A good calm week for the third week in August augured well for the Eire Bass guide Richie Ryan who has sent in a recent report on his forays in Cork Harbour:
My last report outlined plenty of small bass in the harbour. The week just gone, produced a better stamp of fish. Ivan O’Brien had tried to get out with me a number of times, but something always got in the way of our arrangements. This week he managed to wet a line. He was anxious to learn about saltwater fly fishing, in particular pollack on the fly.
The first mark was for bass, and it turned out to be so good we decided to give the pollack a miss. As can be seen from the photo below, Ivan had one fine big bass and a number of smaller ones as a bonus.
He promised to return for pollack on the fly, which he is very keen to master. The guide even managed a decent sized Bass for himself.
I got a call from a very frustrated Tadgh and Caroline Dineen on Friday of the weekend with a request to get their two boys out fishing because there were no fish left in the Blackwater near them due to a substantial fish kill. One boy in particular, Aaron, was a keen fly angler. I told the father that it was not possible to take them out because I had promised my good friend, an extremely hard-working Dr. Jacques Bronkhorst, that I was taking him out for a well-earned cast. The Doc constantly reminds me that his taxes are paying my pension, so every so often I have to show willing! In fairness, when Jacques heard my dilemma, he offered up his place to the two boys.
I duly rang Tadgh back and both Adam and Aaron arrived the following morning eager to fish. Adam was not a keen angler, but his younger brother Aaron certainly was. The latter could cast a very heavy saltwater fly fishing line with just a modicum of instruction. I was seriously impressed with his casting ability.
Adam managed a few pollack on the fly himself and enjoyed the experience. Aaron was anxious to convert him to fishing, I could see it was a genuinely heartfelt desire. Two happy chappies!
If you want to book a great day’s fishing for bass or pollack in Cork harbour with Richie, see below…
