Bass in Strangford

[Skulmartin]

Has anyone any experience of Bass fishing in Strangford Lough. If there are bass at Greenore and Bass along the Antrim Coast surely there must be basss around Strangford. It seems to be ideal ground? Any thoughts

[Mick the Fish]

Hello there,

As far as I'm aware there is a fairly good stock of bass in Strangford. If you read Irish Angler, there was an article about a guy who guides on Strangford some months back. I'll look it up for you and send you his number. If he's like any of the guides I know, he'll be only too glad to have a chat with you.

All the best,

Mick

[raymondo]

i have a boat on strangford and i've never heard of bass being caught there only pollack, small cod, whiting, wrasse, sea trout and dogs and non of these are what you might call abundant!

[MarieK]

I fish the mouth of Stangford lough regularly and although I dont target them I havent heard of Bass being taken, reading Micks article though I wish there was some! Going to take a trip down to Carlingford Lough one of these stays to try a bit of spluttering myself.

mariek

[Mick the Fish]

I would bet my best box of flies that there are bass in Strangford!! I will look up that guide that was interviewed in Irish angler some months back and give you his number. I bet he confirms that I'm right!

Mick

[MarieK]

You could teach us all the art as our WSF Ireland outing!!

[Headlander]

I visited Northern Ireland between the 5th and 12th September 2005 (staying at Killyleagh) and the Lough seemed to be full of very small 3 to 4 inch codling. I fished from the quay there and consistently caught mackerel to spinners and float-fished mackerel strip, but never saw any other species other than those mentioned even when bottom-fishing with fish and worm baits.

Certainly no Bass, but the ground around the weed-covered rocks did look ideal for it.

Hope to return one day, but I'll pick a time when there are no riots and you don't beat us at football!

[Skulmartin]

Dear Headlander
Please dont dispair. In recent years you can be assured that both riots and beating anyone at football is a rare occurrance. Mind you you really did choose the right location as the goalscorer David Healy is from Killyleagh.

However I'm glad you enjoyed your stay. Hope you got to sample the delights of the fishing in this little place. The makeral fishing has been good this year but the sea trout fishing is poor. I wonder what others think. I have heard that there is too much illegal netting.

Any comments. By the way Wales have to play Northern Ireland at Windsor Park in October. Cant wait.

[fergal]

read the article in irish angler too and theres defo bass in strangford. the guide caught bass, sea trout and pollock all on the fly from a lake style boat. seems it would take you to know your way about as it seems it can get shallow and rocky in places. just checked through all my magazines and cant find the one with the article about strangford. :rolleyes:

[raymondo]

headlander is right about the baby cod, out on some of the reefs they are in plague proportions but i've never had one above about 12-15inches. in fact the lough is usually choc-a-block with what i refer to as finger fish that is fish about 3-4 inches long, but as yet i've never found where their mommies and daddies hang out!

[arvanduin]

Strangford is not renowned for bass. I have never met anyone who has caught one there and any local (NI) anglers I have asked indicate that that its not really worth the effort to chase bass there. That's not to say that there's none there and can't be caught. I have seen bass in the Portaferry aquarium but I guess poppers and chug-bugs are banned from the place!

[West of Ireland]

Its the April 2005 edition. I just had a peek at it. He definitely mentions bass ok.

read the article in irish angler too and theres defo bass in strangford. the guide caught bass, sea trout and pollock all on the fly from a lake style boat. seems it would take you to know your way about as it seems it can get shallow and rocky in places. just checked through all my magazines and cant find the one with the article about strangford. :rolleyes:

[salmotrutta]

I am quite positive there are no bass in strangford lough, i have fished the lough for 30 years now and have never encountered one! There is excellent fishing for pollock to 15llb and possibly heavier, with coal fish to 7llb. The mouth of the lough from Angus Rock to Craiglewey Rocks is the most productive. In the lough the old wreck that shows just north of Portaferry is good for pollock and wrasse for about 45 minutes to 1 hour around high water. The lough is excellent for sea trout, there are literally dozens of places to catch sea trout on fly or spinner in the lough. I have also had tope to 63llb about half a mile south east of the Bar Pladdy Buoy.

[MarieK]

Hi Salmotrutta,

Could you tell me where the Craiglewey rocks are, are they on the Killard side or the Ballyquintin side?

I also fish Strangford lough and have experienced similar catch, although my best pollock is around 10lb!! Most of my fishing is done at the mouth of the lough, havent really ventured too far up the lough. You mention sea trout would you mind posting a few of the marks?

I have given the tope a rattle also, not much luck as yet but im ever hopeful!! I would love to get a few flat fish, I know in the past good skate were caught in the lough, have you any experience of this in recent years?

Thanks for the post

MarieK

[salmotrutta]

hello mariek
the craiglewey rocks are on the ballyhornan side. The seatrout can be caught at sketrick , ardkeen ,marfield ,barr hall, and numerous other places.Sorry i have no experience of the common skate in the lough.pollock fishing can be very good right along the inside of the pladdy lug marker but it is only fishable around high and low water high is the best,large redgills and eddystone eels are best.Be very carefull and make sure you check out where the rocks are at low tide.There are very big pollock around the wreck of the georgetown victory though strangely the large redgills and eddystones wont catch here but the smaller ones do.

[MarieK]

Thanks

Fish the georgetown regularly have had some great fish there, also trolling with redgill up through that channel.

I have little experience with sea trout what time of year do you target them and what technique do you use?

Thanks again
MarieK

[arvanduin]

I have been fishing Strangford Lough and its mouth during the summer and early autumn and haven't caught a single bass there (although I have had fairly reasonable catches of other species) nor met anyone who has caught one in Strangford Lough. I have talked to many people who are dedicated local anglers, fisheries scientists or guys who know the Lough well and the answer is the same: Strangford Lough is not a venue for catching bass! These guys are not armchair anglers who have gained their authority on the matter by reading about it in angling magazines: they know what they are talking about. If you are looking for bass in Strangford, go to Exploris (the Portaferry Aquarium) or maybe order a grilled one in the Portaferry Hotel. Better still, ask for pint of the stuff in Fiddler's Green, you'll not be disappointed (on second thoughts, they might serve Smithwicks).

Don't let that lack of bass (swimming variety) put you off though, Strangford Lough and its mouth is a beautiful, relatively unspoilt and unpolluted location with pretty good fishing and nice scenery (and first class pubs and restaurants too!).

I don't claim to be an expert on the area but I have done a fair bit of fishing there (and sinking pints in Portaferry!) My advice: go there, do some fishing and enjoy the place. Watch out for the tides though, especially near the Narrows: they are perhaps the fiercest you will come across and are not for the faint-hearted. Plan well, know your marks and tides and listen to local advice. You'll love it!

PS if anyone does catch a few bass there, let Mick the Fish know: he has bet a box of his best flies that there are bass in the Lough and he may be asked soon to pay his dues! So, anyone out there who has caught a bass in Strangford Lough this year, share your experience on the forum and save Mick the embarrassment of losing his best flies!

[MarieK]

So what have you been catching?

[davy mcclelland]

Hi Guys !
This whole Bass thing has been has been bugging me for years now on and off, and since joining this site & following this thread, its opened up the old wound again!!
Just for the record, I,m firmly in the "aint any Bass in strangford" camp. I also read
the April issue of Irish Angler, which ran a feature on a local guy providing a ghillie
service on the lough for Sea Trout , and while the article did infer the catching
of Bass, it also revealed that this guide offers the same service on Carlingford as well. Could it be a case of Guiding for "Sea Trout in Strangford" and "Bass in Carlingford"??
I guess this is just my sceptical side appearing, but I remember feeling at the time I read the article, that it was a bit misleading to throw the words "Strangford"and "Bass" together in the same paragraph, and then tag on the "Carlingford" bit later ! Was this a deliberate marketing/business ploy???
Lets face it - articles in magazines on "this boatman" or "that Ghillie" or
"such and such fishery", try to paint the best picture possible, so you & I go and
spend our dough there.
What "I" do know - Theres no doubt about Bass & Sea Trout in Carlingford
- Theres no doubt about Sea Trout in Strangford - But I,m like all of us following this : No-one,s seen, or even heard of a Strangford Bass !!!
Now,back to whats been bugging me for years about Bass (hope someone has the answer).
Although Bass can be caught on our North coast beaches , and around the Carlingford area southwards, why are none ever caught in the area in between, and more importantly, why never when out on a boat??
If Bass anglers in England(for example)catch them over sandbanks,wrecks ,
reefs, tidal creeks etc, why dont we - not even by accident??
Is it (and I suspect this to be the case,including Strangford)theyre just not out there to be caught..... OVER TO YOU GUYS....


DAVE.

[fergal]

your probably right about the bass in strangford davy. as for arvanduin, if ive read something in a magazine relivant to a topic on here is there something wrong with me telling people on here what the article said? whether the article is right or wrong has nothing to do with me, im just trying to help people out by telling them what ive heard or read. surely thats what a forum is for, to share what info we can.
ive often wondered myself why bass fishing from a boat isn't more successful, maybe theres a few people in the know who keep it to themselves.

[MarieK]

Aye ive been catching plenty of Bass from the boat just using feathers!! The thing is though that Irish bass have a greenish back and silver underside. Most people mistake them for some other fish forget what its called just now..........

;-)

[fergal]

mackeral:D :D :) :D
or coalies:D :) :D

[Ferrylights]

Hi Folks

I'm coming to this one late. Used to post here a few eons ago, however got distracted for one reason or other and haven't had much time to go fishing lately.

However, enough about me, what about those bass?

During the summer a neighbour of mine (with as much angling ability/experience as my long departed grandmother) was spinning for sea trout at Ballyhenry Bay, just North of Portaferry. No sea trout, however he managed to land a 2lb bass! I kid you not.

Having fished the area for a considerable number of years i was pretty shocked as I was always of the opinion that there were no bass in the lough. This sentiment was not shared by our host (Mr Thrussell) however as on a trip here in the early 90s he thought that the area screamed bass!!

Has anyone ever fished around the Ardkeen, Castle Hill, Sub areas of the Lough (approximately 3 - 4 miles North of Portaferry. I always thought if there were bass around that this would be the place to try?

[will onion]

I live near Ardkeen and can see castle hill from the house if you tell me what to use to catch them from the shore i will give it a bash and who knows! I think if i did catch one i wouldnt know what it looked like:D having never caught one before. But i can tell the wife i am doing research for the forum and not really going fishing:D :D and she cant complain then everyones happy:D

[Ferrylights]

Will,

I am afraid that I am the last person to talk to regarding bass fishing. Probably due to the fact that I was always told that there were none to be had in the lough I never gave them any thought. In an article, wrote by Mike Thrussell, about the lough he stated:

"Travelling back along the road that skirts the north side of the lough
you've a mixture of sandy ground that has patches of boulders and
weed beds. Honestly, it's over 20 miles long this road, and I never
saw the lug beds end. It was one solid mass of worm the whole way.
This area reminded me of the Menai Straits in North Wales. On that
basis I would expect king rag to be fairly abundant in the muddy
areas, crab available in the weed and stones, and that combination
adds up to bass on night tides. Flounders must also be there in huge
numbers."

What he describes seems to equate to the area around Castle Hill up as far as the Sub. Where exactly to fish and the tactics to employ are another matter that would be far better answered by others. What I do know, however is that this area is very soft, deep sand and care would be required if you decided to give it a go.