Over to the Bass...

Not dwelling on the salmon season’s end, angling finished on a whimper. Excellent conditions prevailed for much of the final month before the curtains drew for another year, yet sport was very slack. A dribble of fresh fish entered the system with only the odd silver bullet caught and everything else being red. My final salmon came in the second week of September whilst spinning on a rising flood, a stale male of eight pounds or so which fell to a red and copper size four Flying C. All in all, it was a marginally better season for me then last year, numbers wise, but it wasn’t a salmon season to remember as returning numbers slumped nationwide. Hopefully next year sees an upturn in salmon running our rivers.

Now the salmon and trout rods have been put away, it was time to get the bass gear out and I couldn’t wait to get stuck into it. October is one of the best times of year to go chasing for these silver predators of the sea and I wasn’t disappointed with the sport I enjoyed. First night out and I had great fun landing six fish during a short ssession, all on soft plastics. As you may recall, I have a particular fondness for the brilliant IMA Komomo SF-125 but the soft plastics needed to be given a proper chance. The Gary Yamamoto Swim Senko caught all my fish that night, mostly schoolies of three to five pounds but my last cast produced an absolute pig of a fish which measured 77cm and I estimated it to weigh somewhere between ten or eleven pounds. Playing the fish it was obviously big but I was stunned when it slid up onto the adjacent rock. A new personal best and first specimen, what a way to get the autumn bass fishing underway!

Next day I had the pleasure of going out on the boat with my good friend Peter Aspinwall. For the last couple of years we had been meaning to go out but never got around to it. As they say, good things come to those who wait!! Fizzing out along the bay, keeping a look out for signs of activity, our first drift produced a couple of amazingly pristine Clonakilty bass. Peter’s first fish came to a soft plastic but everything else came to surface lures, the lethal IMA Salt Skimmer to be precise. Basking in glorious autumnal weather, enjoying each other’s company, we accounted for a total of ten fish, the biggest being 68cm and would have been around seven pounds. The day had it all, what with such epic, visual surface sport and heaps of pollack in between the bass which are a great sporting fish in their own right.  If you want to book a day with Peter or look up regular reports on the fishing he enjoys, be it at sea or on the river where he is equally at home, click here.

Luckily for the time of year, the weather remained settled for a large proportion of the month. Paired with a great set of tides recently for evening fishing, a couple of friends and I were keen to make the most of conditions. For five consecutive days bass were forthcoming, mostly at night but also during the day. Be it Swim Senkos, YAMA Senkos, TT Shads, Salt Skimmers or SF-125’s, bass were ravenous and were not picky in the slightest, which was a welcome change from the salmon! Possibly the best aspect of all this sport was that we discovered more new marks. A huge satisfaction was tagged to every fish we caught in new areas and this must be one of the most rewarding factors for anglers. To avail of more consistent sport, it’s nice to have a few marks up the sleeve to fish in different conditions. Most bass were schoolies with a couple hitting six pounds and the best weighing around seven or so. Now the weather has broken, with high winds and rolling swells, the clock is counting down to the next adventure on the rocks. It looks like next week may see calmer seas so hopefully we can get out again and entice one or two more fish.

For the latest issue of “Off the Scale”, I wrote an article on a trip to the Kylemore Fishery in Connemara. An amazing venue, James and I enjoyed a great day in an awesome setting where we hoped to catch the fishery’s century fish for the season... Absolute Fishing are now running a bass lure fishing course for anglers interested in taking up the sport. For further information call the shop at 051393559. Finally, I’m delighted to say that I am now a member of the field testing team for Lure Heaven UK. I can’t wait to start trying out their products on some Irish salmon and trout and it's another reason to be very excited about 2016!!

Final Roll of the Dice

As I write this post, the Bandon is experiencing a raging flood. A brown avalanche of water, filled with debris and autumn leaves, is hurtling its way down to sea. The season's end is fast approaching and once this deluge subsides, anglers will be afforded another crack of the whip before packing their tackle away for 2015. It has been a testing time for many, with anglers feeling a mix of emotions. Much like a car on its last legs, the run of salmon took a while to get going. Slowly picking up speed, it glided along for what felt like a short time on reflection and now it is stuttering to a halt. The last couple of weeks have been challenging, with resident salmon lying motionless, stuck to the river bed like a dog to its bone. Fresh salmon are relatively scarce, with just a few dribbling in on the tides. This flood will bring new hope and hopefully more sport as we make the most of the final few weeks.

Before August slipped into September, I enjoyed catching a few more salmon before the river dropped to a low summer level. A couple of good sized, fresh grilse came to the worm when the water dropped between floods while a better stamp of fish snatched slowly swung flies when a good flow was present.

Salmon seemed to be quite fussy and weren't as forthcoming as usual. Sometimes this can happen at this time of year, especially after yo-yo-ing water levels. Adapting to a continuously high river, the "take" seems to elude fish as fresh water no longer triggers a response. With no rain falling for two weeks, this flood may well shock the fish back into life.

This week, I was lucky enough to have a go for sea trout before the rain washed any hopes away. As good as conditions have been for salmon, sea trout fishing is much better in low, settled water. To say this season was a challenge is an understatement and there may not be another night time escapade for these wondrous creatures, on the Bandon at least. Even though fishing was tough, it didn't reflect the numbers of sea trout by any stretch of the imagination and this year saw improved runs once again. As I've written before, there is still a long way to go, but it is certainly going in the right direction. Most sea trout I caught were small, fresh schoolies but a few better fish were forthcoming. One such trout was a beauty of around three and a half pounds. Some of the better fish we catch are disappointing with how they fight but this fish went absolutely berserk, leaping into the air on several occasions followed by heart stopping runs when you hope your line doesn't get snagged on some unsuspecting hindrance. Pouncing on a small, lightly dressed tube, she slipped back into the dark river none the worse for wear.

Finally, I have attached a video which I made for an article in the latest installment of "Off The Scale", called "Summer Grilse on the Fly". This is the sixth issue of the magazine and well done to all involved in such a magnificent production. 

Autumn Run Begins

Fishing conditions on the Bandon have been so good since my last update I don't think even Carlsberg could do a better job. A couple of days have been tough due to high water levels but anglers can't complain about the beautiful state of the river. It has been a joy to cast a line when one compares the present scenario to the previous two seasons. The volume of water has ensured salmon are well spread throughout the whole river which is great for fish and anglers alike.

Grilse have continued to make up the bulk of the catch. All methods have worked very well, but the fly has been particularly effective. The average size of these one sea winter salmon has been around 3lbs with nearly all fish caught lately being fresh. As the season progresses, size is increasing with more in the 4-6lb bracket being intercepted.

Earlier this week I released a couple of grilse employing high water spinning tactics. I must say I'm very impressed with how my Shimano Spheros 6000 reel has been coping. I've fished with it for many hours in powerful flows using heavy size 4 Flying C's and it is still performing admirably well. Other reels I have owned in the past could not deal with the rigors of this style of fishing but so far so good with this piece of kit.

With so much high water careering its way downstream, we hoped this may entice a few of the bigger, autumn fish to run. I'm delighted to say this has been the case as some lovely fish have been landed over the last couple of days. Of course, due to prolonged high flows, it is very much a case of being in the right place at the right time as anglers are aiming to cover pods of fish which are not running as hard as they were earlier in the season. 

On Sunday, I happened to come across a couple of salmon which had no hesitation in taking a fly. With line fully extended, I had a lovely take on a small cascade pattern. A great fight ensued and after some hairy moments I slipped the net under a lovely 11lb fish. Moments later another, bigger salmo salar smashed my fly. Alas, after a few slow, deep and stubborn runs it shook the hook following some violent surface thrashing. Indeed, isn't that why it's called fishing and not catching!? At least prospects for the future are looking very promising. 

Good Fun With Grilse

At last fishing has picked up on the River Bandon. There's no denying it, salmon fishing in May and June was quite poor. Conditions in general were ok but when all seemed to be perfect, the fish were lacking in any real numbers. A proper run of fish was expected with every flood, yet it failed to materialise. More fish ran the river than it was given credit for and I lost a few, but it was disappointing in comparison to recent years.

All is not lost though and the grilse fishing is beginning to make up for the lack of sport earlier on. Since the beginning of this persistent, unsettled weather regime, grilse have been running in very good numbers. Since the 6th of July, the Bandon has been in absolutely beautiful order for fishing. Regular freshets have kept the river at an excellent height, with all methods fishable.

When the water was very high I opted for spinning to cover as much water as I could. But as the big water subsided and the heavy colour toned down, fly fishing came into its own. Recruiting my switch rod and fishing small flies, grilse have readily come to the fly with relish.

Most fish have been very fresh, some bearing sea lice, whilst others may have been in the river a week or two. Ranging in size from 3 to 5lbs, they have given me tremendous sport. Besides the grilse, I grassed one salmon estimated to weigh around 10 or 11lbs, which may have been in the system since May it was so heavily coloured.

Prior to the recent good sport with salmon, sea trout fly fishing at night time was good. The floods have upset this exercise for now but once water levels settle down again sport should resume. Fishing further afield, I enjoyed a few nights chasing sea trout on the Argideen. I'm delighted and proud to say that I have been asked to write for Ireland's newest digital angling magazine, "Off the Scale". I have written about my Argideen escapades in the upcoming issue, which will be released at the end of the week, so I wont give too much away! Further to this, I wrote an article for the previous issue entitled "Salmon Through the Seasons", which I hope you will enjoy.