I'm not Codding you,,A half decent Session on the East Coast

People:Me

Duration:7pm to 10-30pm

Tide:low at 7-30pm approx

Weather:mild evening,

Bait:rag, crab, mack

Rigs:2 hook mini rigs

Results:codling, wrasse, pouting




Report: Forgive the title ,,,but thing's have been very poor lately After another woeful East Coast beach session on Saturday night near Ennereilly during which I caught the grand total of 2 pin whiting and a solitary flounder, I decided to stick local on Sunday with the left over bait . I decided to hit Bray Harbour with the small rods and mini rigs so I reorganised my tackle bag with small rigs and 2 and 3 oz weights replacing the pulleys and 5 and 6oz I had been using all Summer. I had a half dozen rag, some mack and some small peeler crabs which I thought would be ideal for wrasse . I left after the whistle blew in the Big match in Croker and arrived in Bray to the sight of sand, not water in the Harbour . I had made a bo((0c@s of the tides (again ), so I used the opportunity to take some photos of the ground I normally fish to see where the snags were . Then it was off to Greystones Harbour where at least there would be some depth of water in which to fish.
The Harbour in Greystones was deserted for a change so I had my choice of spots to set up in. I baited up 2 light rods with rag and flicked them out . Looking behind me, I could see the sky darkening over and it looked as if it was going to rain later on. No bites on the first casts, which was worrying , especially as I had scaled down to size 6's, and then when I went to put on some small peeler crab I discovered I had forgotten my bait elastic . With a light misty rain falling, I cast out another 2 rag across the Harbour to the bottom of the other pier. I legged it the short distance to my van for my wetgear and when I got back I noticed the rodtip was hopping . Reeling in , there was a bit of weight on and I knew it was a bit decent . I got up on the wall (not to be tried at home ) and kept reeling, trying to keep the fish from diving to the weed and rocks under me. As I directed the headlight downwards, I could see the light underside of the fish flashing . I realised it was a codling, half decent at that, and on a size 6 hook . I gingerly lifted him up the wall by handlining, expecting him to fall off at any time, but I managed to get him up eventually . Unfortunately for him , all I could see at that moment was the brand new filleting knife I had been bought at the start of the Summer and which was yet to lose it's cherry , so I gave him the Last Rites .



This was my best fish in week's , I was delighted, and I hadn't driven for hours to get him . The next fish brought me back with a bang, a 10 cm pouting



The other rod, an Aldi special with a quiver tip, also started bouncing about and when I reeled in there was a Ballan Wrasse on it, not one you'd be proud of, but there again i'm not ashamed of him either



With my rag used up I had to use the peeler crab but I had forgotton my bait elastic . I upped the hook size to size 2's and put a small peeler as best I could on each hook. On the top hook I had used an elastic band to try keep the crab on so I was surprised when, after a massive tug on the rod and an ensuing battle, I handlined another decent fish up the wall. This time it was a porky Pouting, 26cms, and on the crab on the bottom hook which wasnt tied on .







I had another couple of pouting when I cast into the channel between the Piers but I was struggling for bait now, even resorting to looking through the contents of the bin on the Pier, but all I could see was some chips and a bit of someones half eaten sandwich.



Then I had the catch of the night . I noticed a bit of a rattle on one of the rods and lifted into it . I reeled in and brought up an orange nylon rope. There was something heavy on the end so I pulled it up,,,,,10 yds,,,,20 yds, ,, 30 yds ,,and still no end to it .I kept pulling it up over the rounded edge of the wall ,,,what if there was a body on the end of it It turned out to be the life preserver from the Pier which some idiot must've thrown over the side so I put it back in it's proper place . I headed off with my codling soon afterwards, happy enough after a decent evenings fishing. Good luck to the beaches till next year,,,,well, maybe,,,,,Unless

Nice report and some nice fishing;-)

Hopefully a few more cod start knocking around soon well done

well done

Haven't seen a decent report from you here since ages Dave (I know, mea culpa etc - but seeing that even your old 'enemy' ff is delighted with your result... - have you been taking secret lessons from some sort of east coast guru recently?
Big well done and I hope the good fortune may continue

nice fishing dave, seems to be plenty of codling about at the moment, just in from a boat session and we had quite a few around the same size as yours, hopefully a sign of a good winter stock ahead

lovely cod dave and nice session, forgettin the bait elastic is a bad one tho but theres lots of elastic in yer socks and jocks can make things a bit draughty tho , well done mate

I enjoyed reading your report Dave. Well done on getting a few fish.

Nice little session Eyesreilly, that 10cm pouting is a dinky little fish! After a half decent session, all you need now is a fully decent one. Did you weigh the life preserver, it looks like a specimen to me?

nice stuff there eyes...

Nice report and some nice fishing;-)

Thanks John

I enjoyed reading your report Dave. Well done on getting a few fish.

Cheers Tom

lovely cod dave and nice session, forgettin the bait elastic is a bad one tho but theres lots of elastic in yer socks and jocks can make things a bit draughty tho , well done mate

Thanks James, i wont make that mistake again hopefully

nice fishing dave, seems to be plenty of codling about at the moment, just in from a boat session and we had quite a few around the same size as yours, hopefully a sign of a good winter stock ahead

That fella just went down a treat John,,,good to hear theres a few knocking about

Haven't seen a decent report from you here since ages Dave (I know, mea culpa etc - but seeing that even your old 'enemy' ff is delighted with your result... - have you been taking secret lessons from some sort of east coast guru recently?
Big well done and I hope the good fortune may continue

There's not many reports being posted from the East Coast Martin,,,I've been out regularly but had nothing to report,, catches have been down on last year and on some beaches we've struggled to get even a bite . . Even the doggies have been scarce . With things getting tighter all the time, you'd need to be getting some return when you go to the effort of travelling 50 or 60 miles each way ,,,hopefully we're in for a good winter season

well done

Thanks Jonah

Hopefully a few more cod start knocking around soon well done

Touch wood John

Nice little session Eyesreilly, that 10cm pouting is a dinky little fish! After a half decent session, all you need now is a fully decent one. Did you weigh the life preserver, it looks like a specimen to me?

Those life preservers punch way above their weight and are great craic on light gear

Cracking cod well done

Well done, Nice to see the cod coming in!.

Nice bit of fishing Eyes.

Nice cod eyes!

That's one happy penguin nice wee session Dave

Great session Dave and no long drive for a half decent cod hope you enjoyed it.. Fair play to you.

Dave, I saw your posting of the aftermath on FB and by god - it looked delicious! And fair play to convert an 'antipescatarian' to the delights of freshly caught and prepared seafood. She'll be hooked forever now

well done

Are you ever going to take us to Greystones. Thang wont go unless its somewhere different from the Wicklow pier. Maybe enerielly so us how to catch of pier.