Sorrento Point 19th & 20th April

People: Me & Stephen8wood

Duration: 8-11pm (Sun) 9pm-12am (Mon)

Tide: Rising then falling

Weather: Beautiful both nights.

Bait: Just Mack (Sun) Rag & Mack (Mon)

Rigs: 3 hook flappers, Pennell Pulleys, 2 hook flounder, Toby, feathers

Results: Me 19 Whiting 1 Flounder (Sun) 11 Whiting 1 Crab (Mon); Stephen 2 Whiting (Sun) 6 Whiting (Mon)


Report: Can I just say, and apologies if this mantra now grows tedious, but this is so much fun. A cracking couple of sessions at Sorrento Point. We arrived on Sunday about 30 mins before sunset and tried some spinning with feathers & a Toby to no avail. It was just beautiful though as the sun set on Dalkey Island. The bites started once it got dark most of my whiting were relatively small and all went back as did the flounder, he wasn’t any great size either. For some reason Stephen wasn’t as lucky as me. He had a Mack head on the pulley but got not even a bite.

Last night was a hoot. I think a large part of the appeal for me is the anticipation of the unexpected. You just don’t know what you’re going to pull out of the sea and that’s just great. Ok, so I know I’m not going to get a Marlin from Sorrento point, but within reason you just don’t know what coming out next.

I saw an ok knock on my lighter rod and started to reel. At first I thought it was snagged but then managed to keep reeling. It was very heavy and I hadn’t a clue what I had. There wasn’t much fight so I thought it might have been weed. As I couldn’t see the rig until it was right on top of me past the rocks I still didn’t know what it was when it came out of the water, when it got very heavy. It was a fairly big crab (see attached photo). He had taken the bait and had the hook in his claw. I think part of the reason why he stayed on the line was because apart from the hook, the weight got hooked just underneath his claw. That’s a 4 Oz gripper weight beside him for perspective. He toddled off back to the sea after a quick photo. He was great fun.

I have two questions in relation to him.

1. Anyone know what he’s called?
2. This is a genuine question in case anyone thinks otherwise. To those who like to species hunt; (I’ve been keeping a tally of species for my first full year fishing) if you caught a crab of this size would you include it as a new species or is it generally only fish that count?

Towards the end of last night as I was reeling in a Whiting, just at the very second the fish and weight came out of the sea there was a big splash. It frightened the hell out of me. For a split second I thought it was whatever was on my line, but then I quickly realised that if whatever made that splash had been on my line it would have pulled my in! I was also at the edge of the rocks overlooking the sea and a little precarious, so the fright didn’t help my footing. It was a seal who had grabbed at the fish as it came out of the water. I managed to get it out, but he had some teeth marks on him and was dead. If I got a fright I can’t imagine what the poor fish must have felt. I took a photo of the seal but it was too dark and I was too far away. You can just see the green eyes at the top of the first photo. That’s taken from a height looking down.

I had to take a moment after that, I’m certain there was an element of adrenaline running through me for the split second I thought I had something big!

I tried a 3/0 Pennell Pulley last night in the hope of avoiding the pin whiting. Stephen did the same. It made no difference. They grabbed on all the same.

Two good nights and I was chuffed with the size of the crab.

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Is it possible he's just called an 'Orange Crab' as per this fella??

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/DKIMAGES/Discover/Home/Animals/Invertebrates/Arthropods/Crustaceans/Crabs-and-Lobsters/Crabs/Crab/Crab-04.html

crab known as both brown crab and edible crab

it happened to a fella as well, where the seal was taking everything they were really in.

sometimes there nothing you can do about catching whiting they just strip the baits, best is to adapt your rebaiting tactics to every 5-10mins,

A brown crab in these parts and I can't believe you didn't take it home for your dinner,yum! The seal can be a nuisance there but its hard not to find it funny when he pops up in front of you and stares you out of it, its more his sea than your sea I guess, And they've frightened the bee jaysus out of me enough times. Great session there, Ive been avoiding that area recently because it can be quit snaggy but maybe Ill have a look see later in the week.

Round_ourway,

I had two rods out on Sun with just mack, as soon as I had the first rod re-baited and back out the other would have slight knocks on it with more of the buggers on the hooks, that went on for over an hour. I shouldn't complain I suppose, it's just their lack of fight or even lack of knocks on the rods.

Corndogg, I was tempted to take him home, they're delicious, but i'm not at home for the next few nights and I didn't fance trying to keep him alive that long nor did I fancy killing him there and waiting a few days to cook him, so back he went. If it had been Thursday evening, say, with the weekend on the way I'm sure I'd have kept him.

I'm sure it's funny when you can see them. I was up fairly high on the rocks looking over the edge and all I heard was a big splash. I didn't know what it was. He got the mackerel carcass and the fish he had already taken a bite from; it seemed only fair. It was the end of our session anyway. Stephen tells me last summer he witnessed some fellas throwing stones at a seal and shouting and roaring at it. Eejits.

One other point about this spot is the mess. It's really a disgrace. The rocks down by the sea are littered with rubbish and loads of it directly from anglers (hook wrappers, rubbish from all kinds of fishing paraphernalia etc.), I'm only assuming the rest is from them too (beer cans, bottles, food). It's really disgusting. How hard is it to bring a plastic bag with you and take your stuff away?? Grr. The annoying thing is that non-anglers who go there will just tar us all with the same brush. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see the council or whoever looks after it to simply stop people from fishing there if it's left in such a mess and that would be a real pity. People are not just selfish they're also pretty stupid.

whiting can be a pain when fishing comps as well because sure as god none of 30 you caught would be above the limit. Im sure that seal scared the life outa ya

It sure did. Being on the edge of a rock on a height didn't help the situation!

A few of last night's whiting were in or around 22, 23 & 24 cm but that was about it. Even then, the (relatively) bigger ones barely registered on the rod. Great night's fishing all the same. There was another chap there below us who seemed really annoyed at having caught a doggie. I'd have swapped all the whiting from the session for a dog! Each to their own I suppose.

Called edible crab or brown crab. or as they say in Cavistons "30 euros please."

Those seals can give you a hell of a shock when they appear - especially if you're out on rocks on your own. As a kid I remember one of them taking a chunk out of a big pollock I had on a handline while I was fishing the rocks behind the convent in dalkey. i thought it was one of the nuns coming after me...

excellent report beebub . i often find it's the other stuff thats going on in a session that makes it more memorable than the actual fishing and them seals can have an uncanny knack of popping up beside you in the dark. the first you know about it is when they blow the air through their nose and you jump outta your skin .