Joe Byrne – Tricks of the Trade
I recently met up with top match angler Joe Byrne at his tackle shop Courtown Harbour Sea Angling Centre. The shop started life through Mick Redmond, primarily as a woodwork shop but with a corner dedicated to supplying bait and tackle essentials to anglers in the know. In 2008 with Joe onboard, the shop expanded and began to stock rods, reels, and all the terminal tackle you could ever need. But it didn’t stop there. The shop now also offers a charter boat service with its two impressive boats ‘The Brazen Hussy II’ and ‘The Puffin’. Mick was a great skipper, and although he is no longer with us, the shop and the boats are in Joe’s capable hands. The shop is open 7 days a week, and more often than not Joe or someone else will still be around late in the evening.
The Brazen Hussy II
Over the last few years Joe has established himself as one of the country’s top match anglers. His results in competitions have been consistently good. He features regularly in competitions throughout the country and only recently was runner-up in the Irish Winter Beach Festival.
Joe tackles-up for the session
Joe was on the Irish team that travelled to Italy last year, and although the result wasn’t what the team had hoped for Joe recalls all the effort and preparation that went into the event. “We were confident during the lead up to the competition that we had done enough to get a result. We were catching well and placed 3rd on the official practice day”. But then the weather changed. We all know how the conditions can impact on our fishing, and for Joe and the other guys on the team unfortunately all their hard work in the lead-up was in vain.
It’s an unfortunate reality facing the teams travelling abroad to foreign waters, that although countless hours can be spent practicing in advance, building up a knowledge of what does and does not work, the weather can change bringing local knowledge and past experience of the venue into play.
For example, local anglers from the Mediteranean and those familiar with fishing the area will know automatically if the conditions are calm enough for garfish. They will have the confidence to persevere fishing for them knowing that if they keep doing the right thing, they will get their opportunity and should be able to pull one or two fish out. On the other hand, an angler from these shores may have a doubt in their mind about whether they are doing the right thing, and are more than likely going to change tactics after an hour of blanking. This could prove to be a bad decision.
Joe reels in steadily, taking care that any fish hooked doesn't fall off on the way in
I don’t know how he did it, but Joe somehow managed to get the sun to shine all day. I was a bit disorientated by the big bright thing in the sky at first as it had been so long since I had seen it, but after a while the strange sensation of feeling warm while outside became familiar again (i even managed a bit of sunburn!).
It was evident from Joe’s setup just how much of an influence the continental style of fishing has had on anglers here. The first thing I asked Joe was where were his beach rods? Gone are the days of 8 foot tips sticking out of a rod holdall. Joe’s main rods for competitions are a pair of 15’ Grauvell Teklon Surf Competitions, and a 15’ Grauvell DH Surf. His traditional beach rod of choice is a Daiwa TDXS133 and this gets used if fishing a match for dogfish, cod etc.
Grauvell Teklon Surf Competitions
Joe pairs his Teklon with the super-smooth Daiwa Basia fixed spool. Tapered lines are preferred, and the line-lay from the Basia is impeccable. For more traditional fishing with a multiplier, Joe likes the Daiwa 7HT Mags. These are loaded with black Ultima F1 line.
Daiwa Basia - lightweight, super-smooth, and impeccable line-lay
Running a fishing shop has its advantages and Joe is never short of tackle. Again, the continental influence is very evident when you open his seatbox. One thing that Joe stressed the importance of was the choice of lead. “The lead you choose has a direct impact on the way your rig fishes”. Joe told me many instances where a simple change of lead had resulted in immediate results. “A six ounce grip lead is great when you need to hold bottom at distance, but it’s useless if you need to search out any features that may be holding a few fish”. The selection of leads was impressive, and Joe managed to hide a few of his favourite ones from the camera! I suspect they cannot be bought in this country anyway.
Joe carries a wide range of leads. Don't limit yourself by using the same lead in all situations.
While the weather was great for sunbathing, it didn’t do the fishing any good. Still, Joe managed to scratch out a few fish for the camera. Joe posesses all the important qualities that make a successful match angler, from being fully prepared in advance of a competition to being fully aware of what is going on during it. His work ethic on and off the beach is second to none, and through this he has gotten results from supposedly bad-pegs when other ‘lazier’ anglers would not have.
I’m looking forward to a day out on one of the boats when the Tope arrive, and Joe has promised me sunshine again. The tope fishing around Courtown can be spectacular, and if you’ve been after a big one i strongly urge you to give Joe a shout – he’ll put you right.
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- The Brazen Hussy II
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- Joe tackles-up for the session
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- Joe reels in steadily, taking care that any fish hooked doesn’t fall off on the way in
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- Grauvell Teklon Surf Competitions
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- Daiwa Basia – lightweight, super-smooth, and impeccable line-lay
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- Joe carries a wide range of leads. Don’t limit yourself by using the same lead in all situations.
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- Daiwa 7HT Mag
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- Joe sets the rod in the tripod and waits for a bite
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- Joe baits up with small wriggly baits, hoping they can attract a fish in the clear water
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- Small white-ragworm can be deadly at times
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- A bucket of water is kept handy, along with a disgorger for ease of hooking.
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- Spare hooks, beads, bait stops etc. Kamasan Match 4’s are regularly used.
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- Rig-wallets have been replaced by rig-winders.
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- A small flounder is Joe’s first fish. The cocktail of white-ragworm and wriggling maddies proved irresistible.
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- This whiting fell to a small lug bait fished slightly further out.
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- Joe’s modified seat-box with handy side-tray
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- If there’s no fish in your peg, you can always fish someone else’s!
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- Luminous floating beads often attract an extra fish or two.
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- Normal bait elastic can be too thick and can cut into small, delicate baits. This fine elastic from Stonfo will not.
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- Tapered lines provide a seamless transition from your mainline to shockleader, and there are no knots for weed to catch on.
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- Different size baiting needles for presentation, and disgorgers for safe unhooking of fish
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- A simple piece of wire greatly helps with presentation of crab baits, mussel, and even frozen lug and strips of mackerel.
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- Step 1 – The bait is laid along the wire, and whipped with elastic.
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- Step 2 – The bait can now be easily threaded onto your hook like a worm.
3 comments on “Joe Byrne – Tricks of the Trade”
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Irish Sport Fishing 
Excellent read! Keep up the good work 😉
Another brilliant piece, great pics and lots of excellent info. Our top anglers are all a great bunch and nice to see them opening their beach buddies to us all. Here s hoping the profiles continue each month.
Best Regards.
Cheers lads!