Dungarvan area 20th-26th September

People:Myself, Robert, Peter.

Duration:

Tide:Various as below

Weather:dd Beautiful weather, sunny all week

Bait: frozen mackerel, frozen sandeel, frozen razor, fresh lug, frozen squid, lures.
dd
Rigs:2 hook paternoster, pulley

Results:Not great, very few fish to report




Report:

[b]Saturday 20th[/b]. Started the day by meeting Coaster from the forums for a supply of bait and a few tips on the area. Thanks for that Coaster.
Based close to Stradbally, we decided to have a quick look at the local shoreline and decided to fish a small cove on the tramore side of Bunmahon. Weather was flat calm with a rising tide to 3.9M at 21:44. Not a great start to a week of expectation, with only a very small pollack falling to myself. Knackered after the drive down that day, we decided to call it a night around 23:00 and hit the sack.

Sunday 21st. Headed to the lighthouse area to have a go at plugging over rough ground. Result = blank

Switch of location for the evening high tide at 22:36 to the castle end of Clonea strand. This session of 2.5 hours resulted in only one very small flounder which fell to Peter's sandeel. Again the sea was flat calm and the height of tides for the week were falling.

Monday 22nd. Drove to the famous Cunnigar spit for a look and to possibly scope it out for a session later in the week. This never transpired due to the flat calm conditions we were to have. Spun into the mouth of the harbour with the hope of taking a few mackeral, but alas, another blank.
That night, we headed to Bunmahon to fish high tide at 23:41 at the mouth of the river. Result = blank!!
We pondered what we may have been doing wrong but could come up with nothing other than the flat calm conditions and the low height of the tides.

Tuesday 23rd. Another plugging session around the lighthouse area with yet another blank.

That night, decided to persevere with Bunmahon beach, again on a rising tide in a flat sea, with surprise surprise another blank.

Wednesday 24th. Another plugging session, another blank. Are there any fish in this County? Has Cortaz caught them all?

Switch of tactics that night to fishing a low tide as the high tides to date had been fruitless. Low water Bunmahon beach and guess what, another blank. Was Robert a scud? Was he ever going to catch a fish? Were Peter and myself going to improve on a fish finger and a fifty pence piece?

Thursday 25th. Plugged again at a couple of rough ground locations and blanked again. Beginning to wonder why I had spent well earned cash buying 10 sparkling new plugs.
That night, switched back to Clonea strand to fish the low tide. This session at last produced something more than a tiddler with me hitting 2 doggies and Peter 1. Robert yet to break his cherry for the week.

Friday 26th. Gave up on plugging and fished Helvic pier with feather traces and spinners. Should have stuck to the plugs as the feathers and spinners didn't work either.

Fished low water that night at Stradbally which saw me take 2 doggies with one each for Peter and Robert to save him the embarassment of blanking the entire week.

All in all, poor results for the time and sessions put in, but thats fishing for you. The tides were low and the seas flat calm, which undoubtably contributed to the low numbers of fish caught. In addition, we were plagued by crabs the whole week with hooks being completely stripped within 15 minutes. No pictures of fish caught worth taking, so the memory cards are full of many scenery shots of the area. Lovely area, and no doubt we will be back to have another crack at it next year.

were ye using any hooks??????????????????

:) were ye using any hooks??????????????????

Never thought of that

Don't know what was going on Art. Maybe the fish were on holiday too.

You need crab for Bunmahon. Lug also work. Fishing into the river end is not the best spot. Top and bottom of tide is best. Between times fishing is patchy.

Baits and rigs are critical for bass fishing. Lady luck also plays a part.

You should have had a word with Cortaz before you travelled to W Waterford.

That is tough fishing lads!
Hard Luck

The most critical thing for bass fishing is local knowledge It is vital There is no point in fishing where the fish ain't at...a call to Cortaz when in this area would be a must.

Pity no success lads, havnt fished clonea/cunnigar myself but bunmahon has been good to me, look for tides 3 hours to low coinciding with dawn and spin a black flying c close to the rocks on river end, early July probably best as the sea hasn't heated up yet and the fishies like the warmer river temps + food supply entering the sea. Better luck next time

Thanks for the replies guys. Just looking at tide heights for the end of October and see they are around 4.00M. Any fish still to be had that late in the season? Is it worth taking a couple of days off work for Haloween?

Had a good session at Hook Head, other side of waterford Estuary (with 5 kids in Tow!!!) last October Bank Holiday weekend, Pollack and Wrasse taken - every Wrasse between 2-4lbs, don't know whether it was the lateness of Season that made the bigger ones show (normally lots vailable but usually < 1lb - great fun for the kids). So I suppose the answer is yes re fish available end October, given the scarcity this year - they have to turn up some time?

Just remembered - that Big fella on the left was taken at Hook Head in October 2005!!. (How could I forget )

bad week for surf for bass should of picked up a few plugging tho.