Portrush

Hi, Im new to this sea fishing and im really wanting to get out and fish off the rocks at portrush. I just want to know is there any fish about at this time of of year. Im looking for pollock mainly. Also is it dangerous on ramore head. Ive never been before and will most likely be going alone so all help is welcome.

Welcome to SAI, Sean.

Just on a point of interest, since any advice the lads offer will be influenced by it, does the "SeanMaguire12" indicate you are a junior/juvenile angler?

Welcome to SAI, Sean.

Just on a point of interest, since any advice the lads offer will be influenced by it, does the "SeanMaguire12" indicate you are a junior/juvenile angler?

Nah, Ill be 19 in April and im at at University in coleraine.

Rock fishing for a novice alone at this time of year.... dont chance it. Try the pier, or if theres other anglers at ramore its ok i suppose, Take no chances mate.

Rock fishing for a novice alone at this time of year.... dont chance it. Try the pier, or if theres other anglers at ramore its ok i suppose, Take no chances mate.

What about the blue pool. Would that be safer. Ive seen a few youtube videos of it and there seems to be a walkway and concrete ledges to stand on.

yeah man, ramore head can be a death trap in the wrong conditions . which sadly for it, is most of the time during these months. a few lads off the site had to be resuced from there by the coastguard a few years back, and these lads were seasoned anglers who knew what they were at. but conditions up there can change by the hour and as we have lernt to our peril, never take the forecast as gospel as they get it wrong more often than right . we had a very lucky escape there 2 years back during a lovely sunny summers day. we had fished it for a good 4 hours and there was a very light swell. but out of nowhere with no warning a series of about 7 big waves swept 20 feet up to the platform from where we were fishing from and almost got us . we lost a bit of gear, but we dropped the rods and hunkered down holding onto the rocks as the first wave swept over us. after that we scampered up to a higher point and did'nt even bother trying to save the gear until the waves passed. a very lucky escape indeed .
if it's pollack your after, i'm guessing your wanting them for the pot. so the summer months would be your best chance of getting something worth taking home. not saying there are'nt any about at this time of year, but they are all tiddlers under 35cms. added to that the pollack around our shores have been getting hammered by the commercials in the last few years as the value they retain has increased to a point that they have became viable to target. a lot of our antrim and down rock marks have been hit hard in the last 24 months to the point where you would have got 3 or 4, 2lb to 3lb pollack in a session where as now you'd be lucky to see 1 in 3 or 4 sessions

yeah man, ramore head can be a death trap in the wrong conditions . which sadly for it, is most of the time during these months. a few lads off the site had to be resuced from there by the coastguard a few years back, and these lads were seasoned anglers who knew what they were at. but conditions up there can change by the hour and as we have lernt to our peril, never take the forecast as gospel as they get it wrong more often than right . we had a very lucky escape there 2 years back during a lovely sunny summers day. we had fished it for a good 4 hours and there was a very light swell. but out of nowhere with no warning a series of about 7 big waves swept 20 feet up to the platform from where we were fishing from and almost got us . we lost a bit of gear, but we dropped the rods and hunkered down holding onto the rocks as the first wave swept over us. after that we scampered up to a higher point and did'nt even bother trying to save the gear until the waves passed. a very lucky escape indeed .
if it's pollack your after, i'm guessing your wanting them for the pot. so the summer months would be your best chance of getting something worth taking home. not saying there are'nt any about at this time of year, but they are all tiddlers under 35cms. added to that the pollack around our shores have been getting hammered by the commercials in the last few years as the value they retain has increased to a point that they have became viable to target. a lot of our antrim and down rock marks have been hit hard in the last 24 months to the point where you would have got 3 or 4, 2lb to 3lb pollack in a session where as now you'd be lucky to see 1 in 3 or 4 sessions

Thanks for the reply, definatlely dont want to get caught up in waves like that. I guess ill just have to put my excitement aside until the seas calm down. Ill probly wait until april before going out. It sucks that just as uni ends and i get kicked out of my accomodation that all the good fishing begins .

Hi, Im new to this sea fishing and im really wanting to get out and fish off the rocks at portrush. I just want to know is there any fish about at this time of of year. Im looking for pollock mainly. Also is it dangerous on ramore head. Ive never been before and will most likely be going alone so all help is welcome.

hi sean,

i am in coleraine, i fish alot round the north coast, portrush being one place.
The only place i'd send you alone is the blue pool and even at that i'd prefer not too.
i have fished both areas last week and there wasnt much of any size being caught to be honest and i got a bit rough too. even the experienced angler can get caught out and its not worth it.
have you any fishing gear at all, we do a alot of beach fishing if you'd fancy a go at that?
are you limited travel wise?

dave

i was on ramoure head on sat, just in front of the path, not around the corner where that outlet pipe was, i wouldnt go around there on my own. them rocks were bloody awfull and slipply. one bad slip and your gone or a smashed skull.

best to stay to the piers as people say at the min untill the better weather.

oh and never turn your back on the sea! as others have said a freak wave can hit you when you least expect it.

other than that i hope you catch loads of fish!

Hi, Im new to this sea fishing and im really wanting to get out and fish off the rocks at portrush. I just want to know is there any fish about at this time of of year. Im looking for pollock mainly. Also is it dangerous on ramore head. Ive never been before and will most likely be going alone so all help is welcome.

hi sean,

i am in coleraine, i fish alot round the north coast, portrush being one place.
The only place i'd send you alone is the blue pool and even at that i'd prefer not too.
i have fished both areas last week and there wasnt much of any size being caught to be honest and i got a bit rough too. even the experienced angler can get caught out and its not worth it.
have you any fishing gear at all, we do a alot of beach fishing if you'd fancy a go at that?
are you limited travel wise?

dave

I have a 12ft carp rod but was gonna buy a new spinning rod from the fishing shop in coleraine. I have makerel feathers, jelly worms and one of them shiny bar lures. I dont have a car so that is the main thing keeping me from going and i dont want to wast money on busues and taxis if its not going to be productive fishing.

i wouldnt be put off yet lad as im sure you can meet up with some of us on here or give you a pull out. theres alot of good stuff for sale in the 2 shops in portrush, i got a spinning rod in there for a meger 12quid lol
take a look in the reports section to see what others have done, loads of good advice and info there.

[/quote] I have a 12ft carp rod but was gonna buy a new spinning rod from the fishing shop in coleraine. I have makerel feathers, jelly worms and one of them shiny bar lures. I dont have a car so that is the main thing keeping me from going and i dont want to wast money on busues and taxis if its not going to be productive fishing.[/quote]


ok i see.

this is what i recon you should do - use the carp rod/reel etc for bait fishing i.e on the beach or rocks - get your self down to barrys beach in the port and do a bit of beach fishing up along there, stay near the left side when looking out to sea and fish up along the line of the rocks. you may even get a bass/sea trout or two if your lucky.

onto the polluck -these marks are well fished by locals/europeans/holiday makers so edible size fish are not there in great numbers for a multitude of reasons even at the right time of year. you do get the odd one that is over a few pounds but the are getting fewer each year and the big polluck are found on better marks (most of which are not publisized to the public on forums etc) so you'd have to travel to get them.

if you wanna get out fishing i can take you round and show you a few spots in the port that would suit you but its tough at this time of year to be hunting for the table.

if beach fishing interests you then you can tag along with us - one guy being from portrush and me in coleraine so we can lift you etc. are you in halls of actually in the port?

dave

[quote="polmac"]i, i got a spinning rod in there for a meger 12quid lol
quote]



what you tryin to say.......my fav spinnin rod cost me 20 quid. . . its a tough little bugger too. .

I have a 12ft carp rod but was gonna buy a new spinning rod from the fishing shop in coleraine. I have makerel feathers, jelly worms and one of them shiny bar lures. I dont have a car so that is the main thing keeping me from going and i dont want to wast money on busues and taxis if its not going to be productive fishing.[/quote]


ok i see.

this is what i recon you should do - use the carp rod/reel etc for bait fishing i.e on the beach or rocks - get your self down to barrys beach in the port and do a bit of beach fishing up along there, stay near the left side when looking out to sea and fish up along the line of the rocks. you may even get a Bass/sea trout or two if your lucky.

onto the polluck -these marks are well fished by locals/europeans/holiday makers so edible size fish are not there in great numbers for a multitude of reasons even at the right time of year. you do get the odd one that is over a few pounds but the are getting fewer each year and the big polluck are found on better marks (most of which are not publisized to the public on forums etc) so you'd have to travel to get them.

if you wanna get out fishing i can take you round and show you a few spots in the port that would suit you but its tough at this time of year to be hunting for the table.

if beach fishing interests you then you can tag along with us - one guy being from portrush and me in coleraine so we can lift you etc. are you in halls of actually in the port?

dave[/quote]

Thanks for the offer dave. Im not fishing for the table just for fun. My mate's gona give me a lift in tomoro and their going to look round them while i do a bit of fishing. Probly just fish at the pier. What is the best tackle to use there. Im staying on campus in their halls. Not sure about beach fishing though, my casting skills are not great.

Sean all the advice given by the lads is 100% fact especially what polmac just said --- and I refer to never ever turn your back to the sea .. especially at night as I know from a narrow escape I had a few years ago on a cold Oct night at Kinnego Bay in Donegal. I had just waded out a few yards at low tide to cast out and the minute I turned around a wave hit me and dragged me back down into the sea ( shelving beach ) Thankfully I have spent a fair bit of my life in survival suits and had been diving for years so I remained calm , gathered my senses and managed to crawl back up onto the beach - dumped my gear behind a few bushes - stripped off ballick naked and drove home with a car rug wrapped around me - needless to say I was alone and never again do I hope to get caught out like I did then .. The rocks are fine on a good day when the sea is calm etc but in the dark or when the sea is rough with a filling tide best avoided ... anyhow get yourself an automatic life vest if you can afford one failing that a manual one .. best regards John

Thanks for the offer dave. Im not fishing for the table just for fun. My mate's gona give me a lift in tomoro and their going to look round them while i do a bit of fishing. Probly just fish at the pier. What is the best tackle to use there. Im staying on campus in their halls. Not sure about beach fishing though, my casting skills are not great.[/quote]


no problem boss. sure casting is all part of the fun and you'll soon learn, plus casting big distance is not necessary round here.

you could do a bit of spinning but i doubt you get anything there.
or you could do some bait fishing there - you'd need a lead that you rod can cast, a rig to put the bait onto (you can buy or make these), a shockleader (attached to mainline) to take the strain of casting a lead, and some bait.

if its fishing for fun come out with me and i'll get you started.

dave

dave if your heading out again let me know and i'll see if im free cause they other 2 guys i go out with aint that reliable, one of them more so. i cant be arsed going out on my own all the time lol

dave if your heading out again let me know and i'll see if im free cause they other 2 guys i go out with aint that reliable, one of them more so. i cant be arsed going out on my own all the time lol

I was in the harbour spinning today but caught nothing. Might go with bait next time. Im off wednesdays at uni so if u are going i might join you.

lol sadly my days of uni are long gone and i wish i could have the luxury of taking week days off! ahh them were the days!

i prob be out on sat morn tho i wont know until tomorrow afternoon but keep at it regardless, each days a learning curve and i only got back into fishing again last summer after not being at it since i was 15.

i beleive seans been out and bought himself some new gear???? good man!

Polmac/sean - i'm gonna be heading to the port on sat morning, yous are more than welcome along. not sure which mark yet though as i think there is a big swell building and some rocks may get washed out.

i'll pm you my no. as i dunno if i'll be back online till monday.


dave