ramore head portrush tue 2nd june

People: just me

Duration: noon to 5.30pm

Tide: high water at 4.30pm

Weather: no wind, and burnt to a frazzle

Bait: mack and mushy rag

Rigs: 1 up 1 down, conger gear assorted spinners, lures and feathers

Results: 2 ballan wrasse, 1 doggie, 1 coalie, a long spined sea scorpion and a herring gull




Report: i decided to give this mark a wee go as i have'nt been up this neck of the woods in a while. all i had left in the freezer were a few mack but i reckoned one of the tackle shops in portrush would have some rag on route. i arrived at the shop but the rag was'nt gonna be in until after 1pm but the guy in the shop had a few bags left over from his own trip yesterday. they did'nt look the healthiest but he gave me them for free as they were only gonna be binned . so armed with some mushy rag and the last few mack from the freezer at home i headed on round to the mark. when i got to the spot the sea was flat calm and the sun was doing it's best to melt me baldy dome, and in my haste to get out i left the sunscreen at home . this was gonna be a short session as i was already lobster red as i was setting up i got chatting to another angler who was spinning with lures and he had already got a few wee pollack but mentioned the lack of any mack. i was hopeing to mabey bag a few as last years supply has run out at home. but i got set up anyhow with 2 rods fishing the bottom and the conger gear just over the edge of the rocks. the first 3 hours were slow with my only catch being a bloody big herring gull who had snaffeled some mack on my rig that i was baiting up . the cheeky git silently flew in from behind me and nearly flew off with my rig, reel and rod. and for anyone not familiar with one of these gulls they're just a bit smaller than a swan christ only knows what the tourists thought i was up to wrestling a bloody big bird on the rocks it was one hell of a job getting him under my arm so i could unhook him, but i'm happy to say i ended up the victor and he flew off none the worse for his experience. we used to get a brave dose of gulls in the vets when i worked there years ago with broken or injured wings. and thankfully the handling procedures all came flooding back so slightly paranoid, occasionally looking up at the sky i fished on and got the first fish of the day. a wee doggie not long after i kept getting wee knocks on the rod baited with rag, but i just could'nt hook him up . undaunted i baited up for what must have been the 4th time in 5 mins and got the wee robber red handed. a wee long spined sea scorpion came up not even on the hook. he was just dangling off the end of the worm trying to suck his way up it like a 5 year old eating spaghettie for the first time . so i tore the worm off the hook and let him munch at it while i got his pic taken. i returned him with his worm and noticed the other rod was slack and reeled in a wee ballan wrasse result!!! 2 fish in 2 mins!!. i was starting to cook so began packing away and got my last fish of the day, another wee ballan wrasse. all in all not a bad day out, but the lack of mack is becoming an issue as i might have to start buying some soon instead of me freebies in the freezer at home i did notice lots of fry hanging in close to the rocks, but not a mack in sight not even any bird activity out to the horizon to indicate their presence either. when i was chatting to the local guy earlier he reckoned there were'nt to many taken from this mark lately either. i just hope they turn up soon as my freezer is needing filled

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well done Al, hope you got that trip ok'd by junior
lovley picture of the scorpion eating the rag, and as usual good report and pics.
oh and its always a bonus getting hold of a bird when you're out fishing

Good report man! Nice fish too, I know how you feel about the bloody gull,I got one on a chug bug surface popper last summer pretty tough to unhook them poor birds but she went back unharmed too. Congrats again

well done mate nice going pitty about the mack have not heared of many being got anywere

well done nice pics, hope you didn't get to Burnt

Entertaining report as usual al

Glad you got a few for your efforts

Nice going, love the pic of the Sea Scorpion. I would have love to see you scrapping with the Herring Gull, a bird in one hand and a Stella in the other the tourist would love that

great report as we have come to expect al ,well done on getting a few fish ,u and jordan will have to get a boat trip in soon to fill that freezer of yours and jordan will love it , cheers damian

well done Al, hope you got that trip ok'd by junior
lovley picture of the scorpion eating the rag, and as usual good report and pics.
oh and its always a bonus getting hold of a bird when you're out fishing

aahhheemmm,,,,, well he did'nt exactly know i was heading out as he was at school and unfortunately it was like most of the other birds i've had under my arm in the past,,,,,squaking mentally, while doing my head in

Good report man! Nice fish too, I know how you feel about the bloody gull,I got one on a chug bug surface popper last summer pretty tough to unhook them poor birds but she went back unharmed too. Congrats again

it was a bit of a shock alright at one point before i could grab him, i honestly thought he was gonna fly away with my rod i was just relieved that there was no lasting injury from the ordeal

well done mate nice going pitty about the mack have not heared of many being got anywere

they seem to be scattered about in small shoals up this way at the moment it's just a matter of luck if you happen to be at the same spot as them still early days yet

Entertaining report as usual al
Glad you got a few for your efforts

cheers mark. it's still a bit hit and miss at the moment, but it can only improve

well done nice pics, hope you didn't get to Burnt

Nice going, love the pic of the Sea Scorpion. I would have love to see you scrapping with the Herring Gull, a bird in one hand and a Stella in the other the tourist would love that

i got toasted guys i waddled all the way back to the car with the same range of movement as a 1960s sci fi robot what a spectacle the walkers must have got with me and the gull. it must have looked like doctor zoidberg from futurama in the midst of a gull attack

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Great report as usual al,gull catching!would that count as a blank breaker? pity about the mack,there in clew bay all right,but not in any great numbers! still early yet!

well done al,lovely fish and great photos,bet it was good to be a fisherman again and not a cameraman

another cracking report al. well done pal. I havent heard much mack being caught yet the freezer is bare dude

Another great report Al, I caught a sea hen in front of a full pier of walkers in Dun Laoighre once, I was more traumatised then the bird!

1 coalie,

Oh it really hurts! Nice mix Al well done.

Nice wee session mate. Another good read, on the conger hunt also, love it.

well done on the Ballan Wrasse Al can't wait to go at them with the light gear great sport

Great report as usual al,gull catching!would that count as a blank breaker? pity about the mack,there in clew bay all right,but not in any great numbers! still early yet!

don't think i could put him on my species list but i hope the mack start showing in better numbers soon as having to buy them would burn into our petrol money kitty

well done al,lovely fish and great photos,bet it was good to be a fisherman again and not a cameraman

if jordan had his way he'd have a production crew following him about

another cracking report al. well done pal. I havent heard much mack being caught yet the freezer is bare dude

dow to the last 6 stevie i'll just have to stock up on rag, lug and peelers instead

Another great report Al, I caught a sea hen in front of a full pier of walkers in Dun Laoighre once, I was more traumatised then the bird!

i know man. it's funny how guilty you can feel when something like that happens . but it dose serve as a stark reminder to be carefull what you do with rigs with even a wee bit of bait on them.

1 coalie,

Oh it really hurts! Nice mix Al well done.

jordan says he'll get you a coalie if you can get him a turbot

Nice wee session mate. Another good read, on the conger hunt also, love it.

we'll need to get you a conger too man roll on the summer

well done on the Ballan Wrasse Al can't wait to go at them with the light gear great sport

cheers conor, pound for pound, i reckon they're one of the best fighting fish when given a chance on light gear. jordan has a special 6ft rod he uses for them. you shound see the bend that a 1oz lead puts on it, and that's with on fish on the end too

Well done al,cracking report and pictures per usual especially love the sea scorpion

Great report mate. Im still chuckling about the seagull