Duration:Friday: 3pm - 9pm, Sunday: 11am - 8.30pm
Tide:HW early afternoon
Weather:sunny but chilly. fresh cold wind both days
Bait:mackerel, sandeel, rag
Rigs:3 hook flappers. 2 up 1 down
Results:flounder, dab, sea trout and turbot
Report: For the last while now I have been trying to get a turbot from the shore but have failed on each and every attempt, until yesterday. I eventually got one
I have been to North West Donegal, the Inishowen Peninsula, to the Whiterocks in Portrush, and now to Ballycastle. And, believe it or not, it was Ballycastle, the place closest to home, that produced.On Friday I met up with Darren and fished with him from late afternoon into the evening. It was a fine sunny day, but cold, and the fishing was very slow, well, particularly for me anyway. It was Darren who produced the most fish as he managed a few flounder and dab, and he was happy with a nice wee sea trout of about 1lb that fell to a rag bait tipped with mack. I only managed two small flounder the whole session if I recall, things were just not to be and so I had to resign myself to returning on Sunday to increase my efforts.
Sunday came along and Darren met up with me in the morning to provide me with a nice box of fresh rag. So, with fresh rag, frozen sandeels and mackerel, and with it being another fine sunny day, I was all set to go for yet another attempt - I just needed the turbot to turn up as by this stage I was beginning to think that they were something of a myth...
I put three rods out, all with three hook flappers and all with combinations of different hook sizes, rag, mack and sandeel baits. And, so anyway, to cut a long story short,..... on my first cast.... I caught a turbot
I couldn't believe it! Seriously, i really couldn’t believe it I had to take a double-take as i watched it come out through the surf (it had gone for a small mack bait). I thought eventually, after all this time and effort, here was a little turbot right here on my doorstep. Happy days.I was well happy and with the spirits soaring after having been successful on my first cast, I was thinking that with whole day ahead of me then there would surely be more turbot to come... but there wasn’t
I stayed in the same place for the next for 4 or 5 hours, only to stop for a bite to eat, and only managed just a few small flounder. I then took advice to try other spots along the beach which i did but having casted out all distances with all rods in all directions, I got not even one bite over the last few hours of the evening...Alllllll good. Now to get a bigger one on the fly...
A few pics below:
