East Cork - 8th June 2008

[RockHunter]

People: Me

Duration: 7.30 - 9.50 pm

Tide: HW at 10.20 pm

Weather: Calm, light southerly breeze, warm, cloudy

Bait: sandeel, mackerel

Rigs: Size 1 two hook flapper, feathers, lures

Results: 3 dogfish, 1 pollock




Report: I returned to a mark that I had first fished a couple of times two weeks ago. This time I set up on a small rock promontory east of the beach. I baited up the two hook flapper with sandeel tipped with mackerel and cast it out into deep water. Then I tried spinning the feathers in case mackerel or pollock were around - but no bites.

The other rod was constantly showing small bites but nothing was hooked. Eventually I managed to hook something - hauled in a dogfish.

Rebaited and cast out again - the same thing - timid bites but nothing hooked for quite a while - then another dogfish.

I did some lure spinning with the other rod thinking that there should be some pollock around - it looked likely pollock ground - deep water clefts between rocks. But didn't get a bite.

About 9.30 I decided to pack up but first thought I would give the feathers a go again - this time I got a hit but the fish shook itself free about 5 m from the base of the cliff. I got a glance at the fish - it was probably a pollock. I cast out a few more times and then got a juvenile pollock. I had a few more casts but no more bites.

I got back to packing up and started to retrieve the other line, but felt something pulling on it - it was another dogfish. He had fully swallowed the hook but there was not even a indication of a bite.

The light was beginning to fade at that stage - I would have liked to have fished into darkness but I needed to get home reasonably early.

I forgot to bring my camera so took some pics with the phone - sorry about the quality

[jamison]

sounds like a decent enough session, crap pics alright, but they look like really good oil paintings:) did ya do anything to them, or is that just the phone?

[RockHunter]

Thats just the phone - all I did was crop and resize them.

That mark looks very promising - i didn't have much variety of bait - no time to go digging lug/rag - so just made do with sandeel and mackerel. I reckon there would be a good chance of wrasse there if I had the right bait.

Forgot to mention in the report that I hooked up a mackerel head and dropped it into a deep water pool close to the base of the rocks in the hope of a conger - something was nibbling on it then there was a strong knock on the rod - nothing hooked but the mackerel head was gone.

By the way could somebody tell me what is the best way to hook up a mackerel head?