county antrim, 3 marks, 1 day, 1 specimen. tue 23rd feb

[Al and Jordan]

People: me and dan

Duration: 3pm to 10pm

Tide: LW 8pm

Weather: 10mph easterly building to 30mph gusts. sleet, snow and -2 degrees

Bait: rag, lug, mack, squid, sand eels and razor

Rigs: 3 hook flappers, 2 up 1 down, 2 hook pats and 2 hook wire boom flappers

Results: ME: 2, 3 bearded rockling (specimen just shy of 2lbs) and DAN: 1 poor cod

Report: i had a chat with dan on monday and we decided to give portstewart strand a go as it's a place i've never fished and there have been rumors of the odd silver chaps been caught out that way . so the car was loaded and we were at the mark just before 3pm. things got off to a comical start as we decided to drive on up the beach to scout a good spot with a gully to fish into. everything was great until i stopped the car and discovered the sand was really soft and soon enough the front 2 wheels were buried to the bumper . we tried everything to get moving again with no luck. i even put the car mats under the 2 front wheels to try and get that wee bit of momentum going. in the end i resorted to brute force and ignorance and just dropped the clutch and nailed the accelerator spinning the steering wheel until i got some traction and out of the ditch the car had just dug out in the sand . next time i think i'll roll up the window thow as the sand blew into the car and near blinded me .
any way, back to the fishing . after 4 fishless and biteless hours we decided a change of venue was on the cards as we were beginning loose any hope of seeing a fish . we threw everything at it. 2 rods nailed to the horizon and 2 in close and dan even set up a third rod to spin and plug in the surf. but it just was'nt ment to be . so plan B was hatched and we went round to portrush harbour to even try for something just to beat the blank.
thankfully it's only 5 mins round the corner and we were set up and fishing again in no time but after 2 hours fishing 5 rods we were still biteless never mind fishless . despairation began to set in and dan twisted my arm to go to our second rockling mark where jordan got his treble and i got my double. so everything was taken down and we hit the road again. so 15mins later we were set up (again) for our last ditch effort to fend off the blank. it's only a small mark with enough room for 3 anglers at best, so we hogged the whole spot and got 5 rods out again . almost instantly my rod got a rattle and i landed a nice specimen 3 beardy at just under 2lbs phew!! blank beaten and a nice fish to beat it with so with plenty of pics taken he was released to grow a bit fatter to be caught again in the future . i've ordered a set of those expensive £60 scales so i can get them certified and we can finally claim some of those wee chaps up to now that makes 4 specimens we could have claimed if we had the scales, but not to worry as i'm sure karma will reward us for not killing them just for a bit of paper . dan was getting a few knocks, but no hook up's and i was into another 3 beardy next who was just under 1lb and a half . well chuffed or what . this wee guy decided to leave me with a parting gift as he threw up all over my arms, rod, reel and car before being photographed and returned . i was made up but poor dan had still to catch . but thankfully dan finally got a fish. a wee poor cod . and despite it only being a tiddler, it was one of the hardest worked for fish that i've seen in a long time . soon after dan packed up and retreated to the car as he looked like he was coming down with a bad dose of the flu and the wind, sleet and snow was starting to take it's toll on him. so i packed down and we hit the road for home. i have'nt had to work so hard just to get a fish in a long time, but it was worth the wait .
just as a side note, no more pm's regarding the whereabouts of these mark please lads. i wanna keep it under wraps as the thought of a half dozen lads turning up at those spots and killing every fish over 794g just to claim it would be heartbreaking to me. i put a lot of time and effort (and money) into finding these spots so please respect my wishes and don't get in a hump if i do'nt fancy revealing it's location to you, it's not a personal thing to any one. i just do'nt fancy being responsible for a mass rockling massacre

[RockHunter]

Well done on another specimen rockling - you really put in the effort to get that.
Good that Dan eventually got a fish to avoid a blank.

[evan699]

You're gettin some cracking fish recently. I've caught congers in the past that would be a meal for some of those rockling. Is it over rocky ground you catch them. I've never targeted them because i didn't realise they grew that big, but looking at some of them they could be worth a shot. I won't ask ya for your mark. I'm from cork so no matter how big the rockling grow up there, i still don't reckon it'd be worth the drive.

[FisherKing]

Big well done Al your the king of the Rockling Never seen so many big ones been caught Glad Dan got a fish & save the blank Iv blanked twice in the past week Hopefully Monday will throw up some good fish for us

[Fentster]

Well done on the specimen Al
10/10 for perseverance guys

[chrisfeeney30]

christ thats a nice rockling, well done

[junior conger]

nice rockling

[KERRY1]

Excellent stuff guys, well done to you both

[colin c]

Nice one mate, fair play till yee.
Your just right keeping that mark to yourself.Theres nothing worse than some idiots leeching onto one of your favourite spots and then you'll never get peace to fish it again.

[bigbadtom]

Well done lads for your perseverance. It paid off for you

[Ronald]

Nice one Al, dont forget your more than welcome to borrow my scales until you get a set certifyed, though your luck will run out as soon as you get them

[doggie3131]

another one!! jordan must be getting miffed at this!!your begining to upstage him!!

[boyler]

Well done Al,some nice fish there.The time and effort you have put in has really paid of,Your just right in not giving away the details of the mark,we all know the consequences of giving away the details of a good mark.

Fair play to ya man those Rockling's are beauts.

Regards Paddy

[thelegend]

another beaut mate well done, fair play for stickin it out

[dfella25]

Fair play lads nothing like persistence for a pay off. Ask my misses But nice to get some nice fish with the hours being put in Al. Delighted for yourself and Jordan.

[Al and Jordan]

Well done on another specimen rockling - you really put in the effort to get that.
Good that Dan eventually got a fish to avoid a blank.

cheers frank. it was tough going the blank was looking like it was on the cards but, third time lucky

You're gettin some cracking fish recently. I've caught congers in the past that would be a meal for some of those rockling. Is it over rocky ground you catch them. I've never targeted them because i didn't realise they grew that big, but looking at some of them they could be worth a shot. I won't ask ya for your mark. I'm from cork so no matter how big the rockling grow up there, i still don't reckon it'd be worth the drive.

no probs evan. they love rough ground with loads of boulders and kelp or cracks in old harbour walls where they can hide and lay up. breakwaters are always worth a go to target them another thing i've noticed at the 2 marks we get them at, you never see any crab activity i think they have munched them all or the crabs just give their territory a wide birth so as not to end up on the menu . some of the ones we've caught have had bellies full of hard objects you can feel when you give them a rub which i'm guessing are crab too hope this helps man

Big well done Al your the king of the Rockling Never seen so many big ones been caught Glad Dan got a fish & save the blank Iv blanked twice in the past week Hopefully Monday will throw up some good fish for us

cheers man. the fishing is getting tough again but sure,,, if you're not in you can't win . looks like it's time to start bringing out the pocket radio with us again to kill some of the dead time between bites hopefully we'll get something on monday

Well done on the specimen Al
10/10 for perseverance guys

thanks fenton another month or 2 and you'll be dusting off the rods and getting back out there again man

christ thats a nice rockling, well done

thanks chris

nice rockling

cheers JC

Excellent stuff guys, well done to you both

thanks paula. how's the form with you both?

Nice one mate, fair play till yee.
Your just right keeping that mark to yourself.Theres nothing worse than some idiots leeching onto one of your favourite spots and then you'll never get peace to fish it again.

thanks colin nahh man, it's nothing like that. i like seeing other people doing well too, it's just a lot of people who asked me where the 2 marks are also said if they had got a specimen 3 beardy and had no certified scales the fish would have been killed and sent off to dublin then they wonder why i'm not gonna tell them where the marks are i know everyone has their own thoughts on claiming a specimen fish. but for us,, if it ment having to kill it just to claim it. we would rather just get a few quality pics for the album and put him back to grow older and bigger. after all, a 2lb fish in 2010 could be a possible record fish in a few years time so your only shooting yourself in the foot for what could be in the future

Well done lads for your perseverance. It paid off for you

thanks tom. it was a hard fished session

Nice one Al, dont forget your more than welcome to borrow my scales until you get a set certifyed, though your luck will run out as soon as you get them

cheers ronald. i did'nt think we would end up at that mark . dan's club have offered me the loan of their scales too, but what's the betting if we had them with us we would'nt have seen a single rockling . but not to worry as my one's will be here soon enough thanks for the offer again thow, it's appreciated man

another one!! jordan must be getting miffed at this!!your begining to upstage him!!

no doubt he'll put me back in my place at the weekend and it will be buisness as usual again

Well done Al,some nice fish there.The time and effort you have put in has really paid of,Your just right in not giving away the details of the mark,we all know the consequences of giving away the details of a good mark.
Fair play to ya man those Rockling's are beauts.
Regards Paddy

cheers paddy . i was beginning to wonder where you'd got too man . i take it you're waiting for the better weather to arrive before you get back out again

another beaut mate well done, fair play for stickin it out

cheers man. i was just chuffed not to blank . at one stage i'd have settled for a wee poor cod too . so it was an excellent bonus to get the 3 beardy's

Fair play lads nothing like persistence for a pay off. Ask my misses But nice to get some nice fish with the hours being put in Al. Delighted for yourself and Jordan.

cheers man. funny thin is that it's one of those marks we've never even seen another angler at yet just goes to show that you can find the odd hidden gem in amongst some marks that people regard as fishless spots

[Dawsey]

Well done lads for sticking it out. Ya's put the effort in and managed another specimen, hats off to ya's. Hmmm I need a rockling for 2010, a specimen would also be nice! But 1st the coursework! Am I the only one getting stressed out by assignments etc etc???

[dfella25]

cheers man. funny thin is that it's one of those marks we've never even seen another angler at yet just goes to show that you can find the odd hidden gem in amongst some marks that people regard as fishless spots

Yeah I have a nice fishless spot here in Dublin that flounder don't be around at all

[mitch]

hi al
2 speciems thats nice fishing well done , they are massive looking fish great colours .fair play
to you for sticking it out and getting your reward

[roger de dodger]

fair play al ,i,m not one to moan but that tea towel under the fish really ruins that pic not to worry just making a note for the next time i get one that size