Duration: 19:00-00:00
Tide: HW @ 23:30 me thinks!
Weather: Mild & calm at start - then thunder, lighthing , heavy rain & windy
Bait: Lug, crab, squid ,razor
Rigs: 2 Hook flapper & pulley
Results: One fish !
Report:
Blanked the last time I was out fishing so decided to return to a beach that was good enough to me last time I was there.
Anyway arrived to the (clean!) beach just before 19:00 and just as I set my gear down on the beach the heavens opened up - cue a mad rush to get the Igloo up and all the gear under it before it got soaked. I think I may have beaten my personal best for getting the shelter up (Health & Safety might beg to differ!) but as the rain was so heavy it didn't take long to wet the gear. Anyway I had to sit down for a minute to catch my breath as I was pumping sweat(must get some breathable waders!) from the manic start. The rain stopped after a few mins and it was then I realised how calm it was - wait a minute Met Eireann, where were those South Easterlies you promised me??? I was resigned to the fact that I would be catching doggies all night but had some peelers so set my sights on the smuts......
As the hours slowly passed, all the worms were being stripped from my hooks - damn you crabs ! I setup a second rod and fished a 2 hook flapper in short and lashed out the peeler to see if I might tempt a passing Smoothie. As darkness fell a warm wind picked up and the clouds gathered so I sat under the Igloo. The noise of the drops on the shelter started then got quicker and louder- damn this was torrential rain - then big FLASH of lightning and not long after a huge rumble of thunder. S**T - the GODS were angry !!! This continued for 40 mins or so....I sat there under the shelter thinking to myself 'What the hell am I doing here?'- the only fool on this beach, why didn't I just stay at home all warm and cosy watching Britain's got Talent
Anwyay what with all the fork lightning I stayed away from the rods for a bit and then my mind started wandering....what if the rod buckles over like crazy from a huge Smoothie? It would be dragged out to sea......nooooooooo, take me but not my BZE......that's it, I would HAVE to grab it and risk certain death. Then I imagined - what if I did get struck by lightning and was frozen solid with rod still stuck in my hands(think Father Stone episode from Father TED) - how long would it take for someone to discover me? In fairness if anyone saw me from afar they would probably think I was still fishing as I do tend to spend alot of time standing still staring up at the rod tip!Anyway I snapped out of it eventually as I was nearly losing there - I just hoped the rain would stop. If it did would I take advantage of the clear spell to pack up and leave in case it started again? With all the flashes of light and thunder this was like a fishing 'Vietnam' and in Nam we don't have the option to pack up and go home just because we don't like the weather - "Man up Private Steve, What is your major malfunction? you are a soldier in the Bass Division of the 2nd South wicklow Army and we need you on the front line". "Sir, yes sir - This is my rod. There are many others like it, but this one is mine. My rod is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my rod is useless. Without my rod, I am useless. I must cast my rod true. I must cast straight at my enemy, who is trying to kill me. I must kill him before he kills me. I will. Before God I swear this creed: my rod and myself are defenders of my beach, we are the masters of our enemy, we are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no enemy, but peace. Amen
Sorry about that, you are all probably wondering if this post is about fishing or what ..... ok so now back to reality - the rain did stop and the wind was so warm everything dried up quickly, this sea was also a bit choppier now which was good. I could still see the flashes of lightning away up the coast in the distance but proper order was now restored here. Still no fish and no bites at all - does thunder and lightning scare away fish I thought...anyway my second rod which i was fishing in close, was low in the stand so the line was always catching in the crashing waves and constantly moving but it was it wasn't moving anymore that it caught my eye ! i went to pick it up and the line was slack.....reeled in and felt a weight....to my dismay the line was covered in weed and my heart sank, I had to quickly remove it as it was all caught in the top eye and then started to reel in again... I could still feel the weight on the line and yes it was a fish - not much of a fight though and before I knew I had a nice Bass on the beach. Well I let this big shout of joy out of me - this is what it's all about- I knew I had to stick it out. The Bass weighed 2.5 lb and was about 46cms long. It was my first of the year and 3rd ever!
Phew, what relief- i don't think i couldn't taken 2 blanks in a row. So next I texted the bros on the West coast to inform them of the catch (and make em jealous!)
Afterwards, with the 'pressure' off I carried on fishing till midnight in search for my next goal - a decent size smoothie. It wasn't to be and didn't get any more fish or bites even for the rest of the night but I still went home a happy soldier - Ennereilly got talent!
till the next time....
later all
Steve
you know its a good storm when you find yourself wondering if your gonna make it off the beach alive 
great report and well well done on the bass nice way to change a potential 2 scratches in a row,come 2 think of it iv,e blanked the last 2 times i was out 
third time the charm 
,,,,as for Full Metal Jacket,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,staring at the rod-tip will do that for you,,take you away to another place till youre hopefully jolted out of it by a large fish, which thankfully you were 
