clifden bay co galway 24 june 2009

[gfkelly1969]

People:myself

Duration:19.00 to 22.00 3hrs

Tide:high 19.13 5.3m

Weather:sunny with south wind

Bait:mackerel,lug,feathers

Rigs:2 hook flapper,feather rig

Results:2 thornback ray




Report:went to my favorite ray mark as i didn't try it for 2 months the mark didn't disappoint me the first ray was 5.2 lbs and put up a good fight then i re baited and sat down for a smoke then saw the rod tip give one small rattle and then in a second the rod bent over double and the rod stand fell over,i had forgotten to set the drag
what ever it was was big, it bent the top bar of the stand and dug up the clay where i had stuck the stand in the ground
when i got the rod and started reeling i felt a big pull for a few seconds and then the line snapped,the line was 25lb breaking strain,any time i got snagged before while using this line the rig would break or hook would straiten but it wouldn't snap:shock: i know it was not a ray any ray i ever caught before never moved as quick as this fish
thought i hooked a seal but no seal around

after setting up again watched the rod for 10 mins and then tried feathers to see if any mackerel around but none
met another angler and was talking for 30 mins watching the rod but no movement after he left i decided to pack up and when i started reeling in i felt a pull and landed a 7.5 lbs ray
not much of a fight
when the tide started to go out jellyfish were moving out with it,never saw as many,there were thousands of them

first ray had a black nose like the 2 ray fr05t had before

happy with a good start to my ray hunt for 2009 second ray was just half a lb under my best ray last year

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http://youtube.com/watch?v=NgsWTS4H4S0


http://youtube.com/watch?v=y8LaXOxLW_k


http://youtube.com/watch?v=bi31qf2-KUk

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Last edited by gfkelly1969 on Thu Jun 25, 2009 9:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

more photos

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Great footage Gerry

Well done on the Ray the videos are cool

well done, great video's there .id love to land a ray

great vids

great report and great videos,have to target some rays soon,there a great fighting fish.is it me or are the macks scarce so far this year?

great footage, is that a regular summer occurance up your neck of the woods all the jellyfish

great report and great videos,have to target some rays soon,there a great fighting fish.is it me or are the macks scarce so far this year?

i only caught 2 mackerel this year so far,think they are scarce every where
i found the smaller ray are better fighting then the big ones but i rather catching pollack for a good fight then the ray

great footage, is that a regular summer occurance up your neck of the woods all the jellyfish

first time i ever seen that many jellyfish before in the bay,last year i didn't see big numbers like that,maybe 1 or 2 during a session,i will have to ask some of the locals if i see them

well done, great video's there .id love to land a ray

head out to clifden and i will show you a spot you will get one

Well done on the rays, and i always enjoy the videos.Nice to see your marks paying off for you

Well done on the rays, and i always enjoy the videos.Nice to see your marks paying off for you

this mark produced 2 or 3 ray every session for me during last summer if i hit it at the right time of the tide,only ray or dog fish at this mark never caught any flat fish at it

well done mate with the ray and a bit of bad with one that got away you will always remember about your drag now it happened to me on black head last year and i never foget now

well done mate with the ray and a bit of bad with one that got away you will always remember about your drag now it happened to me on black head last year and i never foget now

i don't think i will forget the drag again,i am still wondering what was on the end of the line,i know it was big and didn't fight like any ray i caught before,would love to know what it was

hey gerry great fishing with getting the ray lovely fish ,the one that bent your bar was deffo a big huss id say ,your rod will take a big hit when they strike . damian

hey gerry great fishing with getting the ray lovely fish ,the one that bent your bar was deffo a big huss id say ,your rod will take a big hit when they strike . damian

hi damian i did think it might be a huss,i remembered the big huss you had at the white lady,it might still be around the bay