Duration: 1.00 - 5.30 pm
Tide: HW at 1.30 pm
Weather: Dry, light southwesterly breeze, mostly overcast
Bait: Rag
Rigs: Single hook flappers (sizes 2, 4), two hook flapper (size 2)
Results: Me: 8 Ballan Wrasse, 4 Corkwing Wrasse; Melissa: 2 Ballan Wrasse, 1 Corkwing Wrasse
Report: As the winds were weak I decided to head to West Cork for some wrasse/pollock fishing. We went to a small pier on the Mizen Peninsula. I last fished it about a year ago but the results were poor that day (although Melissa got a 4 lb pollock that time). There had been strong winds that day and I had fished it over low tide. But I reckoned it was worth another bash. We got there about 1.00 pm. There were two guys already there, fishing for mackerel and about 7 divers but fortunately they were coming out of the water as we arrived.
I set up two rods baited with rag and dropped one down close to the pier and cast the other out a bit further. I waited for the divers to move off before doing some spinning. On the first cast with the bait rod in close I had a good Ballan Wrasse within a few minutes - a nice one of about 40 cm. The two mack bashers were amazed and wanted to know "Is that a pollock?" and "are you not going to eat it" as I dropped it back over the side of the pier. A succession of bites followed in quick succession all on the rod in close. I missed a good few and a few times the wrasse dived for cover in the rocks before I could haul them out.
The next fish was a Corkwing, followed by a plump 30 cm Ballan. I then caught the smallest wrasse I have ever had, a 12 cm Corkwing. A 21 cm Ballan followed and then a 35 cm Ballan.
In between the wrasse bites I did a bit of spinning in the hope of getting a pollock - it looked good pollock ground, deep water with lots of kelp but I didn't get a bite. Then a couple more anglers arrived, German tourists with telescopic rods. They set up to the right of me and fished for mackerel. So with a pair of mack bashers either side of me I decided to stick to bait fishing in close to the pier, the guys on my left had already snagged my line several times.
The German guys got a few mackerel but as far as I know all the other two guys got was a small juvenile pollock.
Next up was another 35 cm Ballan - quite a stocky one. This was followed by a 37 cm Ballan and then a 27 cm Ballan. I got another Corkwing after that.
Then Melissa wanted to have a go - shortly after giving her a rod she got a 23 cm Ballan. She almost had a few big ones after that but lost them as did I. One put a severe bend on the rod but went to ground. I took the rod from her and tried to pull him out but I couldn't budge it. I told her to leave the line slack for a while as it might come out from the rocks. That worked, the line came free but the fish was gone.
Eventually the mack bashers left so we had the pier to ourselves. - briefly - then the divers returned. They had left most of the gear there and must have gone for lunch. They then proceeded to jump off the pier directly in front of where we were fishing
I reckon that probably scared off every fish within about 50 m The bites slowed down after that - and the divers were only 10-15 m out - I think one of them lost something earlier and they were looking for it.
However, after a while the fish began to return, I got another Corkwing, followed by a 22 cm Ballan. Melissa then got her first Corkwing. She then followed that with a good 31 cm Ballan.
We packed up at 5.30 pm, the tide was dropping fast and the divers had probably scared off most of the bigger fish. I was going to fish another mark but it was getting late and we had to stop for an Indian on the way home so we left it at that.
So not a bad session, Melissa caught her first wrasse. However, it might have been a lot better without the divers.
I had hoped there might have been a few pollock about but we didn't have a hint of a bite on the spinning rod - I guess as it is easily accessible the pollock have probably been fished out of it.
. if we arrived at a mark to find it being used by swimmers or divers we would move on as a matter of common courtesy,,,,, but some of them see fit to almost fool around on top of your rigs and look at you as if you are the one causing a problem 
Although they would have seen us carefully put back all the fish.
