Cork harbour 22nd Apr 2011

[tomgrey]

People:Me

Duration:9-12pm

Tide:low at 9

Weather: mild

Bait:crab

Rigs: 2 hook flappers

Results: 2 cod, 12 starfish and a heron




Report: Had some crab left over from a previous session, thought i'd use them up over a quick session in the harbour. Over the first hour I had a few bites but ended up just reeling in starfish after every cast. I even had 3 on the one hook on one cast. At about half ten I was reeling in after a couple of mins without a tap then as I got retriving I felt a couple of decent kicks. Pulled out a nice plump 45cm cod.

Happy with that I was determined to hang on for a while. On the next cast just after I put the rod down out of the side of my eye I see this heron flying into view then straight into my line , followed by a caw caw screech then splash, my rod was lifted into the air and straight into deep water! panic stations! my rod was sailing away with a heron tangled on the line about 50 yards out. My rod was staying afloat somehow even with the big tractor of a fixed spool on it but it was getting further out of sight quick, with the heron splashing away.

I quickly retrieved my other rod and began casting my gripper in between where I thought my rod was and the heron. After about 3 casts I caught the line somewhere in between the heron and my rod. I slowly watched both the heron and my rod coming back into range. I was on a height so I couldn't reach the rod once I got it in close. The heron had stopped splashing and just floated in too. I somehow managed to get hold of the tip of my rod, happy days, but I still had a tangled heron to deal with. The poor guy, at least he was calm. I began to slowly pull the line in with my hands until he was just below me. I couldnn't reach him though so I cut my line as close to him as I could and hoped he would free himself.

He began to float back out but looked as if he was still anchored down with my grip lead on the other end. I had an idea where it had landed so I got the other rod again and began casting in between where I thought it was and where the heron was floating. 1st cast I retrieved the grip lead along the bottom hoping not to snag, then I could see the heron was turning as I was retrieving so I knew I had it. I got my lead out of the water with the cut line and gripper on the other end. I slowly pulled them both back in until they were under me. I was pulling the heron back in then the line came free and the heron paddled to the shore and walked up the rocks. Pheew!!

He just walked up to the top of the beach and stood huddled in a corner. I thought he might be injured so I got my jacket and walked up over and behind him where he couldn't see me. As soon as I got near him though he took flight. I was glad that he wasn't injured after all that, maybe just shock. After that ordeal I got the gear back in the water and fished out a few more starfish and crabs and another nice 41cm codling before I packed up . I thought I'd get a mixed bag of fish from that spot but didn't expect any flying species. I will pray that never happens again....

[tight lines]

lucky man or should i say lucky bird well done on the fishing there seems to be a lot of star fish everywere over the last couple of weeks wonder what the story is with them all well that ends well fair play on the rescue (rod and heron)

[yngkmd]

good job getting the rod back and freeing the heron

i had a similar expierence last year with a big seagull, i too was surprised the rod floated, got it back and then i also had to wrestle the gull to get the line untangled from it.
wouldnt fancy having to try and wrestle a heron though

also nice fish

[Ronnach]

Fair play to you for the fine job on freeing the heron, and well done on those cod! Must have been tough going trying to get the heron freed but glad it it all worked out. The worst I ever had was a gannet who took my feather rig, but we managed to free him easily enough as was able to reel him in.

[fishy1987]

wow nice catch and release there tom ,thats a first christ,i caught a gull flying over head before and took on with my line a sad ending to that story. one to tell your kids the kids lol !and couple of cod aswell must get on to you there soon
tightlines
fergal.

[nicefish]

Nice one with the Cod. I didn't know the birds were that easy to pull in Cork.

[Surfrod]

Tomgrey.
That was a cracking great read. Full of suspense and drama.
And well done on your two cod.

[Donnyboy1]

Great story, great fish! Well done, and its good to be nice to nature, karma and all

[saving private brian]

beautiful cod tom,,,,great to see them still around,,,,they never all leave do they

[lodore]

Fantastic report man, and brilliantly told! Glad to hear it worked out good for both you and the heron. Once, I hooked a gull on a cast and managed to bring him in. I felt sorry for the blighter, and wrapped him in a rag to let him recover. Then, when my back was turned, the f***** ate all my lug

[tomgrey]

lucky man or should i say lucky bird well done on the fishing there seems to be a lot of star fish everywere over the last couple of weeks wonder what the story is with them all well that ends well fair play on the rescue (rod and heron)

Cheers tight lines, yeah I think its just the time of year for them to be coming back into shallower water. They must have been around in fierce numbers though because they were on my bait in seconds which was bouncing along the bottom too.

good job getting the rod back and freeing the heron

I had a similar expierence last year with a big seagull, i too was surprised the rod floated, got it back and then i also had to wrestle the gull to get the line untangled from it.
wouldnt fancy having to try and wrestle a heron though

also nice fish

Thanks yngkmd, i'd say a gull could be nasty too.

Fair play to you for the fine job on freeing the heron, and well done on those cod! Must have been tough going trying to get the heron freed but glad it it all worked out. The worst I ever had was a gannet who took my feather rig, but we managed to free him easily enough as was able to reel him in.

My landlord was looking after an injured gannet there last year. They are pretty big up close and those torpedo heads for diving and big beaks could give a nasty peck i'd say. He used to feed it 2 whole mackerel in one sitting. Class birds glad your one was ok.

wow nice catch and release there tom ,thats a first christ,i caught a gull flying over head before and took on with my line a sad ending to that story. one to tell your kids the kids lol !and couple of cod aswell must get on to you there soon
tightlines
fergal.

Well the Cod didn't have as much luck as the Heron i'm afraid... I was surprised to see some of that size still about.

Nice one with the Cod. I didn't know the birds were that easy to pull in Cork.

By the sounds of things from some of these replies they just might be

Tomgrey.
That was a cracking great read. Full of suspense and drama.
And well done on your two cod.

Thanks Surfrod, I just told it like it happened, it was dramatic at the time alright and a big relief at the end.

Great story, great fish! Well done, and its good to be nice to nature, karma and all

True, it was nice too to have 2 nice Cod as a reward.

beautiful cod tom,,,,great to see them still around,,,,they never all leave do they

Cheers Brian, I was surprised to have caught some decent sized ones, I might just give them another go on the wknd!

Fantastic report man, and brilliantly told! Glad to hear it worked out good for both you and the heron. Once, I hooked a gull on a cast and managed to bring him in. I felt sorry for the blighter, and wrapped him in a rag to let him recover. Then, when my back was turned, the f***** ate all my lug

Well I knew they were opportunists but didn't think they were vengeful Thanks lodore..