Monday 29 December 2014

I.F.S.A Species hunt 2014

Its been an exciting year for me, not only only have I discovered my love for fishing, but I also discovered the species hunt. Click here to go to species hunt website

The species hunt is a national fish hunt, where anglers compete to catch as many species as possible around the coast line of Ireland. People take part from all over Ireland and this is my first year.

For me the species hunt has taken me to new places, and taught me about fish I didn't even know about. I've had to learn what fish takes what bait, what rig to use and the different techniques on how to catch them.

I've been competing against some very tough opponents in the Junior Section. I am currently second but would really like to change that but with only two days to go it will be challenging.

My favorite species I have caught so far are Stingray, Bass, Cod , Thornback Ray and a large flounder. I have also enjoyed finding out about and hunting for all the mini species.


I didn't know there would be as many different species in Ireland as there is, its been fun, and given more of an insight to the under water world.

Im looking forward to 2015 because now I have the knowledge and this time I'm ready, my life from now on will revolve around fishing from every angle.

Coming in in 2015....interviews with Master Angler ( hoping to get a few secret tips ), product reviews. Venue write ups and a couple of rig making you tube clips along with my regular updates.

Tight Lines
Eoin Angler 
Co Kerry 
Ireland 


Sunday 21 December 2014

Sunrise to Sunset

Our first day of the Christmas holidays. Most people would prefer a lie in, however, that was not the case for Mom and I.  Sunrise to Sunset was the challenge; to fish as many venues as possible. We woke while the sky was still dark, and set off wrapped up warm for a cold, yet eventful day of fishing.

Kinard was the our first chosen location, for the fact it is a known venue for a beautiful sunrise. It was here that I set up my rod, and Mom began taking some photos. Sadly there was no fish around. 

It was on to Dingle, the next place on our list. We arrived at about 11 o clock. We descended the ramp in search of a Red Mouth Gobi. No such luck though but thankfully I caught something,  it was a small Pollack. Again we moved to a new spot but before that we had a little stroll around the town and Mom bought me some Gloves. They were nice, warm and black in colour. Ventry was our next stop. We stayed there for a couple of hours. We got nothing until a ray of hope. I felt a strong rattle on the rod I jerked the rod back and reeled it in. I was filled with joy when I saw it. It was a long spined sea scorpion.( tiny at 9 cm but another one for the species hunt)

           
Next we decided to go to Smerwick harbor. On the way we stopped at a small little cafe. I had a panini and convinced mom to get me a hot chocolate she smiled and and said 'fine so'. She had a cappuccino and the salad off my plate. With that done and ate we set off again. We skipped clohger as we were running out of time. Smerwick was a handy venue because we could fish were we parked the van.
       I cast my line into the white waves of the water. with no luck at all,  Mom decided that I had my last cast. She asked if she could cast my rod I replied ' yes no bother go for it' . When the line sunk to the bottom I tightened it. Ten minutes later my rod started bouncing. I struck the rod with all my might and  fortunately the fish stayed hooked. It was intense until the rod went a little light, I said to Mom that I thought he came off but I kept reeling. A couple winds later and I could feel him again. That's when the fight really began he pulled with all his might but so did I. When we got him to the rocks we could see it was a Bass, Mom went down to pick him up but nearly slipped so she came back up. I chose a rock that looked safer. With one last pull I got him on to the bank. We unhooked him and measured him.
He tuned out to be 53 cm's and 3 half pounds. After that i caught a 34 cm coalfish also known as a coley. it was time to go home after all the excitement. We told every one about the day we had when we got home.

Tight lines
Eoin Angler
Co. Kerry
Ireland


   
   


          

Sunday 14 December 2014

My First Bass

It was a  blustery cold winters evening. I had always wanted to have a go at fishing Ballyheigue beach. So that's where we headed off to. With the car packed and ready we set on our way to North Kerry. We heard there had been fine painted  rays being caught and we all needed one for our species hunt. Mom, Dad, Oisin and Myself were all hoping for one of these super fish. 
We arrived at the destination during dark. Setting up took awhile because of the howling conditions. I asked my parents what setup to use Mom kindly replied "you know just as well as us". I decided to use the same rig that caught me my Stingray during the Summer. On the top hook I used Sandeel and on the bottom hook I used Mackerel. Once all of us were setup we hit the beach Dad carried his and Oisin's gear to the right of the slipway and Mom stayed in front of it. I went slightly to the left of her. I waded out and cast my line. I tightened my line and left my rod to go over to Mom. Dad was showing her what a Bass bite would look like. No sooner had he done that I saw my rod tip go wild. It looked exactly how Dad had just demonstrated. I ran to the rod and struck the fish, I knew I had hooked him because I could feel him on the line. I thought I had lost the fish half way through reeling him in because I couldn't feel it anymore but when the rig was at my feet I could see it was a Bass. I called out to Mom "I caught a Bass I caught a Bass" Mom called the same to Dad and he brought the measuring stick and my species hunt card. When we measured the fish it was 33 cm long . My fish was the biggest and only Bass of the night. Oisin and myself were having our own little competition. Oisin caught a small coley and so did Mom, unfortunately Dad blanked with no fish. Oisin started to get cold and so we packed up. Luckily Moms friend Cathy was in the area and had invited us for dinner. She made us a cup of tea and gave us a bowl of beef stew.(the best stew I ever tasted). Mum and Dad talked to Cathy for about an hour, it was late and we had to leave. Overall I was ecstatic. It wasnt my first Bass, but it was my first Bass that I caught unaided. 





Tight Lines
Eoin Angler 
Co Kerry 
Ireland