beginners questions

hi all

i'm based in the kildare area and plan on going doing some sea fishing on sunday. so i have some questions cos i want to get into this a bit more.

1. where is the best place for me to get bait and what is best to use? i've used rag worm before and caught stuff. i've also bought mackeral fillets in the supermarket and tried that and got nothing.

2. where is the best place to go? i've gone to arklow a few times and had success there, i'd lie to try some where else but i keep goin to arklow cos i know there is fish there.

3. the rod i'm using sis a 7ft rod with line that i got for trout fishing once, its very light, what weight line should i use?

4.i got a big rod in lidl there a few weeks ago but don't really know what to do with it, am i best casting it out far and leaving it sit with bait on it or using lures/feathers? or should i just use one rod till i know what i'm doing.

I'm fishing for fish and not targeting anything in particular. any help would be very much appreciated.

the set up, i think thats the correct term, i'm using is basically a weight with the line runnig through it then a swivel then bout a foot of line and a hook on the end. that sound right?

sorry for all the questions.

Boris,

1) There are a few shops around Dublin that sell bait.

Personally I use a guy in Ringsend called Dave Tilly, a very helpful guy and usually great bait, send me a pm if you want his phone number.

Or I use Viking tackle in Bray, google it and you will get there number, again very good bait.

2) If we knew the answer to that we wouldnt need to fish anywhere else, but if your just getting started the east pier (the one with the light house) in Wicklow town is a great place to start, you catch plenty of fish and a good variety, but rarely any monsters.

3) That rod would be ok for fishing just over the side of the pier, using small weights approx 1 oz, with size 4 or 6 hooks and small baits. The bigger the weight you use, the stronger line you need. Line will be rated in lb's of strength, the standard sea fishing line would usually be around 15lb, but it does vary based on where you fish, and what fish you are trying to catch, but 15lb is a good starting point.

4) The benefit to fishing 2 rods, is that you can fish one in close, and 1 a bit further out, I tend to fish one in close with small hooks and baits, and 1 rod further out with bigger hooks/baits, obviously you can use that rod for fishing with feathers for mackerel, but they will be gone soon enough.

Your set up sounds ok to get you started, but there are some complex "rigs" (thats what you call your end bit of tackle) that can be used to much better effect once you have gained a bit more experience.

See this wesite link for rigs that can be built at home using different bits of tackle.

http://www.gemini-tackle.co.uk/rigs.html

It would be very helpful for you to get out with a few anglers off the site here who will be able to give you a first hand view of how you can broaden your skills.

I only started sea fishing last year, and meeting a few lads from the site here was extremely helpful when I was starting out.

I hope the above gives you a bit of help to get going.

There are also some useful tips on the site here regarding bait, tackle etc.

http://sea-angling-ireland.org/rods.htm

http://sea-angling-ireland.org/bait%201%20-%20lug.htm

http://sea-angling-ireland.org/map%20of ... 0shore.htm

http://sea-angling-ireland.org/specimen%20list.htm

This site is great for helping you to identify species of fish that you may catch, whilst its a UK based site, many of the species of fish are present in irish waters anyway

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/aquarium/index.

thanks very much, might give wicklow a go for a change.

im living in kildare as well . what part of kildare you from maybe we can meet up for a sesion over the next few weeks, i get my bait of dave tilly and he never lets me down also i buy 90% of my fishing gear from viking tackle in bray.
i do most of my fishing on the east coast.

fintan

went out again on sunday and had a very successful day. me and my friend both caught our biggest fish ever.
i got this bad boy which was a new species for me. so can you tell me what it is?


my friend got this doggy


these are a ll new fish to me so names would be appreciated





also managed to catch this

Well done, nice result, maybe next time post your fish ID question in the shore report section, you will get more responses.

1. Ballan Wrasse
2. Lesser Spotted Dogfish
3. Corkwing Wrasse
4. another Ballan Wrasse (they can have various colours, depending on their habitat)
5. 5-armed Sea Star (or also referred to as common starfish)

This site here might assist you to help identify your future catches.
Tight Lines!

Well done, nice result, maybe next time post your fish ID question in the shore report section, you will get more responses.

1. Ballan Wrasse
2. Lesser Spotted Dogfish
3. Corkwing Wrasse
4. another Ballan Wrasse (they can have various colours, depending on their habitat)
5. 5-armed Sea Star (or also referred to as common starfish)

This site here might assist you to help identify your future catches.
Tight Lines!

thanks i'll post there in future. whats a good size for the ballan wrasse?

...whats a good size for the ballan wrasse?

Judging by the lenght of your shoes the ballans you've got there were fine fishies, unless you have size 4 or 5
Here the present ISFC records and specimen sizes.