bray sea trout??

looking for a few tips on catching these fish around bray area. i know there should be a few heading out of the dargle this time of year but never targeted them on lures before and thats the plan.
thanks in advance

small jensen lures or same will do.
if your intending catching sea trout you will need a regional or national licence, that's if you don't have one of course, I'm only saying this because i know the lads patrol that area intensively hope you catch one

brian

they jump outa the harbour blow a rasberry at the lads fishing on the wall and swim around laughing to themselves didnt see many last year

Targetting sea trout kelts that are out of condition, out of season and weak from the rigours of spawning in the winter is not a good idea. Those fish have just survived a period of months up the river, escaped the river angler, the poacher and the otter and have made it back to salt water, they are the lucky ones, very very lucky ones. Theyre weak from lack of grub and the energy loss of producing a big load of eggs or milt. Theyll pick up anything they can find to eat once back in salt water, ie theyll scavange, in an attempt to regain condition. In that state it would be questionable if they could survive the stress and further massive loss of energy from being caught on the beach by a sea angler.

I just feel this needs to be said, I dont want to seem nasty about it or attack you for your post wrasse king, your enthusiasm to catch a sea trout is obvious and I totally relate to it but it aint fair on weak and fragile spent fish to be hauled out of the water kicking and writhing on the first bit of sustenance theyve seen in a long time, ie a baited hook.

I fully understand the desire to target sea trout, I fish for them myself and they really get your attention, turn your head at times but I think you should try to target them when they are in good order in the summer and autumn when they are heading towards the Dargle and not now when they need peace and food.

I promise you if you can get into catching them when they are in condition at the right time of year you will never look back and youll agree with the above. They are one of the best challenges in Irish fishing, and probably the best fighter of all- when in condition.

I know there are some trout in the sea at present that havent spawned this winter but there are a lot more spent fish which are much more likely to pick up your bait.

Fair enough didnt realise that there in such bad condition at this time of year. I wont be fishing for them anytime soon but dont think everyone would make the same decision. Was reading something online the other day about how to catch them this time of year.

I know your opinion but wonder if thats the majority???

Hi wrasse king, hope I didnt go over the top with that earlier post and thanks for respondin! I got up on a soap box a bit there.

Id say you are right and many sea anglers might question what I said earlier, but it aint just BS. Im a sea angler but was predominantly a game angler for most of my life and still am. The thing is it would be absolutely unacceptible to go out to a river or lough to fish for recently spawned sea trout. They are given protection from anglers in fresh water in the form of a close season from Sept/Oct well before they spawn which is usually in late Nov early December.

The close season comes into effect to protect undernourished fish that are totally out of condition and full of spawn. They are in bad nick and it just wouldnt be fair on them to stress them and use up their last valuable energy by playing them on the end of a line. Added to that they might not spawn succesfully at all if interfered with and over stressed when in that delicate state. They might not live.

When they return to the salt if they manage to survive running the gauntlet of being up the river with all its hazards, they are in a sorry state. They may look a bit better because they are silver again. They get that silver sheen back before they leave the river as their body readjusts to deal with salt water, many people think the salt water makes them silver, it doesnt. But they are basically malnourished and they need a lot of food to get back to being a healthy sea trout. At this stage the last thing they need is to be caught on a line.

Many sea anglers seem to be totally oblivious to the life cycle of the sea trout and care little for the fact that most of these early spring fish on the beaches are kelts (and should be left alone). The fact that they (and salmon kelts) are taken on a great variety of baits off beaches at this time of year is indicative of them being ravenous for a feed, theyre starving. Thats the reason they take the baits so readily.
I suppose the reason I posted what I did is down to a full appreciation of how fortunate a kelt is to make it back to sea where it can get a feed and where its meant to get freedom and peace. I believe the fish are given a close season in fresh water for very good reason and they should be given the exact same consideration when they first return to salt water.

Sorry to bang on, nuff said. I'll pm you a pic of the spinner I find most effective for summer sea trout in the sea. Its nothin fancy, but its the best spinner I have found by far and Ive tried many. Good luck with them, they kick ass.

Thats a bloody good post Cathal, fair play for getting your point across without preaching, thats how to educate, well done.

loads of stuff to take in. thanks and will definitely will be having a go come summer

[cathalger]

Wrasse king Im sorry that all came out in your thread, it could have been posted before now. I'll pm you shortly.

Last edited by cathalger on Thu Mar 03, 2011 12:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

a really informative post there indeed cathal, nice one.

aye, a lot of people are just not totally aware of the exact ins-and-outs of the life-cycle of the sea trout and/or salmon - i.e. the exact times of year they retreat from the rivers and just how bad a condition they may be in.. (and their effort and luck in gettin back..)

interesting stuff and a lot learnt there. hopefully a lot of people will read this, take heed, and educate others too..

good luck on getting a trout wrasse king. i managed small one a few years back now. fantastic wee fish