsinking l ines wi l l help signi f icant ly.

____________________________________________________________Teccie specs on the twin power. Born of the same engineeringpedigree as the world’s number one threadline – Stella, theTwinPower carves its own niche amongst the range of ultra-highperformance reels that Shimano has become renowned for.The TwinPower will handle anything thrown at it and continueasking for more, displaying many of the same qualities that makethe Stella so successful and Shimano a pioneer in heavysaltwater sportfishing and jigging applications.Built on the “SR” philosophy (smooth, silent, strong and reliance),the TwinPower gets its unbelievable cranking power and strengthfrom a heavy-duty cold-forged drive gear paired with a Brasspinion, near frictionless efficiency from intuitive design and

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reliability from decades of research anddevelopment unrivalled by any othermanufacturer in the industry.All these features are housed in a water-proof hybrid aluminium body which is thensuper-charged by the same Hyper-diskdrag found in the Stella SW. Less wear onparts and effortless operation are thanks tono less than 11 Shimano bearings. Eachreel also features AR-C spool design, AeroWrap II, Rigid Support Drag, one-piece bail,Super Stopper II, Power Roller and FloatingShaft II. A little bit of fishing in your day -Jim

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

Not catchingMonday, June 20, 2011Not catching bass is an integral part of the fishing. It adds mystery and intrigue andforces us to apply reasons as to why. This of course is normal and many of our derivedreasons 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 ama bad guide, or you havent got the latest hottest thing orwe are doing something wrong.

These are wild creatures living in the ocean, swimmingfree around an island influenced by many many things.

What it does mean is that the next time we catch them themore we appreciate what we really missed - the fish andthe 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 overthe three days and indeed it sputtered intolife a little on the evening of day three. Thefact of the matter is that David never let theopportunity, if it existed, pass him by. Hepersisted, and when fishing is difficult this iswhat it comes down to. Focus and attentionto detail can get you that one or two fisheven very late in the game. I went throughthe phases with him on each day throughrising temperatures, falling temperatures,sun, rain, wind, blue sky, cloud, Northerly,Southerly, it was all there. Clear water,cloudy water, as my daughter says,whateverr r r…. . ! Overa l l condi t ionsremained very very fishable and neverreally deteriorated severely; they onlyexhibited variability, constantly! It wasTuesday afternoon that really had my heartracing – a day that I often refer to as a bigfish day and certainly the chance was therewith everything falling into place but it wasnot to be. And that’s the way it played outover the three days, the possibility existedand we could have been lucky and eked

out a bruiser or a wayward shoal, but it wasn’t from want of trying or tactics or effort orskill on David's part. He’s now the consummate bass angler, perfectly capable ofanything. There were no numbers of fish in the systems but it always felt like we were juston the edge, very close, just out of reach, a fish away from making an experience apermanent memory. And then at our feet a fish and another - David had hit them with hisfavourite 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

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fishing and presentations for bass then don't miss nextmonths Irish Angler magazine - David is running a threepart series packed with information about thesetechniques. Some ideas for when its tough HERE Alittle 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!

Bass fishing reports

Thursday, June 30, 2011OR – several questions about fishing. Ray Molloy's girlfriend thinks he looks like GeorgeClooney, (when she has her eyes closed). Ray doesn’t admit to looking anything likeGeorge but does have a twinkle in his eye and a Sahara dry sense of humour. Tom isRays best buddy – Tom talks a lot when he’s not focused but becomes inscrutable whenhe’s in the zone. He’s also prone to sulk for short periods. I could go on, wont, but will askthe 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 aneleven pound bass (on his first outing at a bass fishing workshop) and the guide has nocamera to make a photograph does the fish really exist? George, sorry Ray and Tomwent 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 andparticipation, Tom got lines! We went to lunch in The Yard restaurant and then went tofish the rising afternoon tide. I went through the techniques with the guys. My sparewaders 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 guysfree for about two hours to ‘do it’ for themselves and managed them only through thelocation 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 tobe a very considerable fish certainly in excess of the magic 10 and probably somewherejust slightly less than the incredible 11. I had left the camera at home, my phone (a newrule) 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 thenthe fish swam away. I have several questions that I must ask - The technique that Raydeveloped 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 itapply? If I had remembered the camera would Ray have caught the fish? Did Tom have alittle sulk in the car on the way home? A classic day of real fun and brilliant company – afish to dream of again and again – it made life very easy indeed. I learned a lot. Forlessons in ‘shagging the cat techniques’ or a brilliant Taxi service Ray can be contactedat [email protected] A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

The importance of good loopsMonday, July 04, 2011

Jobst Seevers travelled from Kiel inGermany for a three day saltwater flyfishing holiday – he’s in pursuit of bass andhas 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 WormTuesday, July 05, 2011

Selby Knox from Bristol took this wonderful4kgs fish this morning on a 7 inch Senko worm.The worm was fished weedless with an ownerweighted twistlock hook. This WeightedTwistlock™ hook employs the same hook asthe 5132 Twistlock™, but also features a non-movable weight attached to the shank.Designed for both fresh and saltwater fishing.The hook’s added weight helps to sink or“swim” the bait into the strike zone. With itsTwistlock™ “Centering-Pin-Spring” (CPS –patent pending), baits can be “permanently”secured by inserting the pin in the center of asoft plastic, which can then be screwed on theTwist lock™ coi l spring to r ig perfect ly

everytime! Ideal for weedless style fishingwithout having to add a separate weight.Great for fishing into deep cover andoptimum fish lies. “Open” gap allows formore positive hook sets. Features include a

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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 dayTuesday, July 05, 2011

Dallas: Something has attached itself tohim. We have to get him to the infirmaryright away.Ripley: What kind of thing? I need a cleardefinition.Dallas: An organism. Open the hatch.Ripley: Wait a minute. If we let it in, the shipcould be infected. You know the quarantineprocedure . Twenty - fou r hours fo rdecon tamina t ion .Dallas: He could die in twenty-four hours.

Open the hatch.Ripley: Listen to me, if we break quarantine, we could alldie.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 rightnow, 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 butthey do exist. Matching the hatch for bass fishing is oneof my favourites, opportunities for matching are often

few and far between. Its very rarely thesefish on the Wexford coast can afford to beselective. I ‘opened the hatch’ on a bassthat we caught this morning and I found thefollowing A cuttlefish (.75kgs) two hardbacked crabs and a giant sandeel –selectivity is generally not an issue! Thefish will be prepared in a local restaurantlater 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 fourday stay this morning. We decided to gosoft as Martin hasn’t had much exposure tothe techniques and methods used. The pintail is a soft jerk from Illex with a ringedsection over the last 2 cm of the body thenfinished with a short needle which vibratesat the slightest stimulus. This is the perfectmodel for weightless or drop shot fishingand is best worked slowly through weedbeds or on a light jig head in clear water orwhen the fishing is particularly difficult. Irigged the pintail on a Texas jig head. Thishead gives you all the advantages of aTexas style rig combined with all thepresentations of a jig head. The triangularshaped head g i ves you two key

advantages: 1) Stability and excellentpresentation of the bait on the bottom 2) Ithelps with a swimming jig action on theretrieve. The Texan hook benefits from thepatented “Aeropoint” system and is madefrom strong wire with an extra large gape toguarantee a better hook penetration andhook hold. Martin took a few moments toget into his stride and after a short warm upwe were into fish in pleasant sunshine andbroken cloud. We took and missed severalfish – all part of the game. We changedcolours and the range of the jig head weightthroughout the session and tide moving

from 1.8 through the 3.5 and onto 5.5grammes. Colour choices were chartreusetail, blue w/Holo, and pearl white. Illex softbaits and jig heads are available at HenrysTackle and SEAi A little bit of fishing in yourday - Jim

Tough times in WexfordMonday, July 18, 2011But 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 rodTuesday, July 19, 2011

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Soft plastic workshopFriday, July 22, 2011

Niall VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOADALL Landing Gear.Rod : Savagegear bushwackerReel: Shimano ExageLine; DynacableLeader: 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 influencesSunday, July 24, 2011

In July and August, the largest fish,occasionally bass of fifty and even sixtypounds, rejoice the heart of the angler bysurrendering to his skill, while in the Fall,although more numerous, they are smaller.In both these particulars, the fishing at pointJudith and West Island, and furtherNorthward, differs from that in the vicinity ofNew York. Great success, however,depends upon several contingencies. It issupposed that the Gulf Stream, that

prolonged current of the Mississippi River, which sweeps with its warmer temperaturethrough mid ocean carrying a genial atmosphere and fertilizing showers to the otherwisearid shores of France and England, changes its course yearly, approaching our coast andsending its swarms of living creatures among the rocks of Narragansett Bay, or

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withdrawing so as to leave us desolate andto increase the severity of our winters.We all know that our cold seasons differgreatly in intensity, and bass fishermenknow that success in fishing varies equally;but from what cause these results flow, noone can positively say.Robert BarnwellRoosevelt – The Striped Bass – Published1865Martin Alisson – Scotland – Wed Jul 20th –a tough cold week in Wexford. A little bit of

fishing in your day - Jim

There’s something about Marys!Saturday, July 30, 2011

ronan VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL Landing Gear

Rod : Illex element Rider S210MReel: Shimano Tecnium 3000Braid: Power pro 8KgsLeader: Rio Fluoroflex plusLure: Illex Gambit Texan jig head 5.5gs and Olive 5"Waveworm

A big thanks to Bob and Ronan for the company craic andsolving of the worlds problems. A little bit of fishing in yourday - Jim

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Bass fishing Wexford, first day out specimenWednesday, August 03, 2011

An incredible dayAnne Curran caught played and landed and returned thismagnificent fish this afternoon. Using soft plastics for the firsttime Anne applied the technique to deadly effect – resulting in amasterful display of control and patience in high seas anddifficult conditions, a big fish window!The fish measured 83 centimetres with a calculated weightcertainly in excess of ten poundsCongratulations AnneAnne and Pat attended a bass fishing workshop in April 2011Landing GearRod: Smith Tidewader – Blow shot boron 8’-6” Reel: DaiwaCertate Line: Powerpro – 9kgs Leader: Rio Fluoroflex 8kgsLure: Sluggo and Illex gambit 5.5g Texan jig head. A little bit offishing in your day - Jim

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A note from a friendTuesday, August 09, 2011

Hi JimJust got back from Norway. Bass fishingwas disappointing. I didn't catch or havecontact with a single bass. But I talked tothe guy who did the video from Oslo fjordand he usually know where and how tocatch them. Even he hadn't done as wellthis year as previous year. Last year he

also had a decline in his catch rate. His explanation for this was partly due to coldan 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 thewinter but stays still in deep holes and the commercial fishermen has found out so theynet them. Runar (the guy from the video) was quite worried aboubt the impact on therecreational fishing.Any way... I caught 3 new species that I never caught on fly before so I have enclosedsome pictures of them and some pictures of the surroundings I was fishing in. Also as abonus I came within 30 metres of a feeding humpback whale - awesome creature. I amnot completely sure what the fish are called in english but I know one is cod and I thinktheothers are pollack and haddock. I follow your wonderful newsletter closely and it seemsfishing is reasonably good.All the bestCaspar Caspar in Norway VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL A little bit of fishing inyour day - Jim

The best built fly for Irish bass?Friday, August 19, 2011It 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 Ilike them - casting a mini sloopy variant on the GLX #7 - fished an outbound inter with ashort 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 flyis assisted by a loop knot at the hook - tying'straight' to the hook with a stiffer leaderchanges the action of the fly to a 'flatter'plain

Here's the thing I fished a 700 euro rod witha 25 euro reel - the okuma airframe. Its thesame okuma that I've had since 2002 - itsbeen dropped, kicked, thrown, and excuseme, 'fucked' into the water in a rage, left ina damp shed over winter and mostimportantly landed probably 400 + bass,plus pollack, pike and seatrout in rain sandand all sorts of weather and still goingstrong today - dont spend A LOT of moneyon unnecessary middle crap! Take a lookHERE for more help on fishing the rockyshore

Watched the blitz above for a while when Iwas fishing - awesome display - I was onshore by the way and apologies for poorquality - little camera pushed to its limit !

Bass fishing the Rocky Shore - some helpHERE

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 plasticworkshop – a beautiful morning of great company sun,surface blitzes and silver too!

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

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Estuary bass fishingSunday, September 04, 2011Landing Gear

Rod: Smith blowshot B86SPReel: Shimano twin power 3000Line: Yamotoya Famell 20lbLeader: 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 WexfordSaturday, September 17, 2011

I -shad resul t VIEW SLIDE SHOWDOWNLOAD ALL A little bit of fishing inyour day - Jim

Alan continues in WexfordMonday, September 19, 2011

Days of wind and waves and fish VIEW SLIDE SHOWDOWNLOAD ALL Having dropped my much loved NikonD40x – its been with me through all the fishing andexperiences you can see on this blog for nearly four yearsnow – I’ve had to fall back to my little Fuji XP for a while.Christmas is coming …… Alan continues to take fish on aday by day basis in challenging and interesting environments.A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Alan concludes in WexfordTuesday, September 20, 2011

A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Look closelyTuesday, September 27, 2011

Ronan continues to do very well on daytwo. A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

For no mean achievementFriday, September 30, 2011 Ronan gets a silver medal VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL More details later onfour days of hectic crawling, climbing, catching, slipping, sliding – ‘I think my toe tailsemerged through my boots in an attempt to grip the rocks’ type of times! All part of theWexford 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 BassWorkshop during 2006 - he returned again this week for a fewdays an accomplished and very experienced bass angler.Hard work and determination creates lifetime experienceswhich we have shared over the last few days.

We are also enjoying difficult but rewarding fishing! A little bitof fishing in your day - Jim

Black eyed angels swimming with meThursday, October 06, 2011 A little bit of fishing in your day - Jim

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Page 117: Bass Fishing Reports from PBF
Page 118: Bass Fishing Reports from PBF