So I’m currently sitting here recounting the great weekend we had in Kerry. We had booked this trip a couple weeks ago and as we watched the weather it looked like we were going to be fishing in the settled weather we just had. As the week got closer it looked like the weather was to turn and start blowing strong and some heavy rain was on the cards so we were not sure where we were going to go. We decided to fish Derrymore on Friday night and depending on how it fished, this would dictate the rest of the weekend.
Friday night we arrived in Derrymore with no one else to be seen ( a rarity this time of the year in Derrymore) within 10 minutes around the corner came a set of lights from a recognisable Jeep. Fiachra ( Figgs) Cronin arrived with Jason Ryan to fish too.
We kept each other updated with what we were catching with a mixture of Undulates, Thornies and Painteds being caught.
Figgs called to say he had just got a smooth hound and was very nice to offer us some of his crab. Ian casted out one of the crab and it wasn’t long before he ended up hooking into a fish that towed him up and down the channel. We were sure that it was either a stinger or possibly a tope. As the fish came closer to the bank I noticed it was a big smoothhound. The fish weighed in at 14lb 13oz and 117cm long. Well over the 105cm specimen size.This broke Ians PB by a considerable amount. Some quick photos and the Hound was released to continue to terrorise more creatures on the bottom. After this the fishing slowed down so we packed up just as the weed and current made it difficult fishing. The day ended with 1 specimen smooth hound, 3 undulates. 1 thornie and 1 painted ray.
Saturday morning we decided we are going to have to go back to Derrymore once again. Now that we knew the hounds were around we were going to give them a good go. Saturday morning was very productive for the rays. We ended up with 6 ray in total. One Thornie and the rest being Undulates. Ian managed to recapture a previously tagged fish that was tagged by Gerrard Hennessy only the morning of the day previous. When we finished here we moved from Derrymore to Spa to try for a few more ray over incoming tide. Spa also allowed us to dodge the weather as it had started to worsen but this move did not produce any fish unfortunately. A few hours here resulted in a blank.
Sunday morning yet again we went down to Derrymore point. With some crab in tow from we were going to try hard for some smooth hounds again. Sunday the water was much more coloured from the winds and rain that the previous day produced. We set out an hour before low water to fish hard until the tide picked up. I had one fish on Sunday on with a big slackline bite on my Crab. Reeling down to meet the fish I was taken aback by the bar of silver I saw. Expecting a smooth hound I was met with the flash of a bass at my feet. Ive not had a bass here before so a welcomed treat. At 4lb 5oz it was a lovely fish to beat the blank. Ian on the other hand had managed to wrangle out two ray this day. One undulate and one Thornie. All adding to the weekends tally.
Sunday evening we fished one of our favourite marks in Tralee bay for a couple of hours of easy bass fishing. Here we managed to get more than half a dozen bass each between 4lb and 1lb over a two hour session. Its great to see that the bass are around and hungry as the same day some lovely fish came off Inch in the TBSAC comp.
Monday morning we were trying to decide what to do. We ended up deciding to fish a mark we fish regularly in Brandon bay in the hopes of some bass and painted ray. We fished it from low tide and when we got there the water conditions could not have looked any more “Bassy”. Big waves, big surges and no sand in the waves. Perfect looking conditions for bass here. We fished 3 hook flappers here baited with Lug worm and up and over rigs baited with sandeel. Fishing was slow with us trying to figure out the range that the fish were lying. While chatting I saw Ians face drop, as I turned around to see my rod doubled over and line flying off the reel (yet another example of always set your drag). This was not your typical Bass bite. I was sure that this was either a small tope or possibly a big ray. Fishing with only lug on the hooks I wasn’t convinced it was either. Line stripping off the reel and the fishing running left to right and back again we were not sure what this was. The fish ended up wrapping around 2 of the other lines and pulling them slack. Ian jumped into action to untangle the rods as the fish made another dash for freedom. Ians quick thinking saved us from having a situation where we had rods tangled in the fish and he also quickly ran into the water waist deep to see what was causing all this havoc.
When we eventually saw this fish I can not describe both the joy and fear the both of us experienced. As the fish saw Ian closing in on it it took another dash for safety. Trying to get free it stripped another 50-60 meters of line off the reel. This was one of the best conditioned Bass i have ever come across. Getting it under control it started to come closer but I couldn’t keep up with reeling it in so had to run backwards at the same time. Ian got behind the fish and made sure that if anything was to happen he was quick to make sure the fish would be got. I ran the fish up the beach clear of the water and Ian got a hand in its mouth. There wasnt much said but I got the fish and got it as far from the wave surge as possible with Ian shouting to go further. I ran to get the measure, scales and sling as it was a big fish but we were not sure just how big. Tipping the scales at 13lb 14oz, and taking 1lb 4oz off for the weight of the sling, the fish came in at a solid 12lb 10oz. Laying on the measure it just scraped the 81cm mark, just shy of my pb of 81.5cm. We quickly got some photos and released the fish. Sometimes i find that big bass can take a bit of time to recover after such a hard fight but I can assure you this fish did not. Holding it strong in the waves it was kicking to go. The fish shot off into the surf and then the cheering and hugging started from myself and Ian after getting such a fish. This was certainly a team effort.
We finished the session with only one bass to the tally but it certainly made up for it.
We returned to fish one last beach for only a couple of hours before we made our way home. This time I blanked but Ian managed two bass adding yet again to the tally of fish for the weekend.
Recounting the weekend we ended the few days with some great fishing and some amazing fish:
- 1 Specimen Smooth hound
- 1 Specimen Bass
- 9 Undulates
- 3 Thornies
- 1 Painted
- 16 Bass
Tight Lines
James
