Private boat, Donegal Bay, 24/25 June 2014

[johnwest]

People:Me

Duration:8hrs and 7hrs resp.

Tide:3-4 hrs each side of high tide

Weather:Bright and sunny on Tues, dull and wet on Wed.

Bait:Mackerel.

Rigs:Sliding boom leger, baited feathers.

Results:Pollack, pouting, dogfish, dabs, flounder, mackerel and a spotted ray.

Report:
Tuesday. The forecast of a couple of settled days prompted me to hitch up the trailer again and get afloat. Thankfully the mackerel were more abundant this time and I had a dozen for bait within 10 mins of leaving the slip. I headed for a new reef mark I hadn’t fished before but which looked promising. A few drifts with large slices of mackerel produced nothing so I switched to baited feathers to see if there might be a cuckoo wrasse about. No wrasse but 2 pollack and a pouting eventually showed interest with the better pollack weighing 5lb 12oz. Not a monster but good fun on a relatively light rod. There didn’t seem to be a lot on this mark though I will try it again; so I tried a few drifts over sand. This produced 6-7 decent dabs around 11- 12oz, a dogfish and a lovely little spotted ray, first of the year. At one point a strange noise caught my attention and looking around I saw a minke whale break surface 3-4 times. It was very close to shore, some of the tournament casters might have reached it! Later on the way back to port I was joined by a couple of dolphins, one of which was riding the bow wave for a while, a nice end to the day.
Wednesday. In contrast to yesterday’s sunshine, today was dull with almost constant light rain and the odd heavier shower. Again, a dozen mackerel were caught within a few minutes of wetting the feathers so bait was sorted. I headed for a sandy area first to try for a few thornbacks but they weren’t playing ball, not one. I did manage a very dark dogfish, a flounder and half a dozen dabs over several drifts but with nothing bigger showing I headed for a rough ground mark which in the past has produced a wide variety of species. Sadly all it gave up was a couple of small pollack and 9-10 pouting. Well, on the bright side I had plenty of time to eat my sandwiches without interruption and what sandwiches! They were the most convex I’ve ever had; speaking from experience I think if you get your sandwiches made up to order and stand watching while they make them, they’re a bit more generous with the fillings. Won’t catch you any more fish but a useful tip nonetheless?

[Determined Dan]

Ŵell done . Nice few fish. Your doin well on the dabs. Is it mac they are takin. I've not got a dab in a long time. The spotted ray is a lovely looking species. Tight lines on the next session .

[paul skelly]

Some good fish john nice one

[chuckaroo]

some very decent fishing there JW plenty of fish and species
and thats a good pollack, despite what you think great dab fishing too. all good
aye the minke whale and dolphins are a great added bonus when out on the water..
nice report

[FisherKing]

Some lovely fish John, well done

[mackfish]

A beauty of a ray there!