An Corraun Mayo 16.8.2015

[kieran]

Quick impromptu session with only shop bought prawns as bait...

Myself and Karl attended, what with the kids being spread all over the county with their mothers and cousins...

Landed at "the finger" on An Corraun around 3 pm yesterday, about 2 hours into the tide, conditions were flat calm and occasional cloud obscuring sunshine

wtf its the sun!

Last a few baits out hoping to reach the sand but was foiled by reels without shockleader and numpty here not bringing bucket of lines... so had to settle for gentle overhead lobs and they were definitely not travelling far enough to reach the sand and rays. Tried a variety of lures, which found rocks and weed but no macks and no Pollack, a bit disappointing but then it was very bright.

Was reduced to searching the foreshore for wrasse hotspots, landed five ballan wrasse - 28, 33, 35 36 and 37 cms, best about 2.5 lbs in old money.
Missed as many, prawn being not the easiest thing to keep on a hook even with elastic.

Great to be out, two rods with new tips worked just fine.

Need to sort out the reels next!

[MC]

Not bad for a unplanned session

[kieran]

There will be no living with him now, this was his final fish when he was convinced he was stuck in rocks or weed (!) winning the cost of the pints 3:2...

[MC]

There will be no living with him now, this was his final fish when he was convinced he was stuck in rocks or weed (!) winning the cost of the pints 3:2...

sweet tasting victory

[seank]

Just fished it earlier for an our or so spinning Jelly worms/small shads by action plastics. Blank! Last time was down here few years back had lots of ballans :/

[kieran]

Hi Sean

My experience is that the ballens are right under your feet on a flooding tide but seem to disappear on the ebb. Any bait will do although I've had precious few on lures...
Not seen any decent Pollack here in a long time, reckon they have been netted out for pot bait, although there are still some further west up at the white heather cottage marks according to a mate. Long walk and a mad scramble for few average sized Pollack...

[johnwest]

Hi Sean

My experience is that the ballens are right under your feet on a flooding tide but seem to disappear on the ebb. Any bait will do although I've had precious few on lures...
Not seen any decent Pollack here in a long time, reckon they have been netted out for pot bait, although there are still some further west up at the white heather cottage marks according to a mate. Long walk and a mad scramble for few average sized Pollack...

I keep hearing references to Pollack as a "sustainable resource", I have my doubts...

[booner]

i used to fish brandon creek area in kerry, couldnt work out why the fishing suddenly worsened, then one day i arrived at the pier and a 30-40ft boat was moored up, and,standing literally up to his knees in pollack and wrasse caught gill netting, was the "fisherman", wrasse up to 4lb and pollack up to 5lb, i asked what he was gonna do with the fish, there were hundreds.....he just grunted something about pot bait and that was that

[kieran]

There was a time, not so long ago, that Pollack were being mis-sold as "cod" to unsuspecting (or uncaring) chippers who could not tell them apart. After a bit of a drive by the food safety or a similar watchdog, cod started to reappear as cod on their menus. Pollack are also sold for lower grade fish fingers, or so I am told...

[pobrien57]

Doesn't help when your man on T.V. - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstal of River Cottage keeps banging on about how good pollack are as a replacement for cod and that they are a sustainable resource!!!!!