How's Clew bay area fishing?

Going down to Westport for the first week of Sept :D, just wondering how that area is fishing.
Where would the best place be to get Mackeral?
Any pollock being caught at Cloghmore Harbour?

I know some of you are heading down there this weekend for a meet, so I'll be watching out for the reports.

Have the guys who went to Westport at the weekend all gone AWOL :?:

Hi Adrian

Inner bay around the islands is dead as a doornail - has been for months and may not recover until next year.

Outer bay is fishing its socks off, mackerel everywhere, try the old head outside louisburgh, either off the pier on the floor mid water up or better off the rocks around to the west. On the north Corraun west is fine too...

FWIW

Kieran,

Thanks for the info. Have you heard any reports of Pollock being caught from Cloghmore pier at all?

I think a good general tip for anywhere on the west coast, in light of the red tide damage, is to look for marks that are more exposed and subject to a strong tide run as these will have had a better chance of not being oxygen starved as the bloom rotted on the sea bed. Avoid any deep inlets like the plague - these seem to have suffered the worst of the damage as the bloom got pushed deep into these and with lack of tide or storms to mix the water, these got hit the hardest. I can see from being in Galway & Westport and talking to people there that some areas may take years to recover.....

Hi Adrian

Afraid sandman has it perfectly explained - the shelthered spots are to be avoided. If you are after pollack, head further west, try some of the rock marks on northern belmullet or possibly the rocks west of Purteen on Achill although they are a dodgy spot in the best of times. One thing I have found is that some spots are fishing particularly well at low water, which is not what I would have expected... normally you need a current pushing though...

Picked up a few small ones on the Old Head in brilliant sunshine if you are looking for a relaxing spot, and good wrasse there and triggers and you might locate some flatfish and rays given it is away from the red tide zone.

FWIW...

Just back from Westport last week. Fished at Lecanvey pier on a cold, overcast day but no luck. Second trip - Old Head pier - took 5 mackerel on float (mackerel bait) and 2 dogfish on bottom (mackerel bait again). Fairly decent size fish caught as tide was going out, on a slightly milder day. Others spinning around us caught nothing...
Folk in tackle shop in Bridge Street, Westport very helpful if you need any tackle, bait or advice.

I was wondering why I was only getting very small pollack. Was fishing up the coast in sligo, streedagh. How log could it take to recover from this "Red Tide"?