....and some more mullet...on the lure!

Local anglers Clinton Rachman & his son, Cody, have been targeting mullet on the lures lately....and having success!!!

Clinton has been using a variety of soft plastic lures he's picked up in South Africa and these having being doing the business. Above, Cody is pictured with one of the mullet they picked up on a golden brown softy. Clinton advises that a lot of patience is required as you will have a lot of missed takes but if you stick with it you will get them.

....its not just Bass!!!

While the bass closed season is in effect there are plenty of other species to target for the avid lure angler, fly angler, or obsessive bass angler, as Richie Ryan proved this week. Richie brought client, Kevin McLoughlin, to the Harbour Rock at the mouth of the harbour to target pollack....on the fly!!!

No mean challenge this, as the deeper water of certain areas of the rock make it difficult for the fly rodder. Kevin was upto the challenge. Kevin is no stranger to fly fishing and has only recently seen the potential of the salt on the fly. Richie and himself had nearly 60 pollack on the fly that day....the second day of the bass ban. What a great alternative!

The pic above is of Kevin with the first fish of the day on a fly tied by Kevin himself. Well done Kevin!!!

If you'd fancy a day out with Richie give him a buzz on 086 - 1940744 or check out his website Eire Bass.

The Bass Closed Season

Courtesy of Uk BASS

The bass closed season has kicked in since this Wednesday 15th May and runs right through until the 15th June. Anglers will not be allowed to fish for bass until Sunday 16th June. We would urge anglers to strictly observe these legal requirements.

Over the closed season we also urge anglers to be extra vigilant as this is the time when those less scrupulous step up their poaching activities. If you come across illegal nets or suspected illegal netting activity in Cork Harbour or in the area from Ballycotton Island to the Old Head of Kinsale (or anywhere for that matter) make sure you report it. Contact us on corkharbouranglinghub@gmail.com or report it directly to Inland Fisheries Ireland on 1890 34 74 24.

Our bass fishery is a great resource and we as anglers should do our very best to at least maintain its current status and stock levels. We would encourage all anglers to consider adopting a catch and release policy when it comes to bass fishing. Irish bass stocks are still at fragile levels. We all should do our utmost to help this stock grow further in Irish waters to ensure the sport continues to develop and grow. We owe this to future generations of anglers.

The final hoorah.....

Pat O'Shea with a fine 72cm fish caught on soft plastics

Well the closed season is now upon on and there will be no more fishing for bass until the 16th June. Avid lure anglers will now turn there attention to other species, particularly wrasse. Others may concentrate on mullet as a few have had success lately targeting mullet on lures.

In the last few days before the season came to its annual close there were a number of reports still coming in but the bass fishing did slow down as the tides had peaked and were receding. A sudden swing of winds to the northern quadrant and a drop in temperatures didn't help either. On the last day, yesterday, many local anglers were hard at it but many blanks were reported.

Cobh SAC angler, Pat O'Shea, did report a number of good sessions in the days leading upto the ban. His best bass was a fine 72cm fish, estimated at 8.5lbs, caught on a soft plastic on a tide rising into darkness on Sunday evening. This was followed by a session on Monday with plugs that produced three fish. Pat was out with Fred Mills from Belfast yesterday but despite their efforts they remain fishless. Ebor Benson had better luck. He did manage a fine 62cm fish on a soft plastic despite testing conditions. Ebor persisted, but when two seals turned up Ebor decided to call it a day. Well done Ebor and good fish to wrap it all up with!!!

Over the closed season we urge anglers to be extra vigilant as this is the time when those less scrupulous step up their poaching activities. If you come across illegal nets or suspected illegal netting activity in Cork Harbour or in the area from Ballycotton Island to the Old Head of Kinsale (or anywhere for that matter) make sure you report it. Contact us on corkharbouranglinghub@gmail.com or report it directly to Inland Fisheries Ireland on 1890 34 74 24.

What a crackin' session....

Andy Davies with a fine 7lb lure caught bass.

Andy Davies is at it again!!!

Andy really bags 'em up when it comes to lure sessions and he really had a cracker the other night. Andy fished one of the outer harbour marks with Darragh McCarthy and Ben and they nailed them. Between the three of them they had over 30 bass. Now that's a right session!!!

Andy reports that they were using a variety of soft plastics and plugs. Best of the session was a fine 7lber which Andy is pictured with above. With today being the last day before the closed season many other anglers will be out to emulate Andy and the lads. Well done!!!

Young Bass anglers show the way....

Darragh McCarthy with a fine bass on a IMA Susuke 140 in Cotton Candy

Some of the young guns are getting in on the act lately. With the outer harbour marks producing a flush of recently arrived bass young turk, Darragh McCarthy, tagged along with seasoned bass angler, Andrew Davies, and another for a lure session and gave them a good run for their money. Darragh has been fishing the Cork Harbour marks with vigour over the last few weeks and the other evening his efforts were rewarded. In fact, Darragh had a bit of a 'red letter day' and had 7 bass in total on plugs. Well done Darragh!!! You're certainly one to watch for the future!!! 

....some more Mullet fishing!

In quiet back waters of Cork Harbour mullet can be successfully targeted. LRF specialists, Cillian Farrell and Dan Gill, who have been pioneering kayak angling in the harbour over the last number of years, have turned their attention to targeting mullet on lures!!!

Yesterday afternoon, one such mission led to success. Cillian gives a brief account of what happened '....A quick LRF session on the last hour of the flood. Dan & myself had felt a bit claustropobic of late having being couped up studying. A short fishing trip was in order. The beauty of Cork Harbour is that there are accessible marks within a short distance. 7 minutes into the session I hooked this 2-3lb mullet, with a pink power isome fished on a 1g jig head. Dan hadn't even set up by this stage. Unfortunately, that fish spooked the others. We did have a few follows later but it was great to catch a thick lipped on a lure!'

Well done, another one for the species count!!!