Duration: noon to 5.30pm
Tide: high water at 4.30pm
Weather: no wind, and burnt to a frazzle
Bait: mack and mushy rag
Rigs: 1 up 1 down, conger gear assorted spinners, lures and feathers
Results: 2 ballan wrasse, 1 doggie, 1 coalie, a long spined sea scorpion and a herring gull
Report: i decided to give this mark a wee go as i have'nt been up this neck of the woods in a while. all i had left in the freezer were a few mack but i reckoned one of the tackle shops in portrush would have some rag on route. i arrived at the shop but the rag was'nt gonna be in until after 1pm but the guy in the shop had a few bags left over from his own trip yesterday. they did'nt look the healthiest but he gave me them for free as they were only gonna be binned
. so armed with some mushy rag and the last few mack from the freezer at home i headed on round to the mark. when i got to the spot the sea was flat calm and the sun was doing it's best to melt me baldy dome, and in my haste to get out i left the sunscreen at home 
. this was gonna be a short session as i was already lobster red 
as i was setting up i got chatting to another angler who was spinning with lures and he had already got a few wee pollack but mentioned the lack of any mack. i was hopeing to mabey bag a few as last years supply has run out at home. but i got set up anyhow with 2 rods fishing the bottom and the conger gear just over the edge of the rocks. the first 3 hours were slow with my only catch being a bloody big herring gull who had snaffeled some mack on my rig that i was baiting up . the cheeky git silently flew in from behind me and nearly flew off with my rig, reel and rod. and for anyone not familiar with one of these gulls they're just a bit smaller than a swan christ only knows what the tourists thought i was up to wrestling a bloody big bird on the rocks it was one hell of a job getting him under my arm so i could unhook him, but i'm happy to say i ended up the victor and he flew off none the worse for his experience. we used to get a brave dose of gulls in the vets when i worked there years ago with broken or injured wings. and thankfully the handling procedures all came flooding back 
so slightly paranoid, occasionally looking up at the sky i fished on and got the first fish of the day. a wee doggie not long after i kept getting wee knocks on the rod baited with rag, but i just could'nt hook him up 
. undaunted i baited up for what must have been the 4th time in 5 mins and got the wee robber red handed. a wee long spined sea scorpion came up not even on the hook. he was just dangling off the end of the worm trying to suck his way up it like a 5 year old eating spaghettie for the first time . so i tore the worm off the hook and let him munch at it while i got his pic taken. i returned him with his worm and noticed the other rod was slack and reeled in a wee ballan wrasse 
result!!! 2 fish in 2 mins!!. i was starting to cook so began packing away and got my last fish of the day, another wee ballan wrasse. all in all not a bad day out, but the lack of mack is becoming an issue as i might have to start buying some soon instead of me freebies in the freezer at home i did notice lots of fry hanging in close to the rocks, but not a mack in sight 
not even any bird activity out to the horizon to indicate their presence either. when i was chatting to the local guy earlier he reckoned there were'nt to many taken from this mark lately either. i just hope they turn up soon as my freezer is needing filled 
pity about the mack,there in clew bay all right,but not in any great numbers! still early yet!
