Old Head, outside Louisburgh, Co Mayo Sat 2nd June 2012

[kieran]

People: Myself and the two boys

Duration: 4 hours

Tide: around High water and down to mid water

Weather: A bit squally, force 4 on the water, not too bad

Bait: Mackerel

Rigs: Leger, float and spinning (big Toby)

Results: 6 dogfish, 1 small thornback ray, 2 pollock, missed one massive bite.

Report: Sorry no photos, battery on the phone was low.

Arrived out and beat a few mack feathering lads to the better mark, right around the far side (but not all the way around) if you know it.

Water was quite rough with the tide coming in to HW.

Started with float fishing and found it hard to gauge the depth - forgot the powergum which did not help - but eventually got it fishing well... as I rigged up the beachcaster (old Penn Venom) with a Daiwa, I put a Greys Mission up and when we say the lads pull in a small pollack, I put on a big Toby and cast it out. Always take the first cast to check the braid is ok and get it settled before giving it to the lads. Was hit coming in near the weed and landed a nice 2.5 lb pollack, bigger than you normally get here. Very dark. Let the wee lad land it and that was him set up for the day.

I have memories of this mark being a bit of a tackle graveyard, so put a single hook on a blood loop above a weak line to a 4 oz plain lead and slung it straight out - quite pleased to not bird nest on the cast since it was the first time using a non FS reel is far too long.

Handed it to the older lad. Was settling the gear in place (rocks are very rough, lots of standing water) when the Venom took an absolute hammering. Only time it got hit like that I landed a small tope off it. By the time I had scrambled across Eoin (11) was hanging onto it for dear life (its a 30 foot drop!) and when I got the tip up, the beast was gone.

Amid thoughts of what it could be - I've taken big congers here but this was a fast moving hit - I re baited and slung it out. Surprised to find a strong lateral current pushing the baits out to Clare Island and swinging them into land. Switched to a grip lead and that worked a treat.

Cathal (9) picked up a small pollack on the spinning rod, and brought it in which made his older brother none too happy (sibling rivalry, omg) until the beachcaster took a nice hit. This time the fish stayed on. When we brought it in, it was an almost pure black and hefty dogfish. Big maybe even a specimen but I had no scales. Anyhow, rebaited and out again onto the sand.

Immediate knock, strike and a struggle but Eoin landed a beautiful if very small thornback ray. I know people catch them around here, especially of the sand onto which we were fishing but never seen one before. Anyhow that made his day. Returned safe and sound.

5 more dogfish, getting progressively smaller (!) came in, about 10 mins apart, even with a seal for company before we agreed that pizza sounded like a good option.

There is a pair of fulmars nesting on the cliff (good place to spot a peregrine falcon too, but usually in winter) and they kept us amused by landing regularly and pecking at the sea float. They were the only things to show any interest in the float.

Disappointed we didn't see any wrasse, guess I need to find some worms. No macks which was no surprise as the weather has been poor this last week.

One point about this particular mark - returning the small thornback was a major pain in the a*** because of the scramble needed to get down to sea level - there is a good place to gently release them but its a bit of a climb. The platform from which the bashers were fishing was littered with crap - cans, wrappers and discarded line. Sour note to a nice day out.

Will be heading out, probably next Saturday, tides are ideal being in around 10 pm, may go here although would like to try Achill for a mixed and long session. Anyone interested, pm me.

Cheers

[Drew]

Nice to see a report from you Kieran, well done on getting out and getting a few!

[nicefish]

Nice report Kieran, shame about the litter its a beautiful spot I have caught Pollock there myself but only around the pound mark. The Family are heading down in August but I cant go

[kieran]

footnote

boys insisted we bring the pollack home so I relented and gutted them on the spot. The whole fish stayed in the fridge for a few days (all white fleshed fish including cod need about 3 days imho) and then I filleted them. Dipped in egg covered in breadcrumbs and shallow fried in an almost oil free pan and to my astonishment, they were really nice!

Normally pollack go back, not so sure now!

[nicefish]

Why wait 3 days?

[tight lines]

Why wait 3 days?

that what i am thinking the fresher the better
nice fishing btw

[gfkelly1969]

great report kieran,its good to see that the young lads got some fish,i love to eat pollack as well,i think its even nicer then cod,i never heard of leaving it 3 days but the next time i catch one i will try it to see if it makes a difference

[johnwest]

Typical; no scales, no camera and you catch a noteworthy fish! I recall trying to lighten the tackle box when heading for a dab session last year and left out the scales. I then caught a most unexpected spurdog but at least had my camera. When I got home I weighed the scales;a whole 2oz saved!

[MAC]

I've never heard of waiting 3 days before and I eat my fair share pf pollock. I tend to bleed them immediatly after catching & Killing if I entend to take one. For me bleeding a fish makes a big difference to the taste of the meat and can make a very big difference to the humble pollock. All you need to do the cut the throat where it joins the gills. I keep a nice Lidl stainless scissors for the job. It only takes a second to do. After a few drifts and once I get a few minutes I will then remove the head and guts... All the time the fish is kept on Ice or in Sea water. Try it, you won't look back

[Al and Jordan]

great report kieran, good to see you back out at it man
i have been told about letting a freshly gutted fish sit for 48 hours in the fridge before filleting and skinning before by a fishmonger. he reckoned it made the meat a bit firmer and easier to fillet, skin and bone.
he also told me to freeze down any freshly caught "wild" sea fish i get for at least 48 hours if i intend on eating them.
the logic behind it was that any parasites in the flesh would be killed by the freezing process and made safe for eating.
don't know how much truth there is in those 2 bits of advice as we regularly eat fish on the day of capture and we are still here to tell the tale
each to their own i suppose