Beginners need information for Donegal Bay. Bait/Techniques

Hi
My wife and I have recently moved to Donegal and have decided to take up sea fishing. I am a seasoned river fisherman and so I have reasonable knowledge of casting etc but we are a little short of knowledge on what sort of bait/techniques we should be employing for sea angling?

We had a short excursion today but we were driven back by freezing wind ! We had decided to try spinning but is this the best method or are we wasting our time ?

Can anyone suggest the most rewarding method of fishing in Donegal Bay, is spinning going to be okay or do we need to be bottom fishing, if bottom fishing what baits are recommended ? Does it depend upon the Mark ?If so we are closest to Salthill at Mountcharles. Does the season/month matter, are we wasting our time fishing in December ????

All comments very gratefully received

Thanks

flynnboy

Hi flynnboy welcome to the site now as regards Donegal bay if you are located near Mountcharles then you are central to the whole bay. At this time of year you should try bait fishing. the ones i would use are Lug/Rag worm and Mack.

Locations that i would try ............. St johns pt (beside the light house) Rossnowlagh beach (in front of the Sandhouse htl) Tullaghen strand (bundoran) from the rocks on the road with the barrier on it but only in calm conditions as it can be verry dangerous in rough weather All of these areas will fish best at night.

There is also a local JOURNALIST called Pete (aka baldy) who i'm sure could give you some up to date info on whats happening at the mo.

Tight Lines
Danny

Hello there flynnboy.

Unfortunately December is'nt the best month for shore angling in Donegal bay. Ideally April/May through to November would give a better chance of success. Spinning works well on some venues with bottom fishing better on others.

Generally speaking if your fishing from rocks or a pier into some deep water spinning can account for pollack and mackerel in the summer months. If fishing from a shallow sandy beach then bottom fishing would be a better bet.

Best all round bait in donegal bay is definitely mackerel. Cut the silver part into long thin strips, trimming off part of the flesh if needs be to make a nice thin bait that will flutter in the tide. This works well for all the usual suspects from the beaches up there including Flounder Turbot and Sea trout. If you fish this method on a three hook patternoster rig on any of the local beaches when there is a nice gentle surf rolling in you wont go far wrong.

Like Roadrunner said St. Johns Point is also a great venue. Its a good place to go spinning for pollack and mac. Bottom fishing here will produce plenty of ballan wrasse, but you are fishing into foul ground so keep your rigs simple and cut the number of hooks you use down to one. Wrasse are not as fond of mac as the other species mentioned and small shore crabs or marine worms (rag or even lug) would work much better. Alternatively you can float fish here either.

Hope this is of some help.

Hi Sean/Danny

Thanks very much for the advice.

Would you say that it's not worth the effort at all at the moment ? My stepson and family are coming at the end of January and he's really keen to try a spot of fishing. St/Johns Point is not too far away and the Pier at Salthill is only minutes away. It seems fairly sensible to me not to bother with the pier until a high tide but what about St.Johns point, only high tide ?

Thanks again

flynnboy

Hi flynnboy.

St Johns can fish throughout the tide but you must be careful there as it is very exposed and rogue waves are a possibility. Like anything if you dont try it you wont know but my honest advice would be to stick to the rivers and lakes til April.

You will still get the odd flat coalie and pollack around the place but your family are coming over at the worst time of the year in terms of shore fishing in that area in my experience. Could be a lot of effort in some bad weather for little reward.

baldy is not pete!

Thats what his much less follically challenged so called (myself included ) mates call him. Its forum user pete danny is on about, not to be confused with forum user baldy who is a different bloke altogether.

So guys, is anyone going to be out on the sea before April, will I look a complete sprat if I am seen out there before ???

flynnboy

Sean

You said

Best all round bait in Donegal bay is definitely mackerel. Cut the silver part into long thin strips, trimming off part of the flesh if needs be to make a nice thin bait that will flutter in the tide.

Does this mean you fish it like a spinner ?

Thanks again

flynnboy

Suppose you could do if you could keep it on the hook. I was talking about fishing it on the bottom though, letting the action of the water impart movement on it. You could add a floatie bead to one of your snoods too and twitch the rig along the bottom from time to time to get some movement also.

Soooooo, just to clarify: Baldy is NOT pete, but pete IS baldy?

baldy is paul divito

Hey Guys

I'd really appreciate a definitive answer to this, so, does no-one go sea fishing at this time of year at all?

Sean suggested sticking to rivers and lakes, but given that game fishing is out of season what is there to be had legally in those rivers and lakes ?
Cheers

flynnboy

Hey Guys

I'd really appreciate a definitive answer to this, so, does no-one go sea fishing at this time of year at all?

Sean suggested sticking to rivers and lakes, but given that game fishing is out of season what is there to be had legally in those rivers and lakes ?
Cheers

flynnboy

Hey there Flynnboy
Im by no means an expert, just giving my honest assessment on shore fishing in the donegal bay area for this time of year. Like I said earlier by all means get out and give it a go, if your not in you cant win. Just is'nt the most productive time of year. So dont be overly dissapointed if things are quiet for now. Might see you out there myself cos god knows Im not adverse to flogging the odd dead donkey or two myself.
There will be plenty of other lads out over the winter too in other parts of the country. Then again, other parts of the country can be more productive this time of the year.

Tight lines if you do head out.

Sean.

Thanks again Sean

flynnboy

fishing in donegal at this time of year isnt too bad have got my biggest flouders in december and janurary, it mainly small flats and coalies and whiteing, your best bets for baits would be mackeral strip and lug, sandeel can still work at this time of year but most productive bait is the mackeral strip (what i found anyway) as for techniquies use bottom rigs, 3 hook flappers with different baits until you find out what they are eating, but if you live in the hope of a big one(i know i do)chuck a big bait out on a second rod, best of luck

ps may see you on the shore line sometime, if the fpo lets me

Thanks MC

Do I just buy the Mackerel at the shops, and what is the best way of preparing it for the hook ?

Cheers

flynnboy

Flynnboy,
any fish shop around will sell mackeral frozen, make sure you buy whole mackeral not the fillets as i dont rate them at all. start just behind its head and cut from the back bone down to the belly in about 1/2 inch strips, so that you have a piece about 1/2 inch wide by two inch long piece of mackeral. to put it on a hook i put it on once through just below the top and then just under half way through and leave it at that. if the mackeral isnt that great use some elastic to tie the bait on. i find it much easier to cut the mackeral first while frozen. in the summer i stock up on mackeral for the winter. Also best to use your own bait as you know it has only being frozen once. if you need anymore tips on anything post them up and you should get the answers. Happy New year to all.