Co. Antrim rock mark monday 8th june 09

People: just me

Duration: noon to 11pm

Tide: out then back in again

Weather: sunny 10mph winds gusting to 18mph for a while

Bait: lug, mack, squid and mullet belly strips

Rigs: basic 3 way swivel to 1 hook and a lead

Results: 14 doggies to 3lb 1oz , 2 bull huss to 4lb 14 ozs , 1 ballan wrasse and 1 red codling.




Report: after friday's shortened trip there was half a box of squid, a couple of thawed mackies and 30 lug left over. and i reckon it's a sin to let good bait go to waste so i decided to go back up to our wee rock mark to see what was about. it had been left alone for a bit so i was hopeing there might be a bit more activity at the mark and i was'nt let down before i could set up my second rod the first one was nodding away with a doggie on the end and this would set the pace for the whole session . i was fishing one with just lug to try for a few wrasse and put a 3/0 kamasan on to try to eliminate the tiddlers. this seemed to be working well as i landed a non migratory red reef cod who had taken a liking to the juicy lug and a ballan wrasse in quick succession. i heard a voice calling me and turned to see carol making his way over the rocks. i got talking to this guy the last time i was here on my own and seemes a sound bloke. he spear fishes for mullet on down the coast near larne and was on his way home when he spotted my car so came over for a chat. he got 2 that day around the 3lb mark and came over to see how i was getting on. while we were chatting my lug rod got smacked good and proper . i started to reel in a good fish that was doing a good bit of head shaking and the scrap was awesome. at a guess i'd say it was a good pollack or wrasse. the bend in my peir rod signified a good fish then disaster struck while bullying the fish out of the kelp the rod went light and i reeled in to discover the hook had bent out i was gutted and immeadieatly changed over to 3/0 uptiding hooks made from heavier wire but he did'nt fall for my lug again and it was back to the dogs. before carol headed on home at 5pm he left me some big chunks of mullet from the 2 he filleted and i was suprised how oily the flesh was. so i put the chunk on, cast out and waited to see if anything would take it. i did'nt have to wait too long as the tip bent over and i landed my biggest ever shore caught huss at 4lb 14oz . not as big as minty's 5lb'er but i was'nt complaining. the excitement i got from landing him was great as at one point he got into the kelp in front of me but the 50lb braid cut through the kelp like it was butter and retained the fish . i calmed down for a bit and got back to the doggies which were coming thick and fast. they were all good sized ones too with the biggest at 3lb 1oz (another new shore P.B.) then the rod baited with mullet went again, and i landed another huss . he was smaller at 2lb 6ozs but i was'nt complaining. it was odd how the huss were'nt interested in the squid and mack cocktails but hit the mullet straight away . they must be feeding on them around that area because as soon as i ran out of mullet i never got another huss, just back to dogs . by 11pm i was out of bait and had to wrap it up. but i could have stayed there till dawn with the way it was fishing i landed 18 fish altogeather in the end and must have lost 20+ to the kelp. i also lost 8 complete rigs, 14 leads and had to replace about 20 hooks. but with fishing like that i'd do it all over again with no complaints

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great session thats alot of doggies and the mullet strips is cool.bet the doggies would be good sport on spinning tackle

Well done al another great day at your new favourite mark. The huss were definitely turned on by the mullet anyway. cracking pictures also. you still on for next weekend

well done mate great days fishing with great report and photos

Thats an excellent days fishing Al and well done the PB's,nice mixed bag of fish there and even 2 Huss thrown in for good measure

Well done

Paddy

a great days fishing that rock mark is treating you very well but seems very hard on end tackle any way nothing ventured nothing gained and again great pics

very good angling al ,lovely pics .ye taken a liken to bringing in them huss wont be long before ye get a 10lb and a new bait to try out . did jordan give you the frown when he found out!

magic report an great pic's again al', its hard to beat a good dogie bashing session, they can keep you on your toes when they are on the feed. bet the wee lad was snapping that he missed that trip ............o i know now why he wasent there, you left him behind in case he got his revenge on you for the last trip

Lovely photos Al, They're big enough doggies, they're alot darker than the lads we get around the big smoke,

great report there al,great session,and some nice fish there never seen a red reef cod before!

well done al cracking report but thats a few more mutts than i would like in a session...lol

Nice session Al, so all i have to do to catch huss is to catch a mullet Well done and good close up photos of the nasal flaps, those dark doggies are evil looking

Brilliant session mate

Well done on the PB

Its beginning to look like things might be beginning to pick up

thats some day out man, that wee mark is throwing up some serious fish, . hotwheels will be looking for his revenge at the weekend . the cods a bit mental looking though, i've never seen one before . well done

Cracking stuff Al

well done al,lovely to see the red reef cod,great report as usual

great session thats alot of doggies and the mullet strips is cool.bet the doggies would be good sport on spinning tackle

unfortunatly you have to use pretty heavy gear at that spot due to the fact that you are fishing into, rather than around the kelp beds. it can be hard on tackle, but that's where the fish are

well done mate great days fishing with great report and photos

cheers man, it's finally god to be catching a steady run of fish that you can weigh in pounds rather than ounces

Thats an excellent days fishing Al and well done the PB's,nice mixed bag of fish there and even 2 Huss thrown in for good measure
Well done
Paddy

cheers paddy. i'm gonna bring more lug the next time and concentrate on the big wrasse and pollack . i was gutted at loosing the big fish that was doing all the head shaking and reckon that's what it was. but until i get him on the end of a hook (that wo'nt bend out) i'll never know. but it adds a new eliment to that mark

a great days fishing that rock mark is treating you very well but seems very hard on end tackle any way nothing ventured nothing gained and again great pics

cheers eddie, on most marks we try to avoid the kelp beds, but here you gotta fish smack bang into them. it's hard on end tackle, but if your willing to take the loss you can be rewarded with good fish .

very good angling al ,lovely pics .ye taken a liken to bringing in them huss wont be long before ye get a 10lb and a new bait to try out . did jordan give you the frown when he found out!

cheers man. that mark is bound to have a few double figure fish at it . you just gotta get a bait out there that the dogs leave alone long enough for the big chaps to find. not that that's in any way a complaint as i could pull out doggies all day the very best

:P magic report an great pic's again al', its hard to beat a good dogie bashing session, they can keep you on your toes when they are on the feed. bet the wee lad was snapping that he missed that trip ............o i know now why he wasent there, you left him behind in case he got his revenge on you for the last trip

thanks don, you've rumbled my plan the dogs are great craic. when fishing a couple of rods you barely have one rod baited up and cast out before the other one is nodding away . i hope you're feeling better man, we're gonna head up on saturday to fish a few marks before our club comp starts on sunday afternoon. i'm not sure how they are gonna peg the beach at fahan for the comp as it dose'nt start until 3pm. and i would imagine that the place will be packed by then if the weather's any good . i'll text you on saturday when we're heading up your way to see if you can get out man. those turbot will be shaking in their boots as jordan's gonna get one by hook or by crook

Lovely photos Al, They're big enough doggies, they're alot darker than the lads we get around the big smoke,

thanks mate. eyes and fishface commented on that when we were down in wicklow. i think it's because they live over rough kelpy ground at the marks we fish up here. but that mark has got to have the odd specimen doggie at it i'd love to see jordan get one. i would'nt bother with the whole specimen certificate thing as i would'nt have a clue as to how to go about it. we would be satisfied with with a good piccy of him holding it for the scrap book

great report there al,great session,and some nice fish there never seen a red reef cod before!

we seem to get quite a few of them as we mainly fish over the kelpy grounds that they live in. i read somewhere that choose not to migrate out over deep water and instead prefere the safety of the thick kelp beds. so if you start at the bottom of the food chain that they live off and work your way up. there is a high concentration of iodine in their diet, just like the wrasse, hence the deep red colouration personally i find it amazing how the colour of a fish can be determined by it's diet and habitat alright , enough of that oul talk. i'm starting to sound like a fish geek again

well done al cracking report but thats a few more mutts than i would like in a session...lol

cheers bryan. well the way i look at it is that i'd rather be pulling out dog after dog than nothing at all i remember just 8 weeks ago i was fishing 10 and 12 hour sessions with not so much as a nibble to show for my efforts . and besides, they certinly keep you on your toes and make the session fly in. i remember looking at my watch thinking it was only about 8pm at one stage and it was actually 9.50pm just not enough hours in the day

Nice session Al, so all i have to do to catch huss is to catch a mullet Well done and good close up photos of the nasal flaps, those dark doggies are evil looking

cheers dave. who would have ever thought that mullet was a huss bait . but they snaffled it up quicker than i could get it back out to em. next time i'm gonna do a bit of experementing just to see what else turns em on. the dark dogs look a whole lot more mean than the light chaps . jordan tells all his wee mates that he now regularly goes shark fishing you should see the reaction on their faces but he's still smarting over the conger so i had to go out and buy a big landing net you should see the size of it

Brilliant session mate
Well done on the PB
Its beginning to look like things might be beginning to pick up

lets hope it stays that way

thats some day out man, that wee mark is throwing up some serious fish, . hotwheels will be looking for his revenge at the weekend . the cods a bit mental looking though, i've never seen one before . well done

minty i reckon that spot has to hold a specimen or 2. and in true form it will likely be junior who gets it . are you fishing the comp at the weekend? we're gonna head up on saturday to fish a few marks and sleep over. you're more than welcome man. i think a big pollack hunt is on the cards

Cracking stuff Al

cheers conor, one of the best sessions i've had in a while i was just gutted that i ran outta bait by 11pm. i could have stayed there all night

well done al,lovely to see the red reef cod,great report as usual

thanks man, we just love the variety that the sea throws up. you never know whats gonn be on the end of your hook