Co Antrim shore fly/spinning is warming up...

[cathalger]

....and should just get better as the summer progresses. Better fish will come soon.

Some pics from the last few days, Chuckaroo got the sea trout smolt on a peculiar hares ear nymph tandem on Sunday evening close to a river mouth but in the open sea, thats where I got the wee pollack too. Charlie also found the ray at same place, dead on beach, which species is it? Are cuckoo and eyed the same fish?

The wee codling I got this eve on spinner off a rock mark, dropped spinner right to the sand and was lighting a smoke when I felt bumps, the wee fish took it off the bottom or maybe the tide was causing it to drag and caught the fishes attention. Thats 2 wee juvenile codling caught on spinner on the same area lately, my friend Daves 8 year old son got one on Sat past.

Cathal.

[Der Baron]

Some nice pics there Cathal, that's a Cuckoo ray you have there mate!

[saving private brian]

ya its a cuckoo,,the size of that little trout

[dave316]

nice fishing again, I'm really busting to get up to your neck of the woods, absolutely love it up there. Are there many Plaice about at the minute do you know?

[yngkmd]

nice fishing again, I'm really busting to get up to your neck of the woods, absolutely love it up there. Are there many Plaice about at the minute do you know?

i'll let you know on sunday

[dave316]

I think off the top of my head you've got a nice tide about 6ish or so, so hopefully you get the weather too.

[cathalger]

Thanks for the ID, Charlie I didnt doubt your ID that evening but I had it in my head that cuckoo and eyed ray were the same fish for some reason. Charlie IDed the ray correctly when he found it.

2 weeks ago people were getting decent no.s of plaice, bigger ones maybe pushing the pound so there could be some better ones out there and probably is.

Dave316 it is probably worth a go alright. Good luck on Sat yngkmd.

[bingham]

wonder what happened the wee cuckoo??shame to see it washed up

[cathalger]

God only knows Bingham, it was in a worse state of decomposition than can be seen in the above pic, it was only about 18" long. It could have came from a good distance away on the tide?

See pics...

[chuckaroo]

nice one Cathal on getting the photos up. Love the one with the pollack in it.
defo a cuckooo ray as the lads say - unmistakable 'eye-spot' in the middle of each pectoral fin, the small-eyed ray doesnt have these.
will have to get another trout soon, only a more decent one. i was happy with those wee tandem flies alright, i got them purely because they have two hooks (...the number of fish i have missed swiping at the tail of the fly but missing the hook... ) and because they somewhat resemble a small bait fish. im sure they'll catch many more fish!

ya its a cuckoo,,the size of that little trout

tiny little trout indeed brian but i was glad to get one for the species count for the year! dont worry i went easy on him - he was only out of the water for a sec and swam off quite fine

nice fishing again, I'm really busting to get up to your neck of the woods, absolutely love it up there. Are there many Plaice about at the minute do you know?

dave i have fished a few sessions in red bay recently and it is TEEMING with plaice at the moment, ive never seen so many. we were putting rag out onto the sandy bottom and we caught countless numbers of them. only about one or two were just about keepable though, but we put all ours back. lovely fish.

wonder what happened the wee cuckoo??shame to see it washed up

bingham i would have had a closer look but it was all curled up, rotting, and it STANK. god only knows, was a shame indeed.

[Ross]

Nice fishing and nice photos!

[Ross]

Nice fishing and nice photos!

[bingham]

i can see what you mean guys,doesnt look good