Now I must admit that the depths of winter does not give me many thoughts of light tackle bassing. Cod, yes, conger fishing with ultra-heavy gear, of course, but casting lures for one of our premier sport fish ? This though is Ireland, land of the bass, home to the unexpected, a true mecca for the forward thinking shore angler. Do you want to find your own quiet marks, far from prying eyes, off the beaten track, stashed full of fish, and just waiting to be discovered ? If so, then head to Ireland. That's what Graham Hill did; in fact he fell in love with the area so much he moved there with his family !! A more sensible angler would be hard to find.

To be honest, the light is just so good today that I can see myself simply standing back and photographing Graham chasing the bass. The rocks are slippery enough to make it difficult going, and numerous gullies need to be waded : hence the need for chest waders and decent grips. I have to have a few casts, its just too perfect-looking not to, but I am happy to wield a camera instead of a rod for most of today. You can sense Graham buzzing with anticipation, conditions look that good : the day's previous southerly wind has left some colour and life to the water, and the current biting northerly wind has helped to flatten it off and allow us full access to the low water rocks. The theory is that we use the spring tide to access the furthest rocks and reefs and then move back with the flooding waters. But my first cast came a little too close to hooking a seal !!

If lure fishing is your thing, then the extensive coastline from Cork to Wexford warrants some of your time. Masses of bass marks are revealed as the tide recedes, from lonely strands, estuaries and coves, right through to the kind of place we are fishing today. I can think of a number of fly fishermen who would kill to fish this place that Graham has brought me to. The ground in front of us is fairly shallow, with lots of partly submerged weed, hook hungry reefs and very promising looking gullies. Any kind of lure that sinks deep on the retrieve is of no use today, hence Graham's love for the Storm Jointed Thundersticks that swim a foot or two below the surface. His favourite one has accounted for countless large bass and with a wistful twinge he claims to be retiring it in the near future !! Graham very much likes to fish braid straight through to the lure as he likes the direct contact and lack of stretch; and yes, he knows how to use a reel's drag system properly. You have to if you use braid as much as he does.

After a few fruitless casts we come back to the sand and walk further north, towards an area that looks very promising. Graham gingerly makes his way out to the furthest rock possible whilst I put my rod down and break open the camera bag. No sooner have I done this and he's shouting back at me, rod bent over, manic grin on his face, bass on !! As fast as the weed strewn rocks will allow, I'm scrambling towards him and taking all the pictures I can. Not a large bass, but in such fantastic condition, so firm to hold, so strong and spirited, so easy to return after the obligatory photo call.

Just how big can the bass get in this neck of the woods ? Graham's best weighed in at an incredible 16 lbs 11 ozs, caught by bumping a spinner across the bottom of a local estuary mouth. A huge fish, but there are bigger : he has heard of one over 19 lbs caught recently off nearby Tramore Strand. Now perhaps you will see why a bass fanatic like Graham so raves about this corner of the Emerald Isle. He is happy to see people head off down west to the popular Dingle and Kerry areas, happy in the knowledge he is living and fishing amongst one of Ireland's best kept secrets. He has caught double figure bass almost every month of the year (bearing in mind that there is a close season from mid-May to mid-June).

Even from my vantage point I could see the size of the swirl behind Graham's lure as a large bass flashed at Graham's Thunderstick. The obligatory expletives carried across the water, but at least fish were obviously on the feed and were not scared by the seals. Indeed Graham likes to see seals when he is bass fishing : where I presumed they would spook the fish, he in fact believes that the bass stay within casting range due to a fear of the predators, and importantly, they seem to keep feeding whilst almost corralled nearby. Kind of like a bunch of sheepdogs making sure their flock stay put. But then I am sure the seals pick off their fair share of fish !!

Graham soon hooked another fish that swam straight towards the shore and behind the rock on which he was perched, twisting and turning all the time. Gentle pressure on the bass eventually brought perhaps 4 lbs of absolute prime winter fish to hand and up for the required pictures. You could see how well developed the fish was by the struggle Graham was having securing a decent grip for the photos. A full stomach, a well-developed and muscular flank, perfect fins, I have rarely seen bass look so good and healthy. Neither of us are desperately keen on eating fish and so it was returned to the sea to gamble with seal-alley.

I had to try and catch one myself. I put the camera gear down away from the water's edge, waded out as far as possible, and launched my lure seawards. As it came over a load of week a fish swirled and then grabbed my plug. Pretty small, get it in and return it as fast as possible because Graham's got another fish on, but at least I've caught a little piece of perfect Irish silver. The way that dorsal fin bristles will forever live with anglers in their dreams.

This was fast turning into one of the most special day's fishing I can remember in a long time. No huge fish wanted to grab our lures, but who cares ? I lost count of the number of bass that Graham hooked and landed, plus he had reasonable interest from a couple of monsters. We did not see a hint of any other anglers who might fish these outrageously inviting waters, the weather was just about perfect, albeit pretty cold, and we could fish so light and uncomplicated.

Bass can be caught in so many places and using so many methods, but part of me will always live for a bit of Irish bassing. I am generally happy wherever I go fishing, but start to look seriously at Irish shore fishing and you will soon realise that solitude, numbers of fish and sheer diversity of terrains make this island something seriously special. I implore you to go and fish across the water; it might change you forever.

To reach this part of Ireland, the easiest way is via the Stena Line ferry between Fishguard (West Wales) and Rosslare (south east Ireland) : look at www.stenaline.co.uk for all the details.

If you want to stay at a very angler friendly B&B, run by Carol Hill (Graham's wife), then look at : http://www.bedandbreakfastireland.net/ Wexford_ShadyNookBB.htm (they also take caravans and tents)

or tel : +353 (0)51 428932 or email : cazgee@gofree.indigo.ie

For further info on fishing in Ireland, look at www.tourismireland.com or call 0845 603 0001 and ask for a free fishing info pack.