Duration: 4pm - 8.30pm
Tide: flooding back in
Weather: dry but blowing a gale
Bait: mack and lug
Rigs: 3 hook flappers
Results: ME: 1 shore rockling, 1 coalie and the elusive donaghadee flounder
. JORDAN: 1 coalieReport: after all the recent blanks at new marks it's been a week of returning to our tried and tested spots up and down the coast to get a few fish
. donaghadee has been fishing well during the day lately as the wrasse have returned. so it was a quick run down the coast after school for me and shorty. we arrived to find the sea was quite rough so i did'nt hold out too much hope of having another session like i did the other morning 
. but we fished on regardless anyway. i had 2 rods out with 3 hook flappers and jordan tried the float. he soon changed over to 3 hook flappers himself as the swell and wind made float fishing almost impossible. but this method was'nt much better as the wind was nodding the rod tips in all directions 
we missed more bites than we hit, but at least they were coming at a steady rate . then after loads of timid bites both my rods started bouncing away. the first rod had a very porky shore rockling attached to the end and to my suprise the second was fish was the long sought after donaghadee flounder 
. we've fished this mark over 200 times in the last 3 years and i've only ever seen 4 flounder taken at it. so i was made up at finally getting one 
. then not to be out done, jordan hooked into something that was putting up a bit of a fight, zipping about from side to side in the water. he thought it might be an early mackie, but was even more happy to reel in a nice 38cm coalie . at first glance he estimated it to be around a pound and a half. but the digital scales put it at 1lb on the button 
. it's funny how we anglers always over estimate the weight of catches 
, but the scales don't lie 
not much else to report really. what we lacked in quantity, we more than made up for in quality 
. jordans coalie had taken the hook very deep and did'nt make the return, so i'll have to make up some beer batter tonight and cut some chips . it was just good to get back to our regular spot and boost the old confidence again. for a while there i was thinking i'd lost me mojo just as a side note, jordan's class was on a trip to crawfordsburn country park yesterday and he was in his element when they were taken to do a bit of beach combing and rooting around rock pools. they found what jordan thought was a mermaids purse (a doggie egg pouch). but was shocked to be told it was a ray purse
. jordan was adament that there are no rays left in the lough and almost started a bloody row . but when they went up to the educational centre they have a tank full of what has been found stranded in the pools on the beach and there is a little raymond no bigger than an adult's hand swimming happily around in it . so there might be a glimmer of hope yet in rays making a comeback to the lough in a few years time if all goes well for them 
