Friday, July 27, 2012
Cork Harbour Congers
One thing Cork Harbour is known for is its conger fishing and to be honest we've never really highlighted it here as the cod fishing has been so good for the last number of seasons but here's a video worth watching. Its of a recent trip out on Lagosta II, skippered by Alan Kennedy, and, boy, did the crew have some conger action!!!
Its not unheard of to have boats landing upwards of 60 conger per session. It can be hard work reeling these monsters up from the deep, especially when you're onto your 10th, 11th, or even 12th conger! Watch the video and enjoy! This is what conger fishing out of Cork is all about!!!
If you'd fancy a day tackling the conger why not give Alan Kennedy, skipper of Lagosta II, a shout. You can get Alan on 087-6792796
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Double Dutch
Eire Bass guide, Richie Ryan, filed this latest report with us:-
'Ad and Cees Van Breugal booked an outing with me for this season as far back as last year during the closed bass season. They were so impressed by the fishing in Cork Harbour, and in particular the cod fishing, that they booked again this year in the open season.
The challenge was to get each of them their first bass. As the pictures show we succeeded in satisfying their quest. The cod fishing was not as good as 2011 but overall they were very happy with their weeks fishing so, hopefully, we'll see them again next year.'
If you'd fancy a day out targeting the bass in Cork Harbour, or, indeed, cod and pollack on soft plastics, mullet, pollack, seatrout and others on the fly, then give Richie a shout on 086 - 1940744. Check out Richie's website at Eire Bass.
The challenge was to get each of them their first bass. As the pictures show we succeeded in satisfying their quest. The cod fishing was not as good as 2011 but overall they were very happy with their weeks fishing so, hopefully, we'll see them again next year.'
If you'd fancy a day out targeting the bass in Cork Harbour, or, indeed, cod and pollack on soft plastics, mullet, pollack, seatrout and others on the fly, then give Richie a shout on 086 - 1940744. Check out Richie's website at Eire Bass.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Summer Wreck trip......
With the weather going through a good spell lately, Alan Kennedy, skipper of the Lagosta II, was confident that the offshore wrecks would produce. With this in mind he brought his next batch of clients to one of his favourite wrecks....and it didn't disappoint!!!
It's a pleasure heading off to the wrecks in these conditions. With a gentle rolling swell, almost a glassy flat sea and blue skies, it was one of those pet days....days when the factor needs to be lashed on before getting stuck into the fishing.
As often is the case on beautiful summer's days like this, the fishing can be memorable....and so it was on this day! A couple of dozen ling were landed as were a couple of dozen conger. The best of the ling was a beauty of 18lbs! Four or five of the conger were touching the 40lb mark! Wow!!! ....and to top things off there were a few nice cod in amongst the mix!
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Summer fishing onboard the Osprey....
Skipper Pat Condon had a gang from Greystones Ridge Angling Club onboard the Osprey last Saturday and Sunday. The weather was great last weekend, especially on Saturday. The fishing was equally as good.
Pat set the lads up on the drift on both days rather than anchoring and it paid off. Fishing the grounds in and around the Smith's they had great mixed fishing recording over 14 species on each of the days. They had some really good cod, ling , haddock, pollack, and whiting and this made the trip most memorable.
Pictured are Tom Gray with a fine cod, Angus Stringer with a fine ling, and Sean Purcell with a good haddock.
If you'd fancy a day out on the Osprey give Pat a bell on 086 - 3622044 or check out his website on http://www.atlantic-charters.net/
Bellavista Soft Plastic session....
The Bellavista crew are gone mad on soft plastics this year. There hasn't been a bait trip yet!!!
Last Sunday is example of the success they're having. Owner Kevin Murphy and Malcolm Newitt took one of the self drive boats out on what turned out to be a glorious summer's day. Taking advantage of the pleasant weather they headed off to the offshore reefs outside Cork Harbour where they had great fun targeting pollack and cod. Some fine fish came over the gunwales.
To top the day off they came back into the Harbour and targeted one of the inner estuary channels that holds a head of bass. They weren't disappointed; a number of fine bass fell to their by now battered soft plastics.
If you'd fancy a day out on one of the self-drive fleet why not contact owner Kevin on 086 - 6029168 or check out their website www.bassfishingireland.com.
World Champion's Bass.....
The day was tough. As Richie had expected, they struggled. Not to be outdone Richie reached deep into his tackle box. The wiley old dog was not going to be outdone yet! Richie has great faith in the Megabass x140 and sure enough this lure broke the deadlock. Shortly after clipping on the lure Victor was into a fish and after a spirited fight a nice 58cm, 4lb bass was landed. Success at last!!!
If you'd like a day out with Richie you can contact him on 086 - 1940744 or have a look at his website here for more details. Although, fish are never guaranteed, Richie's success rate speaks for itself.
Summer fishing onboard the Sarah Marie....
Skipper of the Sarah Marie, Colm Sliney, operating out of Ballycotton on the eastern edge of the Cork Harbour Angling Hub grounds, reports that his season is really after picking up. Mackeral have now shown up in numbers providing a plentiful bait supply. The biggest plus, though, is the abundance of good cod.
On many of his favoured marks good numbers of cod are showing and many are of a good size. The best in recent trips has been this whopper of 21lbs.
Colm is hopeful that its a sign of good fishing for the remainder of the summer season. If you'd like a trip out on the Sarah Marie targeting these cod you can contact Colm on 021 - 4646002 or 086 - 3867697. Check out the Sarah Marie's website for more details here.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Eire Bass just goes from strength to strength.....
Since Richie Ryan set up his saltwater fly fishing guiding service his business has just gone from strength to strength. One of the many satisfied clients that Richie has taken out over the last three seasons has been renowned sea angler and journalist, Mike Thrussell. Mike recently penned the following article in World Sea Fishing describing one of his successful trips with Richie....
Becoming a successful angler is down to building up a basic
knowledge of the marks, tides, times and baits that produce fish in the areas
you normally fish. But what if you go on holiday to an area totally new to you
and have limited fishing time? The answer to short cut success is to hire a
guide.
Obviously
I’ve been on charter boats, which could loosely be classified as a guided
service, but I’d never been on a true individually guided fishing trip. Then I
got introduced to Richie Ryan when in Cobh , County Cork . We spent the
evening sinking pints and never stopped talking bass on lures and fly. The
upshot was that we hastily arranged an hour or so bassing, literally just
before I headed for the ferry home. This then lead eventually to a full day's
guided bassing and general fishing on my next trip through Cobh , so I could witness
first hand exactly how a professional guide works.
Pick up
time was 9am , and sure enough at
08.50 I watched Richie home in to view for the pick up on the waterfront at Cobh , near the old
Titanic jetty. Accompanying me would be Fisheries Officer Isaac Ferns, a keen
bass angler, and we both excitedly boarded the “Sea Hawk” stowing our gear
carefully under the instruction of Richie.
Conditions were not ideal with a strong east
wind blowing, but undaunted, Richie set off for a mark out past Spike Island
and set up a drift to take us over shallow rough ground. He explained the
nature of the ground, indicated the likely area where the fish would be,
suggested to both of us plug patterns he expected would catch, and we made our
first casts. I dropped a fish after a couple of casts which felt decent and
dragged a little line off, but on the next drift Isaac hit a nice fish on a
silver sandeel diver that bored off on the light gear. He played the fish
close, and Richie netted it. A fat, bolshie looking bass, dorsal fiercely
erect, between 4 and 5lbs.
Isaac, now shortened to Zak, got the first pollack on a Slugo look-a-like,
then a cod, I had more cod and a pollack, then we badgered Richie in to fishing
and he found the pollack too, again on sandeel imitations. There were plenty of
fish down there!
With the
tide now flooding, Richie fancied a few drifts in one of the side channels
branching inwards from Cork Harbour . This was working
Slugo’s or small shads vertically under the boat in about 20-feet of water over
rough ground. The bass were there in numbers and we accounted for fish to 3lbs,
but the tide was a big spring , and the run
fierce, so with a few fish caught and returned, Richie decided it was time to
hit a mark inside one of the smaller shallow side creeks, again for bass.
This also
needed a change of tactic. We put the lures away and set up with small bubble
type floats and would be using prawn drifted down with the tide to work close
to reef and then man-made structure. The way Richie presents the prawn is not
dissimilar from when baiting up prawn for salmon, but blimey is it effective!
If you want to learn this secret, and how to present prawn for bass, you’ll
have to book him for a day, as I’m sworn to secrecy!
I hooked
a decent bass on the second drift through, and for the second time that day,
whilst fighting hard and taking a little line off the reel, the hook pulled
free. I learnt early on in my angling life not to dwell on these little
setbacks and instantly got the gear in, rebaited and cast again.
You had to get the cast just right. The knack was to drop the
float and prawn as tight to the edge of the reef and structure as possible.
Richie hammered this point home and it was no surprise to me that the bass were
hunting tight to the feature. If the float wasn’t exactly right, you brought it
in and re cast until it fell perfect. I’d got the float positioned exactly
right within a foot or so of the structure and watched it turn and twist in the
tide. One second it was there…then it wasn’t!
Both
retrieving a little line and lifting the rod at the same time found contact
with the fish. It hung tight in the current to the structure, but keeping the
rod high bullied it away. It hung deep, then turned its head with the tide.
This was no monster and looked a couple of pounds or so at best, but again
fought well on the light gear. Both Richie and I had appointments that night,
so this would be the last fish as we had to head in.
Looking back at the day through customer’s
eyes, then what impressed me was the high standard of organisation. Although
Zac and I used our own gear, the rods, reels and tackle on board were all good
quality and well maintained. They were also set up and ready to go to maximise
the fishing time. There was a full and varied selection of plugs and flies
available, and Richie was quick to change something if it wasn’t working.
More so, the advantage of having local and expert knowledge saw
us fish certain areas only for two or three drifts at exactly the right time.
If nothing showed, we moved and tried elsewhere! The number of marks he has in
his head is amazing! It was also fascinating to be fishing in waters up small
side creeks where few bother to fish. These secret little backwaters often
produce the biggest fish and see the least pressure!
The boat is also perfect. Room for two to fish with Richie in
the helm seat, but she’s fast and covers ground quickly, but with a minimum
draft, so she can sneak in to really shallow areas. She’s also stable to cast
from, even when stood up and fly casting.
Richie is
also excellent in the handling and return of fish, just as you’d expect a
professional to be. Fish are always netted, there’s time for a quick photo,
then off they go to be there for next time.
Although bass are Richie’s main quarry, and last year he helped
17 different people catch their very first bass and is something he gets a real
kick out of, he also targets cod, pollack and ling on lures, plus bass,
pollack, garfish, mackerel, sea trout and mullet on the fly. He tells me he
hits some great mullet in the post Christmas period too, inside Cork Harbour , as well as finding
some good cod fishing on the artificials, so it’s not just a summer sport.
As I
mentioned at the start of this feature, hiring a guide short cuts you to the
fish. If you’ve minimal time to play with and don’t want the hassle of carrying
tackle when flying to destinations, or if you’ve got a car full of the missus,
kids and their gear, then a day or two with a good guide is worth every penny!
To fully
illustrate how effective a good guide can be, that single hour or so I
initially had with Richie saw six bass caught. The picture below was taken just
before I had to head in and drive for the Rosslare ferry. That was serious
pressure, yet such was Richie’s knowledge of his ground, he’d told me he was
totally confident we’d catch!
ALL ABOUT RICHIE
Richie Ryan spent his working life in the Irish Navy achieving the rank of Commander. Having fished all his life, and with a major interest in bass and lure fishing, his intention on retiring was to become a bass and general fishing guide. He runs a fast centre console craft ideal for working lures and fly from, and is licensed for up to three anglers, though individual or two man teams are the common approach. At the time of writing, Richie’s boat, “Sea Hawk” is the only one registered inIreland for saltwater fly
fishing.
Richie Ryan spent his working life in the Irish Navy achieving the rank of Commander. Having fished all his life, and with a major interest in bass and lure fishing, his intention on retiring was to become a bass and general fishing guide. He runs a fast centre console craft ideal for working lures and fly from, and is licensed for up to three anglers, though individual or two man teams are the common approach. At the time of writing, Richie’s boat, “Sea Hawk” is the only one registered in
You can keep pace with what Richie gets up to on his blogspot athttp://eirebass.blogspot.com/
CONTACT
For further details contact Richie Ryan (Bass Guide) via Web: www.corkbass.com E-mail: info@corkbass.com Tel: +353-21-4811103 Mob: 00 353 861940744'
For further details contact Richie Ryan (Bass Guide) via Web: www.corkbass.com E-mail: info@corkbass.com Tel: +353-21-4811103 Mob: 00 353 861940744'
Many thanks to Mike for allowing us to reproduce his article here. For the full article have a look here.
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