north donegal adventure in gale force conditions 21/01/2012

People: myself, jordan, drew and yngkmd

b]Duration[/b]: 4pm - 11.30pm

Tide: HW 5.30PM LW 11.30PM

Weather: occasional light rain and gale force winds constantly changing direction

Bait: rag, mack, sand eel, razor and squid

Rigs: 3 hook flappers, 2 up 1 down and patenosters

Results: turbot, coalies, pollack and a sea trout




Report: well it was the weekend again and a bit of a road trip up to donegal was in order. i phoned around to see who was up for it and both drew and yngkmd were quickly added to the rosster. dan (belfast) is off piking today. (come back from the dark side man!!!) so he was out and dawsey was working. so the car was packed and loaded and we were leaving belfast for 1.30pm. the only thing going against us was the wind. it had picked up from 30mph gusting to 40mph to 35mph gusting to 50mph!! so a sheltered venue was gonna be a must. i had checked 3 weather forecasting web sites before leaving and the beach was chosen. sadly as we arrived this normally calm bay had a surf on it an atlantic storm beach would have been proud of. but sod it, we were there, the bait was bought and we were gonna fish it regardless . well, i can be a stubborn oul git at times .
we spread ourselves out well allowing 15 yards or so between tripods, but it was apparent from the first cast that even 7oz grippers were no match for the surf . after a few tangles and untouched baits coming back i could see the lads starting to lose faith. jordan got peeved off from having his gear wash into my rigs only seconds after casting out and had dropped down to 1 rod and drew did the same. all forecasts gave the wind blowing off shore on this venue, but as ever with forecasts they got it totally wrong with the wind blowing on shore . the massive waves combined with a terrible swell almost made it unfishable. but drew noticed my small rod twitching away and i duely landed a really nice thick turbo around the 30cm mark . this was good news for me but bad news for the rest of the lads as it gave them a taste of what this beach had to offer. but with the way things were, no baits were staying in the one location long enough for any fish to find them before the rigs were getting washed back up on the shore . drew picked up a little coalie, but by 6.30pm we called it a day and decided to have a rethink and consult the folder of maps and marks i keep in the car. beach fishing was out of the window, but i had previously scouted out 3 harbours and piers we could get some shelter from the gales and massive swell out this way. so with the car loaded again we hit the road to check out the first mark. as it turned out we got there to see the waves breaking over the harbour wall so that one was out. but the second mark was high enough up to keep us safe from the waves and fairl sheltered from the wind.
so as we were sorting the rods and rigs out drew was first to get bait into the water and would you believe it he got a hit first cast . as he reeled the fish up onto the harbour i knew straight off from behind the car it was a bloody sea trout!!. no monster by any means, but he's been after one for his 2012 species list as was over the moon even breaking out into song and dance . so a few pics and the wee guy was returned none the worse.
this got everyones attention and all of a sudden some very concentrated faces went to work baiting up and rod tip watching with all the poise of a herron on one leg ready to pounce at the first sign of a twitch . before too long our old friends the coalfish appeared in the usual numbers we have come accustomed to these past few winters and doubles of these wee guys were coming in on all rods. drew and yngkmd both had a few over the 30cm mark that had them momentarilly fooled into thinking it was more sea trout until they were up on the harbour . but it was still good sport on the light rods
by 11.30pm we decided to wrap it up and head home as i knew it would be at least 3am before we would have dropped drew and yngkmd off and get home ourselves. everyone seemed happy enough that no one had blanked and we all caught something. i was just a bit dissappointed that the conditions had made my beach of choice unfishable as it would have thrown up a better selection and size of fish for the lads, but i've just gotten used to the forecast sites getting the forecast so completely wrong this past few years
but sure, it just wets the appetite for sessions to come in the not so distant future

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your mad in that weather.lol very well done

Good going against the disheartening odds; well done guys and i'm sure you're happy enough with that Turbot, Al - I would be. Nothing worse than the wind, especially when you travel somewhere nice like that and know you would have done better had it been calmer.
Was out myself on Friday night for a few hours when the wind was only starting to pick up (nowhere near as bad as your conditions) - no fun, but decent fishing. Wish i'd taken a picture of 1 of the flounder at 1lb to show everyone which was so well fed, I presume, that from the side on it looked like it had eaten a golf ball. Greedy bugger took a Mack strip and actually looked deformed resembling a small snake that swallowed a rodent

lovely turbot Al, well done.

Good result guys,lovely turbo al and well done on the seatrout drew you've put me in the. mood for a turbot session now

thanks for bringing me along, really appreciate it and really enjoyed it and was good to finally meet you.
im so glad i got in among the pollock and coalies on the pier as it looked like i was being set up for a blank

shame i didnt get anything on my first beach trip in 20 years but if you are ever going back to that beach and you have a spare seat you can count me in (provided im invited of course).

Well done lads a few nice fish in though conditions

another great read al well done lads good fishing yous all deserved a few fish for sticking it out in that wind

well done lads, nice turbot Al and congrats on your seatrout Drew Marathon man is away again

Should have given me a shout mate. I could have looked out the window and told you all about it!

your mad in that weather.lol very well done

sure you know us nicki

Good going against the disheartening odds; well done guys and i'm sure you're happy enough with that Turbot, Al - I would be. Nothing worse than the wind, especially when you travel somewhere nice like that and know you would have done better had it been calmer.
Was out myself on Friday night for a few hours when the wind was only starting to pick up (nowhere near as bad as your conditions) - no fun, but decent fishing. Wish i'd taken a picture of 1 of the flounder at 1lb to show everyone which was so well fed, I presume, that from the side on it looked like it had eaten a golf ball. Greedy bugger took a Mack strip and actually looked deformed resembling a small snake that swallowed a rodent

cheers dave. i would'nt have decided on that side of the penninsula had i have known the forecast was gonna be so far off the mark . if the wind had have been blowing the way it was supposed to it would have flattened the surf off and added a good 30 yards to our casting ability. but as it turned out it was coming straight in on us whipping the surf up something shocking . i often wonder to myself how can so many different forecasting sites all get it consistantly wrong

lovely turbot Al, well done.

cheers charlie. have'nt had one like that since the start of last year . i was just a bit gutted that the conditions did'nt let us fish the beach for a proper session as it got me wondering what else was feeding out there

Good result guys,lovely turbo al and well done on the seatrout drew you've put me in the. mood for a turbot session now

cheers man. drew was just on the phone telling me about the session he's having tonight. the turbot are a lot closer to home than donegal mate

thanks for bringing me along, really appreciate it and really enjoyed it and was good to finally meet you.
im so glad i got in among the pollock and coalies on the pier as it looked like i was being set up for a blank
shame i didnt get anything on my first beach trip in 20 years but if you are ever going back to that beach and you have a spare seat you can count me in (provided im invited of course).

good to finally meet you too brian. that beach will be getting a throw sooner than later again and your more than welcome to join us again mate i'll keep you posted

Well done lads a few nice fish in though conditions

thanks brian. hopefully myself and dawsey will do better tomorrow

another great read al well done lads good fishing yous all deserved a few fish for sticking it out in that wind

cheers man. thankfully i've built up a good resource of marks all over the place now. so i'm never stuck for a plan "B", "C", "D" or even "E", "F" and "G" !

well done lads, nice turbot Al and congrats on your seatrout Drew Marathon man is away again

you know us dave. only a wee handy one this weekend . sure we only covered 271 miles

Should have given me a shout mate. I could have looked out the window and told you all about it!

jeese man, it was something else . we were stood on the beach looking up at the crest of the waves rolling in from above us . it was'nt for the faint hearted

Fair play lads. That's a belter of a turbot and a lovely wee sea-trout. I was sent scampering for a bit of shelter last night too in Inishowen, unfortunately the fish weren't sheltering at my back-up mark

Another terrific trip with great craic and a few fish to boot! Al's a legend for driving and going to the bother of dropping me home so late at night, great craic with the Jordan lad... (or hop-along-cassidy) following his football injury! And great to have some competitive craic with Brian when we enjoyed a North Coast coaly match... every trip whets the appetite for the next one, amazing. Can't wait to get out again!

Fair play to uses for sticking out the conditions! With weather like that it makes me thankful for being on the East Coast...well sometimes

lovely turbot Al, well done.

cheers charlie. have'nt had one like that since the start of last year . i was just a bit gutted that the conditions did'nt let us fish the beach for a proper session as it got me wondering what else was feeding out there

yeah, i can fully appreciate your frustrations man, but obviously defo worth a revisit though when the weather wises up!
i want to get a turbot myself this year for sure. reckon that north donegal is the go for sure

cheers dave. i would'nt have decided on that side of the penninsula had i have known the forecast was gonna be so far off the mark . if the wind had have been blowing the way it was supposed to it would have flattened the surf off and added a good 30 yards to our casting ability. but as it turned out it was coming straight in on us whipping the surf up something shocking . i often wonder to myself how can so many different forecasting sites all get it consistantly wrong


I know what you mean, we cancelled a trip the other week after being told it was going to windy only to be sat in the house looking out the window at how calm a night it was and not the 1st time either

good going there, worth a trip, lovely turbot
and again nice report Al, well done

Fair play lads. That's a belter of a turbot and a lovely wee sea-trout. I was sent scampering for a bit of shelter last night too in Inishowen, unfortunately the fish weren't sheltering at my back-up mark

cheers man. it was a rough one

Another terrific trip with great craic and a few fish to boot! Al's a legend for driving and going to the bother of dropping me home so late at night, great craic with the Jordan lad... (or hop-along-cassidy) following his football injury! And great to have some competitive craic with Brian when we enjoyed a North Coast coaly match... every trip whets the appetite for the next one, amazing. Can't wait to get out again!

no probs at all drew. your more than welcome man. jordan is still hobbling along on his sore foot . honestly, he picked up less injurys at karate than he has at football
roll on the next one

Fair play to uses for sticking out the conditions! With weather like that it makes me thankful for being on the East Coast...well sometimes

cheers man. it looks like you were the wiser man hitting the co down coast staying closer to home with those stonking pollack

lovely turbot Al, well done.

cheers charlie. have'nt had one like that since the start of last year . i was just a bit gutted that the conditions did'nt let us fish the beach for a proper session as it got me wondering what else was feeding out there

yeah, i can fully appreciate your frustrations man, but obviously defo worth a revisit though when the weather wises up!
i want to get a turbot myself this year for sure. reckon that north donegal is the go for sure

i'll give you a shout when we head back up out that way charlie. forgot you were still on a turbot hunt man

cheers dave. i would'nt have decided on that side of the penninsula had i have known the forecast was gonna be so far off the mark . if the wind had have been blowing the way it was supposed to it would have flattened the surf off and added a good 30 yards to our casting ability. but as it turned out it was coming straight in on us whipping the surf up something shocking . i often wonder to myself how can so many different forecasting sites all get it consistantly wrong


I know what you mean, we cancelled a trip the other week after being told it was going to windy only to be sat in the house looking out the window at how calm a night it was and not the 1st time either

the forecasters seem to get it wrong more often than they get it right these days man

good going there, worth a trip, lovely turbot
and again nice report Al, well done

cheers grady

shame i didnt get anything on my first beach trip in 20 years but if you are ever going back to that beach and you have a spare seat you can count me in (provided im invited of course).

Tuesday night? Beach session??

Good result guys,lovely turbo al and well done on the seatrout drew you've put me in the. mood for a turbot session now

I wouldn't be adverse to a little Turbo bashing.

Sea trout season ALMOST apon us