Duration: 14th 12pm-6pm 16th 11am-3pm
Tide: 14th LW 4PM 16th HW 3pm
Weather: scorching sun and hardly a breath of wind
Bait: softies and hardbacks, lug, mack, rag and mussle
Rigs: sacrifical 1 hook 3/0 rotten bottom
Results: 14TH ME- 9 ballan wrasse to almost 4lb, cuckoo wrasse and a launce DAN- 4 ballan wrasse. 16TH 9 doggies to almost 3lb
Report: MONDAY 14TH JUNE EAST ANTRIM ROCK MARK
well it was monday again and dan's day off work so i decided to give a new mark a go that another angler passed onto me in confidence. after being swore to secrecy on a fate worse than death he relyably informed me that this rough ground spot offered the potential for a specimen cuckoo wrasse
. so as you can guess i did'nt need to hear any more as my mind was made up as to where we were headed to 
. i checked our crab traps at the weekend and got about 3 peelers and 8 softies (which i reckon are just as good as the peelers so long as they are still squidgy 
) and about 20 wee hardbacks. digging was a bit patchy and so we only had about 20 lug and a half pound of rag. but that was enough for a short 6 hour session 
. we assessed the mark on arrival and found a perch from where we could safely fish and i got sorted and cast out. i was using 50lb braid so i could feel the kelp tugging the line and the rocks knocking on the lead so i reckoned i was in the right spot. within seconds something snaffled my rag and gave a good tug and i began to reel in holding the rod tip straight up so as to try and avoid the kelp forest and get me fish in safely,,, and boy was i glad i did as a lovely male cuckoo wrasse broke the surface at my feet . this was great, we were only here 5 mins and i'd got the target species already. he weighed in at 12ozs and to be honest i thought he looked heavier 
. but unlike us anglers, the scales do'nt lie 
. to say i was chuffed to bits was an understatement, so i baited up again and cast back out. meanwhile dan was getting bites but his rod was on the tripod and not in his hand, so the wrasse kept dragging him into the underwater forest and a lot or rigs and fish were lost in quick time 
. i opted to keep the rod in my hand and to strike like i was hooking up a tope at the first sign of the faintest twitch and was having considerabley better sucess with the bigger ballan wrasse going mad for the softies and hardback crabs i was offering them. i got a few crackers who were just shy of 4lb and a couple over 3lb. but dan was having a nightmare losing a few good fish to the kelp 
as the bait began to run low i decided to chuck out a set of feathers just to see what was kicking about this mark and i thought i was reeling in a wee pollock or coalie. but was made up to see a big launce attached to the rig. i have'nt had one of those yet and he wriggled free off the hook just as i got him up on the rocks. dan almost wet himself laughing as he watched me pounce on top of it before it esacped back to the big blue yonder like a hungry cat on a mouse . i was'nt for letting him escape as i never pass up the opportunity for a bit of fresh bait . dan was a bit stumped as to why i seemed more excited about catching this than i was about the big ballan's or the cuckoo. but a new species for my ever growing list was a great way to end the day for me 
WEDNESDAY 16TH JUNE ANOTHER EAST ANTRIM ROCK MARK.
not too much to report on this one. i had a load of mack to use up and headed out in search of some huss. but from the get go the doggies were munching my baits before a huss could follow the scent trail in
i gotta admitt that the old WD40 bait additive is brilliant and i never leave home without it now sadly my own dog cody was feeling the heat and drank her way through a 2 litre bottle of water by 3pm. she could'nt find any shade to hide away from the belting sun and was plumb tuckered by 3pm so i decided to wrap it up and get her home to give her a good soaking out the back with the hose (which she loved) . but i was happy with 9 dogs for 4 hours on one rod. and one of them was'nt a kick in the bum off 3lb. so it put a nice bend in the rod as i reeled her in curled up in a ball. to be honest i thought it was gonna be a nice huss by the weight of it, but i was happy to settle for a porky doggie 
I love the picture of the cuckoo wrasse, the colours on them are just brilliant looking.
, but i gotta admitt it's hard to draw myself away from the wrasse at the moment 
