SHORE ANGLER THE TOUR DE BASS
Kerry’s classic surf beaches are once again attracting anglers to soak up the great sport and beautiful scenery
The home of iconic surf fishing.
During the early 1960s, the then Irish Inland Fisheries Trust had a vision that was way ahead of its time. That bright idea was to explore, document and publicise the country’s bass fishing with a view towards building future angling tourism. The men initially designated to undertake this mammoth task, Michael Kennedy and Des Brennan, became household angling names.
They surveyed the shore bass potential by fishing it themselves, and also by inviting prominent UK anglers of the time to fish with them, write about their experiences and open the door to a new wave that would, over time, revolutionise bass fishing. These anglers were the likes of Clive Gammon, Leslie Moncrieff and Anthony Pearson – names steeped in angling history – who had the privilege of breaking the news to the world.
There were many areas and specific beaches that stood out throughout the southern part of Ireland during the early survey, but one area in particular was to become a magnet for bass fishing – the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry. Inch Beach, Fermoyle, Kilcummin, Gowlane and Stradbally became the classic Atlantic surf beaches that bass anglers the world over dreamed of fishing.
Thanks to a revival in surf bass fishing over the past decade, a new generation of UK and Irish anglers now want to follow in the footsteps of those who originally paved the way and experience Kerry’s ‘Tour de Bass’.
INCH
Having teamed up with the man in the know – Inland Fisheries Ireland fisheries inspector Kevin Crowley – I was looking forward to fishing these classic beaches again myself.
The wind had been straight southerly, but looking from height, there was a nice surf creaming in at Inch.
A little over three miles in length, Inch is situated on the southern side of the peninsular east of Dingle. Its northern corner meets rocky cliffs, but all the way to the southern point is then clean sand and shallow.
There is a car park at the northern end, but with care, cars can be driven along the high tide line of the beach. We chose to fish almost in front of the car park, just where the surf line starts to bend in towards the cliffs.
The breezy side wind and a decent surf was too much for standard bass gear, so it was 4-6oz beachcasters and Penn 525 reels loaded with 20lb line and shockleaders.
I prefer a single-hook fixed paternoster for surf bassing, using a hooklength that’s no longer than about 16 inches and made from 20lb to 25lb fluorocarbon. This helps cut down on the tangles in the tumbling surf. I tend to fish a single size 3/0 Viking pattern hook with a bait stop above it. I also make sure the wires on the breakout lead weight are really tight and secure.
It felt good to wade out in the surging surf again. The wind was warm, and I could taste the salt in the air on my lips. I made a long cast well out into the breakers, tightened to the lead weight and waded back into shallower water. I tend to stand in a rough surf with my rod upright, but resting on my foot because it’s comfortable to hold it this way.
The lug had only been out there a minute when I felt the rod tip rattle. Sweeping the rod back, I was into what was obviously a schoolie. A bass first cast.
WONDERFULLY WILD
The surf was pretty wild and there was a little weed in it, but what tends to happen on these shallower beaches is that as the tide floods and the water deepens, the surf will widen and some of the steepness disappears from the waves.
Inch fishes the hour before low water right up to high and for a couple of hours on the ebb traditionally, but a peak time is when you get this easing in the surf, so look out for it.
Another good tip here is if you’re finding the weed bad, or you’re not getting many bites, move a couple of hundred yards up or down the beach. This simple change can often see less weed and sometimes more fish.
It was schoolies all the way for me as I stuck with the bigger hook and lug baits at range, but Kevin and me always fish as a team to maximise our catches. He changed to a threehook rig with small hooks cast just 30yds out and started picking up flounders, small turbot, and a couple of school bass.
If you’re new to surf bassing, you’ll be surprised to see just how close bass are in the surf, often in just a few inches of water and right at the edge of the tide.
If you’re getting nothing at range, then vary your casting distance, even fishing almost up
to the surf line.
STRADBALLY
The weather was not kind to us, with gales and torrential rain most days, but the advantage of beaches on both sides of the peninsular is that you have the option of going south if the weather is from the west, or north if the weather is from the south. It was swinging south to south-west then west, so we decided to fish Stradbally first.
This is the most easterly of the classic northern beaches and sits close to the village of Castlegregory. Being away from the immediate lee of Brandon Head, Stradbally tends to carry the most surf. In calmer weather conditions, this is often the beach that offers the best chance of bass. It consists of clean sand but can have shallow, short gutters along the low tideline after storms. If you can locate these, they are bass hotspots.
In daylight, as you come through the sand dunes on to Stradbally, go to the right and walk about 250-300 yards to give the surfers some room. I’ve done well here in years gone by, with dead low water a good time, and right up the flood, but Stradbally does have a peak bite time that occurs around the middle hour of the flood tide.
If you cast a decent way, you’ll pick bass up on the ebb too. There are some good flounders here as well, especially from mid to high water, but always at very close range. On the day, ‘Strad’ proved slow, so we elected to fish Fermoyle at night.
FERMOYLE
The weather had been wild, with winds to 35mph and heavy rain during the day, which put up a huge surf at Fermoyle, and the tides dictated that we fish from high water down the ebb.
We chose Fermoyle because it’s the beach furthest west and sits somewhat in the lee of Brandon Head. It tends to carry a little less surf than Kilcummin and Gowlane, both of which, I’ve found, are often weedier than Stradbally or Fermoyle if weed is in the surf.
There’s a car park on the left before the beach at Fermoyle. I like to go left of the car park about 100 yards, a place I’ve done well at in the past. It will produce by day, but I find darkness better.
The surf was huge. Even in the dark we could see the plume of spray lifting eight feet or more in the air as the south-west wind hammering down through the Connor Pass hit the outgoing surf full on. It made no matter. Long casts out into this raging surf soon found school bass, then about two hours into the ebb I felt the lead weight pull out.
Unsure as to whether it was weed or fish, I reacted by winding in the slack line and backing up through the surf. I felt that satisfying kick of weight when the line tightened, and a fish bored off across the surf, dragging the rod tip down. It fought well and proved to be a fat, wide-bodied fish, heavy across the head, but I didn’t weigh it. I just slid it back into the suds after a quick photo.
Given the choice, I’d fish Fermoyle either side of low water and up the flood. High water has not been good for me, but the
second and third hour of the ebb will produce fish. Fish it as rough as you can stand. The bigger the surf here, the better the fishing. Just watch the wave surges and keep your tackle box well back behind you. I also put a couple of inches of high reflective tape on my boxes, the stuff you get from Halfords for trailers and caravans. This is picked up in your headlight easily on a snotty wet night and keeps you orientated when wading in the edge of the surf too.
KILCUMMIN AND GOWLAND
The beaches at Fermoyle, Kilcummin, Gowlane and Stradbally are really one long surf beach some 81/2 miles or so in length. Looking at my diaries, I’ve done well at Kilcummin, positioned immediately east of Fermoyle, over the years, but there is a divided opinion whether to go right or left of the river that flows on to the beach where the access is located.
I normally like the left side, but only based on previous catches there. I have caught fish on the right of the river too. However, if there has been very heavy rain with lots of acidic flood water, then I’d avoid the right-hand side during the flood tide, which flows left to right, and fish to the left where the effect of the flood water is minimal. Fish the righthand side on the ebb tide for the same reason.
Gowlane is the least known and sits between Kilcummin and Stradbally. As you access the beach, you can fish pretty much right there in front of you, going left or right seems to make little difference. I like this beach at night on the flood, then move to Fermoyle for the ebb. It fishes best if low water is in the dark. It can get weedy, but if it is, move up to Fermoyle or Stradbally.
Without doubt, the best tides to fish all these beaches are the rising springs. That said, I’ve seen decent fishing on smaller neaps and dropping tides. Basically, if the surf’s right, the fish will be in it. If I have a choice of the size of the tide, I’d pick the two or three days before the very biggest tides. Big springs can fish well, but are a little less consistent than the upper middle-sized rising tides.
BAIT & TACKLE
As for baits, I’d go with either lugworms or sandeels. The latter also puts you in with a chance of small-eyed ray. A hook carrying two or three blow lug is all you need, but I change my lug baits every 10 minutes. Sandeel baits I leave out for about 20 minutes.
Some anglers rate peeler crabs here, but my experience is that it’s a Marmite bait. If there’s rough ground, then bass will be expecting some crab bait, but on clean sand beaches, I find it way less effective.
I’ve mentioned tackle, but in normal surf I fish a 3oz bass rod, 11ft in length, with a smaller 6500-sized multiplier loaded with 22lb line. I fish a 2.5oz lead and don’t need a shockleader. This will cast to 75yds, which is plenty far enough for most bassing situations.
I only use a standard beachcaster in heavy surf and weedy conditions. I also like to be in the surf holding the rod and feeling for bites with the rod tip held parallel to the waves and low down against a tight line. When the bite comes, I strike sideways and upwards, but also walking away from the fish to tighten the line as soon as possible.
Avoid pulley rigs in the surf. At long range when the line is flat, they can fail to set the hook. That’s why I use a fixed paternoster, which both pulls the rod tip down and also brings the fish up hard against the weight of
the lead. Fished in this manner, most bass hook themselves. The strike is just extra insurance at long range.
Don’t panic if a surf looks huge. If you can hold in it with a 51/2oz lead, then there will be bass in it. Invariably, they’ll be closer in than you think too.
These beaches hold bass all year. It’s little known, but some of the best fishing is in the early New Year period, even when there is snow on the hills. Do take the time, though, when you’re in the surf feeling for bites, to take a look around you. This is a place steeped in angling history with incredible scenery. You’ll miss out on the full experience of Kerry’s amazing surf bass fishing if you don’t. ■
“The bigger the surf here, the better the fishing”