Mind Blowing Fishing

I have just returned from a lure fishing hols in Ireland on the wild southwest Beara coastline! Me and Adrian flew over last saturday to Cork then drove the 2hours treck to Castletownbere, we dumped our suitcases off and did a spot of shopping then headed strate out to the water in search of our main target MASSIVE shore caught Pollack!! the Beara is by far the best shore Pollacking spot iv ever had the pleasure to fish, its mind blowing i was completely overwelmed by the scenery and sheer wildness of the place! we tackled up with what most guys would say was light gear for sea luring, 7ft ML rods loaded with 30lb braid. Lure wise it was jigs from 8-12gm's on Owner and Gama hooks, using Grubs and shads from 3inch to 5 in various coulours also nordic spoons and small pilks to get down in these really deep seas. on the first session a couple hours before dark we managed over 50 fish between us a mix of small Pollack and Coalfis, Adrian landing the best fish of the night being just a bit over 4lb.

Sunday morning meant a full day out on the rocks in search of the beasts which we knew lurked below in the kelp! the swell was pounding in due to southerlys blowing up the cliffs luckily they didnt cause to much trouble! we headed to a mark which had white water sweeping round the point and gorgeous blue water surrounding it. i cast my Savagear grud out past the point and Smash!! im into a decent fish!! i knew strate away it was a Pollack by the rough head shake and brutal dives and runs, i got it in to about 30ft of the point and it steams off and screaming drag off the reel!! this fish had other ideas!! i managed to turn it and moved it to a pool beside me and Adrian handed her out the water. 5lb10 oz and my Irish PB now in the next three casts i nail a Pollack over 4lb on every cast this fishing was not the average tiddler tickling like in the UK.

after a hour or so casting around the numerous reefs we managed 8 fish from this mark all over 3lb Adrian managed to tickle out a smaller fish from under the rod tip which was explosive fishing! anyone who has caught Pollack from the boat on light gear will no the panic we went through hooking these fish they out run any fresh water fish iv hooked 6lb Pollack with a reef in its sight will out do 20lb pike on the first runs without even thinking about it and we had nothing more than the usuall pike and perch outfits lol! we headed back for a quick stock up of food and drinks then headed out to one of Adrians previous Fav headlands where he promised fish! he didnt let me down!!! we fished a point in the sound where Adrian reckoned the biggies hang around and within 3 cast i had a fish of 7-8lb chase and nip the grub my heart stopped as in the gin clear water you can see these fish chasing up the reef ledges! almost the next cast Adrian hooks up under the rod tip, this fish steams off the rod bending through the handle and drag screaming off at a stupid pace!! but it pulled the hook! Adrain holds up a owner jig which has just been snapped by a Pollack!! we headed around the point to a gorgeous cove where my dreams came true! i have never fished anything like it!! every cast hooking up with Pollack between 5-6lb, these fish just abused us! my ribs hurt where i was slamming the rod butt under my arm trying to stop these fish peeling 30-40ft of line off the reels...... the drag on my Sakura Alpax was up as hard as i can twist it with me still having to palm the spool to slow them!

Adrian with a Pollack of 6lb6ozthe first 5lber plus from the cove, after 20 odd 5lb plus fish nailed from this spot i kid you not my arm was aching and wrist hurt these fish are shockinly strong! we fished this spot for a good hour when Adrian shouts he's in! this fish was a different league!! the run started soon as it was hooked and could not be stopped! it just went and went by the look on adrians face it was a monster iv never seen fish run like it then PING its off...... Adrian reels in the line to another jig completely bent strate!! guttin. the couple days see's simular fishing on every mark we fished it was mind blowing fishing truelly amazing to witness. we also managed some other species being Ballan Wrasse and Cuckoo Wrasse all on small jigs, guys who follow Henry Gilbey will know that Wrasse are more than catchable on lures and are a great target for the lighter angler

Along with with the slimey Maks the fishing just got better and better, we fished some amazing looking marks which all had fish brimming from them, these fish are sooooo easy on lures due to the fact NO ONE is fishing for them over here! we had a slightly quieter day in the week where we didnt really fish as much but still managed to show some decent Pollack and a massive surprise for me! i saw the boards saying the various fish that could be caught off the Beara and one fish that i thought naaaa not a chance i actually managed to nail one!! i had this huge take right up in this cove i though it was another decent 5lb plus Pollack then the fight just died... almost like a lump of sea weed lol, then up she pops from the deep and me and Adrian looked at each other i couldnt believ i had nailed the John Dory i was after!! what a Gorgeous fish, it nailed a Savagear cannibla shad in lumo orange fished really aggressively hard to the bottom this fish was beautifull and really put a massive smile on my face! can the fishing get any better than this??

we ended the week fairly wet as the rain bolted in for two days strate which made the day a little bit more harder due to the leathal wet rocks which was like walking on ice! we decided to head to one of the islands where we could see some amazing looking coves from accross the bay, we found some amazing spots all extremely deep and gin clear. we had almost instant action from kippers and the odd fish 3-4lb i managed to land yet more Pollack on surface lures which was one of the highlights of the week as its something iv always wanted to do i managed about 8 fish all week to poppers and wake baits the best by far was the sebile Stick shad. we headed to a point where Adrian hooks up instantly with a decent fish of 5lb4oz at this point i was ready for my Double figure fish lol. i put a assist weight from lunker city on the braid and headed to a rough point where i managed several fish all over 5lb all one after another!!

the fishing was just mental!! in two casts i nailed a 7lb4oz and my Irish PB of 8lb7oz!! one after another both on Savagear grubs these fish fight like demons i really was shocked at the pressure these Pollack can put on you! iv had a couple 30lb plus pike and these fish do them over...... truelly gobsmacked by the power and garce of these beasts soooooo much fun on simple lure fishing gear!

7lb 4oz taken on white grub 4inch

8lb 7oz Irish shore PB taken on 10gm owner triangle jig and yellow 4inch grub this sums up ireland for me numerous PB's broke and over 500 pollack between 2 of us! 300 plus being between 4 and 6lb with a dozen massive fish over 6lb! i cannot explain the feeling to witness and catch fish like this in such unspoilt surroundings truelly amazing sport. a MASSIVE thank you to Adrian for letting me come along and experience this salt water luring!! i WILL be back