Following a couple of evenings scouting and fishing, and after much trekking I came upon an ideal looking spot. After an hour of casting, the lure was hit by a solid fish right where I would expect to find one, things were about to get interesting.. As the fish was getting closer I had to get down off the boulder I was casting from to tackle the fish in four feet of lively surf over a field of smaller boulders so typical of the Galway shoreline. As the fish came to me it was pushed towards a handily placed boulder and I managed to gently pin it to the side of the boulder with my left hand, rod in the right hand, I then realised I was stuck for my next move? This was a fish I was determined to land, my first Galway Bass and not a common thing according to local knowledge. The only thing to do was abandon my expensive rod and reel to the surf giving me a free hand to complete the capture which I duly did, getting a good soaking in the process.
The fish weighed in at a fraction under 6lbs and was humanely dispatched for the table, well P&T's table to be precise, and then it was off to locate rod and reel. After ten minutes of wading and searching things were not looking good and I was starting to feel more than a little foolish when, finally I spotted the the lure and hoped the rod was not too far away, the braided line had snagged on the very last growth of Bladderwrack before deep water and certain loss, a narrow escape.
All's well that ends well.
To be continued..........
