donegal & antrim 3rd & 4th march

People: myself, jordan and drew

Duration: 3rd 5pm to 1.30am 4th 6pm to 9pm

Tide: 3rd LW 9pm 4th HW 9pm

Weather: 20mph westerlys gusting to 40mph, rain, hail, sleet and snow

Bait: rag, lug, mackerel, prawn, sand eel and razor

Rigs: 3 hook flappers size 4, 2, & 1 hooks. 2 up 1 down size 1/0 hooks

Results: flounder, whiting, turbot, plaice and coalies




Report:

SATURDAY 3RD MARCH DONEGAL BEACH 5PM TO 1.30AM

bit of a late report from the weekend but here goes . we arranged to meet up with drew at belfast angling center for 1pm and hit the road for donegal. i had chosen a beach we had'nt fished this year so it was gonna be a bit of an exploration to see what was about. on the way up through derry the blue skies clouded over and before we made our way into letterkenny things got a bit wild. the sky went black and the heavy rain and hail started with a vengence . thankfully it did'nt last too long and and it was back to blue skies and blinding sun glaring off the sodden roads which made for an interesting drive to say the least . we must have seen at least 6 rainbows and even a double rainbow on 2 occasions which was something to behold. but don't worry,,, none of us broke down into tears like the hippy dude off youtube . we even finally got to put the old myth to rest about the pot of gold as we drove through the end of the rainbow as it ran parallel to the road at one point. sadly no little bloke in a green outfit or gold was to be found but being the supersticous bunch that we anglers are, we thought that this had to bode well for our planned session
we arrived to the mark to be confronted by a pretty serious surf, but thought to ourself, sod it. we were here and we were gonna fish it regardless of the conditions . from experience i know this mark produces best with little to no swell and surf running. so it was gonna be a case of standing our ground and just grinding it out.
drew was first off the blocks with a flounder and i followed suit an hour or so later with the same. as far as our recent flattie bashing sessions have been, these were decent enough flounder hitting near or just over the 30cm mark and they were all solid thick set fish but drew had his sights set on a turbo for his 2012 species list and before too long came up with the goods. no monsters, but turbot none the less came in one after the other for him
i even managed a few myself, but poor jordan ended the evening on a blank .
but drew was keeping us entertained with declaring in a loud voice that he had found a new pet rock to add to his ever growing collection and duely named it and pointed out all the reasons why rocks are better pets than cats or dogs!

1. they do not crap or pee all over the place
2. they can help keep your bait stationary in heavy winds where as a dog might eat it!
3. they offer bertter protection than a dog. a bash on the head with a jack russel is'nt nearly as dangerous as a bash on the head with a rock. (just ask eyesreilley )
4. they do not need to be fed
5. a rock will not get jealous if you bring another rock home
6. finally and best of all. talking to your new found pet in a loud voice while tenderly stroking it tends to keep the tourists away in the busy summer months

all in all not the most productive of evenings, but fish were caught and we got out in the air for a bit. i even saw a weird shooting star that was massive and had an orange/red streak instead of the usual white flash . it must have burnt brightly in the sky for a good 5 seconds which is a lot longer than any shooting star i've ever seen before .
and both jordan and drew did'nt fall asleep on the 4 hour drive home so kept me awake counting road kill including a sheep that had been splattered all over the glenshane pass on the way home a truely grim sight to behold


SUNDAY 4TH MARCH COUNTY ANTRIM BEACH 6PM TO 9PM
after 3 hours sleep both myself and jordan were up and about again, even if we did look like a pair of extras from a zombie movie . it was my mates little daughters christening. so we had a quick scrub to make ourselves presentable and got the event out of the way and raced home in quick fashion to get changed back into our fishing gear and took a run up the antrim coast to use up the last of the bait. unfortunately we got stuck half way down a long procession of motors with some muppet at the front doing a bit of sight seeing along the larne to cushendun coast road. on the twisty coast road that has a speed limit of 60mph, this guy was barely notching over 20mph. some impatient drivers stuck behind him were almost scrubbed out trying to overtake on stretches of road where no overtaking was possible . i thought we were gonna see a bad smash before we got to the mark, but thankfully the journey passed off without incident.
we arrived as the light was beginning fade and bumped into cathal from the forum walking his dog. good to get a chat with you again man and glad to hear the back is on the mend for the moment you'll be back out there hammering the pollack before too long mate . we got set up and the fish were nibbling from the off after an hour of timid bites and no hook ups we decided to get the rigs with the small size 4 hooks onto the rods. sure enough my first cast resulted in a double of small flounder and jordan (not to be beaten ) got a double bigger than my brace.
small flounder followed small flounder and jordan had a dab and i got a tiny plaice and micro whiting before we had to call it a day and pack up. jordan was begging me to stay on, but school was looming in the morning and we still had to get home and showered and fed yet .
we finished with 12 fish between us and were happy enough just to be catching even if they were all tiddlers. after a few blanks in donegal recently, i'd take small fish over no fish all day long

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

last pic

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Nice going lads!!! and I am seriously gonna try that one---------> 6. finally and best of all. talking to your new found pet in a loud voice while tenderly stroking it tends to keep the tourists away in the busy summer months

Gonna stand by Rodger and do it!!

hi al great report and pics as usual so jordan blanked things must have been bad coz jordan could catch fish in a bath lately things have been a bit messed up for me between ill health and family things but i hope to get fishing again with you and jordan real soon

Cracking report as ever Al, had a great night even though the fish were few and far between, amazing looking mark and another new one of the list...

Managed to stay up and keep ya company for once... well, til Belfast anyway....

"I LOVE MY BRICK!"

Nice going lads, another bit of driving last weekend as well, but it seems to be working with the results you are getting...
Fair play.
Gotta to say Drews "Why Rocks are better than Cats and Dogs" is a classic..

Mick

Great report Al as always Nice result lads,nice flatties

fine flatties ye had there and congrats on the turbot!great read every beach i fish in future ill be coming away with a nice rock ive been converted sure you never know it could bring luck!lol

tightlines
ferg

Fair play lads and any size fish is better that a blank and well done on the turbo it on the list for this year so a drive up that way be on the cards later in the year

great read as always al plus nice fishing lads cant wait to get up that neck of the woods to get my first turbot

i even saw a weird shooting star that was massive and had an orange/red streak instead of the usual white flash . it must have burnt brightly in the sky for a good 5 seconds which is a lot longer than any shooting star i've ever seen before

About 9:40pm on the 3rd? Maybe this?

i even saw a weird shooting star that was massive and had an orange/red streak instead of the usual white flash . it must have burnt brightly in the sky for a good 5 seconds which is a lot longer than any shooting star i've ever seen before

About 9:40pm on the 3rd? Maybe this?

Holy shiz!

Good work lads, sorry I couldn't make this one. Looking forward to getting out the weekend all being well??

Great report and great pics well done

Nice going lads!!! and I am seriously gonna try that one---------> 6. finally and best of all. talking to your new found pet in a loud voice while tenderly stroking it tends to keep the tourists away in the busy summer months

Gonna stand by Rodger and do it!!

this could catch on!!

hi al great report and pics as usual so jordan blanked things must have been bad coz jordan could catch fish in a bath lately things have been a bit messed up for me between ill health and family things but i hope to get fishing again with you and jordan real soon

sorry to hear that eddie. as soon as you feel up to getting back out sure drop me a line and we'll get out somewhere to annoy some scaler feckers

Cracking report as ever Al, had a great night even though the fish were few and far between, amazing looking mark and another new one of the list...
Managed to stay up and keep ya company for once... well, til Belfast anyway....
"I LOVE MY BRICK!"

carcks me up every time i think you you screaming from up the beach " I LOVE MY BRICK "

Nice going lads, another bit of driving last weekend as well, but it seems to be working with the results you are getting...
Fair play.
Gotta to say Drews "Why Rocks are better than Cats and Dogs" is a classic..
Mick

cheers mick. he had us in stitches with his antics

Great report Al as always Nice result lads,nice flatties

thanks zud. we'll have to get a session out with you again soon man

fine flatties ye had there and congrats on the turbot!great read every beach i fish in future ill be coming away with a nice rock ive been converted sure you never know it could bring luck!lol
tightlines
ferg

cheers ferg. you'll have to perfect you loud verbal decloration of " I LOVE MY BRICK! "
amazing to watch the tourists scatter and leave you in peace

Fair play lads and any size fish is better that a blank and well done on the turbo it on the list for this year so a drive up that way be on the cards later in the year

no probs at all man. if you fancy hitting the north coast with us your more than welcome mate. spare room at out place for you any time man

great read as always al plus nice fishing lads cant wait to get up that neck of the woods to get my first turbot

cheers man. believe it or not, that was a really poor session for that mark. the surf and swell kills the fishing up there. but if you hit it in the right conditions you can even get thornies from there in the summer

i even saw a weird shooting star that was massive and had an orange/red streak instead of the usual white flash . it must have burnt brightly in the sky for a good 5 seconds which is a lot longer than any shooting star i've ever seen before

About 9:40pm on the 3rd? [url=<A class=vglnk title="Link added by VigLink" href="http://news.sky.com/home/strange-news/article/16182451]Maybe" rel=nofollow vglnk_1331201226350="2">http://news.sky.com/home/strange-news/article/16182451]Maybe</A> this?[/url]

sounds about right man. it was between 9 and 10pm on saturday evening
whoo hoo. so it looks like i saw my first meteorite
i knew it was different to anything i've ever seen before. lasted for a good 5 seconds and had that orange/red glow and trail to it. yet another amazing thing that i would never have seen if it had'nt been for fishing
you really gotta love our sport

Good work lads, sorry I couldn't make this one. Looking forward to getting out the weekend all being well??

gonna stay close to home this weekend just round the corner from you for a specimen flounder hunt
do you fancy it man?

Great report and great pics well done

thanks man

Great couple of days fishing lads, ye're dedicated to the cause That's a great idea re the rock pet, more so the last point because we were plagued last year by tourists and they all ask the same question "are ye fishing" , love to get a turbot this year, well done lads

would it have been poss to have had that meteor as a pet brick..?


more good work and effort there Al and lads
nice to read and hear about your exploits as per usual

great report and pics al ,nice report last week to,dedication,hat of to ya,,coulnt reply earlier puters actin up,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,nice fishing