Lady Marion, Ballycastle North Mayo, Weds July 1 09

[hugo]

People: Myself and Herself

Duration: Nearly four hours

Tide: 3 hours rising, 1 hour falling

Weather: Flat calm, overcast, humid.

Bait: Sandeels, squid

Rigs: Everything, though the Sabikis worked out best

Results: A dozen or so pollock to 5lb, about the same in macks, one small codling, and a greater sandeel

Report: Launched at Ballycastle slipway at mid tide. It's not a great slip, and parking is tight, but there are excellent inshore grounds literally minutes away both east and west outside the bay, so it gets well used in summer. It was our first launch here so the intention was more to explore than to fish, and we headed east straight away to Downpatrick Head so that Herself could get some pix of the stack with her huge new bazooka of a camera.

On the way we passed over a good few reefs and gullies where the finder showed fish lurking. Round the east side of the head, first cast brought in the 5lb pollock, and some smaller ones and a few mack followed. No sign of any mack shoals on the finder, but in contrast to last year, the few fish caught were a half-decent size.

We got a bit absorbed in the photography for a while, then moved round the west side of the head and started working our way back towards Ballycastle, waymarking and testing the likely spots. There were 5 boats in the area now, but from the way they were zipping from here to there, I'd say it was slow going for everybody.

Last hour was spent on a slow tour of the bay, which holds as much fish as anywhere else, and is one of my favourite local shore haunts. Conditions had got slowly darker, and the rain came on in earnest when we started the retrieve, so we got a right soaking. Apart from that, everything went smoothly which for a pair of arthritic oul codgers like us is an achievement in itself.

Ballycastle has great potential for inshore boat angling, with reefy grounds 100ft deep right outside the bay. A local committee has been formed to push for upgrading of the slip into a proper small harbour with expanded parking for trailers, and the authorities seem to like the idea, so it could well come to pass in the next year or two. Meantime, our next exploration will be westwards along the Ceide cliffs to Belderrig, an area which is hardly fished at all at the moment. Watch this space.

[spindlefist]

well done, crackin pollock

[yappo]

Great to get a report from that neck of the woods they are like hens teeth.
Looks like you both had a nice days fishing/exploring/photographing.

Nice photos by the way.

Keep the reports coming.

Yappo

[PaddyB]

Certainly looks like Pollack heaven!

[hugo]

Much like it is up your way, I'm sure....Any chance of a report?

[gfkelly1969]

well done on getting a few fish,looks like a lovely spot

[pete]

Beautiful bit of coastline that, from the Stags to Kilcummin. How have you been finding the fishing there Hugo had a good mind to try a bit of exploring around the Porturlin/Portacloy direction?

[hugo]

We've been busy house rebuilding since we got here 18 months ago, so only getting round to sorting out the fishing.. Dont know the area west of Ballycastle at all, its our next project. There's a slip in the middle of te grounds at Belderrig, but awkward with abandoned boats and terrifyingly steep. Four slips within 15 minutes drive of me here (between Killala and B'castle) Killala is the best of them but the bay is a bit fished out apart from the sea trout.

[pete]

Good man, you have some unexplored fishing down west of there i'd say. Heard last week of a halibut been caught in a commercial gill net near Easkey

[hugo]

Better get a bigger frying pan so...