My Year So Far

Thought it was time I should write something of my fishing experiences of the last few months 
 if only for my own records... 

 My season didn't really start until well into July due to the pursuit of another outdoor project (Mont Blanc) which was successfully completed in late June. This was the longest break I've taken by far over the years but I felt it was needed and when I did get back into it all the old buzz soon had me keen and eager to get out on to the coast in pursuit of Bass and pick up where I'd left of in 2014.

I started out with a few day sessions to get a feel for what was happening and quickly moved back to night sessions which soon paid dividends with some fine fish, the average size of which was a great improvement on previous years, much to my relief.

A shortage of visiting fishermen and with my local Allie raising a growing young family has meant most of my fishing has been a solo effort with one notable exception being a session during a visit by a non-angler for Co Louth who, after a crash course in Bass Fishing landed a 5 LB fish with his second cast! That during a week when hardly a fish was landed, beginners luck was alive and well that day but as I said to him at the time, a lot of the time it can be first cast, worst cast, whatever, no matter how experienced you are - they all count and gives great pleasure to an angler and also in this case the Instructor / Guide.





Within the context of local times, throughout the summer of 2015 the fishing continued to be consistently good, when local knowledge was applied, but I was starting to feel the process of night fishing a bit one-dimensional and missing all the visual joys and varied methods that the day game brings, as one local Bass Angler said to me recently "One fish during the day is worth ten at night" not sure I'd go that far but I totally agree in principal. 






A late decision to fish with John Quinlan at Thatch Cottage, Kerry for a couple of days on weak tides along with some Salmon Fishing, depending on the conditions, proved to be a real eye-opener as has often be the case in my fishing. We targeted and landed Salmon on the Fly during Day One which reignited my dormant passion for fly fishing and has led me to dust of and upgrade some of my fly gear and found Bass in the Surf on Day Two which has set my Bass Fishing off in new directions and led to new discoveries locally...   

So now its mid October and the fishing is even stronger than the summer months which tradition says it should be despite the easterlies which although not ideal on paper do seem to be giving us conditions that suit our lure fishing and holding off the Autumn storms that can wreck it completely. The decision to start my fishing later this year and expose my self to new experiences has paid off in terms of late season freshness and enthusiasm, something I must try but will probably fail to do in the coming years...

Keep casting - David