Co.Kerry (Species caught from around the Coast) – March 2011

[KERRY1]

People: Myself & K2

Date: March 2011.

Weather: (Mixed) Cold at night to begin with but dry and bright during daytime. Warming up with good spells of sunshine on last couple days.

Tide: Fished several states on tide depending on the location or mark we were fishing

Bait used: Razorfish, freshly dug lugworm & bread

Methods used: Bait fishing, fly fishing, spinning, plugging & lure fishing & float fishing

Results: Bass, Thick Lipped Mullet, Golden Grey Mullet, Pollock, Coalfish, Flounder & Dogfish


Report

Introduction

A couple of weeks ago, myself and K2 went down to Co.Kerry for the first of our yearly trips down to the South -West . It had been 3 months since our last trip there which was just before Christmas and for the both of us that felt like a lifetime away. We were both really looking forward to getting back down and doing some fishing.

K2 bought me a new rod prior to going – The Greys GRX-S Bass 12”, I couldn’t wait to take it with me and get using it.

Instead of doing what we normally do and setting off early in the morning on the day of departure, this time we decided to drive through the night, when there is less traffic on the road to contend with which then in turn would get us there quicker and easier which it did. K2 picked me up at my house at 11.30pm and we set off, and we arrived at our destination at around 6.00am the following morning.
After getting our gear unpacked and after a quick sleep and some food we got up feeling refreshed and where ready to go!

We planned our sessions around the tides ensuring that we were hitting each mark at the optimum/peak time for fishing it in order to maximise and increase our chances of catching something.
Bass was our main target species of the trip but as well as catching them, we managed to get a few other species including mullet, flounder, dogfish, coalies and pollock which gave us abit of variety to our fishing.

Bait

We dug fresh lugworm, getting enough to do us for 2 – 3 days at a time meaning we weren’t wasting valuable fishing time having to go and dig bait every day.

We brought razorfish down with us to use for the bass as it is a top bait for them, especially when beach fishing. However, the opportunity arose for us to gather/collect some fresh ones and with them getting more and more expensive to buy we went on a couple of occasions over the big spring tides and ended up getting enough to do us for the rest of the year which was great. The two hour round trip we made in the car to get them was well worth it and it has saved us well over £100.00 which is what we would have paid for the same amount we collected if buying them from a fishmongers or market up at home.

We had great crack collecting them, creeping about on the sand slowly so as not to spook them which would make them dive down deep and be out of reach. We used only our hands to collect them so as not to cause any damage to the beds.
The results of our work can be seen in the pictures below.

Bass

The bass fishing to begin with was slow but it picked up as soon as the weather improved. When the temperatures got higher and the high pressure & big spring tides arrived then so did the bass. In total we caught 16 bass which although alot less than we are used to, but it was still not a bad result considering there hadn’t been that many reports of any having been caught in the area before we went and so we were just pleased to have got any at all.

They were all caught on the bait at night with both razorfish and fresh lugworm being the two baits the fish were taken on with the fresh lug producing the better results overall with a few flounder taken on them too.

Our best night for the bass was the one before the last, we caught five fish between us with the biggest being caught by me, much to my delight. Even better than that, it was the biggest bass caught of the trip so I was well happy! Even better than that I managed to break my new rod in and so I was over the moon. Most of the bass we got at Christmas were all small so it was good to get a few bigger ones this time.

We went out and tried for them using the lures, plugs and spinners a couple of times at the start but with no joy. K2 did however catch something rather special on a lure. Not a bass but a Golden Grey Mullet. He spotted a group of fish moving quite close into the shore one evening while down at a beach and so he grabbed the nearest rod he could get his hands on at the time which was my lure/spinning rod which was set-up and ready to go. He went down and initially thought that they were Seatrout. He cast in and after several goes, he hooked into his mullet. He played it gently and got it landed. We took a quick couple of pictures and then released it back in safe and well. He caught it on a lure that was given to me by a fellow member of the site last October, Alan if you are reading this, thanks, it worked a treat!

The only real decent bass action we had from the lures was a nice fish that K2 unfortunately lost just as he was about to land it. After a fight lasting 20 minutes a big wave came in and washed up over it, K2 felt his line got slack and he realised it had got off. We stood there feeling rather sick but that’s the way it goes. To make matters worse, we had seen it briefly before it got off and it was a big fish, weighing easily 9.5lb – 10lb which would have been the biggest K2 has managed to get on the lures up to now. We continued fishing on for a short while after that with us both getting a few knocks on the line but no other hook ups and so with that we packed up and headed back to our digs to get some food and our gear ready for the evening session.

Mullet

On a positive note, the lack of bass about at the start of our trip gave us an opportunity to look for and target other species and we soon spotted at a few marks good numbers of mullet present and with us both being mullet mad there was only one thing for it. So we both got our mullet gear out and decided to try and get our first mullet of the year.

The mullet were great crack. We fished them at several different locations, comprising of both the open sea and estuaries. We used a couple of different methods to catch them, the float and bread and on the fly rod. To start with they were proving difficult to get interested and feeding but we didn’t give up and in the end our perseverance paid off.

I fished for them using the same tactics that I did last year up at home, which consisted off the float set-up and bread as bait. K2 used both the float and his fly rod and it wasn’t long before he caught his first mullet and from then on in there was no stopping him, catching a fish on almost every trip out.
The majority of the mullet we caught was on the float & bread with K2 catching 9 thick-lipped mullet on that set-up. I only managed to catch one but I was happy with that, it was just great to catch my first mullet of the year – one of the highlights of the trip for me for sure. Although it was great that K2 caught 9, his second fish gave us something extra to celebrate as it was his 100th thick-lipped mullet caught in less than 2 years.

Then just when we thought things couldn’t get any better – they did. After several unsuccessful attempts at catching a mullet on his fly rod but having got a few fish rise and show an interest in his fly, K2 decided to give it one more go and he was so glad he did. The reason being on the day before we were leaving to come back home, he finally hooked into a fish on the fly and at first he thought it was a Seatrout and it wasn’t until he got it in closer and then finally landed that he realised it was in fact a mullet but not just any mullet but a Golden Grey - his first on the fly. This was definitely a highlight of the trip for him, the fight it gave him lasted 15 minutes and he said that on the fly rod it was some experience, one he won’t forget for a long time to come. He has caught loads of mullet on the float but to get one on the fly was that little bit more special.

Conclusion

The fishing throughout was consistent and steady with us both catching something on each trip out and as always the time flew in far too quickly. We put in alot of hours but it was well worth it. We had a fantastic time and getting off the mark by catching our first mullet of the year was brilliant.

We have both got the mullet buzz in a big way now after our trip to Kerry and we are now really looking forward to fishing for them up at home, we can’t wait.

Below are some pictures of our trip for you to have a look at.

[KERRY1]

More pictures.........

[KERRY1]

More pictures.........

[KERRY1]

More pictures..........

[KERRY1]

Last of the pictures!

[seanie35]

fine report paula well done on all the fishies those mullet didnt look too spooked either

[Tom H]

good going..no photos off the doggies but

[RockHunter]

Great report and photos - sounds like a great trip and you got yourself well stocked with razor too.

[tomgrey]

Cracking session, report and photo's paula and K2, I must give the razor collecting a go myself sometime, never did it before. Would be well worth it even if I got a third of what you got there. Congrats on the golden greys and the bass

[fishy1987]

topnotch report paula well done on the deccent fish and a bit of digging to is a plus aswell!
tightlines
fergal

[FisherKing]

Great report & pics Paula, top class fishing well done guys hopefully Il be get for a shot at the Mullet soon myself cant wait

[saving private brian]

great pics and report paula ...love the ones with the mullet in shoals,,,,,they just wreck my head them fish..,going to give them ago soon thou,,,haha love pulling the razors too.gotsome there a week or two back.i end up eating more of them than keeping for bait

[nicefish]

Some cracking fish and photos well done.

[grady]

very well done Paula and Norman, some lovely fishing nice bass and mullet, i'll try give them a go this year
great report and pictures

[marky]

well done, great report.

[colin08]

Great photos and lots of fish.
How did you manage to get the Razor? With Salt?

[lampard]

great fishing

[tight lines]

super report paula and great fishing both of you now that the mullet are back there will be no stopping yous

[Conger]

As always a cracking report and great photos to follow, there is such a diversity of fishing available down the Kerry direction its great, Well done K1 and K2

[Mayorga]

Well done great report as always.