Cleggan, Claddaduff

Hi guys,

Has anyone an experience shore fishing these parts in the winter?

All help appreciatted!

Hush1

Hi hush, hows it going? Contact Pablo, just seen that he was fishing on Cleggan pier last weekend.

But, if you want a really good night!! Get yourself a small tent ( called a bivvy) set it up on the pier at about 10pm. Bring a few smallish mackeral, and make flappers out of them, basically cut of the tail and split from the tail end to mid way on the back! Put a size eight hook thru the eye and pull the line through and hook one of the sides that you previously split! Then throw the bait out, so that it sits on the bottom, leave your reel in free run mode, secure your rod ( anyway you like as long as you dont damage it), put an alarm on the line, a good fishing tackle shop will have them! And wait for a conger eel to set your heart racing!!!!

Hello,
Joey, I just spotted your question earlier about winter fishing around Clifden.
There is no tradition of shore fishing in winter. However getting some education from this website got me out trying last year on what should be a good spot. I went with a bucket of freshly dug large lugworms, during day light hours, over sand and over rough ground.
Result - I used up all the bait, for one missed bite. Had to get home as quick as I could, hoping that none of my neighbours had spotted me. Now if I had a few whiting, God forbid, a codling, anything at all would have saved me.

I was told by an old neighbour that he saw gunner (wrasse) caught as late as Christmas Eve once, there was sure no sign of them in early Jan '06!!

Will I try again? Someone tell me is it worth it????

Blackie

Hey Hush,

Myself and Pablo are just back from a weekends fishing down there.
Both of us are beginners.

We fished Cleggan pier with various feather rigs and caught plenty of mackeral and pollock. The mackeral were averaging 10 inches long, the pollock were a little smaller.

We found earlier in the morning had the best results but after midday things slowed up a bit.

Theres a place on the Ballyconeely road out of Clifden called Salt Lake. Its about a 20 min drive from Cleggan. We found this a great spot. We caught pollock in the double figures using again feathers and various lures.

Not sure if this is what you're after?
Hope it helps

Ken

Any cod marks down there??!!

Hello Ken,
Are you sure that wasn't a canoeist you caught!!!!!

Just to be sure I understand, did you catch some double figure pollack (ie 10lbs or more) or lots of smaller ones??

I think I know the answer already :( , but you certainly woke me up when I first read the post this morning.

It was a powerful weekend fishing either way!

Blackie

Hey Blackie,

Sorry for the misunderstanding, When I said double figures I was actually talking about the number we caught and not their weight. We didn't have a scales with us and to be honest we wouldn't even hazzard a guess at their weight as we wouldn't have a clue!

Yep weekend was savage weather down there. We were camping out in Dunlaughlin. Was great crack!

Hey blackie, dissapointed to hear that fishing not to hot last winter! Is lugworm readily available that time of year?

I wont have a problem going out all rigged up and ready to go, and coming back with no fish! with all the odd looks and locals thinking i should be commited! Because im not from around and no one knows me!! Ah the joy of being a stranger!

If you just went out one day, then maybe that was just a bad days fishing! I mean ive gone out before on a mid summers morn, not a breeze and sun shining, and come home 8 hours later with nothing!!

Anyway im assured that ther will be plenty flounder about and that'll do me!

Keep in touch, I'll help out if I can.

What's all this about flounder??

Blackie