The Good Old Days

I remember, I remember, (when Cliff Richard was young and U2 hadn't been invented) going shore fishing around County Down and catching fish. Lots of fish. When I was Chef in Ballyedmond Castle Hotel at Rostrevor (now the fortress that Lord Haughey of Norbrook lives in) I used to keep a few scraps of steak to one side for bait and when I finished for the evening I'd nip down to the shore and pull out Dogfish till I was sick looking at them. You couldn't have got down through the doggies, they were there in their thousands. Not there now though. Please please let someone prove me wrong. Got an eight pound Thornback off Warrenpoint pier back then too. Don't think they're there now either. I was going to buy golf clubs a few years ago, then decided to buy some shore tackle instead, so I got kitted up and fished from Ardglass to Greenore for five years. Result? 3 Dogfish, 1 small Flattie and 1 Codling about 8-10 ozs. For bait I used fish strip, prawns, mussels and even oysters. I never had worms except when another angler handed over the remains of his baitbox when heading home from the pier in Newcastle. That's the day I got the flattie. The Glory Days were in the early seventies for me . I went out on Sandy Scott's boat The Caledonia, No.B37 I think it was, from Bangor. 13 varieties of fish caught on a 3 hour trip. Last trip out from Bangor a few years ago the boatman told me I'd be lucky to see 3 varieties now.
Without wanting (or expecting!) anyone to divulge their hot spots, is anyone getting good catches in the North? It looks like the West coast and the South coast are going well, but what about the North and the East?

I remember, I remember, (when Cliff Richard was young and U2 hadn't been invented) going shore fishing around County Down and catching fish. Lots of fish. When I was Chef in Ballyedmond Castle Hotel at Rostrevor (now the fortress that Lord Haughey of Norbrook lives in) I used to keep a few scraps of steak to one side for bait and when I finished for the evening I'd nip down to the shore and pull out Dogfish till I was sick looking at them. You couldn't have got down through the doggies, they were there in their thousands. Not there now though. Please please let someone prove me wrong. Got an eight pound Thornback off Warrenpoint pier back then too. Don't think they're there now either. I was going to buy golf clubs a few years ago, then decided to buy some shore tackle instead, so I got kitted up and fished from Ardglass to Greenore for five years. Result? 3 Dogfish, 1 small Flattie and 1 Codling about 8-10 ozs. For bait I used fish strip, prawns, mussels and even oysters. I never had worms except when another angler handed over the remains of his baitbox when heading home from the pier in Newcastle. That's the day I got the flattie. The Glory Days were in the early seventies for me . I went out on Sandy Scott's boat The Caledonia, No.B37 I think it was, from Bangor. 13 varieties of fish caught on a 3 hour trip. Last trip out from Bangor a few years ago the boatman told me I'd be lucky to see 3 varieties now.
Without wanting (or expecting!) anyone to divulge their hot spots, is anyone getting good catches in the North? It looks like the West coast and the South coast are going well, but what about the North and the East?

hey man,i wouldnt be quite your vintage but i do remember back as far as the early eighties and yes it was unbelievable compared to these days,my mother would always ask how many fish/species i`d caught and id bore her with the details,now my wife asks me "catch anything this time"and the answer is usually pretty short.the east coast is absolutely POOR CHOICE OF LANGUAGE and only picks up as you travel beyond wicklow(and only for a few months of the year too).very depressing indeed,on the verge of jackin it in altogether on more than one occasion only i love it too much but the gear will definitely stay in the shed this winter.give almost anything to be back in the 70s/80s even for just a couple sessions