The Bass ban kicked in on midnight Saturday 14th May and with that the harbour bass anglers now have an enforced lay off on their hands....a chance, maybe, to target other species. In the lead up, however, activity was hectic. Conditions were challenging as the wind remained strong for the earlier part of the week. However, towards the end some marks did clear allowing some return on those hell bent on lure fishing.
Best catch of the week must surely go to Jim Clohessey, organiser of the Cork Small Boats Festival (http://www.skuaangling.net/). Jim landed this fine bass, pictured above, which measured 71cm and weighed in at 8lbs. The fish was caught on a soft plastic fished on an articulated jig-head and was one of a number of fish caught that day. Jim, and a number of other local anglers, have been pioneering the use of soft plastics over the last number of years and have had tremendous success. This months Irish Angler features an excellent article, penned by Jim, on the use of soft plastics and is well worth the read !
Midleton angler, Frank Murphy, stuck to bait for most of the week and was rewarded with some fish to lug. Cobh SAC angler, Pat O'Shea had better luck towards the end of the week on lures, although he reports the size of fish was generally smaller than of late.The season re-opens again on the 16th June and gives everyone the chance to replace those trebles, sharpen the hooks, and other housekeeping tasks that the frenetic pace of angling recently hasn't allowed. Roll on the 16th!!!
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