This week Sea Bass Hunter Tomasz Ekert approached the 100 bass milestone for the season. He has found the fishing slow from time to time, but overall its not a bad number to have in his sights. Another milestone he had this week was a new PB. Fishing a soft plastic Tomasz had a super 76cm bass. This fine bass wins him Catch of the Week.

Not the worst season. Almost 100 Sea Bass so far and a new PB - 76 cm
Not the worst season. Almost 100 Sea Bass so far and a new PB – 76 cm and Catch of the Week

Guests of John Quinlan at Thatch Cottage Ireland in Waterville were getting lots of bass last week. At the weekend John was saying that sometimes bass can be so hard to find, but that now is not one of those times. John and his anglers are getting plenty fish from all locations, rocks , beach and reefs. Long may it last!

A bass from Waterville Bay
A bass from Waterville Bay

Go fishing…

Thatch Cottage

Lure and fly fishing for bass normally begins mid to late March with April and May often giving superb sport.  Please get in touch to check for best times and availability. If you fancy a spring bass fishing break just give John a call on (066) 947 4721 (or +353 66 947 4721 from abroad).

E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.thatchcottageireland.co.uk

Bass angling survey

Inland Fisheries Ireland have designed a survey to evaluate the Irish bass fishery, bass angling and the current regulations in place which relate to the bass fishery in Ireland. If you fished for bass in Ireland in 2015 or caught bass in Ireland in 2015 while targeting other species your input would be welcome. The survey should take 10 -15 minutes to complete and respondents who participate have the chance to win a day’s guided bass angling. Results of the survey will be reported on in August/September 2016 and the report will be made available to the public via the IFI website. Data collected as part of this survey will be analysed by both IFI staff and the Socio-economic Marine Research Unit of NUI Galway; this data will be protected and will not be made available to others.

If you would like to participate in the survey, please follow this linkhttps://www.surveymonkey.com/r/IrishBassSurvey

National Bass Programme

IFI has established a National Bass Programme to collect data on bass in order to provide scientific advice to support management and conservation of Ireland’s bass resource. Bass is Ireland’s only marine fish species which is managed for angling. The programme is being developed to determine the status of bass stocks and also to improve understanding of their ecology and biology in Ireland for the long-term sustainability of the species. See further details on www.fisheriesireland.ie/Projects/national-bass-programme