Youghal sessions - 20th, 23rd and 24th January 2010

People:
20th January: Mitch, Billy and Me
23rd January: Me and Melissa
24th January: Me and Melissa

Duration: Various

Tide: 20th Jan; HW at 8.30 pm

Weather: Calm, dry, mild

Bait: Crab, lug, mackerel, squid, razor, frozen black lug

Rigs: 2/0 and 4/0 pennel pulleys, three hook flapper (1/0 and 2/0 hooks), two hook flapper (2/0 hooks), single hook flapper (4/0 hook)

Results:
20th January: 2 codling, 2 coalfish
23rd January: 9 codling, 3 coalfish, 1 shore rockling
24th January: 2 codling, 1 coalfish, 1 scorpion fish




Report:
20th January: I had arranged to meet up with Mitch and his buddy Billy who were down in Youghal for a few days of sessions. I collected a fresh supply of crab from Bhoy32 then met up with the lads. We tried the Abbey first but there was a lot of fresh water coming down the river which probably stopped the fish moving up stream. Nothing was biting so at about 8 pm I suggested moving on to Green Park. We did better there. I got two codling and two coalfish, but Mitch and Billy did a lot better and hauled in quite a few fish including plenty of codling, coalfish and whiting. Billy also got a few flounder. They were getting most of the fish on lug, and gave me a bunch - I got the two coalfish on their lug although the codling were taken on crab.

23rd January: I started fishing on the quays but it was very slow. There was still a lot of fresh water in the bay. I was there for a little over an hour and had only caught two very small coalfish. Then Bhoy32 and his brother dropped by. Bhoy32 suggested a new mark which I had never fished before so I decided to take his advice. That was a good move and the fishing picked up considerably - thanks for the tip

As soon as I cast out I was into fish - mostly small codling between 25-32 cm, although the biggest was about 39 cm. As I was beginning to run low on crab I had a three hook flapper on one rod baited with a variety of baits. I got a shore rockling on a mackerel strip - a new species for 2010 I had a total of 9 codling from that mark plus another coalfish. Close to low tide the bites slowed down. I finished up about 6.00 pm.

24th January: I headed back to Youghal for an afternoon session. I only had six crabs left so again used one rod with crab and the other with a mixture of bait. However, bites were slow - shortly after arriving I got a small coalfish and a little later a had a tiny codling. Then I realized one of my crabs had escaped There was no sign of it, I guess it made a run for the water.
I spotted some small twitches on the rod baited with crab - I retieved the line and thought there was nothing there until I had it out of the water and found a scorpion fish with his mouth firmly clamped around a 4/0 hook - another new species for the year
I eventually managed to prize his mouth open and found it wasn't hooked at all just didn't want to give up a juicy lump of peeler.

After a couple of hours the bites became more closely spaced but I kept missing them - and the feckers were taking chunks out of my crab When I got through all the whole crabs I had to resort to using the claws and legs. I got one more small codling before all the crab was gone. I got nothing on the other baits. For a while I had one rod out with a 2/0 pennel baited with frozen black lug and tipped with crab claw but didn't get a bite on it - I know some anglers have success with frozen lug but I have never caught a fish on it or even had a bite with it

When all the crab was used up I decided to pack up - I am sure I would have got more fish if I had more crab but they were not going for the other baits at all.

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Nice variety of fish there Frank, well done to all

Some nice fish there frank thanks for meeting up with us ,we had 4 evening sessions over the
over the 4 days and caught fish on each one we tried ballycotton friday afternoon and had my
1 st blank this year we were trying for conger conditions weren't ideal dropping tide and bright sunlight
but we didn't mind it was lovely sitting there no wind enjoying the peace and quite
Watch out congers i'll be back

Those Scorpion fish are real lookers arent they lol, good fishing Frank. I was fishing with Mitch and Billy on Saturday, fishing was much the same really. Pulling them in 2 at a time! Nothing major but it beats looking at a motionless rod all night!! Bring on the Bass weather!

Well done Frank and co. ,some nice sessions there. Funny enough i was just telling Neil and Ivan that i never have any luck with frozen lug, then 5 mins later i catch my first even fish, a dab, on it .

nice fish frank, average size of codling is improving in youghal by the looks of , myself and patk fished it last night and pat was in prolific form with over 30 fish with a good few 1.5lb and a nice one of 2lb, myself only got 8 tiddlers

good mix of fish there frank . glad to hear the other lads did well too. you're really getting in the sessions now man, seems weird reading your reports and not a single bass in sight wo'nt be too long until that changes i'm guessing

Thanks,

Nice variety of fish there Frank,

Two new species for 2010 was good as I was only expecting codling and coalfish from those marks.

we had 4 evening sessions over the
over the 4 days and caught fish on each one

Glad to hear you had some good sessions.

Nothing major but it beats looking at a motionless rod all night!! Bring on the Bass weather!

True, just wish they were a little bigger - so that we got a few that were worth keeping.

Funny enough i was just telling Neil and Ivan that i never have any luck with frozen lug, then 5 mins later i catch my first even fish, a dab, on it

At least you got a fish with it - lug digging is very tough down here at the moment so I tried the easy option with the frozen lug but not even the crabs were interested in it

average size of codling is improving in youghal by the looks of ,

Yeah the seem to be getting a little bigger compared to the start of the month. Maybe a few real "cod" might show up before the season is over

seems weird reading your reports and not a single Bass in sight wo'nt be too long until that changes i'm guessing

I havn't really been fishing for bass since mid-December. The surface sea temperature is below 9C at the moment along the East Cork-West Waterford coast so it is probably too cold for them, although it is always possible there might be a stray one looking for a small codling for its dinner However, having said that a few bass are been caught along the Clare coast where the water temperatures can't be any better. I will probably focus on the winter species until March - hopefully the water will be a little warmer by then and the bass may begin to show up again.

I havn't really been fishing for Bass since mid-December. The surface sea temperature is below 9C at the moment along the East Cork-West Waterford coast so it is probably too cold for them, although it is always possible there might be a stray one looking for a small codling for its dinner However, having said that a few Bass are been caught along the Clare coast where the water temperatures can't be any better. I will probably focus on the winter species until March - hopefully the water will be a little warmer by then and the Bass may begin to show up again.

Hopefully your right Frank and the Bass do start to show up in bigger numbers, they should once it starts to get abit warmer. Even they have found it hard to cope with the really freezing temperatures we have been experiencing of late!
K2 and I are going away again quite soon on another one of our bass missions, fingers crossed. I can't wait!

Great report Frank well done guys super shot of the Scorpion

reat report Frank well done guys super shot of the Scorpion

Thanks.

Hopefully your right Frank and the Bass do start to show up in bigger numbers, they should once it starts to get abit warmer. Even they have found it hard to cope with the really freezing temperatures we have been experiencing of late!
K2 and I are going away again quite soon on another one of our Bass missions, fingers crossed. I can't wait!

Good luck - I think you will need a lot of it at the moment.
When the water temperature drops below 10C it slows down the bass' metabolism and they dont feed.
The female bass more off shore to more constant temperatures as this is needed to allow their eggs to develop.
The male bass need to feed to build up for the spawning season so they also move offshore to slightly warmer temperatures where their metabolism picks up and they can feed.
I guess some juvenile fish may still be about as they are not concerned about spawning (for example Mitch has been getting a lot of small schoolies along the southeast coast). Not sure why some good fish are showing up in Clare - could be they are in plumes of warmer water that break off the gulf stream, although the 10C isotherm is a lot closer to the west coast at the moment than it is to the south coast, see below - from http://www.getaforecast.com/weather-charts-seatemp.php

Looking at the isotherms the best chance of bass would be at the western ends of the peninsulas in Co. Kerry, particularly the Iveragh Peninsula, maybe Ballydonegan strand on Beara might be another worth chancing.

I wouldn't expect the bass fishing along the south coast to pick up until at least March.

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Good luck - I think you will need a lot of it at the moment.
When the water temperature drops below 10C it slows down the Bass' metabolism and they dont feed.
The female Bass more off shore to more constant temperatures as this is needed to allow their eggs to develop.
The male Bass need to feed to build up for the spawning season so they also move offshore to slightly warmer temperatures where their metabolism picks up and they can feed.
I guess some juvenile fish may still be about as they are not concerned about spawning (for example Mitch has been getting a lot of small schoolies along the southeast coast). Not sure why some good fish are showing up in Clare - could be they are in plumes of warmer water that break off the gulf stream, although the 10C isotherm is a lot closer to the west coast at the moment than it is to the south coast, see below - from http://www.getaforecast.com/weather-charts-seatemp.php

Looking at the isotherms the best chance of Bass would be at the western ends of the peninsulas in Co. Kerry, particularly the Iveragh Peninsula, maybe Ballydonegan strand on Beara might be another worth chancing.

I wouldn't expect the Bass fishing along the south coast to pick up until at least March.

Yes Frank, the temperature of the water is a very important factor that should been taken into consideration when thinking of going bass fishing as it does affect their metabolism.
Once the water temperature starts to rise they will feed more and hopefully then we'll catch more!
Higher temperatures make them more active which is another reason why lure fishing is more productive in the summer months, as well as the fact that conditions then are calmer which makes it better then too.
When the water is colder bass don't chase lures as far, they get sluggish and tend to go into deeper waters where it's warmer which is why lure fushing is more difficult in the winter from the shore/land as we aren't able to reach them.
They can and are still caught in the winter when it's colder on lures/plugs though just not as much compared to in the summer.
I intend on doing abit of plugging/lure fishing for them on my next trip which is why I am waiting for the better weather to come before deciding when K2 and I are going to go.
I've always wanted to fish the Beara, might give that a go and then maybe head down to Cork and investigate down around there.
There's plenty of places and we've plenty of time as we're going for 10 days so we'll find somewhere!

Once the water temperature starts to rise they will feed more and hopefully then we'll catch more!

Yes, what we need are a few weeks of southerly or southwesterlies to warm things up.
I am getting a bit tired of fishing for 30 cm codling

Lure fishing was very slow to pick up last year in Cork-West Waterford areas, although I am hoping to get started much earlier this year after discovering a few good plugging marks last year combined with using quality lures like the Patchinko and Xlayer. A good summer would also help

Once the water temperature starts to rise they will feed more and hopefully then we'll catch more!

Lure fishing was very slow to pick up last year in Cork-West Waterford areas, although I am hoping to get started much earlier this year after discovering a few good plugging marks last year combined with using quality lures like the Patchinko and Xlayer. A good summer would also help

I've purchased a couple of new and expensive plugs to use this year, hopefully they will do the trick, although it's all very well having the toys, but they're no good if you don't know how to work them right.
I feel like I lack in confidence in this area which holds me back and puts me off using them as much I should.
I love bait fishing for bass but would love to do more plugging.
It's a shame really because a few of the places we go fishing have excellent marks for plugging.
I really must make the effort and plug more
I suppose practice makes perfect

I am getting a bit tired of fishing for 30 cm codling

I'm sure you are getting sick of catching the 30cm codling, your so used to fishing and catching bass
I'm sure it won't be long though until you hook into some and then there will be no stopping you!

cracker of a report frank, made very good reading
and some nice sized codling in the pic's, nice session mate well done to you's all and hope the bass show up again soon...

and hope the Bass show up again soon...

Hopefully they will, fingers crossed or poor Frank will be getting withdrawal symptoms!

Hopefully they will, fingers crossed or poor Frank will be getting withdrawal symptoms!

"getting" withdrawal symptoms - too late I already have them
Catching codling is just not the same - I was out last night and got about 14 of them and hardly one above 30 cm

Hopefully they will, fingers crossed or poor Frank will be getting withdrawal symptoms!

"getting" withdrawal symptoms - too late I already have them
Catching codling is just not the same - I was out last night and got about 14 of them and hardly one above 30 cm

I thought that you would be suffering from bass withdrawal symptoms, so am I! so I know how you feel. I'm starting to get the sshhaaakkeess and everything!

NICE FISH