Dawn in the Irish Sea
Dungarvan Bay
Next morning we weighed anchor and heading back out of the bay we set the sails with light winds generating a nice 3-4knts of speed as we sailed west. I thought I would chance a 16ft flowing trace boomed off the main line and an orange soft sandeel type lure at the end. My reel was an old 525 mag I only ever used from the shore and after casting I undone the star drag and set the ratchet. Almost immediately the rod bent and the ratchet began clicking as line striped off the 525. I reeled in the first of 5 pollock with the best 3 being kept for the pan.
The skipper and mate promptly dispatched and filleted the pollock before a pleasant smell rose out of the companionway from the yacht’s galley. A combination of baked and fried pollock seasoned with Italian herbs was served out and promptly devoured by the hungry crew not 15 minutes from when it had been swimming in the sea.
Being a relative novice at the sailing it was a pleasant experience to be able to contribute a welcome meal of fresh fish for the skipper and crew. Indeed I felt a bit like Andy Dufresne in the Shawshank Redemption sitting in the corner on the roof watching his pals drink his beer while smiling away to himself!
The wind picked up and with it our speed, making this method of fishing untenable. Though I did manage another Pollock off Ballycotton, which was promptly released, that was the end of the fishing. We made for Roches Point and into Crosshaven for the night for pizza and beers.
