Bass Anglers’ Sportfishing Society

Fighting for Bass and Bass Anglers’ since 1973

Book Review

A Guide To Shore Angling On The Dingle Peninsula by Bob Moss – Reviewed by Neil Fluke

In his Guide to Shore Angling on the Dingle Peninsula Bob Moss has created a remedy for Jeff Tucker’s Irish bass lament (BASS 87 Autumn ’98); a classic example of how not to embark on an angling expedition. If Jeff had been in possession of this guide book then his forlorn statement, As far as I can remember we could not find any bait, may well have been something like, We lost count of the fish we returned that evening. Bob has produced a guide that others should emulate. A difficult task. As this one is delivered from the heart of a man who has immersed himself (a great deal of the time literally!) for over thirty years in the waters around the Dingle Peninsula and in that time collecting eleven specimen fish awards for fish caught in the area (that figure would be more but Bob gave up killing fish just for the purpose of claiming a certificate several years ago).

The book covers from Tralee to Inch in an anticlockwise journey. Watch yourself here, as the first paragraph allows you to gently set foot on the Dingle Peninsula in comfort, and accompany Bob on an angling tour that’ll make you want to grab your gear, get over there now ? on the ferry/whatever and face the consequences when you get back ? to reality. Fishing memoirs are woven into the details, breathing life into the directions which are meticulous (Bob being aware of the cantankerous nature of Irish miles, and signposts that can often lead you to some mysterious fairy glen) – when making the turn though, set the car’s milometer to zero for we are heading for a location exactly two miles away. The integrity of the information is unquestionable. On bait collection for example, whereas previous guides have found it sufficient to identify the beds, Bob actually informs you of one lug bed to avoid as they are very long and watery and besides not keeping very well, have a tendency to fish badly. Time can be precious to the visiting angler and Bob also uses his experience here by suggesting fishing itineraries that integrate the prime fishing times of several marks which are in close proximity. Naturally the readership of this review will be bass orientated and Bob covers the traditional methods while contemporising it with the flavour of plugs, fly-fishing and direct inspirational challenges to anyone adventurous enough to give it a try.

This comprehensive 52 page guide should fulfill Bob’s purpose – to overcome the initial confusion and allow the angler to fish with confidence from day one, whilst still providing plenty of scope to explore, thereby appealing to the initiated s well as the newcomer. To my mind the book is more than a guide, it is an invitation to enjoy, appreciate and respect a small corner of the world with rod and line. An essential piece of kit for anyone intending to fish the Dingle Peninsula.

Copies of Guide To Shore Angling On The Dingle Peninsula can be obtained direct from:

Bob Moss, Ballydavid, Tralee, Co. Kerry, Eire, at a cost of £4.95 plus £1.00 p&p.

This article originally appeared in BASS Magazine No: 90 – Summer 1999