sat 12 april donaghadee, co Down

People:
just me

Duration:
9pm-3am
Tide:
dropping to low to rising
Weather:
dry, flat calm
Bait:
rag,mack,lug, sandeel,baby squid and shrimp i pulled up in the bait net
Rigs:
3 rods ,3 hook flapper
Results:
3 pollack, 3 whiting 2 coalies 3, 3 bearded rockling, 1, 5 bearded rockling and a lsd just over 2 1/2 lb

]Report[/b]:

things have been really slow here over the past few weeks. i came down twice during the week, 8hr session and 7 hrs again on thursday all during the day and only 1 small coalie under half a pound to show for my efforts. but not to be put off i returned after dark on saturday night on the theory that the fish must be feeding at night at the moment due to nothing biting during daylight hours. and i wasnt disapointed. had just set up 2 rods and cast out and was rigging up the third as i heard the jingle of bells go mad, i couldnt believe it , 2 fish on on the first cast :P a decent coalie and a nice rockling. and this set the tone for the rest of the night. i think i only got all 3 rods out for 20 mins at the most as the bites were coming thick and fast. at one stage i could have sworn there was a half dozen morris dancers doing the light fantastic in the backround :lol: the rods just went mad 8) its been a long time since i saw that much activity here lately. i pulled up some shrimp in the bait net and wasnt long in tailing one on a 3/0 aberdeen and cast it out on my sons little mack spinning rod for a laugh just to see if anything would take it. and boy did it take it :shock: . the rod doubled over then fell over and slid along the railing. i dropped the rod i was baiting up and made a grab for the little spinning rod and struck as hard as it would allow without breaking. i felt that tell tale dead weight on the end and thought must be a doggie. then the fun really began as i realised there was no way this little rod and reel was ever gonna haul the fish up the harbor wall, :shock: as it was already grinding just reeling it in :oops: i ended up having to walk it around the harbor wall to the steps where i finally landed it. just goes to show how much abuse a little £10 spinning outfit can take :wink: . i had just returned the doggie when the bells went again and i was into a nice whiting. havent seen our chinese friend around these parts for a while and then i was into a couple more to round the session off. i was really chuffed to have caught a decent variety of fish in this session but the doggie was the icing on the cake 8) so i will be back down tonight to see if i can put in a repeat performance

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that be a shore rockling you have there.. nice catch though all the same :wink:

13 fish, ya cant complain with that :D

top fishing, hope you get a repeat performance on your next trip

Go on AnJ great fishing mate, nice to know someone's keepin my pier warm.. :lol: I think I'll be out for the first time in just over a month on Friday night, just to see if I can get back into the swing of things 8)

Nice results , well done :wink: .

cheers lads, just getting all the gear ready now to head back down tonight to see whats happening. thanks on the species clarafication steve. i've been calling them 3 bearded rockling for the simple fact they have 3 barbules :roll: , we live and learn. any idea what this little fella is?? the only thing i can find in my refrence books that even looks slightly familliar is a butterfish (gunnel). the dorsal fin runs from the head to tail and has a row of black spots with a yellowish ring round them and the dorsal was as sharp as a wrasse's. pulled loads of them up in the bait net.

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cheers drew, if your going down on friday night i might see you there if the winds arnt too bad. checked the forcast for friday and it says between 20 and 30 mph winds at the moment. but it could change between now and then.

nice fishing there mate!! a sign of things to come now that the better weather is moving in. good luck on to nights trip!!!

Great fishing alan and a great report. Donaghadee is a great place to fish and rarely lets you down. It has never let down that drew fella he knows a lot about that area.

cheers guys, i only got a result at night due to the fact i fished the harbor for near 15 hours during the day with next to nothing to show for it. so i went back after dark knowing the fish would be on the feed then. and yes the rumors are true..,, drew and i have taken out a timeshare on the harbour :lol:

Fantastic session there Alan, well done. Had a nice session there myself a few weeks ago. When the Dee's on its on. Maybe see you down there sometime.

i would also like to know the species the last photo is. interesting enough wee fella, Ronald can usually identify most fish

cheers guys, might see you down there sometime, i'm fairly easy to spot due to the hi vis wet gear i wear, all i'm missing is a lollypop :lol: