A stunning session in a stunning part of the world with stunning weather, some magical (guided) bass fishing
One of those mornings when the bass fishing is on fire, the weather is ridiculous, and the location is so beautiful that not one single second of being out there feels like work. You get to help your anglers land some lovely fish in a truly special corner of the world and you keep looking around and wondering why the whole world isn’t up early and soaking it all in. John and I take this guided lure fishing bloody seriously, but we go fishing because it’s such good fun, and I believe our co-guided trips reflect just that……………….
Does bass fishing get much prettier than this?
Third cast early yesterday morning and a bass came at Neill’s Xorus Patchinko 125 surface lure. He did really well to control himself as the fish swiped at the lure a few times before committing in a gloriously splashy way. I am not sure I helped Neill’s composure that much when I first caught a glimpse of the bass and said something really useful like “wow, this is a proper fish”, but he did great and in due course I had the fish-grip on what looked to me like a bass around the 8lb+ mark. I got a rough measure of the fish in the water and it went 70cms, but if I had done it properly I reckon it was a touch more. We got some photos and slipped her back. A stunning start to a stunning morning.
It is such fun to be able to watch bass hitting surface lures when you are not actually doing the fishing yourself. You are kind of living vicariously through your anglers as they react to swipes and splashes, and there were a good few fish around yesterday morning. The surface lures became less effective as the sun got higher so a change to smaller paddletails continued to produce fish (that little 11cm Slender Scoop Shad paddletail rigged on the 4/0 bellyweight corkscrew weedless hook is frigging deadly). We’ve got hot, calm conditions out here in Kerry and the smaller lures are noticeably more effective.
We had breakfast on location yesterday morning - thank you John! - and then got back to fishing. There were a few sea trout jumping so we got the lads on the small 16g Seekers. I always carry a selection of Seekers in different weights out here because they are so versatile. Neill landed a 64cms bass on his little Seeker and then there were a few sea trout hooked and lost - very jumpy, hook-throwing creatures! - and a stunning fresh fish was landed and released.
I think that most of the UK and Ireland is getting this ridiculous weather, but it doesn’t really feel like typical Kerry out there at all. Not ideal for bass fishing, but there are good numbers of fish around and thanks to a great call from John we found some better fish yesterday morning. Mix it all in with some epic pollack and wrasse fishing on lures and I think our first group of anglers would agree that it’s been a glorious few days in this magical corner of the world. It’s changeover day today so I can go for a run in a minute while it’s slightly cooler and then meet our next group later on and make plans to hopefully find a few fish and have a bloody good giggle doing so…………..
Disclosure - If you buy anything using links found around my website, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you anymore to buy via these affiliate links - and please feel entirely free not to do so of course - but it will help me to continue producing content. Thank you.