Malahide 08/02

People:Me and DFella

Duration:19:00 to 23:30

Tide:High at 23:00

Weather:Very clear bar 1 heavy shower, cold!

Bait:Lug, Bluey, Squid, Mussel, Razor, Sandeel, Gulp Shrimp

Rigs:2 & 3 Hook Flappers, Clip Down Pennel, Up & Over Pennel

Results:1 Flounder 26cm


Report:We decided to head out for the night to a mark I've fished in Malahide that usually produces flatties and has given me sea trout. Got there early and just managed to set up when the tide had managed to move behind us and we had to jump further back up the beach. The current was very heavy and had to use 6oz grippers to hold the bottom. It started quietly enough then came the rain which is always nice when you forgot to bring waterproof trousers. Bite detection was difficult due to the current so I didn't realise I had the flounder on till he was nearly on the beach. He was in great condition, very fat. Unfortunately as I didn't know he was on he was deep hooked so I cut the hook length as close as I could and after a quick photo opportunity he went back and swam off fine (hopefully!). Rest of the night was producing what looked like rattling bites but nothing else hooked up which was a bit frustrating. Flounder was taken on bluey and sandeel combo on 1/0 hooks. Pic will follow as Connor has it

well done, Regarding the rattle bites, in my opinion they were eel's which there are plenty of in the area. with their very small mouths, not many end up in a hook up. is it not a bit early for the sea trout, any views welcome..

It was a lovely night and my first blank in months. I left the beach feeling gutted and worried how long the bad luck will last! Oh and thanks to Boycie who left the comfort of his misses house to sort me with bait after I turned up and hour late. I had started with a three hook flapper with two circle hooks of different sizes and a 1/0. I was looking forward to seeing if the circle hooks were any good with regards removing them but I never had the chance. I swapped over to a 2 hook flapper with size 1 and 2 hooks but the lug came back untouched all night. They were in great nick and fat mothers but it just was not meant to be. At least Adam hit home with the flounder and it was a chunky fish at that. Pics below!!

Nice fish,well done man,difficult conditions and time of year.if your out after flounder you should try rush nth beach,its very sheltered,you can drive onto the beach and its an absolutely cracking flounder spot.

good to hear a report on the northside

thanks lads. I've always enjoyed that spot as it has a lovely piece of beach that floods nicely. It means I can catch without having to cast stupid distances. Thanks for the tip on the flounder mark. I've fished that on occasion and had good results, used to live up that way. By the way, all the rattling bites I was getting were refrozen bait tipped with the Gulp shrimp. I'm now thinking that maybe I was using too much of the shrimp so the fish were struggling to get their mouths round it - it's not as soft as normal bait. What do you think?

i would have thought the rattles were either crab or the plague of pin whiting

the flounder have a big enough gape and if there was any of the point of the hook free they would have got caught if indeed it was all flounder biting and giving the rattles

i have got them on 6/0s

I actually thought that myself. The reason I didn't think they were pin whiting bites is that none were landed and the same with crabs. The baits were coming back without being stripped. That mark usually only gets crabs if you fish into the channel which I was avoiding due to experience!

choco - as regards the eels i would have thought one at least would have wrapped himself round the line - and caught himself!

mind you the pins have the ability to do that also

if it was crabs or the other two above - its strange nothing came in with the bait?

corbyeire - that's what I thought. You usually manage to land at least 1 crab and the pin whiting I was taking down in Dun Laoghaire last week were taking the same size hooks no bother. I might give it another shot soon with smaller hooks. The jury is still firmly out on the gulp stuff. Was in Henry's and he said it had fished well for him on a number of occasions. Still it's handy to have in for tipping baits off.

Don't think there were eels about or whiting cause my lug wasn't touched. I would have expected at least a few casts to come in striped. Who knows Adam maybe it was a Sea Trout taking the mick out of us?

Hah, those pesky sea trout, the jokers of the marine world!

Great to hear your report this early in the year: flounder is a decent size too.
Interesting to read the advice re: that mark and Rush beach......I ventured
forth from the deep Southside last Spring, but couldn't get access to a reputed
Sea Bass / Sea Trout gully hole below the Malahide railway bridge. Inaccessible
from marina side.
Had to settle for blanking on the beach.
So might try Rush beach in a couple of weeks, when weather improves

Ecofish, I was told of the same mark and tried to reach it too. I had a good chat with the security lads from the marina and they let me through but I couldn't see an easy way to fish it, so I did the same and moved on to the beach. First hook up was a 3 & 1/2lb sea trout! This was last year

Ecofish, I was told of the same mark and tried to reach it too. I had a good chat with the security lads from the marina and they let me through but I couldn't see an easy way to fish it, so I did the same and moved on to the beach. First hook up was a 3 & 1/2lb sea trout! This was last year

you defo can get 2 it, jus hav 2 no how
i use 2 fish der with me da wen i was 6/7, 23yrs ago. im goin 2 try it in the next couple of wks,
if ye wan ye can tag along and see wats der

Wayne, that would be sound. Sure PM me when you're planning the trip.

the large sewage plant puts most people off, its been very bad recently , on ebb tide pleanty of bits of poo floating down the whole length of the channel... this sewage plant is running over its designed capacity hence the fishing has gone seriously off.. Fingal county council are respossible for this sewage plant but they are useless so dont waste your time with them.