SEA-ANGLING-IRELAND.ORG

everything you need to know, all on one site...

My brother Des, Mans, myself and Martin Salmon enjoying the sunshine at the Shipwreck.

The Shipwreck Gully, Achill Island, Co. Mayo Drive directly south on the first left hand turn after the village at Achill Sound.  Some eight kilometres later, passing Cloughmore Harbour on the Atlantic Drive, past the white water channel to Achill Beag with the incongruous telegraph pole sitting in the middle of the sea, and allowing for the spectacular views and badly parked tourists cars, not to mention the suicidal sheep, you will find a weird set of rusty iron structures standing forlorn beside the sea as you turn northward.  This is the mark.  These structures are the remains of an engine used to salvage most of an old wreck that lodged in the deep gully the sears the side of the cliffs here.  The gully runs right up to the road.  Parking is haphazard.  There are some deep ruts and holes to avoid, especially outside of the summer when it can get very boggy.

Walk down the sheep grazed slope with some care.  It is slippery.  Head for the iron works.  A patch of white water marks the remains of the wreck.  Inside it there is a pool of relatively calm water.  Outside it, on the calmest day, there is a massive patch of seething white water.  We manouvred ourselves down heavily fissured rocks and found some decent posts close to the waterline, on the inside of the ironworks.  The picture above shows us outside the wreck trying the white water side, a total waste of time, bait and expensive on tackle!

We found the waves very unpredictable and massive, and this was in the middle of summer on a beautiful day with no wind.  We fished it on a falling tide so take extra care if you find yourself there on a rising tide.  If you get washed into that gully, we would rate your chances of emerging alive very low indeed.  Fish as a group...

From the rocks you can fish either on the float or on the bottom.  The former is not ideal, as there is such a depth of water, you will be limited to small Wrasse close in, the odd small Pollack, or Markerel and Garfish in season.  The wave action is so strong here it is quite difficult to detect smaller bites.  It certainly avoids tackle losses but as a strategy it is very limited.  What really attracts people here are the big Pollack and especially the Conger associated with the wreck itself.  There are big Wrasse too, and one would suspect the presence of shore specimens in all three species.  Clearly casting onto a wreck and very foul ground is asking for tackle losses so you have to accept this as an "entry fee" for the mark.  This is a junk lead and rotten bottom mark.

Keep it to one hook.  Try a plain lead on a rotten bottom link, possibly a paperclip if you feel you are sufficiently accurate and safe with your overhead casting.  Keep the trace line strong.  We were using line around 10 kilos / 25 lbs and it was getting severely abraided, lasting no more than one or two casts!  There is heavy weed cover in patches also, as if wreckage and foul ground was not bad enough.  The currents can be very severe, especially in heavy swells, so big leads are advisable.  Assume you will lose one on every cast.  For Whiting, Wrasse, Pollack, Coalfish, Mackerel and other species we recommend mackerel strip or ragworm on 2/0 or 3/0 hooks.  Whatever rig you choose, keep the hook above the lead to give better bite detection.  Clipping down the hook will help in delivery as it reduces possible snagging on the back cast.  

For the Conger and Bull Huss, move it up to a 6/0 hook on very heavy duty mono, with 50 kilo or 130 lbs quite acceptable.  

Your main line should be 14 kilo / 30 lb line straight through and to give you a change of keeping the odd lead, leave the weak link at around 8 kilo / 20 lbs.

It is a fabulous place to fish, spectacular, sheltered from all directions bar the south, but landing any decent sized fish is just plain dangerous.  A drop net is no help as the rocks tend to shelve rather than drop vertically into the sea.  A long handled net or gaff is as much for safety as anything else.  As extreme as it may seem consider roping yourselves together or at least tethering the volunteer taking in the fish.  Routinely re-examine your position for safety, especially on a rising tide.  Never ever fish this mark alone.  Just make sure to bring enough bait, loads of junk leads, not to mention provisions, waterproofs and sunscreen for the very changeable weather and stout boots for the rock mark.  This is an isolated place, especially outside of the summer so plan for every eventuality.  First aid is only as good as the person administering it. Check mobile phone coverage.

Probabilities: Ballen Wrasse, Mackerel, Pollack, Coalfish, Conger Eel.

Possibilities: Gurnard, Whiting.

Rare Exceptions: Bull Huss, Dogfish, Cuckoo Wrasse, Garfish.