Mystery Fish ?

My fishing buddies Father is a keen beach walker and was out waking inchadonney last weekend, he says that he saw a large number of fish in the estuary "jumping".. I was thinking it must be mullet but I haven't ever seen them leaping out of the water in great numbers before..they normally just "mull" about :D with the occasional splash..my mate reckons bass..im not so sure.. do bass school up like this at this time of year ???

Any idea's ?

(needless to say im heading down this W/E) :D

Sea Trout I'd imagine !

Ummm maybe I should skip work and head down there tomorrow !!!

If you intend to fish for sea trout make sure you have a salmon/sea trout licence, especially if you want to knock any of them on the head. After spawning they are probably in relatively poor condition so not worth eating this time of year anyway, best to leave them alone until May/June...

hey ya. im from clonakilty myself and this is a regular occurance the can be a number of things but at the moment my best guess is that they are the small coalfish that insfest the south west are, clonakilty in particular at this time of year. because of the weather conditions and the time of year they seem to develop sea lice on their skin. we've been getting loads of them with sea lice attached lately. think they jump, just like sea trout to remove the paresites.

Umm thanks guys.. will have to check it out
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Bradan

Excuse my ignorance on licences but I only ever sea fish, Do you need a license to fish for them in the sea ?!?

I.e. if you happened on a salmon or sea trout at sea would you be breaking the law? Or would an estuary count as part of the rivers system? Or is it if you are specifically targeting them at Sea?

I saw one caught opposite the aquarium in Galway last year..pretty sure the guy was a sea only fisher and had no license..(this would be counted as the sea I think rather than an estuary)

Lovely looking fish

Thanks

My understanding of the matter (which is only my own opinion and has no legal standing whatsoever) is that if you want to fish for Salmon and Sea Trout then you need a licence. That's the law, and the law says nothing about where you're fishing.

So, river, lake, estuary or sea, if you intend to fish for Salmon or Sea Trout then you need a licence.

If for example you are on the shore after Bass or Flounder or Mackeral and happen to hook a Salmon or Sea Trout then you must release it if you do not have a licence. Even if it's going to wash up dead beside you, you must not be caught in possession.

Perhaps Bradan could confirm/correct my opinion?

Tanglerat,

Thats always been my understanding also.

Makes sense as far as law goes.

Tom.

Tanglerat
You're 100% correct - licence required anywhere for sea trout. Of course the vast majority of sea trout caught in saltwater are caught while targeting other species, but if you don't have a licence these must be released immediately. I guess very few anglers would target them specifically in saltwater so its not as important to be in possession of a licence, as it would be impossible to prove the angler was after sea trout only, but once you've caught the fish better to know the law and either tag and record the fish or release it.
Bradan

as someone who just got their first licence this year i can vouch that you need to have a tag on any dead fish. the offence is to have a dead salmon without a tag. In all fairness its only 30 quid per area and I would rather pay it and know I am doing my little bit than poach the buggers. same thing as taking under size or more than your 2 bass a day as far as I am concerned

Cheers for that Bradan, nice to get confirmation.

:D