If I look back at my fishing over the years it has gone through various stages; I guess “matured” would be a good word. From coarse fishing to shore fishing to boat fishing and finally into what it has become today - a healthy mixture of all three. I enjoy a day’s barbel and chub fishing as well as pike fishing. I have a soft spot for mullet and wrasse, bass will always keep me awake at night and rarely will you find me say no to a day afloat for whatever species. My fishing is a mixture of short sessions planned around my family and work life, like most, but also intensive weeklong trips – holidays – which are planned around species, weather and tides, rather than available time, to up my prospects. Over the past month or so I’ve managed a couple of sessions for mullet, a weekend bassing and a day stalking Chub, but the crème de la crème has to be the two holidays I booked earlier this year, back to back – a week of mixed boat and shore fishing in southern Ireland and a week Guernsey for Mullet and the Guernsey B.A.S.S. Festival. More on my Guernsey adventures next week but this week I’ll focus on Ireland…

I love southern Ireland, especially County Cork. Its people are welcoming, its coastline is jaw dropping and the fishing is excellent! Along with lure guru, Danny Parkins, my fishing partner for this trip, we hopped aboard an Aer Lingus flight from Bristol to Cork (which only takes just over an hour) and upon arrival at Cork, we picked up a cheap rental car. I’ve caught the ferry to Ireland quite a few times now, but it takes almost a day to drive from home to Fishguard, cross on the ferry to Rosslare, and then drive the rest of the journey to SW Ireland on the other side. If you search for cheap flights, fly drive doesn’t actually cost much more, with the added bonus that the extra time can actually be spent fishing rather than travelling.

Waiting to board a jet plane...

Now I don’t want to give away too much info, as for both trips – Ireland and Guernsey - my camera was working hard photographing features for Total Sea Fishing and Boat Fishing Monthly magazines, but let’s just say our trip to Ireland was what you’d call a redeye one! With a jam packed schedule, courtesy of my good friend and fellow angler, Michael Hennessey, no sooner had we touched down and jumped in our hire car, we were off to fishing destination number one, Baltimore (stopping for a quick blank on the mullet at Rosscarbery en route!) to fish with skipper/legend Nick Dent aboard his charter boat “Rooster”. On our first trip we did some general reef fishing, and on our second trip we did some wreck and reef fishing with a difference - on the Fastnet Light, a place I’ve wanted to fish for a long time! You’ll have to keep your eyes open for my Hart Epitaph 2 rod review, here on WSF, over the next few weeks to find out more about that one!

The famous Fastnet rock and lighthouse

From Baltimore we headed way out west to Valentia, for a day pollack, cod and ling fishing, which ended up hampered by the weather. Nevertheless we did have a great day fishing inshore with local skipper Nealie Lyne with some excellent specimen sized fish on light tackle. That’s another up and coming feature to watch out for – one with a nice twist to it, as things don’t always go to plan. From Valentia, the following day we headed inland to Kenmere – our mission… to catch me my first Irish Salmon. The rainfall the previous day meant that conditions were perfect. Danny was into a Salmon first cast and later that day I landed my first. Now an Irish Salmon has been on my fish wish list for some time and every trip to Ireland I have tried but failed miserably, so I was pretty chuffed to finally nail that one!

Jim is chuffed to bits with his first Irish Salmon

From Kenmere, we headed down to our base, Paul Harris’ Dromagowlane Guesthouse, from where we would fish the Beara Peninsula for the following 24hrs. The Beara was our “banker” of the trip but disappointingly it didn’t fish at its finest. Nevertheless we did nail some pretty big Pollack and Wrasse from the shore,so I mustn’t grumble! A big thanks to Paul and Anne Harris for a wonderful stay - Anne’s evening meals are to die for. I’m definitely planning on visiting the Beara again next summer – forget fishing, I’m going there just for dinner at the Dromagowlane!! From the Beara we then started to make our way back eastwards towards Cork and its famous Bellavista, stopping en route at Clonakilty for a quick session with local guides Alan Chaytor-Grub and Pete Aspinwall, to target Gilthead Bream and Bass. Unfortunately, the Giltheads didn’t play ball but we did find some excellent bass fishing, free-lining and touch ledgering with live-eel.

Danny gets in on the action with a lure caught ballan wrasse

The final three days of our trip were, of course, spent living it up at my favourite place in Ireland - Kevin Murphy’s excellent Bellavista Hotel - fishing for bass using hard baits & soft plastics by day, and eating our own fresh caught Salmon and drinking Guinness in Murphy’s bar by night. I think they call that “living the dream”!! I even managed to squeeze in a quick reef fishing trip, with Cork Harbours newest charter skipper, Pat Condon, aboard his boat Osprey and a trip bassing with local inshore fly fishing guide, Richie Ryan, before flying back to the UK.

Jimbo manages to ditch the camera, dig out the Hart Epitaph and land a tidy Fastnet pollack

A big thanks to Irish angling ace, Mike Hennessey, for organising our week fishing and catching me my first Irish Salmon. Next year’s trip is already in the planning stages… Gilthead beware!

If you’re thinking of visiting Ireland in 2012, I highly recommend Cork. If it’s chartering you’re after, then check out Nick Dent and his Baltimore based “Rooster”. If it’s shore fishing, give Paul and Anne Harris a call at the Dromigowlane guesthouse and pit your wits against some of the monster Pollack and wrasse down on the Beara Peninsula. But if it’s Bass you’re after, then without doubt check out Kevin Murphy’s Bellavista hotel with its fleet of seven self-drive Warrior 175s, in the Bass Capital, Cork Harbour. Without doubt my favourite place in southern Ireland!

Next week...Guernsey!