mini species tactics

a lot of us don't know how to catch mini species including myself, nearly always flukes :oops: but does anyone have any tips on winkling out those shannies,gobys,butterfish.......

a lot of us don't know how to catch mini species including myself, nearly always flukes :oops: but does anyone have any tips on winkling out those shannies,gobys,butterfish.......

micky mouse rod and reel small worm baits or mack droped down the side of a pier or where ever your fishing :lol:

was rather you were going to say sl30 on a 100lbs class boat rod loaded with 3lbs line and a size18 hook.. :twisted:

was rather you were going to say sl30 on a 100lbs class boat rod loaded with 3lbs line and a size18 hook.. :twisted:

like this :roll: :roll: :lol: :lol: :lol:

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is that a 3 bearded rockling that kid has :lol:
joking aside kids rods are a good starting point ,bomb proof and cheap if a conger decides to take the bait and run of with the rod .
I use a 4foot 6 inch ugly stik baitcaster shimano corvalus 301 baitcaster and 20lb co poly line ,1 ounce lead and size 8 -1/0 hooks depending what I'm after and what bait I'm using .
so far these ' mickey mouse rods ' have landed cod over 30lb ,10lb conger ,pollack 8lb ,coalies to 15lb .
its not what you got its the way you dangle it that counts :lol: anybody can skull drag a fish from kelp or rough ground with heavy gear , you can learn a hell of alot from fishing tight to pier sides or deep water rock marks when dangling .

I use the same rod as ronald but with an abu 5001 left hand wind/levelwind.This set up is worth its weight in gold and goes just about everywhere with me and has saved me from quite a few blank days.The rod is the most important part of the set up and will handle anything from a 1/4 oz sand goby to a 31.7lb cod(which is my second biggest fish ever). There`s rumours that shakespeare are bring these rod back on the market and i for one will be buying a couple for spares,even if they cost £40 :)
As ronald said if you want mini species bring hooks of all sizes,maybe even down to a size 10 or 12 cos you never know what wee fish are around.
It`ll be interesting to see how this years species hunt ends up,even though im not entering it :lol:

I use a light uptider, mag 525 with braid and small 6/8 hooks with little bits of rag and mackerel.
Drop down the side of a pier or in between rocks and there you are.
I use little tiny feathers or the little red hyabusi muppets retied onto eyed hooks, again a 6 is ideal.

Wicklow Pier is great in summer, i do this a couple of times during summer for the craic, and on braid its great to feel the little fish biting . .although sometimes those corkwing wrasse are buggers to hook.

If you're fishing somewhere with Boulders going down into deepish water don't be afraid to fish in the Cracks between them, A lot of the time (esp. in Bangor) you can actually be standing on top of the mini species.

[quote="Ronald"]is that a 3 bearded rockling that kid has :lol: ok take the piss ronald theres another rockling i some times catch that im not to sure about if i catch 1 ill post it. I to have an ugly stik after seeing ronald and davy at work on bangor pier mine is a 5ft one handed baitcaster with the trigger grip and a diawa tournament mag baitcasting left handed multiplier
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

why are so many people using left handed reels for the mini stuff?? just wondering cos as a lefty i switched over to right handed last year due to difficulies in sourcing decent reels- outside of abu its hard to get a lefty- but thats a different issue......... why lefties

I use a left handed multi because its easier to hold the rod in my right hand :oops: (no funny comments ) as its designed to be used single handed and i am right handed. meaning you need to use the reel with your left hand ,great craic for pollack of the boat using lead heads over shallow reefs .

i use the same rod as davy and ronald 4ft 6in ugly stick with a abu mag x 5000 with 30lb mono does the job at carrick marnia some big conger among the bloulders along with rockling, gobys, wrasse and other mini species which reminds me i'm due down again lol

If you're fishing somewhere with Boulders going down into deepish water don't be afraid to fish in the Cracks between them, A lot of the time (esp. in Bangor) you can actually be standing on top of the mini species.

long pier howth the same... tadpole fish too and those rock dwelling flatfish that i keep forgetting how to spell :oops:

and those rock dwelling flatfish that i keep forgetting how to spell :oops:

do you mean 'topknot' :wink:

yep, thanks :lol:

can the small wrasse, pollack etc be targeted at this time of year?? or does the stone and metal used in piers make the water around them too cold for these species????

you dont normally get the wrasse at this time of year but you'll certainly get pollack and coalies along with rockling ,pouting,poorcod .

can the small wrasse, pollack etc be targeted at this time of year?? or does the stone and metal used in piers make the water around them too cold for these species????

tried dunlaoghaire the other day for wrasse to no avail :cry:

[quote="m.b3
long pier howth the same... tadpole fish too and those rock dwelling flatfish that i keep forgetting how to spell :oops:[/quote]

just wondering do you manage to get many tadpole fish out of howth
ant decent sizes :?:

topknot's what can i say im well impressed :shock:
what bait for the flats.

effectively done today :lol: :lol: