B.A.S.S. Club comp Ballyquinn, waterford, 22-9-07

[Tom Maher]

People:7 including me

Duration:4hrs (8pm - 12)

Tide:1hr down 3hr up

Weather:strong s/w winds heavy showers

Bait:crab, lug and mackerel

Rigs:1 and 2 hook clip down

Results:18 fish (dogs, coalies, 1 bass, 1 cod)

Catch and Release:: Yes



Report:Before the comp i received texts with various reasons why people wouldnt be there (going to england/minding kids/too far off master angler/damaged ligaments in shoulder, the best one being "i'm in china")
Got down there at about 7pm and it looked perfect, slight breeze giving a nice surf and no weed - looks can be deceptive.
We started at 8pm just as it was getting dark and i had high hopes for a few bass. A couple of minutes after we started my dad (pegged next to me) got a decent bite, so i paid a bit more attention to my own rod. 2nd cast and its dark now, and the wind is starting to pick up. After another 10 minutes i get a decent tap and reel in a dogfish. The rain has now started and because the wind has picked up it is driving across the beach and is making things uncomfortable. Unfortunately the wind has also started pushing seaweed across the beach, the green stringy stuff as well as kelp - brilliant.
Another 45 minutes go by before i get my next fish, a coalie of 31cms. It didnt give the sharp bite that expect from coalies and didnt put up much of a fight either - but a fish is a fish. And i am very grateful for that fish because that is all i had for the rest of the night. The weed had come from out of nowhere and was taking the line a minute or so after you cast out and dragged the line almost inshore.
My uncle mick was on the opposite end of the beach and won the competition with 5 fish ( 2 dogs, a coalie, a cod and a bass of 39cm) and he won the pool as well - not that i'm bitter.
The conditions ended up poor, the weed was a nightmare but all seven of us had fish so the competition was a success.

[barry murphy]

nice one good to hear its fishing well pitty about the weed nothing you can do about that.we are fishing a comp there in a few weeks.

[Tom Maher]

Lug and crab were the main baits, but sandeel worked well also

[barry murphy]

nice one thanks crabs be starting to get thin on the groundv from hear on in.

[Tom Maher]

Lug will work down fine. The coalies were all over 30cm and were in very good condition. By the way the fishing has been going the last few weeks i'd say we might have more coalies than cod this year. As long as the weed leaves the beach you will probably do well.