Ring of Kerry / Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry - July/Aug 07

People: Nikki (my daughter) and I

Tide: Various

Weather: Typical - mixture of rain and sunshine (more rain than sunshine)

Bait: frozen blacks / sandeels / mack and fresh mack and a handful of small rag worm collected from the beach at Cromane.

Rigs: various

Results: pollock, ballan wrasse, dogs, macks, turbot

Catch and Release: Yes - except for the mack, kept for bait

Report:
We took the caravan to a lovely wee site in Glenbeigh on the Ring of Kerry for close on two weeks for a family holiday but managed to get in a few fishing trips while I was there - certainly helps when your daughter shows an interest :wink:

As this was my first visit to this part of Ireland I had done some homework prior to going, using this site and some helpful hints from a few members - thanks to Donal and Adam S.

The first day was spent locating the marks and getting a feel for the place with the first stop being the pier at Coolanna. Here, I spotted a bloke and his kids float fishing and on further investigation realised that he was catching Triggers. Funny thing was the guy didn't have a clue what they were and unfortunately for me I had no gear with me :oops:

Decided to head back to Coolanna the day after but the weather conditions had changed and it was soon clear that the shoal had moved on. Set the float up and within minutes of the bait hitting the water we had a take with a nice wrasse on the few rag that I had collected. Switched to the frozen mack and next up was a pollock. The most noticeable thing about this mark was the small reef on the seaward side of the pier and with the water being crystal clear you could actually see the fish swim over and take the bait - it was like fishing in an aquarium :D .


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Next outing was on a Saturday afternoon to a lovely spot at Kells Bay. Information was spot on for even though it was a rock mark it had easy access and very comfortable platforms - no problems for the daughter. Weather started fine with some sunshine and calm seas but as the afternoon wnet on the seas picked up and the rain fell. Fished on the bottom with frozen mack and sandeels and first to be caught was a starfish on a three hook flapper.
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However it wasn't long before the dogs made an appearance unfortunately they were the only things showing an interest. I was a bit surprised given that I was fishing over clean ground.

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During the second week of the trip I set my sights on fishing a mark on the Dingle side of the bay. So the night before with the light fading we took a run round to Kells to get some fresh mack. This time the mark was crawling with mackie bashers but having managed to find a spot, first cast saw me land three and second cast another one. There appeared to be plenty about but nobody else appeared to be landing any and I could feel the eyes upon me :shock: . Within a short spell I was away but my daughter was suitable impressed with daddy cool 8)

Following day we headed for the beach - the wee strand at Tra Beg. There was no-one else in sight, the sun was shining and the sea was so inviting - didn't know whether to fish or go for a swim :? . I started to fish just before high tide with one hook clipped and three hook pats baited with sandeel and fesh mack. I fished this for about three hours and at the end of the day the tally was two small turbot.
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Footnote: Thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to Kerry but primarily this was a family holiday and I realise that I didn't get to fish some of the better known marks in the area (maybe next time). However, I did manage to get a close look at many of them when sightseeing and I was certainly impressed - Slea Head, Derrynane, Inch Strand etc. You definitely appreciate the reports more having seen the locations rather than just looking at a spot on the map.

nice sessions.....i find the other side of the eastury at doonsheane(??) fishes better for flats...could just be me though.

Nice Session Steve. Nice to see you got a few fish.

Kev

Nice session.
Your daughter looks pretty happy with her fishing exploits, that's nice to see.
I'd love to catch a turbot!
John D.

Nice report, great session.