Wexford II

Hey lads

Will be taking my brothers on their first fishing trip on June 6-8. We'll be driving from west wicklow and would be thinking about hitting the Wexford coast.

I've had a look at the marks section and earmarked morriscastle as a possible beach venue to pick up maybe some flats and dogs and whatever else is lurking out there, and Cahore point as a nearby rock mark.

Given that those dates fall during the bass close season we're obviously not going to be targeting those, but would really like to produces some fish for angling newbies so am also wary of throwing all my eggs into one basket and trying to catch smoothhound or something without success.

Anyone know of any rocky marks that would give up pollack, wrasse or even mackeral? Fishing newbies would be delighted with mackeral and I'd love to catch a wrasse.

Never fished Wexford coast before so any suggestions welcome. Also, ye know of any tackle shops in the area selling bait?

ta

If you specifically want wrasse / pollock the best rock mark is probably Hook Head, however morriscastle / roney point / courtown will give some decent fishing opportunities for a variety of species - a rising tide into dusk is best. There is/was a tackle/bait shop somewhere in Gorey
and there is a bait supplier in Ardcavan - Good luck

mick

yea east coast tackle gorey is the of it.when you come to oscars bar turn rifht and cant miss it.

thanks lads

any more specific developments - i.e. if there are any wexford marks fishing well closer to the dates, give me a pm and I'd be eternally grateful. Any contact details for that bait dealer in Ardcavan/

And more generally, would daytime hours be suitable for rock fishing for pollack and wrasse? Or are they, like many species, best caught at dawn or dusk?

Ardcavan would be Dave Scallan, about 50m down the road to the Wildfowl Reserve.053 24037.
If the hook is too far, Carnesore point has rock marks for wrasse/conger/pollack

ta jd

the hook might be a bit distant, but would be up for trying it on a second day if day 1 was a blank. carnsore might be a good idea. Any specific tips or hotspots for there? is access an issue?
ta
conor

East Coast Tackle in Gorey closed down last year. There is however a tackle shop behind the musical instruments shop on the main street in Arklow opposite the car park.

Donal.

jd I read that access to Carnsore point is difficult.

"Anglers should note that access is difficult and requires a one and a half mile drive over very rough terrain" says the eastern fisheries board.

this true? Am I going to have trouble with a standard saloon car?

that was me :oops:

don't want to drive all the way down only to turn around and come back again because wheel ruts are too deep to tackle... or worse, attempt a dodgy track and get stuck.

I normally drive to the right of where ethe windmills are..
I haven't had a problem yet...
That'll bringk you to the right of the rock marks (if you are facing the sea ;) )
jd

ta.

been looking into marks and there seems to be a wealth of them down there. Might try Kilmore quay - read a piece on Mike Thrussel's site which had a load of fish caught from the piers there - to whet the appetite for an hour or two before striking out to rock marks and then maybe a strand or estuary. Going to spend a whole day or two at it so anticipate moving locations a few times.
Any bait dealers further south (seeing as the focus has shifted from the Gorey area to more kilmore/rosslare)? I see there are a couple of tackle shops in Wexford town but ideally I'd like not to have to drive in there.

thanks.

I requested similar info from Luke Scully a while back . Send him a PM, he replied to me with a load of really good info which I hope to make use of in August.

Cheers,
Conor.

haven't seen him online for a long time, is he still knocking around?
Maybe if you had a name or two for bait dealers you could pm them to me conor?

(I find it hard enough to find marks to fish without trying to find places to catch crabs or dig lug!)

I've just dug up Luke's reply , hope it's of some use :

Hi, back again. Yes Courtown, at that time of year you will get a number of
species. Most are best targeted from a boat but at night you will have a
chance. Not far off Roney point and the shore can be got BIG Thornback Ray.
We had two specimen 20 lb fish last summer and about 10 others all over 15
lb. You will also get Tope if you bring fresh Mackerel. Fresh is really
important. Cant stress that enough. You have 10 times as much chance believe
me. Go to a supermarket or bring it with you or do whatever you can to get
it. it will be worth it! Frozen is very hit and miss. You will also get
doggies, Huss and Smooth Hound. Bring a load of live hardback crabs with
you. Peeler will work well too. A little too well... You will have it robbed
by doggies, dabs and everything else except the hounds. If you bring small
hardbacks they are soft enough to mush and get on the hook and are actually
quite juicy. Most fish will ignore them. You will get the odd dog on them
but the hounds will sniff them out and will allow you to target them in
particular. Hard backs work great for smoothies. We have had loads of them
over the last two years on hard backs. Don't loose faith in them if you are
not catching. They DO work! In my opinion they are better cos they are left
there long enough for the smoothies to find them before some mini fish
gobbles the bait and they are free and easy to source. There are other fish
to be had aswell like Dab, Pin Whiting, Codling and big Rockling. Bass can
also show their ugly faces nearer Cahore and as the summer evening falls you
will often see them jumping to throw sea lice. Try plugging/trolling plugs
for these.


Cheers,
Conor.

ta conor, sounds encouraging

we'll prob be out the bank holiday monday so anyone in the area feel like joining us, be my guest.

I hope to be back down that way myself over that bank holiday weekend. Caught a load of dogfish in cahore about 2 weeks ago. I used to live down that way and love taking the trip down around roney point. However I will most likley be fishing on saturday 4th - if the tides are right

mick

Id say have a look at the Kilmore website. They have some very useful info on marks and how they are fishing - most up to date also. There is alink to it on the linkstation page.

You are also getting close to the time now for the tope along the south coast with a few marks in Rosslare probably your best bet. They are by far and away the best hook up you will ever have....I promise you! Smmothhounds should start to make an appearance soon aswell. Bait here is FRESH PEELER crab for the smoothies and FRESH if you can get it mackeral.

If you want wrasse and a general mixture then Carnsore is the place. Wouldnt go down the lane that JD suggested but keep going. Here you are fishing from the beach but into a rocky reef which is always covered and you wont be able to see it. Here you are likely to catch wrasse (a they will be bigger), pollack, flounder, dogs and the odd bass. For directions email Kilmore SAC, they do respond with helpful tips. Dont worry about the drive down, if you stick to the hard areas and keep out of the sand your micra will have no problem in getting down!

As for bait there is one small tackle shop in Kilmore that also sells bait, again contact details from Kilmore SAC. In Wexford there are only 3... David Scallan (an ex Irish international...more tips) in Ardcavan (053) 24037...Murphys on North Main Street and Hayes on South Main street. If your looking for tackle then Dave or Hayes is your best bet. For peeler Murphys, for worms Dave. You may be able to get fresh mackeral in Meylers fishmonger in the Bullring. :lol:

[jd]

If you want wrasse and a general mixture then Carnsore is the place. Wouldnt go down the lane that JD suggested but keep going. Here you are fishing from the beach but into a rocky reef which is always covered and you wont be able to see it.:

I think we are talking about going down the same way -as I said you end up to the right of the rocks.. :)

Last edited by jd on Wed May 18, 2005 1:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

jaysus thanks flounderking, that's very helpful.
I'd be wary of trying for tope and smoothhound - I was saying to a mate yesterday that if I was on my own I'd happily try a couple of nights for them and be prepared for a slim chance of hooking up, but with two non-fishing siblings in tow (alright, they're both the far side of 30 so we'll have beer if they get bored) i'm more eager to have a better chance of catching less exciting fish.

having said that though if one day goes well we could always go back down the next night with big game on our minds...

I'm really looking forward to this, I haven't been out all year due to transport woes which are about to be solved...

If you want wrasse and a general mixture then Carnsore is the place. Wouldnt go down the lane that JD suggested but keep going. Here you are fishing from the beach but into a rocky reef which is always covered and you wont be able to see it.:

I think we are talking about going down the same way -as I said you end up to the right of the rocks.. :)

As you know there are many lanes which bring you to the right of the rocks- or Carnesore Point (at least 5 if you know your way around)! The lane Im on about isnt the first one but I think could be the third one heading for the Coombe / The Cut! This will bring you about a 15 minute walk on the beach from the Turbines and 'the rocks'. Practically mid way between Carnesore and The Cut. :wink: