Game Fishing Ireland is located in one of the best saltwater fishing destinations in Ireland.  Dungarvan Bay and the Copper Coast have featured in many fishing articles and more recently in TV shows featuring sea bass fishing.  Other game species that can be targeted with fly and lure are pollack, wrasse and mullet.

Saltwater fly and lure fishing can often be very challenging in Irish weather conditions and Game Fishing Ireland recommends a minimum of two consecutive guided days to improve your chances.  Customers choosing saltwater fly-fishing for bass need to be able to double-haul with a single handed fly rod or overhead cast efficiently with a double-handed rod.  Chest waders are also essential for some locations.

Lure fishing for sea bass and other saltwater game species is very popular in the area with many saltwater angling journalists choosing Dungarvan as the destination for their angling trips.  Techniques include subsurface and top water plugs and soft plastic lures which can be fished in a variety of ways.  Game Fishing Ireland can guide you on some of the more scenic productive spots along the coastline.  Typical lure tackle requirements are a 7-9ft 10-30gr plugging rod matched with a suitable saltwater spinning reel in the 2,500 to 3,000 size loaded with 20lbs  braid.  Again chest waders are essential to fish some locations.

Typical saltwater fly fishing tackle is a 9ft 9wt single-handed saltwater rod with matching line and reel.  I currently use an Mackenzie FX1 salt for this and it has been a great asset in windy conditions or when casting large flies.

 

In recent years, given the warmer summers we have been experiencing I have increased the amount of mullet fly fishing guided days. There has been a lot of demand for this from trout anglers when the prolonged dry spells have seriously hindered river and lake trout fishing but created ideal conditions for mullet fishing. Typical outfits are a 9ft 5wt or 6wt matched with a floating line. There are different species of mullet around the area that can be targeted with flies, particularly golden grey mullet and thick lip mullet. Note that we only use flies for mullet on these days and no ground baiting with bread or maggots is done. This makes the fishing difficult and mullet can be very frustrating. However when you do hook and land one you will understand why many refer to them as ‘Irish Bonefish’!!