A run of 9lbers....

Cobh SAC angler, Pat O' Shea, recently hit a goldstreak or a bit of a purple patch, if you will. Over the course of three sessions, in one week, he landed no less than three 9lbers. The bugger!!!

Pat takes up the story '....on my first session I was doing a bit of soft plastic fishing from the boat. Conditions were far from perfect. I was using a vertical jigging technique but the drift was probably too fast. The strong tide was compounded by a fresh following wind that was pushing me along at 4knots. Too fast! Despite that I did manage a 5lber. I moved further upriver to escape the breeze and as the tide eased I struck lucky. As I drifted over a reef, my softie was hit by a good fish and after a lively struggle a fine 73cm fish was onboard.'

'...two days later and with weather conditions much improved I was able to fish an outer harbour mark. Over a shallow kelpy bed, while casting a slug set up weedless style, I had a subtle take that felt like a weed frond hitting the braid...always a possible sign of a good fish...and so it was this time. At first there was little resistance as the fish didn't realise it was hooked and then all hell broke loose. After another hectic encounter, another great fish was swung onboard....this beauty came in at 72cms.'

'...day three and with conditions so settled I opted to fish a beach mark outside the harbour. As the tide ebbed, with virtually no swell, I had plenty of follows on surface lures, but no takers. Two hours without fish and my

confidence was waning...I was headed for a dreaded blank. As it got dark I opted for a soft plastic technique, which turned out to be a wise move. I set up a sluggo with an articulated jig head that I picked up in Nantes and using a technique shown to me by an old Frenchman I was into fish immediately. First cast and as the SP dropped through the water column I felt a bang. First lift, another bang, and then the fish was on. What a tussle! After a number of spirited runs the prize was mine...a beauty of a fish coming in at 75cm. I followed this up on successive casts with two more fish, the best going 7lbs. Cigar time!!!'

'...what a great three days. It'll be hard to beat that, but I'll try.'

Pat O' Shea

Cobh SAC

Commodore Hotel