waterfoot co antrim the plaice to be!! 23/09/2010

People: me and dawsey

Duration: 7am to 3pm

Tide: HW noon

Weather: torrential rain showers and winds gusting to 20mph later in the day

Bait: rag, mack and squid

Rigs: 2 up 1 down, 3 hook flappers and sabiki mini feathers baited up

Results: ME 21 coalies, 18 pollock, 2 flounder, 6 plaice, 1 codling, 2 mackeral and a 2 and a half pound doggie
DAWSEY 17 coalies, 14 pollock, 2 dab 1 turbot (new species) 8 plaice, 4 whiting and 2 flounder


Report:
with both my day off and dawsey's happening to be on the same day we hatched a plan to head up the coast for a short notice dawn raid to the spot i got the john dory from last week. as we left belfast the rain was torrential and did'nt bode well for a days fishing. but being the optomists that we are we just looked at eachother and said "aye,, sure it will be better as we get towards the coast,,, wo'nt it . sadly we were proven wrong as it was still chucking it down as we arrived, but on the plus side we had the place to ourselves as the harbour was deserted . so we ran out and set up the tripods claiming our stake to our intended spot and waited for the rain to ease off before setting up. we both nailed out baits at distance and just flicked one off the edge and from the off the wee pollock and coalies were feeding hard hitting anything that moved. i decided to have a bit of craic with the mini feathers, baiting them up with mack and squid and the rod tip did'nt stop all day. the rod i was using was a £5 fiberglass special that was almost buckled with a 1oz lead attached . so you can guess the fun i was having pulling in the puckers 3 at a time . althow i did get the scrap of a lifetime when i hit into 2 mackeral then a 2lb 8oz doggie on this set up . dawsey was having good success with the plaice and managed some really decent ones fit for the table . the lads who tend to the salmon cages came over for a chat and to see what we were up to and we had a good old chin wag about the fishing available in the bay. i told their boss man about my dory and he thought i was pulling his leg until i showed him the pics and the other lads came over for a look. i'm glad i did thow as we ended up having a great chat about what he'd recently pulled up in his trawls and creels in the area. turns out that not only are there cuckoo ray out there, but also thornies and blondes . added to that he'd had quite a few sole as well along with the odd red mullet . now obvously these were all in deeper parts of the bay away from the shore, but it reaffirmed my belief that this area has a hell of a lot more to offer than the usual stuff if you just try hard enough and are persistant and lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. so we said our goodbyes and they headed off to the salmon cages and we got back to fishing. dawsey was still pulling some nice flatties and added a few dab and flounder to his tally. i was stuck on just 2 flattie species when dawsey hit the full house and managed a fourth species of flattie with his first ever turbot a new species for him and a pretty decent fish at that. once i had it in the net and up on the ground we let out a sigh of relief as it was pretty lightly hooked . i was made up for him and could'nt believe how lucky he was to get one so close to home as i had jordan the length and breadth of ireland last year in search of one before noel got him sorted with one in galway . as we neared lunchtime a few other anglers arrived and got set up beside us and the usual fishy chat ensued . but as we neared 3pm the rain came on heavy again and we decided to call it a day. as i was taking down my wee whopper stopper rod the salt long surf got a good knock and a nice codling came in. one of the biggest i've had in a good while . not a monster by any means at 1lb 9oz. but still good by my recent standards . a great way to end the session off. hopefully the rain will stay off long enough next time for me to get my usual battery of pics, so these will have to do for the mean time

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Great session lads I'd say ye are already planing the next trip out no Dorys this time Al

well done lads , we fished that mark that evening till midnite and it was infested with postage size flatties mainly dabs stripping our baits its fishing better in daylight than dark for better stamp of fish.

Mighty session there Al. Well worth going out in the rain. Congrats to Dawsey on his new species. I would love a session like that one.

That is some selection of fish a rite shoot out between the two of you, great report to go with the picks beautiful looking place well done

You captured the day perfectly Al. Thanks guy's, just like to add that I was OVER THE MOON with the turbot really didn't expect it, and was hoping for one for the species list

well done lads , we fished that mark that evening till midnite and it was infested with postage size flatties mainly dabs stripping our baits its fishing better in daylight than dark for better stamp of fish.

Interesting Rab, there was a decent average size of flats about, water clarity was crystal clear early on and died off when the rain came heavier turning the water a chocolatey brown colour.

well done ther lads, ya done better than me neway, was out there yesterday never got a bite iwas on round by ballintoy. so well done on the catch 2day lads.

well done al nice pics there and well donr to dawsey on his first turbo.seems to be fishing well that place now

well done ye both, super pics...always great to get local info on whats about...tis a fine spot there, weather sounds normal...but ye got a great flat warm tide in the photo's above...must get a run up soon...

great report and pictures al congrats to dawsey on turbot also fine plaice there that another spesment i'll be looking next my session
could you lads tell me what bait would be best for plaice
cheers

Nice one lads

well done lads.. brilliant fishing

Great session lads I'd say ye are already planing the next trip out no Dorys this time Al

not this time brian, but the plaice will do just fine

well done lads , we fished that mark that evening till midnite and it was infested with postage size flatties mainly dabs stripping our baits its fishing better in daylight than dark for better stamp of fish.

odd that rab i would have been thinking down the same lines as yourself, that a night session would have produced the better fish was it choppy when you were down? cos when we got there it was like a sheet of glass for the best part of the day.

Mighty session there Al. Well worth going out in the rain. Congrats to Dawsey on his new species. I would love a session like that one.

thanks tom. you and don are always more than welcome to join us for a chuck that is if you can get a spot on the end of the harbour as i'm guessing it's gonna be a very busy spot for the coming weekends

That is some selection of fish a rite shoot out between the two of you, great report to go with the picks beautiful looking place well done

thanks man. i was having great fun with the mess about rod . it's one of those ones you but in the plastic blister pack in most bargin shops for about £5. i just dumped the wee reel that came with it and put on one of my own. i honestly thought the doggie was gonna snap it, so i hand lined it up to be on the safe side. but some of the best fun i've had in ages

You captured the day perfectly Al. Thanks guy's, just like to add that I was OVER THE MOON with the turbot really didn't expect it, and was hoping for one for the species list

well done lads , we fished that mark that evening till midnite and it was infested with postage size flatties mainly dabs stripping our baits its fishing better in daylight than dark for better stamp of fish.

Interesting Rab, there was a decent average size of flats about, water clarity was crystal clear early on and died off when the rain came heavier turning the water a chocolatey brown colour.

i forgot to mention that in the report when we got there, and for the best part of the day the water was crystal clear. but after lunch the innundation of rain water down the river had turned the sea a peaty colour and the fishing died off something shocking . you could actually see where the blue water about 60 yards out in front of us turned brown as you got towards the harbour.

well done ther lads, ya done better than me neway, was out there yesterday never got a bite iwas on round by ballintoy. so well done on the catch 2day lads.

thanks fagan. were you fishing into the kelp at your feet or out into the sand?

well done al nice pics there and well donr to dawsey on his first turbo.seems to be fishing well that place now

cheers brian. it's a great wee spot that can fish it's socks off on a good day and has the added advantage of being able to park where you fish. well handy in the cold winter nights as you can sit on the bonnet of the motor with the engine running to keep yourself warm as you fish

well done ye both, super pics...always great to get local info on whats about...tis a fine spot there, weather sounds normal...but ye got a great flat warm tide in the photo's above...must get a run up soon...

cheers gerryl. can't beat a bit of local knowledge . yeah it was like a pond when we got there. but as the day went on it got a lot rougher. but that's what the forecast predicted. the exact reason we planned a dawn raid

great report and pictures al congrats to dawsey on turbot also fine plaice there that another spesment i'll be looking next my session
could you lads tell me what bait would be best for plaice
cheers

well for this venue the rag was doing the buisness. but every so often they were sucking the worm right off the hook. but a thin sliver of mack or squid seemed to do the trick and improved the hook up rate . i also got more hits when i put on a 2oz bomb lead and kept giving the rod a wee twitch and half a turn of the reel until i worked it back across the bay. they seemed to be liking the movement rather than a static bait. hope this helps man

Nice one lads

cheers al

well done lads.. brilliant fishing

thanks stevie

me and drew fished it on wed afternoon and had bugger all bar some mini coalies
ended up moving on to the beach for a flounder bash
water was very cloured when we fished it too,so it must be affecting the fishing

Another fine session - well done.

Well done lads. Fine fish there. Nice one on the turbo and those plaice look a good fish too. That mark looks very handy, good range of species and you could nearly fish from the car.

brilliant pics and report lads.

waterfoot is a place i have been a thousand times yet never fished it as i live outside ballymoney. im gona have to get down there some time for a bash at it!

Congrats Al and Dawsey, great session. That area is fishing well at the moment, was up there last night, so keep an eye out for the report, we had a great time. Well done on the turbo, and those plaice are crackers!!!!

me and drew fished it on wed afternoon and had bugger all bar some mini coalies
ended up moving on to the beach for a flounder bash
water was very cloured when we fished it too,so it must be affecting the fishing

cheers mate. i've noticed this happen before at marks that have rivers feed round them. as soon as the water gets peaty from the run off of the mountains the fishing dies a death

Another fine session - well done.

cheers frank. trying to make up for lost time

Well done lads. Fine fish there. Nice one on the turbo and those plaice look a good fish too. That mark looks very handy, good range of species and you could nearly fish from the car.

cheers evan. the majority of the plaice were chunky wee fellas which was a nice change . very handy mark indeed . even when the heavens open you just point the motor nose on into wind and sit in comfort and fish outta the boot

brilliant pics and report lads.
waterfoot is a place i have been a thousand times yet never fished it as i live outside ballymoney. im gona have to get down there some time for a bash at it!

it can really produce the goods man . even handier for the likes of yourself who live close by

Congrats Al and Dawsey, great session. That area is fishing well at the moment, was up there last night, so keep an eye out for the report, we had a great time. Well done on the turbo, and those plaice are crackers!!!!

cheers paul. look forward to the report man