killard point and ballyhornan co. down 03/04/09

[Al and Jordan]

People: just me

Duration: 11am-9pm

Tide: all

Weather: mild wind and sunny (even got sunburn)

Bait: rag, lug, mack, squid, sand eel, prawns and small hardback crabs

Rigs: all i could muster

Results: sod all




Report: decided to do a bit of recon today as our club has a comp out that way on sunday and man what a disaster . went to killard point first to try it out for a bit before i went on round to ballyhornan beach. it's a bit of a walk from the car but undaunted 40mins later i arrived at the spot i intended to fish. my first mistake was to wear wellies instead of shore boots with a thick sole as i was fishing from rocks that looked like slate. as i was jumping around the place it was like walking on the blades of axe heads . i had to pack up and leave 5 hours later as my feet were crippled. added to that every cast resulted in a lost lead, hooks or whole trace. i even chucked a float out at one stage while spinning with the other rod, but no joy so 6 traces, multiple hooks and 8 lost leads later i packed up and headed on round to ballyhornan beach to see if my luck would improve. at least the beach was clean ground, but none of the 3 rods i put out even got a knock, so by 9pm i admitted defeat and began to pack away. the only bonus of the day was having a chat with a local guy as i was packing up who told me where the only spot on the beach was that fished well. and suprise, suprise i was'nt at it he had some cracking pics on his phone of the sea trout and salmon he landed at the spot, so at least i now know where it is only problem is that he got them all after dark at high tide and those are'nt the conditions our comp will be playing into but he did tell me of another spot around the corner past st. patricks well that apparently always produces fish, so no prizes for guessing where me and jordan will be tomorrow a good day out that unfortunately produced no fish, but you gotta take the rough with the smooth i suppose

[eyesreilly]

Hard luck Al, but at least you picked up some valuable info there

[dfella25]

Can't win em all Al. But good to do a bit of defective work

[Bass Buster]

hard luck al with the fishing. I fished those marks last weekend and got sod all too.i will have to get a trip with ya sometime mate. Hard luck again but keep tryin

[saltydog]

Looks like the trip was worth it with the info picked up Unlucky on the blank there's few going around at the moment but sure thats fishing

[Al and Jordan]

Hard luck Al, but at least you picked up some valuable info there

the guy reckons it's got something to do with natural springs that seep up through that part of the beach it fools the sea trout and salmon into thinking there's a clean river or stream there so they mull about at that point. at first i thought he was having me on, but the pics he had on his phone were taken at the point he showed me. so it seemed legit enough. we'll just have to give it a go and find out ourselves

Can't win em all Al. But good to do a bit of defective work

it's one of those things that makes the trip not seem like a total loss. you can't beat a bit of local knowledge . it's just great that fellow anglers always seem happy to help each other out

hard luck al with the fishing. I fished those marks last weekend and got sod all too.i will have to get a trip with ya sometime mate. Hard luck again but keep tryin

no probs bryan, the more the merrier i always say . we've always wanted to try a few marks out that way, but it's hard to leave a regular mark when you know it's fishing well over an untested mark . there's another spot we've always wanted to try round at ardglass below the golf course. but unfortunately it's outta bounds for our comp on sunday. but we still want to give it a go in the next few weeks. when we do i'll drop you a p.m. and if you're free you can tie in wth us if you want.

Looks like the trip was worth it with the info picked up Unlucky on the blank there's few going around at the moment but sure thats fishing

ah well, it had to happen at some stage it just makes you more appreciative of the sessions when it all goes right i suppose

[Cormdogg]

Al let me be the first to say its about time you blanked or wouldn't appreciate the usual highly successful sessions you have! Its only encouraging me to be honest!

Sure thats what its all about, my cameras full of pics of rod stands!

[doggie3131]

hard luck alan,but at least you were out!!

[RockHunter]

Hard luck on the blank and all the lost leads and rigs. At least it was a nice sunny day - better to be out in the sunshine than stuck indoors.
Always good to try out new marks but blanking is the risk you run - but at least you got some good info on where to fish next time.

[Stephen8wood]

Ah lads, what a beautiful day to be out. Get the fish the next time.

[FMCN]

Pity about the blank Al. Some good rock marks between where you were on Ballyhornan beach and Ardglass on out past gun island. Never done much bottom fishing but plenty of good pollack (should be about now) and wrasse later in year. If you are heading out again give nme a shout and i'll show you a couple of marks.

[roger de dodger]

had a blank myself 1.5 hours of untouched baits on a dropping tide best lug and peeler i went home early as two little furry animals decided to play lets raid the bait bucket every time i turned my back ,little feckers got the better of me ,one animal i hate

[paulybo]

bad luck al its one of those catch22 situations as you said do you stick with youre normal marks or look for that hidden gem its never nice to loose a load of gear but look on the bright side if you hadnt bumped into the local you prabably wouldnt have went near that mark again

[Al and Jordan]

Al let me be the first to say its about time you blanked or wouldn't appreciate the usual highly successful sessions you have! Its only encouraging me to be honest! ;)Sure thats what its all about, my cameras full of pics of rod stands!

well, we're only human after all . just give me a few weeks at em and i'll figure out how to fish them sucessfully

hard luck alan,but at least you were out!!

Ah lads, what a beautiful day to be out. Get the fish the next time.

cheers guys, can't win em all. just good to get out to somewhere new all the same

Hard luck on the blank and all the lost leads and rigs. At least it was a nice sunny day - better to be out in the sunshine than stuck indoors.
Always good to try out new marks but blanking is the risk you run - but at least you got some good info on where to fish next time.

local information is always best, and if i had'nt have been there blanking i guess i would have never picked up the info, so the day was'nt a total loss

Pity about the blank Al. Some good rock marks between where you were on Ballyhornan beach and Ardglass on out past gun island. Never done much bottom fishing but plenty of good pollack (should be about now) and wrasse later in year. If you are heading out again give nme a shout and i'll show you a couple of marks.

cheers francis, i would really appreciate that. we went back up that way last night and scouted a few marks round the ballyhornan coastal path, there was a bit of a dangerous swell running so we did'nt chance fishing it. but there was plenty of empty flying c packets and berkley gulp firetail wrappers lying around so i'm guessing from the litter lout anglers rubbish that there's good pollack knocking around there. i'll drop you a p.m. mate

had a blank myself 1.5 hours of untouched baits on a dropping tide best lug and peeler i went home early as two little furry animals decided to play lets raid the bait bucket every time i turned my back ,little feckers got the better of me ,one animal i hate

we usually have to contend with the gulls nicking our macks in the summer, but at least we can see them well before they dive in

bad luck al its one of those catch22 situations as you said do you stick with youre normal marks or look for that hidden gem its never nice to loose a load of gear but look on the bright side if you hadnt bumped into the local you prabably wouldnt have went near that mark again

cheers paul, you and dawsey are gonna be in the same caravan park over easter, so we're going down on easter sunday for a session on the beach. if you're free get a rod out and join us mate. with 4 of us fishing we gotta get something

[round_ourway]

unlucky al no fish but some very vaulable info though.

howd u getting on yesterday

[paulybo]

cheers paul, you and dawsey are gonna be in the same caravan park over easter, so we're going down on easter sunday for a session on the beach. if you're free get a rod out and join us mate. with 4 of us fishing we gotta get something

eventually got a yes from the missus for sunday pm me with the details
tides dont look good for sunday with high tide at lunchtime and then again on monday at around 1am
wont know how far i can push myself untill we are actually there and fishing as this will be my first time out of the house since the operation but i will give it my best shot