2 antrim rock marks 21st and 22nd may 2010

great days fishing by all accounts and great report as always Al, like the idea with the recovery pool for the wrasse

thanks martin, it was a must if we did'nt want all the fish to go belly up . one or two of them had the swim bladder pop out of their mouths so could'nt right themselves. but a small pin prick to them then a bit of a rub of the belly to expell the air soon had them back up the right way and ready to return to the depths

some great pics there al.tell jordan that the next day will be better. looks a good mark ye got there

thanks brian. it just was'nt his weekend, but he'll be back to his usual form soon enough

see! i told you that the hat works! but that hat will be the only one that will work now! hard luck jordan,think dad is beating you this year!

looks like it's time to get jordan a hat then

Great session lads, looks a good spot alright. Nice healthy looking fish
Al - great to see you are now properly attired !
Remember - if you want to get ahead get a hat

there must be something to this oul lucky hat caper that's 2 sessions i've wore it and jordan has'nt thrashed me like he normally does

Great report and photos as always Al. Never mind the blanks Jordan they only make the good days even better and things can only get better. Well done to you all.

thanks tom. he'll be due a blinding session no doubt after the 2 blanks.

Nice to see the wrasse back Al.

cheers man. any sign of them down your way yet?

:P great fishing again guy's well done, + cracking pic's. some nice wrasse there and if i know jordan he will come back with a bang!!! so jordan let them get ahead for now for when you get your mojo back, it will be time for sweet revenge

cheers don. it's gotta be the hat

A couple of great days to be out fishing.
Was out float fishing for wrasse/pollock myself yesterday morning, I noticed most of the wrasse had their swim bladder out, but its not a deep water mark - I was only fishing between 6-10ft

funny you should say that mark because we've never had this problem here in the past. i just put it down to water depth, but you could be onto something there

well done great fishing and great report and better luck next time jordan

thanks man. just gotta take the rough with the smooth

It was a great wee session great company and great weather thanks again al for letting me tag along and another great report

no probs man you're more than welcome. how's the sunburn?? you and mark were like 2 lobsters on the way home

Nice one lads, was like a wee mini meet. Is that a new rod I see Al?

yes dawsey. on my last trip to galway doggie gave me his salt beachcaster as he's moved onto an ian goulds. really generous as he would'nt take a penny off me for it. top bloke . i now use it as my every day rod . it can cast up to 8oz, but it has a great balance between having enough back bone to deal with fishing over the rough stuff. but the tip is sensitive enough to pick up even the tea bag flounder bites. so it goes everywhere with me now

Al,
Some nice Wrasse there nice to see them making a return.
Jonny

thanks jonny. i was really surprised at just how many there was about, considering this mark did'nt have a single one at it a fortnight ago

Lovely fishing again lads!

cheers rab. any joy with the mullet yet?

Lads great session and report is top as always not to mention the photos.
Hard luck Jordan but I am sure the big one is out there... (nice to see the jacket on a rock mark - nice one Al)
Mick

thanks mick. always safety first man. it amazes me that lads will spend fortunes on rods and reels but never shell out £30 or £40 quid on a vest . the mind boggles

Well done Al,,,,,teriffic photos, and as said earlier., like the rock pool idea . The hats great,,,kinda reminds me of Hedley from Daktari,but youre too young to remember that far back Get young Jordan a hat asap

thanks dave, i did get the odd smart remark of " G' DAY SKIPPY" . but sure it stopped me from getting burnt to a frazzel again. and besides, i'm a bit too thick skinned to let smart remarks get to me i'd have needed to have been anyways as mark and dan kept calling me the wrasse murderer after 1 went belly up and became gull food . but sure, sh1t happens

Nice to see Jordan stepping back and giving the old man a chance, well done lads.

cheers ivan. i'm sure it will be a while before it happens again . me outfishing jordan happens about as often as a full eclipse of the sun

yes dawsey. on my last trip to galway doggie gave me his salt beachcaster as he's moved onto an ian goulds. really generous as he would'nt take a penny off me for it. top bloke . i now use it as my every day rod . it can cast up to 8oz, but it has a great balance between having enough back bone to deal with fishing over the rough stuff. but the tip is sensitive enough to pick up even the tea bag flounder bites. so it goes everywhere with me now

What a kind gesture Noel, top bloke. Lots of genuinely decent folk on here. Cus I know you wer eyeing one of those up mate. It'll be well used I am sure of that

Some fine fish lads cant wait ta get out for a good Wrasse session

yes dawsey. on my last trip to galway doggie gave me his salt beachcaster as he's moved onto an ian goulds. really generous as he would'nt take a penny off me for it. top bloke . i now use it as my every day rod . it can cast up to 8oz, but it has a great balance between having enough back bone to deal with fishing over the rough stuff. but the tip is sensitive enough to pick up even the tea bag flounder bites. so it goes everywhere with me now

What a kind gesture Noel, top bloke. Lots of genuinely decent folk on here. Cus I know you wer eyeing one of those up mate. It'll be well used I am sure of that

well dawsey,you know al, he has brought down a load of stuff to me,and would'nt take a penny...so what comes around,goes around! Anyway thats a good rod, that would end up in my shed rotting, i knew al liked it,and it sure will get used now!

Love the hat Al, that looks like a Noel special I take it you learnt your lesson from previous occasions when you have got burnt to a crisp, better to be safe than sorry, there's nothing worse than stinging sunburn.

I've got the Salt Bass rod. It casts up to 4oz and is a super rod.

Which Salt beachcaster do you use?

What rod does Jordan use. I'm thinking of getting a "better" rod for Daniel. He's currently using a wee spinning rod and it obviously doesn't cast sufficient weight to hold bottom in most cases. I was thinking of getting him one of these "pier" rods. What do you think.

Some nice fishing there lads don't worry Jordan you've the blank outta the way now you'll catch a hatful next time

Some fine fish lads cant wait ta get out for a good Wrasse session

thanks brian. it's great if you happen to be fishing on a budget too . just turn over 20 rocks at low tide and stock up on all the free hardback crabs you need for a wrasse session then head off

Love the hat Al, that looks like a Noel special I take it you learnt your lesson from previous occasions when you have got burnt to a crisp, better to be safe than sorry, there's nothing worse than stinging sunburn.

too right paula that first day in portrush gave me a wee wake up call!!! don't mess with the sun as it's always gonna come out on top

I've got the Salt Bass rod. It casts up to 4oz and is a super rod.
Which Salt beachcaster do you use?
What rod does Jordan use. I'm thinking of getting a "better" rod for Daniel. He's currently using a wee spinning rod and it obviously doesn't cast sufficient weight to hold bottom in most cases. I was thinking of getting him one of these "pier" rods. What do you think.

hi alan. i'm now using the shakespear salt beach FS 12ft 4-8oz. it has a great balance between having enough backbone to deal with rough ground yet a sensitive enough tip to see the most timid of bites. a great rod for the price bracket it's in.
i've spent a few quid on 2 good rods for jordan. for his birthday i got him the grauvell radial carbon beach fs 3903. lovely light weight beachcaster with a sliding reel seat. so you can adjust it to suit him exactly for casting. it comes with 2 different casting sections. a 3oz tip and an 8oz tip. the only drawback is that the eyes are ceramic and can easily crack should the rod get blown off the tripod when harbour or rock fishing his other rod is the greys bze 12'6 3-5oz bass rod. this rod is his favourite as it's light enough for him to spin with all day, yet sturdy enough to us as a beachcaster. great bit indication and he can cast it a fair distance too the shakespear salt will put you back about £70 and the other 2 around £130 each.

Some nice fishing there lads don't worry Jordan you've the blank outta the way now you'll catch a hatful next time

cheers conor. i told him not to get too down as it probably means his next trip will be a blinder

Looks like a beauty of a day to be out, and a fair few fish to top it off. Doesn't get much better than that. The doggies seem to be back in numbers all over the coast at the moment. Good to see but it won't be long before their more of a problem.