Pollock bashing - East Cork - 17th September 2009
Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:06 am
People: Me and Melissa
Duration: 4.00 - 7.00 pm
Tide: HW at 5.15 pm
Weather: Mostly overcast, light northeast breeze
Bait: Lures
Rigs: Xlayers
Results: 11 pollock, 1 mackerel
Report: Although I have a lot of work to get through at the moment the urge to go fishing got too great and I headed out to a local rock mark for the afternoon.
I was intending to target bass but started off from a new mark where I was casting into relatively deep water. On about the third cast I hooked a big pollock on an Xlayer, at a guess I would say it was of the order of 5 or 6 lbs. I had brought a landing net with me this time (after loosing a big bass the previous Saturday as I reached down to lift it out of the water) but unfortunately it was still with Melissa who was sitting higher on the rocks looking down at me
I worked it in close but in the shallows it managed to shake itself free before I could get down to lift it out
After that I got the landing net off Melissa. Next cast I hooked another in close but it dived down and I think the line was rubbing against a rock ledge and it snapped
Third cast I was more successful - hooking another pollock - this time I got it in. It was smaller - about 44 cm. Then I discovered my camera batteries were dead. I put in the spare set and they were dead too Both sets don't seem to be holding the charge for long - time to invest in some new rechargable batteries.
Next cast I had another pollock - a bit bigger this time at 46 cm
Next cast I could feel a fish hitting the lure but it wasn't hooked. I cast to the same spot and this time hooked another 46 cm pollock.
It continued like that for the next hour or so - a pollock nearly every second cast, with bites but no hook-ups on every other cast. All the fish were much the same size, ranging from 42 to 47 cm, apart from one small juvenile pollock. Melissa came down and handled the landing net - so I didn't loose any more fish.
Melissa then wanted to have a go. She did hook one but it came off as she got it in close. I decided to have a few more casts before moving further along the shore in search of bass. Next cast I had another pollock - again about 45 cm. I had a few more casts and then hooked another small guy. After that I moved further along - I tried several spots and cast out a range of lures (Asturies, Shallow Feeds, Pachinkos) in addition to the Xlayer but nothing was biting. I got as far along that stretch of coast that was accessible and then spotted some fish swirls on the surface. I chucked out various lures but they weren't interested - they were probably mullet and not bass. I switched back to the Xlayer and had a few more casts - then I hooked something - but lost it after a few seconds. That gave me some encouragement so I continued casting in the same direction - then had another hook up - but it wasn't putting up much of a fight - it was another small pollock. Unfortunately the poor fish was hooked in the eye - as I lifted it out of the water the fish fell off onto the rocks while its eye remained on the hook
That was one for the seagulls. I had a few more casts and then had another bite but again it wasn't a strong fight and turned out to be a mackerel. The first one I have caught since mid-June 
After that I packed up. No bass but eleven pollock and a mackerel all caught on Xlayers - that it a great lure
Duration: 4.00 - 7.00 pm
Tide: HW at 5.15 pm
Weather: Mostly overcast, light northeast breeze
Bait: Lures
Rigs: Xlayers
Results: 11 pollock, 1 mackerel
Report: Although I have a lot of work to get through at the moment the urge to go fishing got too great and I headed out to a local rock mark for the afternoon.
I was intending to target bass but started off from a new mark where I was casting into relatively deep water. On about the third cast I hooked a big pollock on an Xlayer, at a guess I would say it was of the order of 5 or 6 lbs. I had brought a landing net with me this time (after loosing a big bass the previous Saturday as I reached down to lift it out of the water) but unfortunately it was still with Melissa who was sitting higher on the rocks looking down at me
I worked it in close but in the shallows it managed to shake itself free before I could get down to lift it out After that I got the landing net off Melissa. Next cast I hooked another in close but it dived down and I think the line was rubbing against a rock ledge and it snapped
Third cast I was more successful - hooking another pollock - this time I got it in. It was smaller - about 44 cm. Then I discovered my camera batteries were dead. I put in the spare set and they were dead too
Both sets don't seem to be holding the charge for long - time to invest in some new rechargable batteries.Next cast I had another pollock - a bit bigger this time at 46 cm
Next cast I could feel a fish hitting the lure but it wasn't hooked. I cast to the same spot and this time hooked another 46 cm pollock.
It continued like that for the next hour or so - a pollock nearly every second cast, with bites but no hook-ups on every other cast. All the fish were much the same size, ranging from 42 to 47 cm, apart from one small juvenile pollock. Melissa came down and handled the landing net - so I didn't loose any more fish.
Melissa then wanted to have a go. She did hook one but it came off as she got it in close. I decided to have a few more casts before moving further along the shore in search of bass. Next cast I had another pollock - again about 45 cm. I had a few more casts and then hooked another small guy. After that I moved further along - I tried several spots and cast out a range of lures (Asturies, Shallow Feeds, Pachinkos) in addition to the Xlayer but nothing was biting. I got as far along that stretch of coast that was accessible and then spotted some fish swirls on the surface. I chucked out various lures but they weren't interested - they were probably mullet and not bass. I switched back to the Xlayer and had a few more casts - then I hooked something - but lost it after a few seconds. That gave me some encouragement so I continued casting in the same direction - then had another hook up - but it wasn't putting up much of a fight - it was another small pollock. Unfortunately the poor fish was hooked in the eye - as I lifted it out of the water the fish fell off onto the rocks while its eye remained on the hook
That was one for the seagulls. I had a few more casts and then had another bite but again it wasn't a strong fight and turned out to be a mackerel. The first one I have caught since mid-June After that I packed up. No bass but eleven pollock and a mackerel all caught on Xlayers - that it a great lure
Last edited by RockHunter on Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Pollock bashing - East Cork - 17th September 2009
Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:10 am
Great report !
Its a very versitile lure. We had 6 different species on it last saturday !
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
Its a very versitile lure. We had 6 different species on it last saturday !
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
Re: Pollock bashing - East Cork - 17th September 2009
Fri Sep 18, 2009 12:58 pm
great fishing rockhunter
3 hrs session thats a nice return, wish we had a few marks like that on the east coast
the last week or so the fishing has being very poor
tight lines
3 hrs session thats a nice return, wish we had a few marks like that on the east coast
the last week or so the fishing has being very poor
tight lines
Re: Pollock bashing - East Cork - 17th September 2009
Fri Sep 18, 2009 4:41 pm
Well done Frank, great session, its a sad state of affairs when i 'm congratulating you on the mack as theres been so few around this year.
Re: Pollock bashing - East Cork - 17th September 2009
Fri Sep 18, 2009 5:14 pm
Thanks guys,
Get a packet of Xlayers - if predatory fish are there they will be on them in a flash.
It's sad indeed - it's been far easier to catch bass than it has been to get a mackerel. Looks like I am going to have to buy mackerel for bait this winter - last year I had enough to last all though the winter.
mitch wrote:wish we had a few marks like that on the east coast
the last week or so the fishing has being very poor
Get a packet of Xlayers - if predatory fish are there they will be on them in a flash.
eyesreilly wrote:its a sad state of affairs when i 'm congratulating you on the mack as theres been so few around this year.
It's sad indeed - it's been far easier to catch bass than it has been to get a mackerel. Looks like I am going to have to buy mackerel for bait this winter - last year I had enough to last all though the winter.