Duration:8-11.
Tide: High water 2220 ish.
Weather: Strong SW-S.
Bait: Various.
Rigs: Various.
Results: Not bad
Report:
19 brave souls showed up at the carpark in Delis for the first leg of the Monday Night League. This is a league based on enjoyment but with a competitive edge. There will be 5 legs with the best 4 counting. The dark clouds and strong wind made for an ominous evenings fishing, but with more bravery than sense we made our way to the pegs. The strong wind at our backs resulted in the sea being flat calm which was welcomed but the wiley anglers who had anticipated the Garfish... myself not included. I opted for a two hook clipped down rig with a flyer to hopefully maximise results alternating with a 3Hook flapper for our friend the flounder.
With the tactics plotted and 8o clock upon us 19 leads were wound up for the start, alas my cast seemed too good to be through even with the strong assist from the wind and as I watched my lead sail unaccompanied by my mainline I rued not having the 2nd trace completely baited. A quick bit of patch work and I was back in action quick enough to get the first flat on the beach. With it becoming apparent that the spider crab were swarming the distance anglers I decided the flounder were the way forward at least until after dark. I added a second as Eugene swung ashore a nice flat, It continued like this with the spider becoming so prolific that even mainline well above the shockleader was being bitten through.
A missed garfish by Eugene on his improvised Gar trace and a captured one by Junior International Luke M. O Sullivan sent panic through the beach luckily for anglers such as myself that came without the floats it was the sole Gar landed. The Flounder continued to appear in steady numbers for those of us who had found the range. At the halfway stage John Lynch on his return to competitive angling was leading the way with a healthy bag of flounders with a half dozen anglers in hot pursuit. As darkness fell I returned to the original plan but the continued presence of the Spiders and the success of th slider meant a return to the flounder hunt. This proved to be a good decision as there was only a few dogfish landed and none of the intended Ray. I do believe there was some success on the fishbait front with John Sheehan doing his bit with a few triple shots of healthy pregnant Female spider crab
As the competition drew to a close A horrible rain storm enveloped the area and soaked all who forgot or neglected to bring a beach buddy. From my dry perch I managed 6 sizable flounder(over 18) with two under (17.5
) a decent bag for a three hour comp and good enough for 2nd place. John Lynch took the win with 14 flounder (10 sizable 4under) Lucky Eugene Farrelly took 3rd spot with a ten fish bag. Lukes 64cm Garfish gave him an ultimately unsuccessful shot at the golden peg and My 34 cm flounder proved the same. For our troubles we get free entry to the next leg For more details/results please visit the Tralee Bay SAC website at http://www.traleebaysac.org
