Donegal North and South, 16, 18 and 19 January, 2022

Sunday 16th. Tide times looked good, weather, wind in particular, required a choice of venue that afforded a degree of shelter so after watching forecasts for a couple of days and a few phone calls, a “Plan” was concocted. Corbyeire and Chuckaroo were meeting up for a couple of days and I would join them for at least one day, flounder being the main target. Chuckaroo and myself met at the mark around 10am, Corbyeire had a longer run so would join us later. No doubt as he travelled up the N17 he noted the stone walls and how green the grass was! The weather was better than expected but it was still good to be out of the wind. Unusually, Chuckaroo was set up and fishing first and I had barely cast out when I saw him retrieve, rod bending nicely indicating a decent flattie. I went over to have a look and it was a good one, 42cm,a new pb and not just a monkey but a gorilla off his back, so desperate has he been to get a 40+cm flounder. Weighed (at 0.91kg = 2lb), measured, photographed for posterity and released, Chuckaroo was ready for home. My own rod was rattling when I got back, a small flounder barely half the length of Chuckaroo’s fish but a start. As always I fished two rods, both in close as distance casting had produced nothing. In the suds I had a total of 6 fish, 3 flounder and 3 turbot all around 21cm length plus one tiny fish which bounced off on the way in. Last time out I resurrected an old Daiwa rod, this time I gave another light rod a day out, a Penn Extreme light (2-4oz) beachcaster. All my fish bar one came to this rod, perhaps such meagre offerings were scorned by the mighty ZZipplex? Both rods were kitted out with 3 hook flappers, mack and prawn bait and fished in the suds; the only difference I could think of was that the 4oz lead was swinging around in the lateral tow a little faster than the 5oz lead. Meanwhile Corbyeire had arrived and with all the speed of a successful matchman was soon set up and fishing, spare baited rigs at the ready. It wasn’t long before he was reeling in a decent flounder, it just made the 40cm line on the measure, happy days. The tide was about half way in and, as often happens, the bites had ceased so we decided to head to another mark. Chuckaroo had his 42cm pb, Corbyeire had a good 40cm flounder and I had to settle for half a dozen small, mixed flatties. Can’t complain as my last few trips of 2021 gave me a couple of good flounder. The wind had died away almost completely and it was settling into a beautiful evening, hard to believe it was mid-January. We changed rigs and rods to standard beachcasters and single large hooks with large baits in the hope of a ray. Six rods faced seaward and did nothing else until eventually one of Chuckaroo’s rods started nodding. Soon a small but very welcome thorny was skimming over the water into the frame of his camera. That was it, no more bites and with darkness descending it was time to go. A ray in January, a pb 40+ flounder on the same day; definitely Charlie’s Day Out!

Tuesday 18th; Donegal Bay. Today would start with a treat, digging some lug. The rain eased off just as I reached the shore and I stepped out of the car just in time to see a pair of peregrine falcons flying around. I wasn’t too long extracting about 30 worms before heading off to the first mark, a small beach which I hadn’t fished in a while. The tide was one hour into the flood with a decent surf coming in and two rods were soon searching out the surf. Hopefully there were no fish in it because I didn’t get a bite in over two hours! Time for a bit of grub and a new mark offering deeper water and some rougher ground as well as sand. Nothing happened until the light started to fade; two “monster” whiting impaling themselves on the flapper rig. The fishing improved into darkness but it was a case of adding to the 2022 species list with a series of small fish; more pin whiting, 4-5 small pollack, 3 coalies up to 32cm, a 3 beard rockling, a poorcod, a pouting and a 26cm flounder. About an hour after high tide the bites ground to a halt so I called it a night, well it was dark.

Wednesday 19th; We all have marks that we “must give a go sometime”, I had one in mind for today. There was to be a stiff and cool N/NW wind and this little cove should give protection and shelter. I arrived on the beach in full sunshine which, out of the breeze, was surprisingly warm; the coat and hat had to come off, a summer’s day in mid January. The surf was quite gentle but surely adequate for a few flounder. The 3 hook flappers bearing mackerel, prawn and lug were soon rolling about in the last of the ebb tide. Then they were doing the same in the first of the flood tide. I don’t know what the fish were doing but it didn’t seem to involve feeding. The only fish I saw was a tiny flounder about 2cm darting off as I waded into the shallows. Eventually I spotted a rod tip rattle and at last I had a fish, a plump 28cm flounder, at 12.55 it was just in time to make the 1 o’clock news if it was a quiet day. It was certainly a quiet day for me; no more bites in the next 3 hours. I had time to wander about the water’s edge and found a goose barnacle attached to a piece of plastic, I wonder how long that had been drifting the oceans. Another tiny 2cm flattie was the only other fish I saw, kicking up puffs of sand as it departed. No wonder predators are attracted to sand being kicked up, lunchtime! Speaking of which……..Off to a different spot with deeper water and approaching dusk. Just as I arrived, I spotted an otter perhaps 20 yards away which, on spotting me, submerged and was gone. Bites came soon as a string of 9-10 coalies came including a treble shot and the best two reaching 32cm. I had one flapper with small baits and one single clipped rig with a larger bait fishing but the bigger bait was ignored, not a dab or even a dogfish. Even the coalies moved off so after a biteless hour I headed for home, easy to find my way; just keep heading for that big ole moon.

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The usual extra pics;

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Comprehensive report JW: A*
The gorilla well and truly off for me, we just need to get a specimen each now.. lol

'summer' indeed, weather was fantastic on Tuesday
Great pics

well done on the 40cm plus flounders and a fantastic report as usual sir

Some crack8ng fish there lads, top job.

Brilliant fishing jw,, congratulations to Charlie for breaking the 40cm mark,,

Great few days fishing there.
That flounder looks great.
Heading out next weekend for the first of the year.

Thanks Fagan, tight lines if you get out. I haven't been out sea fishing since, starting to feel the urge building!