The best bass fishing I know of......

Canon 1D MK111, 70-200mm f4L IS lens (at 200mm), ISO 400, f14, 1/160th

• Within three casts of starting plugging yesterday morning, a bass of about 3lbs smashed into my lure lure like a steam train, and a few minutes later a crocodile of a fish tried to hit Pat's lure and missed - that was a proper bass, just the sound of it as it tried to kill Pat's surface lure was scary !! We thought it was going to go insane, but for some reason we did not see another bass landed yesterday morning. Why ? If we knew it all we would be doing something else, and that is why I love fishing.

• The surface lure that did the damage for me was the Zorus Patchinko, a deadly walk the dog/popper hybrid that casts like an arrow and allows you to cover so much water. See here for full details of the lure. I have to also say that these red Tenryu rods are just proving again and again how perfect they are for this lure fishing - what a bass rod, and what a joy to use. The degree of ease with which I can work lures the whole way in gives me such an edge to my fishing. Check out the Red Devils here.

Canon 1D MK111, 24-105mm f4L IS lens (at 55mm), ISO 400, f4, 1/6oth, flash

• Graham had a small bass on a Maria Chase BW on another mark, but again, for some reason, the bass were not really on - is it because it is staying unseasonably cold ? Whatever the reason, the conditions yesterday looked so good we were all raving like loons, but that's fishing for you.

• But then, as is the thing with bassing in Ireland, it just jumped into gear last night - Graham had to head back to meet the Jersey lads who were flying in, so I went out with Pat and Cian to give the bass one more go for the day, and we hit gold big time.

• Pat and Cian were fishing surface and shallow diving lures as we went into darkness, and I was fishing with crab baits - once again, I am loving using braid for the bait fishing, it is so good for this method. Above you can see Cian kindly holding my first bass of the night, a nice bass over 5lbs that slammed into my crab in very shallow water and really scrapped hard.

Canon 1D MK111, 24-105mm f4L IS lens (at 70mm), ISO 400, f4, 1/60th, flash

• It was mayhem last night, and we did not fish for very long - I had a bite or a bass on every cast, and the biggest for me was this stunner above, around 7lbs, and in prime condition. Pat and Cian were also nailing fish on the lures, at night, so they were over the moon. I kept hearing excited shouts through the darkness which meant more fish - Ireland gets me every time. The water was alive with sandeels and the whole place just breathed fish - if it was England there would have been other anglers out, but as is normal out here, we saw nobody else at all. Paradise on earth, believe me. How can it get any better ?

Canon 1D MK111, 24-105mm f4L IS lens (at 45mm), ISO 400, f4, 1/60th, flash

• Pat hit this nice 5lb plus bass on a Maria Chase BW in holographic silver, fishing right into the turbulent water, and it went bananas in the tide. What a fish to take on a lure at night. We wanted to see if it would work on this mark, and we proved it beyond any doubt.

• What last night does show us is that this particular location is alive with fish and food, so where on earth do you think we are going this morning ? I am about to go and meet Graham and the Jersey lads, and hopefully the fish will be on as strong as they were last night. Words do not do justice to how good this bass fishing is out here when it turns on, but the brief session last night was about as good as any fishing is ever going to get anywhere on earth, and I love it to bits. Standing thigh deep in water in the dark last night was such a great feeling, and that hit from a bass on braid when it nails the crab is insanely exciting. Roll on another day........