Sligo & the North West

Is it me or are the beaches devoid of fish. I have just came back from the worst sessions in my memory. It seems thats flounder, dab and plaice are just gone from the beaches. Has anyone else experienced this or was I just unlucky. I have fished beaches up there on and off for nearly ten years and last year was bad but this was not worth even going. It is over fishing by the commerical fleet or has anyone got any other ideas. I didn't even get doggies?
I am interested in any comments about the area

To night the7/9/04 fished Rossnowlagh beach 7pm 10pm. Lt 745pm
Fun club outing first of the years for the Donegal Bay. Club Secetary Christy Higgins had four fine flounder in before I had tackeled up. Then beside him Doug Peach started to Catch three flounder. leaving the rest of us scratching our heads. The fishing went off for the next hour. Then I hooked into a double one weighing 1.1kg. last five minutes Doug Beat everybody by pulling a dog.Took the pool and heaviest fish.It was a good job it was not for Master Angler points. Nearly all the rest caught one fish.

This is only one three hours in the Northwest

dingbat

Had plenty of fish during my week in Donegal in mid-July - nothing spectacular, but no blanks in five or six sessions at various marks around Killybegs/Mountcharles.

Hi DrSeaFish

It is as I have suggested before that you come across many fabulous looking beaches but often they fail to produce. I have found most of the storm beaches here work best at low water, an hour either side and forget the rest. I have also found that dabs definitely disappear in June and do not arrive back until late September, whereas the Flounders will congregate around the estuaries and anywhere there is a smell of fresh water. The other problem I've encountered is the sheer size of the damn beaches, I mean Enniscrone must be five kilometres long, and some of the beaches on Belmullet double that... you would have a hard time trying to find a feature on these beaches too, they are often barren and devoid of any mark, gully, rocks or anything that might bring whatever fish are available into a greater concentration... and by greater I mean that you actually get a bite! Estuaries are another matter and tend to do well this time of year and indeed all year around, but the beaches can be very temperamental. I've had plenty of blank sessions and gone back and as with Ballycastle, taken thirteen (small, all returned) turbot in two hours.

As my four year old told me the other day... "If it is, it is" !!!