So it was all looking good as a trip to the SE, booked well in advance, crept closer and the anticipation built! I knew it was going to be tough as it was apparent that not all the country was fishing well and reports of a near collapse of stocks in the E & SE were being discussed online which bore out my own experiences of the last few years, but I would have time on my hands and I was all set for a challenge...
As the day finally came to set off it quickly became apparent that my timing could not have been worse, the calm weather of the summer was breaking fast as I pulled off the drive with my estate car loaded with enough gear to open a high-end tackle shop and by the time I got to the ferry there were white caps on the estuary and big swells breaking into the bays beyond as a deep low roared in from the Atlantic. None of this was a big surprise as I'd seen it coming a week ago on all of the forecasts but plans had been made, time booked off work, accommodation paid for etc, etc.
Again not surprisingly, what followed will go down in my fishing memory as THE FIFTY HOUR BLANK yes fifty hours of fishing night and day putting everything I've learnt into practice at places I know well with all the time in the world, without so much as a touch and you know what? I loved every minute of it, every cast, every stride along the wild shoreline, every spectacular view, every photo taken...
As the week's fishing drew to a close I realised that, having totalled up my expenses for the week I was on the quest for a....ONE THOUSAND EURO FISH...yes and it wasn't to come from anywhere that I'd travelled to, that included an extra 2 days spent on the Copper Coast fishing all the spots where I'd caught in the past as the conditions were slowly improving which probably took the blank to over 60 hrs and the expenses to about €1200 but we won't quibble over that...
So back I went to beautiful West Cork, back to work and routine, I settled back in and surveyed the conditions from the laptop, all starting to look good again...which was confirmed by a tour of the coast so, out I went to one of my more reliable spots the next evening 3rd cast.......
Kaboom!! Is that the €1000 fishing bending my Branzino 90m in half? Oh yes it was and I'm pleased to say it soon became the €500 euro fish as "normal" service was resumed for the rest of the summer.
So the moral of the story must be that, as always, it's the conditions - conditions - conditions that are the most important aspect of our Bass fishing...
