Duration: 7pm-10:30pm
Tide: low water approx. 6:30pm
Weather: overcast but warm, dead calm
Bait:Mack, sandeel, rag and lug
Rigs: 3/0 pulley, float, drill bullet simple leger
Results: 3 Corkwing(?) wrasse, 3 dogfish, 2 thornback ray, bullhuss and giant starfish
report:
I Had paintings to collect from galway yesterday, so took full opportunity to get in some great fishing. This week has been my karma payback for saving that red setter a while back in Portmarnock - Sold a few paintings, caught a bull island Bass and then THIS fishing session.....
Went out wednesday night at 11pm digging bait, haha, never done that by headlamp light, interesting, hard to spot the hoors..
Got up early then and got some mack in howth, the shop had a weird selection of fish on it's slab- mack, bream, then lots of huge wrasse and A Tope, but I d o like the shops out there, always a great choice of fish..
anyhow, rang ahead to stanleys , clifden to secure sandeel, as they sell some monster sandeel there, always work well for me...
got setup to fish at 7pm, water so calm , was great. had 2 rods out with 3/0 pulleys and sandeel on one, sandeel/mack on other.
five mins later- the sandeel rod started bobbing... i lifted into somethin decent...my first ray....ever... the beast stayed down in the water right til the edge of rocks, then loomed outta the kelp.. Jaysus! big fish... I was so chuffed.. Of course, then the main line snapped attached to the rig.. fish gone.
bait back up and fish on..
while waiting for the big fishies, I put out my telescopic zebco rod, a small travel rod that has slayed many sea beasts. Had a float, and was catchin a few small wrasse, one had some horrid tumours on it's side, just under it's gill
AS i reeled in what I thought was a doggie, I got a pleasant surprise of a giant starfish scoffing my bait, and i mean giant, I had large 3/0 on, as you can see from pic. girlfriend had great fun examingint this creature, then back to the gobies and bleenies she was tormenting in the pools/
Bisandeel/mack rod started hoppin, so i grabbed it, thinkin ray on.... a dogfish was all i was rewarded with. quick pic, then back with it.
as i rebaited, the sandeel rod went again, slowily, but surely.. Finally got my first ever ray, a thornback of 4lb 13 oz.
2 more doggies after this, standard size, nice chaps
I had taken float off telescopic rod, opting for drilled bullet, swivel, 1/0 and a sliver of mack belly, hoping for some minis, just down off the weed, about 10 ft from shore. this rod began movin soon, I presumed crabs...
he went back with the usual arrogance of them, but I do love bull huss, aim to catch a 10lb plus before emnd of summer.
after this I missed a few bites, before landing a smaller thornback, just over 2lb. what awhat a session, I could not stop smiling, even the 3/0 I took to the finger couldn't pry the smile off, I had been holding the wet hook lenght, and foolishly tripped bale arm off a rock edge, causing 6 oz lead to plummet, hook into index finger, with the bone stopping it short of the barb going in!!
what a classic session, one for the books, Had to leave only due to nightfall, and the walk across rough ground.
tight lines
Dáire