Duration:9.30-8.00pm
Tide:all states, currents, rips, anomalies....
Weather:About 20 minutes of rain all day
Bait:Fresh Mackerel
Rigs:Big uns.... Kevs special Topey traces
Results:3 Tope, 1 just under the 30, 1 over the 30 and one about 3lbs...
Report:
Following on from our somewhat disastrous trip 3 or 4 weeks ago and having been christened the "JONAH" by Kev, I was fortunate enough to get a second invite to join him, launching from Kilrush in pursuit once again of the mighty tope.
I had been fishing the previous day with the Galway gang from Spiddal and I made my way that evening down the coast to Clare. I was planning on locating a few macks that evening to save a bit of time. I arrived at Dunlickey around 10pm and after a fruitless hour of feather chucking got the hell out of there and camped at Ross for the night. Wakening at 6.30, I returned to Dunlickey to manage the grand total of 3 mackerel....Ho Hum...
After a stop in Kilkee to buy provisions, I joined Kev at Kilrush Marina and with the Loch gate open at 9.30, away we went. First priority seeing as I had failed dismally in my macky bash was to organise some fresh bait. Thankfully, it didnt take too long to gather about 15 mackerel to get us on our way and we headed back to the Beal Bar. With a 5m tide, anchoring was proving tricky in the savage rip that flows through that area but on around the 7th/8th attempt we got a purchase and could get down to business.
Tackling up, I used a Daiwa TDXU teamed with a Grauvell Zeus FS loaded with 30lb PowerPro braid. Bait choice was a half mackerel, head end, mounted on one of Kevs Patented Tope traces to a 5/0 Varivas Big Game hook. I lobbed the bait uptide 40/50 yards, paid out a large amount of slack line and popped the rod in the holder with the drag set very lightly. That job done and with the memory of the previous sortie still on my mind, I settled back, made myself comfortable in the warm sunshine and started stuffing my face....
Well, the bait wasn't in the water 10 minutes before I got a knock...Pesky doggies says I and settled back down again just as the rod hooped over and line screamed off the reel! Jumping up and grabbing it, There followed a period of manic winding and unsurety as whatever had picked the bait up had ripped the gripper out and there was a large bow of line between me and it.... Was it? Wasn't it? not sure... might have dropped it.... Screammmmmmmmmmm!!!!! 50 yards of line were scorched off the spool to leave me in no doubt!! I was finally, numerous attempts and efforts, thousands of miles travelled and an auxiliary engine later (sorry Kev...) bent into my first tope. And what a battle.... With it holding deep in the water (we were fishing in a hundred feet) and a 3 knot current to deal with, my poor Daiwa TDXU was bent into some funny angles as I fought to gain control of the fish
. 10 minutes or so and several scorching runs later I was thrilled to pieces to draw to the side of the boat my first ever Tope and what was my biggest ever fish to date. A beautiful male tope of just under 30lbs or so was expertly lifted into the boat by Kev for me to admire whilst being unhooked. I was gobsmacked at the sheer size of the thing and it was with some trepidation with toothy jaws on show that I got into position for the photo call. Several pics later, the fish was returned safely and without incident, a lovely sight it was too, slowly making its way back down to the depths.Shaking slightly, and a nervous cigarette or two later lines went back in the water. Things had gone quiet with not much happening save the odd mauling by dogfish. A strange looking bite later resulted in me lifting into something doggy like. Felt like a doggie but it was with a large amount of surprise considering the sandy ground we were fishing over that I pulled a strap conger of maybe a couple of pounds or so into the boat....
Kev had never had a conger on these marks despite the lovely conger style baits used so it was surprising. We had to wait some time before the next bit of action. Low water had come and gone and there was a 4 knot current now pushing through threatening to break out the anchor as my rod began to nod strangely again. I lifted into the fish, not much weight but the force of the current and a bit of headshaking going on had me thinking huss. It was with much merriment that I pulled a tope, not much bigger than a dogfish to the side of the boat. Around 3lbs or so of perfectly formed pup was unhooked and popped back before we eventually had to move off anchor and try a different mark just off Littor Strand.We were in shallower water here, around 60 feet or so and out of the main rip of current. As we arrived at the mark, the heavens opened and golf ball sized raindrops began to fall. We noticed two lads fishing from the beach (forum lads perhaps....??) who must have been absolutely drowned at the end of that shower....
Ah the joys of the relative comforts of a cuddy.... Action here was pretty much non existent and after a couple of hours with the tide easing we motored back to the first mark. We were enjoying the sight of a small pod of dolphins feeding close by and a seal poking his head up every now and again in the evening sunshine as we rebaited and settled back.Kev was first to get a run this time as a tope scorched off with his bait. Tragedy struck however when the fish took his line past a snag and as he lifted into the run, the braid parted. With Tope hunting in packs and with nothing having happened on my rod, I wound in to find the bait missing. With bait now exhausted we were on to the reserve supply of the 3 mackerel I had caught early that morning. A head end was duly despatched to the depths. 10 minutes later, nod, nod went the rod tip.... I picked up the rod and flipped the bail arm over as the fish took off. After a few seconds, and having checked the drag, I flipped the bail arm back over and lifted into the run. With the reel literally singing to me as line was ripped off, I had great fun with tope number three of the day. Scorching runs, dogged fighting and headshaking all the way with the light rod once again bent into some funny shapes as I fought for control.
The first fish of the day was still quite green when I brought it to the boat so I took my time with this one and enjoyed every minute of the battle before I drew him to the side of the boat. This fish was bigger, another beauty of over 30lbs was brought into the boat skilfully again by Kev for its date with the camera. Mighty fish are these tope, 5 feet or so of sheer muscle tipped off with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. Beautiful creatures and it was a sheer pleasure to release it and watch in wonder as it swam for 50 yards or so, Jaws style with the dorsal breaking the surface before finally turning and heading back from whence it came.
And so it ended, with a tanker steaming towards us we hauled anchor and headed back to port. Tiredness from a long weekend forgotten as en route back to the marina I went back through the pictures on the camera and relived the battles. What a day.... Kev tells me he has had days where they have boated 12 fish, incredible stuff. I wonder how many people would still go paddling at Littor Strand if they knew what was swimming only a few hundred yards away...
My grateful thanks to Kev, who worked tirelessly all day to keep us on the marks and get us into position in wicked currents. I am still "JONAH" as far as he is concerned as unfortunately he did the decent thing by not using bait on his hooks and letting me catch all the fish...
Many thanks Kev, I have been chasing Tope for a couple of years now to no avail and to finally bring one to the boat was something special that will remain with me for a long time. A fantastic fish to cap off what had been a special weekends fishing with the super Galway trip the day before. It was tired but happy that I made the long journey home to Cork with another 3 species for the year under my belt. We are heading for Carrigaholt next weekend on an SAI trip so it bodes well for that....cant wait....
Pics will follow as soon as I find the USB cable (again....) for the camera.
