Co. antrim & Co down. 2 days, 2 marks 13th & 14th jan

[Al and Jordan]

People: just me

Duration: 13th, 5pm-1am. 14th, 5pm-9pm

Tide: 13th, low through high and first 4hrs of drop again. 14th, low to 1hr before high

Weather: 13th torrential sleet 30mph winds 14th dry, cold and 15mph winds

Bait: squid, mack and razor

Rigs: flappers and 1 hook pulley

Results: 13th 8 coalfish to 2lb 10ozs, 2 pollack, 2 whiting, 1 codling and 1 flounder
14th 3 coalfish, 1 codling and 1 rockling




Report: WED 13TH JAN county antrim beach
another site member had told me he had a great session on a beach where there were decent flounder to almost 2lb knocking around . and anyone who knows me could tell you that was all the encouragement i needed to justify a run up the coast . worm baits were killing on the beach so i phoned round a few tackle shops and secured a pound of rag for a good long session . the guy in larne told me to call him on the mobile when i got to the shop and he would come round and open up and sort me with the rag. so i called him and the phone rang for a bit then went to answer machine. i told him i was on my way down and would call again when i got to the shop. i did and it just went straight to voicemail panic began to set in as i realized he was gonna let me down with the bait. needless to say i was less than pleased with the guy . to make matters worse i had only brought 2 wee macks with me for tipping off the worms and them on their own would only last an hour at best. so what was i to do?,,, drive all the way back to belfast to lift more bait out of my freezer and waste £15 petrol or go through my phone book to see if any of my fishing buddys could sort me out. thankfully conor came to the rescue and drove 8 miles from ballycastle to meet me at the mark with a box of squid . (top man conor i owe ya big time). he would'nt even take any money for them or for petrol, just told me the next time i'm out that way to chuck a box back into him . so back to the fishing. i walked onto the beach and the wind was blowing hard from left to right and the sleet was coming down like hail . the tripod got blown over 3 times while i was rigging up and my first cast resulted in a mountain of weed and kelp stalks pulling the rod and tripod over into the sand within minutes. this was not fun fishing . the weed was a serious problem, and even dropping down to a 1 hook rig did'nt help matters. that cast resulted in a mountain of weed that snapped my 30lb braid . so i packed up (admitting defeat) and drove round the coast looking for somewhere i could fish from the boot of the motor. i found a small pier i was able to back the car down and began fishing. bites were instant and in 3 hours i got a good mix of species . another guy saw me fishing from the road and came over looking shelter and set up too. i got chatting to him and he told me he had the same problems with the weather at glenarm and no bites either. i was doing my usual bit, fishing with 2 wee spinning rods and one of them almost bounced off the tripod . at first i thought it was a seal but felt the tell tale head shaking of a fish on the end . he scrapped well and i was amazed at the size of him as he broke the surface!! not a kick in the bum off 3lb my biggest shore caught coalie yet. i was chuffed to bits. then another 2 good ones soon followed suite . i was made up and headed on home 30mins or so later when the bites stopped.

THURSDAY 14TH JAN DONAGHADEE HARBOUR
not much to report. i was surprised how badly this mark fished really . i brought some fresh mack and razor along with yesterday's squid. started fishing at low and only stuck it out to 9pm. bites were scarse to say the least and what was there was all small . 5 fish for 4 hours was pretty poor for here and when the rain started at 9pm i decided that 6 cans of guiness and a movie was the better option

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Last edited by Al and Jordan on Fri Jan 15, 2010 3:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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well done! I hate when you cant fish at your intended mark because of weed!! sove very nice coalies there though well done!

some very nice coalies there well done

some cracking coalies there al,well worth the move coalie and beer batter....mmmmm bet you won't be using that tackle dealer again for a while!

nice going

some cracker coalies there al' well done mate
pity about the rag , and fair play to Conor for sorting out the bait for you.

Some nice coalfish there
Well done for braving the elements - sounds like nasty weather.

At least you are getting coalfish up north - down south they seem very scarce for the second year in succession - plenty of small ones around Youghal but I havn't had one over 25 cm so far this winter. Two years ago when I just started bait fishing they were everywhere and bigger too !!

Nice going Al- yeah that beach can be very hit and miss. I have spent some cracking days and some blankety blank days.

Really does P*ss you off when people let you down like that. I thought a hardcore guy like you would have kept a spaid and fork in the car for emergency's. I know the shop you mean and he is normally grand. I am a bit disappointed about that as I have recommended him to people, and wouldnt like him to do that on any one I have recomended .

Well done on not leting it ruin a good session bud.

well done! I hate when you cant fish at your intended mark because of weed!! sove very nice coalies there though well done!

thanks chris. i decided to stick it out for 4 hours on that beach hopeing the weed would clear, but it only got worse . but if i had'nt have been forced off the beach i would'nt have ended up on that pier and getting those cracking coalies

some very nice coalies there well done

cheers jimmy. that's the biggest i've ever got from the shore up here. so i was made up with that result

some cracking coalies there al,well worth the move coalie and beer batter....mmmmm bet you won't be using that tackle dealer again for a while!

thanks noel. just finished filleting and skinning them man . i had only intended to take 1. but the last one went belly up when i returned him. so i spent the next 15mins trying to foul hook him to get him back. i was'nt gonna let a tasty fish like that end up as gull food .

nice going

cheers taz.

some cracker coalies there al' well done mate
pity about the rag , and fair play to Conor for sorting out the bait for you.

thanks don. i was not the happiest bunny in the pasture when i discovered he was gonna let me down but conor saved the day . he even had the forethought to put the box of squid into a bucket of warm water. so by the time he arrived at the mark they were almost defrosted . top bloke.

Some nice coalfish there
Well done for braving the elements - sounds like nasty weather.
At least you are getting coalfish up north - down south they seem very scarce for the second year in succession - plenty of small ones around Youghal but I havn't had one over 25 cm so far this winter. Two years ago when I just started bait fishing they were everywhere and bigger too !!

cheers frank. to be honest,,, i was almost gonna just go home when i got forced off the beach. but seeing as conor had made the effort to sort me with the squid i thought i'd make the effort myself and find somewhere to fish with a bit of shelter.... bloody glad i did thow . same here man. most of the coalies we usually get at our marks struggle to break the 30cm mark, let alone be big enough to weigh in pounds and ounces

Nice going Al- yeah that beach can be very hit and miss. I have spent some cracking days and some blankety blank days.
Really does P*ss you off when people let you down like that. I thought a hardcore guy like you would have kept a spaid and fork in the car for emergency's. I know the shop you mean and he is normally grand. I am a bit disappointed about that as I have recommended him to people, and wouldnt like him to do that on any one I have recomended .
Well done on not leting it ruin a good session bud.

first time he's let me down too. i was more annoyed that he did'nt even call or text me back to let me know he was gonna let me down. even after leaving 3 voicemails for him . normally do have the fork in the boot, but of course i cleared the boot out with the intentions of getting the ton of sand from co.kerry outta the boot this week in preperation for our run up to donegal tomorrow, just my luck

Pity u didnt get 2 fish ur first choice Al, ther was a bit of weed ther when i fished it but not that bad, mayb it was just meant 2b that u had 2 move and get ur best coalie nice fishin

Well done Al mate
If your going up to the King's Hall at the weekend give me a shout

Nice report Al .Great to see some decent coalies being caught Your mate that brought you the bait sounds almost as nice as me .How many counties is that now If only we could win the Lotto and spend all our time fishing

Some fine Coaleys Al hopefully a few of them will show around here soon

hello Al

I was the fella you were speaking to at the pier on Wed Night, should have introduced myself as i ususally mention SAI when im talkin to other fellas about fishing.

Nice report as always and glad to see you landed a few more good sized coalies! Made being out in that weather that bit more bearable. I thought my luck would change when i seen you land that first good one but i had a dissapointing day up that way between not one bite at Glenarm and then only one small flounder at the pier even with rag and black lug? the week before we had been getting plenty of codling though no keepers unfortunately.

I thought id head on home around 11pm as i was getting nothing and it was hard to even detect bites with that easterly wind blowing steadily too. Maybe see you up round there again mate. Im gonna head up tomorrow again. I must start putting my reports up now as ive remembered my email and password ....cheers!

Barry

That sounded like one rough night Al between let down with your bait and blown
of the beach well you sure did turn it around ,some realy nice coalies and
on light gear well done

Nice one Al.Some nice fish there

well done mate some lovely fish there......
i'll try and find the number of the bait digger i know in larne as he always seems to have some worms
not been out yet this year as work and a sledging accident with the nipper have kept me busy but i'll give you a buzz towards the end of next week as i' away to cork then scotland with work

Pity u didnt get 2 fish ur first choice Al, ther was a bit of weed ther when i fished it but not that bad, mayb it was just meant 2b that u had 2 move and get ur best coalie nice fishin

thanks darryl. the big coalies more than made up for the nightmare on the beach. the weed and kelp was something else the bundle that snapped the 30lb braid was about 5 foot long and 1 foot wide. thankfullt the line snapped when it was almost on the shore. so i was able to wade out and get my rig back

Well done Al mate
If your going up to the King's Hall at the weekend give me a shout

will do paula. not sure when we're gonna be back from donegal. don is gonna make it out with us and it could end up being an all nighter . but if we're fit to make it to the kings hall i'll give you a buzz and let you know

Nice report Al .Great to see some decent coalies being caught Your mate that brought you the bait sounds almost as nice as me .How many counties is that now If only we could win the Lotto and spend all our time fishing

thanks dave. conor saved the day bringing that box of squid for me . if it was'nt for his generousity i would never been there when the coalies were on the feed, so a big thank you to conor again,, it wo'nt be forgotten man (almost as decent as you dave ) and just to re-cap, thats county's kerry, cork, down and antrim ticked off so far for 2010. we'll do donegal tomorrow. that will bring us up to 5 so far . not too bad seeing as it's only the middle of january

Some fine Coaleys Al hopefully a few of them will show around here soon

cheers FK. hope you have as much luck in finding them as i did they scrap really well on light gear

hello Al
I was the fella you were speaking to at the pier on Wed Night, should have introduced myself as i ususally mention SAI when im talkin to other fellas about fishing.
Nice report as always and glad to see you landed a few more good sized coalies! Made being out in that weather that bit more bearable. I thought my luck would change when i seen you land that first good one but i had a dissapointing day up that way between not one bite at Glenarm and then only one small flounder at the pier even with rag and black lug? the week before we had been getting plenty of codling though no keepers unfortunately.
I thought id head on home around 11pm as i was getting nothing and it was hard to even detect bites with that easterly wind blowing steadily too. Maybe see you up round there again mate. Im gonna head up tomorrow again. I must start putting my reports up now as ive remembered my email and password ....cheers!
Barry

ahh barry, good to put a face to a name man glad i kept you hanging on in there for a while longer . i can't remember the last time i got a codling worth keeping either the squid and mack cocktail baits seemed to really get the bigger coalies going welcome into the fold man and i look forward to reading your first report. you seemed to have a class wee set up outta the back of your motor. very comfy indeed. far better than me jumping outta the car like a thing demented every time i got a bite see you again mate and all the best for 2010!

That sounded like one rough night Al between let down with your bait and blown
of the beach well you sure did turn it around ,some realy nice coalies and
on light gear well done

cheers ger, i've just got into the habit of keeping 2 light spinning rods in the car for fishing harbours and piers. most of these marks if you cast beyond 80 yards you are putting yourself beyond the fish, so why bother with 6oz beach rods??? you get far more fun outta the spinning gear. and besides the reels are loaded with 30lb braid. so even if the rod snaps you'll still land your fish

Nice one Al.Some nice fish there

cheers colin. sure makes a difference from all the tiddlers we usually get

well done mate some lovely fish there......
i'll try and find the number of the bait digger i know in larne as he always seems to have some worms
not been out yet this year as work and a sledging accident with the nipper have kept me busy but i'll give you a buzz towards the end of next week as i' away to cork then scotland with work

that number would be great man hope you're all on the mend from the sledging accident almost afraid to ask what happened just give me a call when you get back man and we'll get a wee session sorted out

All I can say is roll on monday night