Duration: 18.30 - 23.30
Tide: LW 20.30
Weather: warm, flat clam
Bait: fresh mack
Rigs: flowing traces, conger rigs, feathers, hokkais, sabikkis.....
Results: mackerel, pollack, doggies, poorcod, pouting, whiting and a plaice
Report: Been itching to get out with all this good weather over the weekend and got an opportunity last night. It was a mixed day for me with some good fishing, but bad boating
.Headed out in the harbour to beautiful conditions. Took a mack drop just out beyond Roches point and was rewarded with my first mackerel of the season. They were sporadic, coming in ones and two, but we got enough for bait without too much hassle.
By this time there was a little bit of water sloshing around, at first I though my drain hole was blocked, but turns out the water was coming in this way (via a missing screw in my keel band as it later turned out). Bailed it out, blocked up the drain hole and continued.
Headed out to some rough ground for conger. Lots of small bites on our big baits, William landed a small almost bronze coloured poorcod on a 6/0. Stuck down a smaller rig and pulled in some small pouting and poorcod which are much easier to tell apart when you have them both together. Had another rod out for garfish, at least one of which was skipping around the boat at distance, but to no avail.
Some doggies then put in an appearance with one a drop for a while.
After a little more bailing, we headed back in. On the way, my engine started revving, but no propulsion. Knocking down the revs gave us propulsion, so not sure what happened, maybe a shear pin starting to go or some gearing slipping? I had passed between two well spaced out buoys at the time, so I suppose it is possible we caught a rope or net or something, but no evidence of it.
Anyway after holding our breath, we were still able to move albeit slowly, so we headed back in to the harbour and found a massive breaking shoal of mackerel just off Roche's point, so we got some fresh macks for food purposes.
With perhaps overplaced confidence in the engine (had oars and it was flat calm so wasn't overly worried), we the drifted the bank picking up a half decent plaice on my first drop and then a succession of small whiting.
Did a small bit of trolling for pollack as we waited for the tide to fill enough for landing, and then limped home in the dark where we were visited by an inquisitive rib (not sure who, might have been the coastguard??) who wondered what we were doing out with no lights (battery not charged) and motoring so slowly. A quick scan of the boat with their torch showed we weren't up to anything illegal and after making sure we knew our way home they headed off again.
Got back to the slip without further incident only to have my winch strap break as I was winding in the boat, luckily it was close to the front of the trailer, so didn't lose the boat back off it.
Anyway, fishing back up to usual harbour standards, weather beautiful and other than wet feet made it back ok. Bit of boat maintenance required before my next trip out though
Ah well, alls well that ends well and all that. Let me know if you need a hand playing with the engine. Kicking myself for leaving the Hog in Donegal after the weekend but I just couldnt face towing it back down after the weekends shenanigans.
- we can use my new garage!
