Fish species in North Clare.

Well lads, Im new to this forum so bear with me. I live 5 minutes away from black head and ballyreen and have been fishing here for a good few years for mackeral and pollack. Im getting a bit curious now about what else is lurking out around there though. I have 2 12 foot beachcasters with fixed spool reels and was just wondering what would be the best species to target for a newbie like me and what would be the best rigs, bait and methods to use. Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated .

Look at it from another perspective, what would you like to catch?? On both marks that you mentioned the bottom is very snaggy for the first twentyfive yards and in some places fifty yards. That means conger, wrasse and huss will be there but you will have to get sorted for rotten-bottom and losing leads. If you can chuck it a bit further dogs, rays, gurnard, plaice, flounder, dab and who knows what else would be possible? You are also in the middle of some great bass marks and on the sixteenth of June you would be able to start targeting those as well.

Look at it from another perspective, what would you like to catch?? On both marks that you mentioned the bottom is very snaggy for the first twentyfive yards and in some places fifty yards. That means conger, wrasse and huss will be there but you will have to get sorted for rotten-bottom and losing leads. If you can chuck it a bit further dogs, rays, gurnard, plaice, flounder, dab and who knows what else would be possible? You are also in the middle of some great Bass marks and on the sixteenth of June you would be able to start targeting those as well.

After spending many many euros on mackeral feathers I have a fair idea of the ground in black head, havnt fished ballyreen as much. I would like to start with the flatties and the huss, I have seen a few flatties being caught in ballyreen before. My chuck is fairly good, havnt measured it but more often then not I outcast the lad next to me. I dont want to discourage myself too much starting off going for congers and rays I had heard of bass around alright but when I typed fanore into the search function on this forum it seems to be very hot and cold. Still I could throw a stone from where I am now and it would go half way to the beach so it should be worth a shot sometime!!

Fanore is hot and cold, the bass are either there or they are not but as a general rule if you can see surfers out there will be a few bass around. You can get flounder dab and the odd turbot there as well.
The huss tend to live in the same place as the conger and methods for landing them are much the same but 100 lb mono trace is ok for most huss

Fanore is hot and cold, the Bass are either there or they are not but as a general rule if you can see surfers out there will be a few Bass around. You can get flounder dab and the odd turbot there as well.
The huss tend to live in the same place as the conger and methods for landing them are much the same but 100 lb mono trace is ok for most huss

Thanks baitdigger, I assume the conger and huss are pretty much under your feet along black head and ballyreen since it drops off so fast so? There is a lot of weed around black head at the moment though so that might stall me there for a while. Im suprised you said the huss hand around in the rough because I thought they liked a sandy bottom from my reading. I tried a 3 hook flapper rig baited with sandell yesterday evening, sea was a bit choppy but I hooked into what I would say was a good sized pollock because he dived into the weed when I nearly had it in and broke off the trace, sickened . The ground in the flats doesnt seem to be as cross, would you hit a sandy bottom there with a good cast do you know? I have 20lb mono on both my reels, would I be better off to take it off one of them and load it with braid and a shockleader, I havnt mastered bite detection yet!! Was thinking too I might be better off with a pulley rig in this kind of ground, should save me a bit of gear. On the bait front should I stick to mackeral strips and sandeels for bait or are the mackeral strips too big for the flatties? Anyway sorry for bombarding you with questions, If I pulled out one new species at all I would be away with it though

Forums like these are the place for lots of questions so no worries.
The flats is mainly sand, at low water you can see the extent of the reefs but it does mean when a fish is on you need to get it over those last few rocks fairly quickly. In the past I have caught rays, dogs, flounder,wrasse, gurnard, pollack and dab there but over the last four years it has become too popular to have any chance of fishing in peace during the mackerel season, it doesnt take long to get fed up with people casting over your lines all day.
There is a spot a few hundred yards to the left of the lighthouse where you go through a gate. anywhere to the left of number sixteen you are onto sand within a reasonable cast. A few plaice have been caught there this year.
Mackerel and sandeel are fine for flatfish, you can cut them into small pieces and mount them on small hooks but that isnt really my thing so hopefully someone else will be able to help you more with that. Lugworm and small rag would also be a good bait.
the huss can be found on many different types of ground, it just happens that the ones at blackhead and ballyreen prefer the dirty rough stuff and particularly the fringe where sand meets rough.
Line is a personal thing and I dont like braid for anything other than lure work. I only use 19lb mono but with a 60lb leader. You will need a decent length of shock/rubbing leader to fish in rough stuff.
That weed and nasty stuff is what you will have to cast into if you want to look for conger and huss. you will need to use some kind of rotten bottom or weak link. You will lose leads and tackle but that is the nature of the game. It isnt for everyone but some people prefer it to catching small stuff. A conger eel is probably your best chance of catching a double figure fish.
Pulley rigs are not a miracle rig. They were designed to allow a hooked fish to pull the lead above itself so it is less likely to snag as the fish is played in. An empty trace the hooks and lead will dangle down and has equal chance of snagging. The pulley rig needs to be tied with some kind of rotten bottom system to make it more effective. Having said that about it it is the 'goto' rig I use for general fishing. Try a running paternoster if you are after conger and huss.
Pollack seem to be easier to catch with a moving bait if you want to target them. The biggest ones seem to take a good sized conger bait and if you hit one of those you would have no trouble with bite detection

Forums like these are the place for lots of questions so no worries.
The flats is mainly sand, at low water you can see the extent of the reefs but it does mean when a fish is on you need to get it over those last few rocks fairly quickly. In the past I have caught rays, dogs, flounder,wrasse, gurnard, pollack and dab there but over the last four years it has become too popular to have any chance of fishing in peace during the mackerel season, it doesnt take long to get fed up with people casting over your lines all day.
There is a spot a few hundred yards to the left of the lighthouse where you go through a gate. anywhere to the left of number sixteen you are onto sand within a reasonable cast. A few plaice have been caught there this year.
Mackerel and sandeel are fine for flatfish, you can cut them into small pieces and mount them on small hooks but that isnt really my thing so hopefully someone else will be able to help you more with that. Lugworm and small rag would also be a good bait.
the huss can be found on many different types of ground, it just happens that the ones at blackhead and ballyreen prefer the dirty rough stuff and particularly the fringe where sand meets rough.
Line is a personal thing and I dont like braid for anything other than lure work. I only use 19lb mono but with a 60lb leader. You will need a decent length of shock/rubbing leader to fish in rough stuff.
That weed and nasty stuff is what you will have to cast into if you want to look for conger and huss. you will need to use some kind of rotten bottom or weak link. You will lose leads and tackle but that is the nature of the game. It isnt for everyone but some people prefer it to catching small stuff. A conger eel is probably your best chance of catching a double figure fish.
Pulley rigs are not a miracle rig. They were designed to allow a hooked fish to pull the lead above itself so it is less likely to snag as the fish is played in. An empty trace the hooks and lead will dangle down and has equal chance of snagging. The pulley rig needs to be tied with some kind of rotten bottom system to make it more effective. Having said that about it it is the 'goto' rig I use for general fishing. Try a running paternoster if you are after conger and huss.
Pollack seem to be easier to catch with a moving bait if you want to target them. The biggest ones seem to take a good sized conger bait and if you hit one of those you would have no trouble with bite detection

Jeez I dont think I ever ventured over near number 16 Normally head to the 50s, There is a spot there that always throws me a pollock or 2 but its pretty snaggy. It all depends with timing on the flats I think, alot of weekdays there doesnt be too many around so you would manage away. Very irratating alright with people casting across your line. I dont actually eat fish so its just for a bit of sport in the evenings, catching mackeral is too easy and the fun is gone out of it for me!! Theres probably no correct answer to this question but what has me probably the most confused is when you throw out your baited hooks and you are not getting any bites how long to leave it before you reel in, rebait and cast to a differ area? And thanks again baitdigger, seems like a great site for info!!

Jeez I dont think I ever ventured over near number 16 Normally head to the 50s, There is a spot there that always throws me a pollock or 2 but its pretty snaggy. It all depends with timing on the flats I think, alot of weekdays there doesnt be too many around so you would manage away. Very irratating alright with people casting across your line. I dont actually eat fish so its just for a bit of sport in the evenings, catching mackeral is too easy and the fun is gone out of it for me!! Theres probably no correct answer to this question but what has me probably the most confused is when you throw out your baited hooks and you are not getting any bites how long to leave it before you reel in, rebait and cast to a differ area? And thanks again baitdigger, seems like a great site for info!!

Right lets start one thing at a time. The numbers you fish would be best for pollack, conger and the odd wrasse but you would have the most fun with pollack if you got very light tackle and try them on a jelly worm. Even mackerel will surprise you on a light spinning rod. If it were possible to catch five pound mackerel I doubt if I would fish for anything else.
As for your baits that gets a little more complicated and you will learn in time but as a guide give the first bait around twenty minutes in the water. When you reel it in if the bait has gone give the next cast fifteen minutes before checking it. Crabs, shrimp and small fish will eat your bait without necessarily showing a bite.

Jeez I dont think I ever ventured over near number 16 Normally head to the 50s, There is a spot there that always throws me a pollock or 2 but its pretty snaggy. It all depends with timing on the flats I think, alot of weekdays there doesnt be too many around so you would manage away. Very irratating alright with people casting across your line. I dont actually eat fish so its just for a bit of sport in the evenings, catching mackeral is too easy and the fun is gone out of it for me!! Theres probably no correct answer to this question but what has me probably the most confused is when you throw out your baited hooks and you are not getting any bites how long to leave it before you reel in, rebait and cast to a differ area? And thanks again baitdigger, seems like a great site for info!!

Right lets start one thing at a time. The numbers you fish would be best for pollack, conger and the odd wrasse but you would have the most fun with pollack if you got very light tackle and try them on a jelly worm. Even mackerel will surprise you on a light spinning rod. If it were possible to catch five pound mackerel I doubt if I would fish for anything else.
As for your baits that gets a little more complicated and you will learn in time but as a guide give the first bait around twenty minutes in the water. When you reel it in if the bait has gone give the next cast fifteen minutes before checking it. Crabs, shrimp and small fish will eat your bait without necessarily showing a bite.

I will venture over that side some day, just used to stick to the spot around the 50s because it never sent me home empty handed Those crabs are a bas**rd, baited up with mackeral strips and gave it a good chuck out on the flats yesterday evening onto a clean bottom, watched the road knocking for a few minutes, then a big knock came and I said lovely Caught the rod, felt no weight on the line and pulled in 3 empty hooks, was thinking after the crabs must have been knocking off the line while they were eating my mackeral strips, same thing was happening with my sandeels a few evenings before . I saw on another site somewhere lastnight where someone baited up with sandeel and wrapped squid all the way around it and put on some elastic, he reckoned it was a super bait and a lasts a good bit longer because the crabs cant pull off the squid. I might try that the next day and see because the auld lad will go cracked if I use all the mackeral in the freezer for bait . Have a lot of tackle lost lately since I started fishing the lighthouse so might stick at the flats until I get something, seems a bit more tackle friendly anyway and I would say I am more likely to find a few flatties there...mabye even a ray!!

think about joining the fanore lisdoonvarna sea angling club , they always fish those venues .

While you are out at the flats fishing away just have a few casts every now and then for the mackerel, if you are using small baits a handful of mackerel would keep you going all day. They were there off the high rock yesterday but a long way out.I also had a nice pollack from the lighthouse on a Senko on a jig head. Generally the weed was VERY bad around the lighthouse and will probably take a few days to settle down after the spring tides.
You mentioned fishing two rods and pulley rigs. At this stage it would be good for you to try one rod on a bigger bait and the other on a three hook flapper to see what is about.

Caught my first huss today of the beach in Fanore Weighed 7.5 lbs and was 34 inches long. Was using squid and sandeel on a 3 hook flapper. Im having a bit of trouble trying to keep mackeral strips on the hooks be it fresh or frozen, is there any diagram that shows the correct way to hook it? Sorry for taking so long to get back on this.
Pic of the huss.