Hello all my name is David Tilly.
I have fished for the last 40 years.I started my fishing on the canals of Dublin and moved to the sea in Ringsend .This is were i served my time learning all the tricks of the sea angling game,i started to fish for the mackerel on my school holidays after a few years of catching them at ease on lures [The German sprat ,Halk ABU Coster.]
We at this stage the boys from the area i lived, were in to fishing their was around 20 of us i put this stage of my life down as the time i got fishing under my skin.The men in our area fished for bass from May till September and cod in the winter then flounders in March till the bass started again.
This was how the seasons rolled around at the start of my fishing life .I learned all the tricks of bait gathering from my dad who was one of the top bait men in Ireland ,This taught me about the tides and linking the two some how put me in a way to catch more fish than most.
I started match fishing and got to travel all around the country fishing places i had only read about in the journals of the time famous beaches like Inch strand ,Cats strand the Spla rock the Blue pool,Baltray.Morris castle beach and too many others to mention .
I fished for a lot of clubs in my early days my knowledge of tackle grew and as i went on i had another piece of the jigsaw to add to the ones i had gained in my younger years.I started winning and till i finished match fishing i was on the top winning every match in the country i was all Ireland champion 3 times in a row and i fished for Ireland 6 times not leaving the top 10 in the world any time i was their.I enjoyed the match fishing and gained another piece of the angling jigsaw on the way.
When i stopped match fishing i went back to sport, the one i was good at triathlons The competitor in me jumped out again i reached the top level again winning races all over Ireland and the world this is were i gained another piece the ability to keep going and never give up till you get were you want to be.
I stopped racing and found my love for fishing again bass ,this time from the kayak the joining of sport and fishing has brought me to wear i am today i love fishing for bass ,
Many of my mentors Mick Russell Billy Duffy are in Val Hal la now catching the bass as i can rember them in huge numbers running trough the surf and up the rivers and estuaries The tackle has changed and the bass are coming back so before i head to join them i might see the bass in the numbers that we all can enjoy and pass on to the next anglers coning in to the fishing circle of life.Dave Tilly.
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Guided fishing and bait shop.