ragworm beds east cork.

Don't know if this is the appropriate section or not but here goes.Went to a local mark in east cork yesterday to dig a few rag for the weekend.Sounds normal ,well took a few digs and all that were showing were the slimey green ragworm[full of spawn] so left them alone and dug a few lug instead.
Now heres the bit that both worries and annoys me ,myself and my digging buddy came upon "another" ragworm bed that looks like a complete bomb site .A point to note to the person or persons digging this small 1acre approx area will you please for the sake of preserving this small area leave well alone so as to allow the rag breed in peace and rejuvenate the small area.
Its a bloody disgrace to see the cut of the place and im not talking about saleen[thats another story Its either someone digging rag to sell or someone who does a hell of alot of fishing ie everyday of the week!Cop on and think of what your doing

Well said Mike. I went digging last week at a previously prolific ragworm bed. I haven't dug there for ages but for an hour's worth of digging I only had 4. Dug out I'd say. Normally, I'd only dig what I need...about 12 and that should only take me 10 minutes.

Well said Mike. I went digging last week at a previously prolific ragworm bed. I haven't dug there for ages but for an hour's worth of digging I only had 4. Dug out I'd say. Normally, I'd only dig what I need...about 12 and that should only take me 10 minutes.

4 rag in an hour? that is rough but saying that nearly everywere is dug out now day

Same boat as that Pat,a dozen is more than enough for my sessions as well.All jokes aside the spot where i was at yesterday used be more prolific than saleen but judging by the large amount of craters those days are going to be short lived if the person[s]destroying the area keep digging the way they are.
Im not going to give a specific location of the mark but suffice to say cobh island and east ferry are in full view
Heres an idea if any tackle shops are buying ragworm they should make it there business to know where the worms are coming from and how sustainable the destroying of small areas of rag beds is for their business or is it just another case of lining pockets with silver at all costs,disgusting and irresponsible by all concerned

Would the tackle shop give a hoot where they were coming from? Sadly I wouldnt think it, sure when theyre gone there, therell be worms somewhere else...... sounds like a commercial enterprise.

Same boat as that Pat,a dozen is more than enough for my sessions as well.All jokes aside the spot where i was at yesterday used be more prolific than saleen but judging by the large amount of craters those days are going to be short lived if the person[s]destroying the area keep digging the way they are.
Im not going to give a specific location of the mark but suffice to say cobh island and east ferry are in full view
Heres an idea if any tackle shops are buying ragworm they should make it there business to know where the worms are coming from and how sustainable the destroying of small areas of rag beds is for their business or is it just another case of lining pockets with silver at all costs,disgusting and irresponsible by all concerned

That area you are talking about has been hard work to get rag with about a year and half.Was there not a big boat comp on a few years back and its was left like a bomb site. I live 5mins from there the days of big king rag are well gone for that spot.Where as before it would be the frist place i would go for rag now i wouldnt even waste my time digging there

Im not going to give a specific location of the mark but suffice to say cobh island and east ferry are in full view

I know the spot but havn't been there since early last summer.

That area you are talking about has been hard work to get rag with about a year and half.Was there not a big boat comp on a few years back and its was left like a bomb site. I live 5mins from there the days of big king rag are well gone for that spot. Where as before it would be the frist place i would go for rag now i wouldnt even waste my time digging there

There were patches there where you could still get some good king rag up to last summer - I wonder if the bait digger for a recently opened tackle shop is responsible??

Would the tackle shop give a hoot where they were coming from? Sadly I wouldnt think it, sure when theyre gone there, therell be worms somewhere else...... sounds like a commercial enterprise.

as you said no tackle shop is going to give a rats where its dug once there supplied with it to keep there customers sorted

[beachbuddy]

That area you are talking about has been hard work to get rag with about a year and half.Was there not a big boat comp on a few years back and its was left like a bomb site. I live 5mins from there the days of big king rag are well gone for that spot.Where as before it would be the frist place i would go for rag now i wouldnt even waste my time digging there [/quote]

Hi Ray,
the spot im referring to is'nt saleen as you say not worth the bother to break my already broken body trying for a few worms in a couple of hours down there these days.
Such a pity,my advice if any bait areas of good stocks are found then say nothing to anyone but the "closest" of friends.For what its worth ive no issue with tackle shops selling bait god knows ive used the stuff often enough but i just think that a small bit of cop on by the person[s]digging this particular small area would'nt go a miss.

Last edited by beachbuddy on Sat Jan 19, 2013 1:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Its a bloody disgrace to see the cut of the place and im not talking about saleen[thats another story Its either someone digging rag to sell or someone who does a hell of alot of fishing ie everyday of the week!Cop on and think of what your doing

its gone to the dogs alright.saleen is near a write off.i used to live around the corner and have dug bait there before and collected peelers too,i took a wander down along there the summer just gone and found barely any adult crabs,an aul lad was sitting on the wall and he told me that every day for the last 2 weeks there was lads digging and getting crabs there,there was nothing there man.
unfortunatly,most of the days i passed there at low tide there was someone digging.the lads who did dig that spot for the rag,and who did respect the spot and only took what they needed etc. only advertised it to idiots with less of a knowledge on the subject,then there is the "couldnt give a fiddlers fu*k brigade"...

Im not going to give a specific location of the mark but suffice to say cobh island and east ferry are in full view

I know the spot but havn't been there since early last summer.

That area you are talking about has been hard work to get rag with about a year and half.Was there not a big boat comp on a few years back and its was left like a bomb site. I live 5mins from there the days of big king rag are well gone for that spot. Where as before it would be the frist place i would go for rag now i wouldnt even waste my time digging there

There were patches there where you could still get some good king rag up to last summer - I wonder if the bait digger for a recently opened tackle shop is responsible??

Thats true Frank only in patches tho, its very hard to find them now they maybe there but who has the time to spend walking around for an hour or so to find them.I think this area in the ferry was in trouble ever before this new tackle shop opened i would think it would be a bit unfair to blame them for this spot plus i did my fair share of digging there myself over the years like a lot of anglers from east cork. Its so well known for rag maybe we are all to blame a bit

they always seem harder to dig this time of year, but your right it seems it is like a bomb site down here. If only people would do a simple thing like back fill holes and put back any thing they disturb it would help also it is an area that digs better when their big tides i remember digging this spot a couple years ago and it was like virgin ground, you are right Ray a certain comp held annuallly hasnt helped but this isnt the only area competitors clean out for those two weeks, as for it been a local new tackle shop that would and does annoy me they should know better and have some cop on i personnally would not support that business if it is them i will be watching to see if it is and will be letting him know how thick he is been.Not much thought for his business in the future ie selfish and greedy

To be fair to that tackle shop ive never seen rag for sale and ive never been offered it when ive asked what bait he has. His site says "rag worm in season". Im not sayin he doesnt sell it but ive not seen it in 5/6 visits to him.

Hi lads it might just be my thinking but what I have seen over the last two years is that with lots of people out of work there is a increase in people collecting there own bait .

If its the one i frequent he bait is all bought in from a comercial source like nationwide baits . Ive seen it delivered.Id say the previous post gives a more accurate depiction of the possible decimation of beds . Bear in mind the fishing tackle industry is far from booming and most of the proprieters are avid anglers with the same values as the rest of us.

This post has kind of gone down the road of who is to fault and this new tackle shop seems to blame.I can say 100% this shop has nothing to do with the area in the ferry for not having the rag it used to ..15 lads digging for a boat comp would have had a big impact on the area well before this shop opened...As for other areas i have no idea

With you all the way razor on saleen the damage has been done a few years back and this tackle shop has absolutely nothing to do with the depleted stocks down there these days.

To be fair to that tackle shop ive never seen rag for sale and ive never been offered it when ive asked what bait he has. His site says "rag worm in season". Im not sayin he doesnt sell it but ive not seen it in 5/6 visits to him.

i too visit this tackle shop on a regular basis, and have never EVER been offered fresh rag, and i even asked them for them once and they didnt have em...........think this post has been blown a bit outa proportion with whos fault it is.......fact is the damage is done and it cant be undone.......hopefully the message gets across and the stocks can be given time to rise again.......

Right all need to clarify a few things.Im not in any shape good bad or differant blaming any particular tackle shop or shops for the current saleen state of affairs that horse has bolted many years ago.I am referring to ANOTHER small localised area close by to east ferry that is currently looking like a load of land mines were set off in the last few days.
So please dissacociate this post with saleen and whatever has gone on in the past down there i don't give a monkeys!.What i am saying is to the person[s]doing any digging of ragworm in the vicinity of east ferry over the last few days please use some common sense and leave the beds alone whilst the ragworm are breeding or trying to recover from really heavy recent digging pressure,be it for personal or other gains just try using some common sense.
On the tackle shop front best of luck to any shop willing to make a venture into the world of angling for a living,just hope that if anyone is supplying ragworm to any shops recently that they don't disturb any breeding worms[future stocks] for the sake of a few euro.
Lugworm am i going mad or did you think the place we were at the other day was very heavily dug for a small area

Also no "local"tackle shops are been blamed directly here so can people get off the high horse This is a general observation of the possible demise of a small rag bed area "near" saleen .All im saying is to the person[s]recently digging in the vicinity to east ferry please give the area a break so the worms can repopulate and just think about the future preservation of this worm bed for years to come.