People: Me
Duration: Sunday: 3.30 - 7.00 pm; Monday 12.15 - 1.30 pm and 3.00 - 5.15 pm
Tide: HW approx 7.00 pm (Sunday)
Weather: Sunday - sunny, strong NW breeze later, Monday - calm, overcast, then sunny then rain
Bait: Ragworm
Rigs: Two hook (size 1/0) paternoster, three hook paternoster (size 1/0 and 3/0)
Results: 15 wrasse (12 Ballan Wrasse, 1 Corkwing Wrasse, 2 Cookoo Wrasse)
Report: I decided to head to West Cork for some fishing for the bank holiday weekend with the intention of targetting wrasse and pollock. On Saturday afternoon I went rag worm digging to my usual spot - there was a very low tide and an area of silty shelly sediment that is normally submerged was exposed - it turned out to be very prolific for king rag - every fork revealed two or three good ones. So I ended up with nearly a hundred.
Headed out early Sunday morning - checked into a guesthouse between Allihies and Eyries, had a quick lunch and then drove out to Dursey Sound. There were quite a few anglers there already, but found what I thought to be a good mark for wrasse and pollock which was fairly accessible.
I set up one rod with the two hook paternoster baited with rag - I used a small float - and a 2 oz weight - the weight was heavy enough to pull down the float - as I wanted to keep the bait suspended just above the sea bed. I also used floating beads on each snood.
I then started lure fishing with a spinning rod - but nothing was biting. Shortly after setting up there was a good strong knock on the first rod - I hauled in a good size wrasse about 2.5 lb which put up a strong struggle.
I rebaited the hooks and cast out again - within minutes there were some timid bites then a good pull on the rod. This was even harder to retrieve - as I got it near the shore I could see two wrasse - both of good size. The largest on the lower hook was again about 2.5 lb. The second was around 1.5 lb.
I got the fourth not long after - this time it was very difficult to get it up from the depths, the rod was bend double but eventually I got it to the surface. This was the biggest - just over 3 lb.
More wrasse followed in quick succession - it usually took between 5 -10 minutes after casting before the first bites started - I missed some, and they managed to pull the ragworm off the hook without being hooked. They generally ranged in weight from 1.5 to 2 lbs. I more or less gave up on the spinning at this stage - the wrasse were keeping me busy and there was no sign of any pollock bites - the anglers to the north and south of me were also doing some spinning without any apparent success.
The ninth was a corkwing wrasse - a lot smaller than the others.
I then hooked another big one but he went to ground - there was a submerged ledge below me - he was down below that - I tried to pull him out but I guess the line was rubbing against the edge of the ledge and it eventually snapped :evil: :evil:
I was determined to stay until I got the tenth - but that took a bit of time - I was getting bites but no hookups - I was now using a different rig - a three hook paternoster. The one I lost had floating beads - that seemed to make it easier to hook the fish. But eventually I got the tenth - the smallest Ballan Wrasse of the day.
In the pub later that night I made up a few more of the two hook rigs with floating beads aiming to have another crack at the wrasse before heading home.
Monday morning after breakfast I stopped at a rock mark between Eyeries and Allihies - It was relatively easy to access and there was a place to safely park the car on the otherwise narrow road. The tide was low - but it looked a great mark for pollock and wrasse, deep water with lots of kelp. Again I baited up one rod with rag and did some spinning with the second. After about half an hour I got a strong bite on the bait rod - another tough fight ensued - and I eventually hauled in a 2lb + wrasse.
There were a couple more bites but nothing hooked. The spinning produced no results, although it might be good for pollock on a rising tide. By about 1.30 pm I decided to head back to Dursey Sound. Stopped for a roll in Allihies along the way.
When I got to Dursey there were no other anglers there but returned to the mark from the previous day as that had been so productive. Unfortunately the weather had been so good on Sunday that my rag worms had been cooked. They were all dead and had gone mushy. So the bait quality was much inferior to the previous day. It took a while to get the first fish - there were plenty of gentle tugs on the line but no hook ups - then I got a moderate bite - it was not putting up as strong a fight as the big wrasse from Sunday - as I got it close to the shore I could see its vivid blue and orange colours - a Cookoo Wrasse :lol: :lol: a new species for me :lol: :lol:
After photographing and unhooking the fish I climbed down close to the water and gently released him - he dived down but then floated back up - I tried to reach him again but then a large swell rose up - upto my upper thighs :x :x
Fortunately I had a change of clothes in the car - but it was unfortunate that the fish had not survived - I tried to be gentle with it and release it quickly.
The bites were still a lot slower than the previous day - the quality of the rag I am sure - I took my eye off the rod for a few moments and when I looked back the rod tip was bent over a bit more than previously but it was not vibrating. I went to retrieve but it was wedged fast - I thought I was snagged and began to pull - I was using 30 lb mainline whereas the snoods were 15 lb so I thought I would just break it free - I got free of the "snag" but then realized there was a fish on the line - I had managed to pull out a wrasse that had gone to ground. It was a good sized wrasse just over 2 lb.
Another smaller wrasse followed then I got a small fish - much different colours - a Goldshinny Wrasse I think. - OK from the comments I now know it is either a female or immature male Cookoo.
I had another very strong bite but it broke free half way in.
I had planned to fish until at least 7.00 as that stage of the tide had been very productive the day before but dark clouds appeared from behind Dursey Island and then the rain started. The rocks were becoming slippery and all that was left of my rag were mushy bits so I packed up about 5.15 pm.
I was pleased with the weekends fishing - No pollock though - I had thought that there would have been some about. But 15 Wrasse, most between 2 and 3 lbs and including a new species so I was delighted with the result.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by RockHunter on Tue Aug 05, 2008 9:43 pm, edited 8 times in total.