Various marks on Beara Peninsula - 23rd and 24th August

[RockHunter]

People: Me

Duration: Saturday 1.00 - 3.00 pm and 5.45 - 8.00 pm; Sunday 11.45 - 1.30 pm and 2.30 -6.30 pm

Tide: LW at 3.45 pm on Saturday, LW at 4.50 pm on Sunday

Weather: Saturday persistent rain until 5.00 pm, Moderate SW wind, Sunday - dry, mostly sunny, light WSW wind

Bait: Ragworm, sandeel, mackerel

Rigs: 1 hook flapper (Size 1/0), 2 hook flapper (Size 1/0), 3/0 pennel pulley, various lures

Results: 15 Ballan Wrasse, 2 Cookoo Wrasse, 1 Corkwing, 2 Pollock, 25 mackerel




Report:
Saturday 23rd August:
I decided to head back to the Beara Peninsula for the weekend. Weather forecast for Saturday was not great - and unfortuantely it was correct - there was persistent rain all morning and afternoon, although it brightened up after 5 pm - but there were still a few showers.

I arrived at the first rock mark on the north side of the peninsula between Eyeries and Allihies. It was so wet that I put my waders on. I set up two rods with single hook flappers baited with rag and did a little spinning with a third rod. About ten minutes I got the first wrasse, a small one just about 20 cm. 20 minutes later I got the next one - a little bigger at 26 cm.

Then I got a very spectacular looking Cookoo Wrasse. Shortly afterwards I hooked another Cookoo - at first I thought it was the same fish, but when I measured it the second was a few centimeters longer. I had a bunch of missed bites after that - the wrasse were snatching the rag but not getting hooked. Then I eventually got a bigger Ballan at 35 cm and just over 2 lbs. After getting that I decided to pack up, have lunch and move to another mark. As I was packing away the first rod there was a knock on the second - another small wrasse of 24 cm.

After lunch I tried another mark not far from the first. It looked to be deep water with lots of kelp. It took a while for the first hook-up. That was a good size wrasse of 30 cm. I had a few missed bites or fish gone to ground after that - seemed as if there were some big wrasse there. Then I eventually hooked a big one - 4 lb and about 45 cm. It put up a tough fight and it was an effort to pull him up.

Another good wrasse followed - 35 cm and close to 2.5 lb. Then I caught a nice looking wrasse - slight shorter but plumper. After that I got a smaller wrasse just over 20 cm.

I did some spinning but had no hook-ups.

Sunday 24th August.
I intended to fish Dursey Sound - it had been very productive for me on the August bank holiday so I was keen to give it another go. One the way as I was passing through Allihies I decided to give the beach a try. It was quite weedy in close so I cast out beyond the weed and caught two small pollock, one on rag the other on sandeel - not what I was expecting from the beach.

As the tide was dropping I didn't stay long and moved on to Dursey Sound. Set up in the same mark as previously. Bites were a lot slower this time - different stage of the tide presumably. But after about 25 minutes I got a 28 cm wrasse. This was followed by another about the same size. I has having quite a few missed bites then got a 30 cm wrasse followed by a small 20 cm wrasse.

I tried some spinning with various lures and with sandeel but there were no takers so got back to bait fishing. Then got a 30 cm wrasse.

I was getting low on rag - so I went back to spinning - again nothing until I put on a set of feathers - I fished them down deep - hoping for pollock but hooked a mackerel. I continued with the feathers and had a few triples and one quadruple mack catch. I eventually got 25 of them, although most were quite small but should make good bait. Most of them were down deep - there was no activity on the surface. Before leaving I set up one of the rods with the last of the rag while I was cleaning out the mackerel in a rock pool - and got one more wrasse at 29 cm.

All the wrasse were safely returned and all swam away, althouhg a few floated on the surface for a few minutes but eventually dived down to the depths. When I fished Dursey a few weeks ago a few of the fish didn't survive but I put them back more quickly this time.

So all in all a good weekend fishing. The only downside to it was on the way we stopped in Castletownbere for a coffee on Satuday morning - and somebody tried to break into my car - they must have used something like a screwdriver on the passenger door lock - damaged the lock, and then tried to prize off the lock - there was a circular hole at the rear of the lock. I guess they were after my fishing gear - but fortunately they did not manage to get the door open.

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Last edited by RockHunter on Tue Aug 26, 2008 12:33 am, edited 5 times in total.

Some more pics

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First three wrasse from second mark on Saturday

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Couple more wrasse from Saturday

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First three wrasse from Dursey Sound on Sunday

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Last three wrasse from Dursey Sound

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Great report Rockhunter and excellent pics. Another great weekends fishing.Those wrasse are great fun. Sounds like you have your freezer well stocked up. Sorry to hear about your car,,,, these things happen everywhere unfortunately . At least they didnt get your gear .

Thanks Dave,
It the gear had been stolen than would have been a diaster - I just can't open the passenger door with the key anymore

I will just have to think twice about leaving the rods in the car in future.

good fishin, think you got 3 species of wrass there

Great fishing and super pics Sorry to hear about the damage to your car at least the little scuts didn't get your gear, our vet had a 20 grand scanner stolen out of his brand new Pajero up at the RDS they drilled a tiny little hole behind the lock barely noticeable and it was enough to pop the lock he didn't notice until he went to use it a couple of days later!!

you have a corkwing wrasse in there another species

Hi Rockhunter - I saw you on Ballydonegan and later at Dursey sound! I was going to stop and ask you how it was going, but there were ten or so tourists staring at you and taking pictures....

I suppose I'll put in my own report, though I'm still waiting on my brother to email photos from his phone.

People: Me and brother

Duration: Saturday 12.00 - 4.00 pm; Sunday 12 - 3 pm

Tide: LW at 3.45 pm on Saturday, LW at 4.50 pm on Sunday

Weather: Saturday persistent rain until 5.00 pm, Moderate SW wind, Sunday - dry, mostly sunny, light WSW wind

Bait: Ragworm

Rigs: 1/0 aberdeen about 15 feet below a sliding float, dexter wedge.

Results: 7 Ballan Wrasse, 8 Pollock, 20 or so mackerel

Started off at my favourite mark in Cahermore on the south side. The weather was coming in that way and the sea was rough, so we could only fish one rod off a very high rock. The float was blowing in too, but the fish were in close. When I managed to get the float out a certain distance, which was once about every 5 casts, I had a fish on after about 10 seconds every time.

We got three wrasse in a row, one around 2 lb, then three nice pollock in a row around 2.5 pounds each. Strangely, two of the pollock were hooked in the stomach, which never happens to me with lures. Must be poor bite detection with the float and rough sea. Didnt matter as I like to eat them. Only started using rag down there and it really works, I didnt think it would be so good as you cant get rag locally, but the fish had no problem recognising it.

Lost the float eventually, and tried to fish a rag on the bottom. The hook kept getting bitten off, so I put on a wire trace, but that was lost too. I did hook into some big somethings off the bottom, but maybe its just too rough.

Soaked to the skin, we went off for my old dears birthday.

Went to Dursey next day fairly hungover, and walked to the cliffs right at the entrance to the sound, and found a spot I could get to within about 20 feet of the sea. Wasnt too hopeful, but it looked deep. A load of gannets were dive bombing to my left, so I was hopeful the mackies were around at least.

Fished a 2 oz wedge, and hooked and lost a mackerel. Next was a small pollock which I kept for conger bait. Casting was difficult, but about 20 mins later I hooked a 2 lb pollock which fought very hard. Managed to winch him up with my beachcaster. A shower was coming in past the bull rock, so I decieded to get off the cliffs before the rocks got slippy.

Went to the mark beside the cable car where rock hunter was, and tried the wedge again, I deep spun it for pollock, but got a mackerel instead. Changed to hokkai and got about 20. They were small, but I was happy with them as I have none in the freezer.

Good crack all round. Surprised to hear about the car break in, its normally safe enough there. But you get all sorts down there this time of year, and they're making a Colin Farell film at the moment too so theres a lot of strangers around.

I'll post pics when the brother gets off his arse.

well done rockhunter and pollackking, fabulous place for fishing ,cant wait to get back down there for another session , give ye a shout

Thanks guys,

Thanks Steve for pointing that out - I was wondering if that was a Corkwing alright - he had the black spot behind the eye but the black spot on the tail was not so obvious.

PollocKing - you should have stopped to say hello. There was somebody fishing on the ridge that juts out into the sound just to the left/south of me - was that you?
I should have charged the spectators for watching - but it was even worse when I was there on the August bank holiday Sunday - I was getting a steady stream of wrasse that day and had a constant audience and then some of the started clapping every time I landed a wrasse

Thanks Legend, I am not sure when I will be back over that way - but whenever you are heading down give us a PM and I will see if I can make it over.

I didnt know it was you till I read your report! I generally like peace and quiet when I'm fishing and you looked like you had your hands full with the tourists . Next time. I'm coming from Dublin though so its a bit of a hike unless I get a day or two off. Yes that was me happily mack bashing at the tip to your left. I had my own crowd of photographers on the next point over, but I was 'out of reach'

How do you fish baits on the bottom around there? Does the pulley work, and do you need a heavy weight so it doesnt roll around looking for a snag, or do you just rotten bottom it?

That a long haul from Dublin - it seems a long enough just from East Cork - I was knackered when I got home Sunday night.

PollocKing - I was using mostly 2 oz weights on a single hook short snood paternoster with a luminous floating bead and a medium bubble float at the top of the trace. Sometines a 3 oz weight if I wanted to cast out a bit farther. The weight has heavy enough to pull the float down - the idea of the float was to keep the trace suspended vertiallly with the weight resting on the bottom and have the bait floating about about 15-20 cms above the sea bed to avoid the hook getting snagged while attracting the fish feeding close to the bottom.

However, I still managed to get snagged a few times