Waterfoot Pier 22/01 and Bangor Pier 29/01

People
Waterfoot - me and me da
Bangor - just me

Duration
Waterfoot - 5pm-11pm
Bangor - 6pm-930pm

Tide
Waterfoot - HW midnight
Bangor - HW 730pm

Weather Calm but cold on both nights

Bait
Waterfoot - Rag, Mack, not prawns
Bangor - Mack

Rigs 2 hook flappers, float, free lining, running ledger

Results
Waterfoot - Coalies, Whiting, Codling, dab
Bangor - Pollock, Coalies, Pouting

Report

Waterfoot
Dad wanted to fish somewhere different so we were off to waterfoot pier for a change of scenery. got some top advice off Al from Al & Jordan during the week and landed down about 5pm. there were 4 guys already down and had been for a few hours when we landed who had nothing between them. so i geared and chucked out a 2 hook flapper and within 2 minutes i had a pin whiting. 2nd cast and 2 minutes later i had a double shot of a tiny coalie and a codling (i say codling - Al was right when he described them as codlets). dad was soon into the fish as well and when we got the wee rods set up we were soon puling in small coalies freelining bits of mack. the coalies where no bigger or smaller than the fish we were getting on the big rods but were more fun to catch so the bigs rods were ignored for a while while we had our fun. 1st to 10 got a point, and i won 3-1. dad admitted defeat and concentrated on his big rod and was pulling in a good few pin whiting, codlets and coalies, i was still on the wee rod but started paying attention to the big rod again and was alternating between wee coalies on the wee rod and wee codlets and whiting on the big rod plus 2 dab about the size of my hand. biggest fish went to dad with a codling and coalies around the half pound mark. (seemed huge compared to the pickers we had been catching) at one point i also pulled in a codlet with a minus its gills and a big crab hanging of it, it would let go either, it had tangled the line on the way in and as i was trying to untangle it, it was still happily munching away oblivious to what was going on. got it freed from the line and released codlet still in hand.

the only point of interest was i was pulling wee coalie on the wee rod and something shiny by my foot attractd my attention, bent down to pick it up and suddenly the rod double and the line snapped just above the hook. wasnt quite sure what happened but figure either something grabbed the fish or it took one last mad dash and the line hit a rock. thought no more off it until a guy fishing on the corner, came to compare catches as he was leaving and said he was bringing in a wee whiting when something grabbed it and tore off to the left before dropping it again. told him same thing happened to me and we were both left intrigued as to what it may have been.

Bangor
wanted to go fishing but couldnt be bother to put any effort into it so wanted somewhere close and comfortable. seen Als report from bangor pier on Friday so i decided that there nowhere closer and more comfortable to fish than the fishing platform at bangor pier, as i can park my motorike on it and use the tank to put my choppng board on so i dont even have to bend over.(technically not allowed on the pier but hey) also wanted to bump the species count up a point or 2 so the targets were pouting and rockling. theres no where i know are you more guaranteed a pouting than bangor.
landed down about 6pm and looked over the edge to see the seal staring back at me. it hung around for a while before buggering off so was a good 45 minutes before i got a bite. had 3 rods on the go. a 2 hook flapper wanged out into the mouth of the harbour (untouched the whole night) a running ledger over by the boulders at the grills for the rockling and a wee float for at my feet. once the bite came on on the float they were every chuck, everything was getting hammered as soon as it hit the water. it was an endless string of tiny tiny pouting, pollock and coalies. its what i expected and new it was probably all i would get beforei went down so i wasnt getting frustrated trying to get past them i just enjoyed the fish that were there. beside catching fish that small can still be a challenge on a size 8 hook. the running ledge didnt produce any rocking but i did pick up some bigger pouting on it.

all in all 2 very productive sessions even if the fish were small so good times were had by all.

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glad to be of some help to you man . sometimes it's not about catching the biggest fish, but just catching . after all you can only catch what's out there in front of you. as for the fish getting robbed off your hooks at waterfoot i was reading a report from there on shore angling ireland during the week and it seems the wee seal pup is hanging about the pier again at his work . at least he did'nt pull your rod, reel and tripod in as a few unfortunate souls have had happen to them down there . after seeing £600 worth of fishface's rod and reel get ripped off the harbour in wicklow and dragged out to sea by a tope, we always loosen off the drag after casting

Love the pouting in the last photo, lovely fish, yeah Al there was a seal pup up on the rocks on Wed at the side of the pier towards Waterfoot. Is it really robbing peoples lines?

yeah he was there a few times at the end of the summer. just sat 20 feet off the pier watching anglers reactions to the rods. seriously clever wee chap. as soon as someone lifted a rod and started reeling you could see him look down the length of the line to where it met the water and headed straight for it. we had a bit of a laugh about it until some muppet from ballymena and his mate started throwing bottles from the bin at it and the rest of the lads fishing turned on them and told them in no uncertain terms to take themselves off unless they and thier vehicle wanted to end up at the bottom of the sea. absolute idiots!!. people like that should pull thier bottom lip above thier forehead and take a good gulp.

First time I fished Waterfoot I was plagued by a seal as well, think you were there that night Al too, I was down on my own in an RS Focus was last winter I think!

yes, thats right man. you were fishing at the other corner to the right of us. gonna sound daft, but i'm only clicking now who you are i blame my short term memory on my miss-spent youth

some muppet from ballymena and his mate started throwing bottles from the bin at it

since seals are protected i would have filmed the whole incident, their faces and licence plate and reported them to the Rozzers and the Aquarium in Portaferry.
i wouldnt have confronted them myself as im not exactly a force to be reckoned with you know

also when my fish got snatched i did think it may be a seal but i didnt see one about, usually you would at least hear them snorting and splashing and going about their general business so it must be a real sneaky one.

and having a seal snatch my fish it less exciting than the prospect of a monster fish stalking around waterfoot pier

very well done on the fish and not forgeting the crab. lol