It has only begun

Lure fishing is only getting started.

It amazes me how quickly lure fishing has taken off in the UK and Ireland . It is a great way to fish , light tackle , moving around and finding fish . Tempting a wild fish to hit a lure is something else and highly addictive . What really gets me is that I think we are only scratching the surface of the possibilities , there are so many techniques and variations- the mind boggles . Lots of guys are adapting their lure fishing to target different species, not just bass . One that really gets me is what James did last week in Cork and that is taking decent cod on Sp's, on light gear - he was using a 2500 size daiwa and a 7ft rod . If you told me a few years back you were going cod fishing with that kind of set up I would had a pain in my side from laughing . Lrf is also taking off in the winter months , guys going ultra light to fish for an array of different species , cod , coalie , pouting, pollack and so on . A conversation today with Henry Gilbey really sent me off thinking , we were talking about Lrf and he said after talking with some guys who are really in to it that the technique used and learned will work extremely well for bass . Another technique or skill could mean the difference between catching or not .

Lure fishing is moving so quickly and we are all being flooded with information . The Japanese are at the top of there game when it comes to lure fishing with company's like Megabass and Ima constantly developing new products . Whats happening now is they are developing more and more products to suit our type of fishing in Europe , which is great for us . Yes you can get very technical with your lure fishing but do not let that put you off , that can come in time . First of all get yourself a couple of decent lures and get out there and find some fish . You could have all the gear and be chucking your lure a mile away from the nearest fish . Bass are predators and if they are hungry and you put a decent lure in front of them they will most likely have it. Get to know your marks and when they fish , what state of tide , wind direction and so on and you are more than half way there . Take your lures to a place where you can have a good look at them coming through the water and try to put different actions into them see what way the lure likes to be worked , fast or slow retrieve , twitch or not , pause , suspend . Also have a look on you tube you will find a demo video of most lures .

Tackle

Tackle has come along way in the last few years and no you do not have to have a red rod and a five hundred euro reel to get started. Yes there are some amazing bits of kit available and yes some can be amazing to fish with but there are so many options now of reasonably priced kit that has been designed for our lure fishing . The quality of some of the rods and reels available now is outstanding , Daiwa , Sakura ,Shimano, Savage gear and many more have some outstanding affordable kit out making it easier for everyone to get out and give it a go . The thought that you need a € 1000 euro to get a decent set up is far from the truth .

Any one looking to get started and they want to pick my brain call in to the shop send me an email or call the shop , you can get all the contact details at the top of the page .

Hopefully the season ahead will be as good as the last .

Tight lines,

Cian.

A day on the water...

I was lucky enough to spend a couple of hours yesterday with James MacSweeney on board his boat "Bass Bandit" in Cork harbour. Conditions were against us with a howling north easterly the fishing was going to be very hard and to be honest I was not too confident as we loaded up the boat in Monkstown for the off.

On our way to the first mark James showed me all the nooks and crannies that he knows very well all around the harbour where he has had some really nice specimen bass last season. There is some serious bass ground around cork harbour and Im already looking forward to getting down to fish some of these marks in summer.

Anyway we arrived at our first drift where James reckoned we would have a good chance of getting some cod on soft plastics. This sounded interesting as Id never had cod before on sp's....loads of things were running through my head like will this work? and will cod really give much of a fight or will it be like bringing in a dead weight?

They really do hammer these soft plastics

Happily the questions I was asking myself were answered pretty quickly as I got my soft plastic bouncing on the bottom i felt a solid bite I struck and FISH ON!! and this continued on each drift after with a couple of double hook ups this really was curing the winter blues and the lack of bass around at the minute!!!

My injection was seriously tested by these smashing codling they ranged from 3-5lb and boy do they go..... a different fight to a bass but when these fish are hooked at a good depth they do not give up easily. As you try to bring them to the surface expect vicious head shaking and line being stripped off the reel when the cod go on long powerful runs....this is proper fishing for this time of the year.

We ended up with a some really nice cod and I managed to sneak out a nice pollack, James aslo got broke up by two seriously good fish, maybe a big pollack or big cod but whatever these fish were they went on huge runs thats simply could not be stopped. I suppose a good days fishing would not be complete without the "ones" that got away.

If you want to contact James you can reach him on james.macsweeney@yahoo.com , weather it be some cod on soft plastics in the next few months or bass on surface lures in the summer and autumn, the fishing that can be had in cork harbour is awesome.

Tight lines,

JamesB

Whats to come...

This time of year is not easy for us lure fishermen , fishing is difficult to say the least . Now if we got a week of westerly winds and the water cleard up we might be in with some chance but I would say that is wishful thinking . Myself and James have been doing a bit of bait fishing over the last few weeks for cod , coalie , flounders and always trying for a bass . To be honest I have forgotten how much I enjoy it and I am kicking myself I did not do more of it over the winter months . Saying that I can not wait to get out with the lures especially when seeing pictures like these.

These are some pictures James Mac Sweeney sent us. (Pictures courtesy of David Gauduchon)

James MacSweeney is a bass guide in Cork harbour , he sent me these pictures last week of a day out with a client last summer . He certainly got me thinking about the season ahead . What a fish and just before this fish was landed James lost a fish at the boat which he estimated to be at least 2lb heavier . James knows his stuff and puts his clients on fish so if you are heading to Cork harbour you wont go too far wrong booking a day out with James you can contact him at james.macsweeney@yahoo.com.

New Komomo SF-125

Below is a picture of the new super shallow Komomo SF-125.

This is the lure to have when fishing extremely shallow reefy ground and will work in the top 30cm. Retrieving this lure slowly while raising your rod will ensure the lure will work just beneath the surface with a tight rolling and wobbling action if the lure is stopped it will float slowly to the surface which is sure to entice and bass following the lure. Definitely one to think about for the coming 2011 season if fishing shallow ground.

Tight lines.

Copper Coast....

Scouting for new marks along the awesome copper coast.... mile upon mile of bass heaven!

SALE

There will be a sale in the shop this weekend, starting tomorrow there will be some great deals on lures, rods and reels so be sure to call in!!

Happy New Year...

Happy new year to you all and heres to some good fishing in 2011.

I also want to remind people that we are having a SALE on Friday (7th) Saturday (8th) and Sunday (9th). So be sure to call in to avail of some great offers to be had on rods, reels, lures etc.

Tight lines.