Wicklow Pier 23/05/08

Sat May 24, 2008 12:19 pm

People: Just me

Duration: 15.30 - 22.00

Tide: HW around 15.30

Weather: Fine, sunny, flat calm sea, changed to cool, small shower, choppy sea

Bait: Sandeel, Squid, Mack, Rag, Lug, Mussel

Rigs: Pulley, 2 Hook & 3 Hook Flappers, Lures, Float setup

Results: 28 fish - Doggies (9), Whiting (6), Dabs (2), Pollock (9), Gurnard (1), Poor Cod (1) - atleast I think thats what it was, Lobster (1),




Report:
After being starved of fishing due to work commitments over the last 2 weeks I was desperate to get out so I turned the phone off, locked up the office and duly packed the gear into the car.

Dont know why but I was drawn by some mysterious force to Wicklow Pier, entirely against my better judgement I might add given that everybody says it only fishes well into darkness.

Arrived to park the car and didnt think there was many cars around so was looking forward to the pier being quiet, got to the end of the inner pier wall turned the corner :shock: :shock: :shock:

10 or so Mack bashers throwing lines everywhere, ah well atleast I would have a bit of company I thought :idea:

Made my way approx half way down the pier and set up a 1 hook pulley size 2/0, baited up with squid and mack and belted it out as far as I could, I had to make a quick 3 hook flapper as I had no rigs prepared given the inpromtu session, didnt take long and had the 3 hook out with mack, squid and rag on each hook.

The 3 hooker had only been in the water around 5 minutes before the tip started going.

Looking good I thought, might'nt be a bad afternoon after all, struck in and had a small dab - he had taken the hook baited with mackerel.

Re-baited and cast back into the same spot.

All quiet for 1/2 an hour or so, for me atleast, the mack bashers were pulling in 3's and 4's on regular casts.

Got a good knock on the pulley, looked like a doggie bite, and sure enough a doggie it was I reeled in, put up a good scrap aswell.

So first 45 minutes 2 fish, I expected worse TBH with the activity on the pier, a falling tide and daylight :roll: :roll: :roll:

After seeing a few pollock being caught to my left I swapped the 3 hooker to my beachcasting rod, and used my spinning rod for a bit of spinning (instead of scratching). 45 minutes of this produced nothing.

Made a quick 2 hook flapper and put that out on the spinning rod, 5 baited hooks out there now, surely if there are fish around, they gotta hit my scent trail I was thinking, seemd to work and all.

Had a steady stream of fish for the next hour or so, to the delight of a little girl who had not long set up to my right with her father. She caught her first ever fish (a small pollock, on shrimp) which was great to see, she's definately hooked :lol: :lol: :lol:

The mack bashers had started to dwindle as the evening wore on, and it was nice to have a bit of peace and quite.......until the life boat decided to go out for a spin......boy are they noisey f*****s ( the engines that is, not the lifeguards).

Had fancied a change of tactics as was getting a bit sick of the doggies and whiting, so pulled in the small rod and put a float set up on, and just dropped it in 5 yards out, baited with rag in the hope of a wrasse.

Within seconds the float was under, struck, reeled in, small pollock was the result. Would pollock take rag?! I was unsure, so in the hope of a better pollock this time I put on a sandeel. The sandeel wasnt touched, strange that, I though Pollock love sandeel :?

Re-baited the float with rag, just to see if the first one caught was a fluke, no fluke, float was under again within 30 seconds. Reeled in another smallish pollock. Re-baited with rag, same again, instant bite, small pollock the result.

I then tried a bit of mussel on the float, 10 minutes later it was still untouched, so trying to prove my theory that I was catching a pollock on rag every cast wrong, had only proved right. It continued this way for the next hour.

I then tried lug on the float, another fish, poorcod I think, but someone here will help identify it I'm sure ( i hope it was a poor cod anyway becuase it will be a new species for me if it is :wink: )

All the while the float set up had kept me busy the beachcaster had not had so much as a twitch.

I was about to reel in to re-bait, when I noticed a small tap, reeled in to find a small gurnard on the end (another new species, but not sure if its a red or grey, again someone here can help hopefully :?: )

A couple more fish on the float, a near miss reeling in, with a seal trying for my best pollock of the day ( around 1 1/2 lb), I got the fish in safely though.....just :o

The light was now starting to fade, and the chop on the sea was making it difficult to fish the float, and after a long session I didnt have the patience to re-rig again, so decided to call it a day.

Was packing down the float setup when I noticed a few small bites on the big rod.

I struck in, and started retrieving what felt like a double doggie, due to its dead weight. It was a struggle to lift it up onto the pier, due to the weight, and I was somewhat disappointed to see a large clump of weed and no fish. I went to grab the weed of the line and nearly jumped out of my skin with fright :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: .........2 great big claws went for me......a Lobster....I couldnt believe my eyes :roll:

A good size to, now I dont know what the regulations are about catching/keeping lobster, but this fella was definatley for the dinner table. I did check under his/her tail to ensure it was male (I think) and not carrying any eggs, so I hope I was ok to take it :wink: It was a good 14/15 inches long (the body that is, longer with the claws).

So all in all not a bad session, 2 new species (poor cod and gurnard) and a cracking lobster for the pot.

Much more than I expected, and it just goes to show, I followed my first instinct of where to fish, and wasnt too put off by the factors against me. It worked :!: :!: :!:

I didnt bother with pics of the whiting, dabs, doggies or pollock, we see them all the time, but thought the others might be worth a look
Last edited by shamoo0804 on Sat May 24, 2008 3:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Sat May 24, 2008 1:08 pm

Nice session and report there. Pretty sure thats a grey gurnard. On the whole rag is much more productive from that pier for pollck though they are small.
Was the water quite murky?

Re: Wicklow Pier 23/05/08

Sat May 24, 2008 3:01 pm

shamoo0804 wrote:[b]Dont know why but I was drawn by some mysterious force to Wicklow Pier, entirely against my better judgement I might add given that everybody says it only fishes well into darkness.



May the force be with you Shamoo :wink: Well done Shamoo , nice report and pics. Sounds like you had a busy day :lol: . Nice reward for persevering with the mack bashers :lol: (sure wasnt I one meself before I found this site :oops: ).

Sat May 24, 2008 3:22 pm

Excellent report made me wanna head straight out there for a session. You can make that ten pollock as its definately is a pollock a poor cod is very similar to pouting with a barbel under the chin. Also i'd defo say a grey gurnard too. Cracking session well done

Sat May 24, 2008 3:50 pm

col,

thanks man, yeh water was quite murky, could only see maybe a foot down or so at a guess, but strange thing, I didnt get a single pollock on the ledgered rigs, took all of them on the float, fished around 10/12 inches off the bottom.

eyesreilly,

the mack bassers werent too much of a pest really, a few crossed lines, a bit of noise, but the worst of it was the rubbish they left behind :cry: shocking, I did my best to clean up what I had space for in my own bag of rubbish, but surely the local councils could put bins on these piers to encourage people a little more :idea:

wrassebasher,

I was hoping it wasnt a pollock ( too add to my species count), I caught a good few pollock in the same session, but the others had a very dark, greeny brownish colouration, this was very bright orangey reddish, which made me think it was something different.

Same with the gurnard, it had very slight red/pinky colour on the top half?!

Either way, i've posted in the Q&A for a bit of help with them so we'll see :?: Not to belittle your species knowledge BTW, just for a 2nd opinion really :wink:

The photos dont really do the true colour of the fish justice, but thanks for your help.

.........Glad you all enjoyed the report, it was such a fun fish filled session, just what the doctor ordered after not getting out in 2 weeks, felt like I'd only been there an hour or 2, but was actually 6 1/2 hours......

I was planning to do a bit more work this weekend, but yesterdays results (and left over bait) has simply left me planning another session for tonight or tomorrow 8)

Sat May 24, 2008 4:05 pm

shamoo0804 wrote:col,



eyesreilly,

the mack bassers werent too much of a pest really, I did my best to clean up what I had space for in my own bag of rubbish, but surely the local councils could put bins on these piers to encourage people a little more :idea:



My thoughts exactly Shamoo,,, even a few no littering signs wouldnt go astray!! There is a local who cleans up voluntarily every so often i'm told,,,,, but why leave it to him :? Your report has got me itching to go out,,,, i think i'll dig some bait ,,, hope its not too windy and choppy later on :roll: :wink: :lol:

Sat May 24, 2008 4:06 pm

Lovely day, got to get my self out fishing, all I do these days is drive rods around.... :cry:

Deffo a pollock.

Sat May 24, 2008 4:20 pm

Thanks marno,

In my experience ( as limited as it is :wink: ), you need to get the rods outta the car and put the baited hooks into the water to catch the fishie's.

I works for me 8) ...... most of the time :oops:

eyesreilly,

we'll have to meet up some time for a session, you seem to fish some of the venues I do, and its always handy to swap tips and have a bit of craic with someone different from the site

Sat May 24, 2008 8:04 pm

well done shamo, super day out 4 ye. like wicklow pier myself, never let me down no matter wat state of tide :D :D

Sat May 24, 2008 8:52 pm

thanks wayne,

just had the lobster for my dinner, very tasty indeed, must try catch a few more :lol: :lol: :lol:

only the 2nd time i've fished here, but defo be back sometime soon.

Sat May 24, 2008 10:56 pm

id say dat lob was lovely, im getin married in 2 wks so no fishing til july but ill pm ye wen im heading down dat way if ur interested. mite try some fishin on honeymoon if i can get a pass, very unlikely but if i tempt her wit a day shopping who knows :lol: :lol:

Sat May 24, 2008 11:24 pm

where's she dragging you off to?

Sun May 25, 2008 10:23 am

alexthefisherman wrote:where's she dragging you off to?


headin 2 majorca, portals nous. very big marina rigth beside hotel.
fingers crossed ill get a pass :lol:

Sun May 25, 2008 1:23 pm

Hey wayne was in portal nous 2004 and the marina is full of fish mainly mullet schools a couple of hundren strong but your not allowed to fish it as its a bit of a tourist attraction everyone comes down to feed the fish. You can fish outside the wall but i didnt get to but would assume the fishing there would be similar. Theres a great market a short bus journey away if your looking for somewhere to send her shopping :wink: . Enjoy the honeymoon its a gorgeous spot.

Sun May 25, 2008 1:42 pm

shamoo are those your rods in the buyandsell ? rang the no but the girl said she couldnt sell them till after her honeymoon ?

Sun May 25, 2008 3:11 pm

roger de dodger Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 12:42 pm Post subject:

shamoo are those your rods in the buyandsell ? rang the no but the girl said she couldnt sell them till after her honeymoon ?

:? :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :?

Yeh wayne, the lobster was lovely, only the 2nd time I've eaten it, prefer crab though :wink: Congrats on the wedding, hope you have a great time on the honeymoon :D

Mon May 26, 2008 5:52 pm

wrassebasher. thanks 4 info on market, ill hav 2 pull a sicky and send her of so i can do some fishing :lol: :lol: really lookin 4ward 2 spending 2 wks in sun.

shamo. ive never tried crab or lobster but dats all goin 2 change on honeymoon, and thanx 4 best wishes.

roger, i think dat was my woman u rang bout rods :lol: :lol: :lol:
ill av 2 hide dem in me ma`s away from her :lol:

Tue May 27, 2008 11:00 am

what a session man, going green here, cracking report too. nice to see other anglers are litter concious like myself. teaching my wee man about cleaning up the marks we fish, even when the litter is'nt ours in a bid to keep these scenic marks as untouched as possible. just wish others would do the same :roll: but hey, it ai'nt a perfect world. if it was, we'd get a fish every cast :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :wink:

Tue May 27, 2008 12:46 pm

great report - good fishing - fair play on the gathering the rubbish

i always try and pick up as much as i can carry after a session - its annoying but if we dont do it who will?

Tue May 27, 2008 1:20 pm

We all gotta do our bit :wink: to keep the venues clean.

I wont sit at home surrounded by rubbish, and I'm the same when I'm fishing. The surroundings are way too nice to ruin with litter :!: