Cork Small Boats Festival 2005 : Report

[JimC]

Cork Small Boats Festival 2005

Report

The festival went ahead with a fleet of 32 boats and 92 anglers fishing (35 booked & paid).
The main topic of conversation for the days before the event was the weather. Due to adverse forecasts it was decided to fish the Specimen Hunt on Match Day 1.

Match Day 1: Most boats launched into poor conditions on Match Day 1, The Specimen Hunt. The nominated species list was set to the "B" list for inner harbour fishing: Bass, Plaice, Conger, Dab, Flounder and LSD. Angling was limited to within inner Cork Harbour and conditions tested all competitors. Fish returns were below average with only plaice proving to be an elusive catch. This was to be expected as the restrictions in force took the Turbot Bank out of play. Best of each species was (lbs): Bass: 6.95, Conger 25.80, Dab 0.45, LSD 2.90 (Best Specimen 89.23%), Flounder 1.45. Best Combination of species was 3 (29.65).

Match Day 2: Species Hunt Day 1 promised better weather conditions but with a good westerly blowing. The fleet was limited to Roches Pt. (the outer reaches of Cork Harbour). Most boats fished the Turbot bank at some stage with many also fishing the harbour rock. Returns were respectable for most of the top crews. The most surprising thing was the lack of Blonde Rays. None were caught despite many boats fishing intensively for them. Neap tides neap during the event could have affected returns but given the amount of boats angling it would be expected that some rays would be caught. Three boats finished the day on 11 species with "YYY MEN" leading with weight of 21.85. A Specimen mullet of 5.45 was landed by Uptide Girl.

Match Day 3: Species Hunt Day 2. Conditions had deteriorated again and the fleet was restricted to the inner harbour area. The top boats went about adding to their species totals. Though many boats struggled to add to their tallies "Sea Pigeon" managed an impressive addition of 6 species. Best boats on the day had a total of 8 species with "Stryker II" leading with a weight of 13.5.

Match Day 4: Species Hunt Day 3. Day three promised much with a good forecast but disimproving as the day went on. The decision was taken to allow boats outside the harbour until 12 noon, at which point a Roches Point restriction would be in force. Most boats used the opportunity to stretch their legs after three days in the Harbour. Even though out for only three hours the good weather conditions saw a dramatic increase in species caught on the day. "Beastmaster" led the day with an impressive tally of 14 species for 24.9 lb Again there was specimen mullet caught.

The presentation evening was great craic. There was huge tension as none of the boats finishing on 19 species were aware of their finishing position until the end.
The general consensus of the event was that it went well despite poor weather conditions. Angling was tough but as usual the crews produced a superb array of species, 29 were landed over the three day species hunt (not including mackerel, tope, launce, herring and weavers). No blonde rays were caught during the event. This is a worrying development as is the lack of plaice. While this could be as a result of tidal conditions, the presence of trawlers within the harbour area does nothing to promote our harbour as the superb angling venue that it can be.

Planning has begun aready for next years event.

Final Positions
Posn Boat Spec Weight
1 Bass Hunter 19 42.80
2 Sea Pigeon 19 40.10
3 Highlander 19 33.85
4 Beastmaster 19 32.55
5 Uptide Girl 18 45.80
6 Goldilocks 17 49.05
7 Skua 15 52.25
8 Predator II 14 29.30
9 Striker II 13 28.75
10 Dreyfus 13 22.75