Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:17 pm
People:
Saturday - yngkmd, Bingham & Drew (Co Down Beach)
Sunday - Dawsey, Stuarty & Drew (Co Antrim Beach)
Tuesday Venue 1 - Just Me (Co Antrim Rocks)
Tuesday Venue 2 - Just Me (Co Antrim Pier)
Tuesday Venue 3 - Dawsey, Gabbey and Drew (Co Down Beach)
Duration:
Saturday - 6pm - 10pm
Sunday - 6pm - 11pm
Tuesday Venue 1 - 11.30am - 2.30pm
Tuesday Venue 2 - 2.45pm - 4.45pm
Tuesday Venue 3 - 6pm - 10pm
Tide: In various states but seemed to be big ones.
Weather: It's been great actually, overcast, but the cloud cover has kept the temperatures up well.
Bait: Lug, Sandeel, Mackeral, Rag, Durty Squid, Whiting
Rigs: Personally 2up1down, DDPS, 3 Hook Loop, 3 Hook Clipped, Plaice rigs with Black and green beads.
Results:
Saturday - Loads of Whiting, 4 Dogs
Sunday - Coalfish, Whiting, Plaice, 5 Beard, Flounder
Tuesday Venue 1 - 3 Dabs
Tuesday Venue 2 - 9 Dabs, 2 Plaice
Tuesday Venue 3 - Loads of Whiting, 2 Dogs, A shorey
Report:
A night at the local
yngkmd, Bingham & Drew
Well, Brians got a new computer, affectionately christened "Skynet" due to it's awesome gaming power! So I didn't think I'd be able to drag him away from it, But what do you know, an invite to a local beach had him jumping to get out, forgetting his headlamp in the process! I also had an oul gurn at Bingham who seemed to have put fishing on the back burner and he finally conceeded defeat and agreed to a little session.
Before the light had left us, we were already picking up whiting, so we kind of knew the sort of night that we were in for, and right enough, with the fading of the light the "Belfast lough" bonefish came on in numbers, In order to avoid the plague Bingham had Penelled a whole dirty squid, which he launched out to distance. Meanwhile, Brian had brain stormed and figured all these whiting were bound to be a natural food source for bigger fish, boy was he right, with Whiting Fillet accounting for 2 dogs for him.
After seeing this I followed suit and soon had a dog on myself, not that I knew... and the greedy little mutt managed to get over to Binghams rig and eat one of his snoods too! So we called that one 1/2 a Doggie each! Whiting were coming in trebles by this point and we were certainly being kept busy! Bingham reeled in yet another doggie... on my trace.... Bingham had to go early, but being the good samaritin he lent Brian his headtorch and so enlightened his evening. Another dose of whiting later, and we heading home, nothing special caught, but great craic with the lads!
An offer from Dawsey
Dawsey, Stuarty & Drew
Picture if you will, the look on my face when I exited work at midday, a day with no fishing plans, seemed like boredom would ensue... Will that was until 5 minutes later I got a text from Dawsey offering me a trip up the coast! "Sure it's my turn to drive", was good enough reason for me, and at 3.20pm (Thats 3pm Dawsey time), we left Ards with high hopes. Met Stuarty at Waterfoot pier a couple of hours later, he hadn't faired too well, only catching 1 dab, even though he'd been fishing from 11am! We'd decided on fishing a nearby rock mark, but when we got there it was crawling with Anglers, a rethink was in order, and we ended up on Waterfoot Beach, I expected flounders from the off, as is usually the case from the beach, but the tips stood idle, we started blaming the size of the tide, as we were down on sand we'd never seen on Waterfoot before! It was a good 45 minutes into dark before I finally broke the duck, with a t-bag sized Flounder, not much of a fish, but a relief to see after idle tips for so long.
Slowly but surely the fishing before to improve, a steady stream of flounders started hitting the beach, nothing big, but enough to rattle the rod tips and bring a smile to your face. Stuarty had to go (he'd been out for 9 hours and had nothing but 2 club orange biscuits), But Dawsey and I ploughed on, it certainly wasn't hectic sport but we did manage some variety, and I even got my first beach Plaice, a beautifully marked fish in the mid 20's. As it was getting Late, Dawsey hoked out a better flounder, probably in the early 30's.
A Few more fish, and time to head home... Well, saying that, we hadn't seen a huge gulley flooding as we were fishing, and it was filled up to our waists by the time we were crossing it.... 2 lucky anglers, lesson learned. Wee stop at the Chinese in Carnlough before Dawsey dropped me home. Top lad.
The Search for old Red-Spot Part 1
Drew
I had the day off, and Stuarty had been kind enough to give us his leftover rag from the Sunday session, So, at 10am I left Millisle and ended up somewhere on the Antrim coast. The weather was lovely, and the water shon turqoise blue under the haze of low cloud. I set up 2 rods, 1 with my Plaice rig on it, I figured I could target Plaice during the day with some success due to previous experience, the other with a Blingy 2up1down. Only had 1 rod in, and had cast the other, when I looked round to see the first rod bouncing away! Result! 2 Dabs in the first 2 casts boded well for a cracking session... But, as the tide picked up, the bites dried up and by 2pm I'd only had 3 fish! A rethink was in order....
The Search for old Red-Spot Part 2 : Mission Accomplished
Drew
Settled on a Banker, Waterfoot Pier seldom lets me down so I scooted round there to see if I could improve my luck, again, 2 Dabs in 2 chucks! But would this venue stay on the boil?? Stuck the Plaice Rig out towards Garron while fishing relatively close with the other rod, didn't have to wait long for another fish close in, A Plaice! Target species captured! and not even on the Plaice rig... Speaking of the Plaice rig, I suppose I better check it too, had a little slack line so wound that in before lifting into weight, not substancial, but noticable, Top snood was stripped, 2nd was a shore crab, and on the bottom... A much better Plaice! Happy days! At least I knew the rig worked! Spent the rest of the session happily plodding away at the dabs... Then I got a call from Dawsey! "Hello mate, Gabbey and I are going local tonight, do you fancy it?".... Did I drive 60 odd miles to fish with my mates?? You're damn right I did!
In Conclusion
Gabbey, Dawsey and Drew
It was a case of finishing the way I started I guess, back on a Down beach, Gabbey & Dawsey arrived at about 6.20pm (That's 6pm Dawsey time), and we hit the beach... A slow start, not flats showing and a rapidly dropping tide.... Started dandering out a bit to get the baits a bit further, this worked and I was first into the whiting. The lads followed suit and soon we were all hitting them, for the duration the whiting were coming in 2s and 3s, Gabbey added variety with a shorey and Dog, while Dawsey also managed a dog...
I'd love to write a more detailed report for this one.... But it was pretty standard fare... A relaxing end to some Brilliant fun fishing.
Saturday - yngkmd, Bingham & Drew (Co Down Beach)
Sunday - Dawsey, Stuarty & Drew (Co Antrim Beach)
Tuesday Venue 1 - Just Me (Co Antrim Rocks)
Tuesday Venue 2 - Just Me (Co Antrim Pier)
Tuesday Venue 3 - Dawsey, Gabbey and Drew (Co Down Beach)
Duration:
Saturday - 6pm - 10pm
Sunday - 6pm - 11pm
Tuesday Venue 1 - 11.30am - 2.30pm
Tuesday Venue 2 - 2.45pm - 4.45pm
Tuesday Venue 3 - 6pm - 10pm
Tide: In various states but seemed to be big ones.
Weather: It's been great actually, overcast, but the cloud cover has kept the temperatures up well.
Bait: Lug, Sandeel, Mackeral, Rag, Durty Squid, Whiting
Rigs: Personally 2up1down, DDPS, 3 Hook Loop, 3 Hook Clipped, Plaice rigs with Black and green beads.
Results:
Saturday - Loads of Whiting, 4 Dogs
Sunday - Coalfish, Whiting, Plaice, 5 Beard, Flounder
Tuesday Venue 1 - 3 Dabs
Tuesday Venue 2 - 9 Dabs, 2 Plaice
Tuesday Venue 3 - Loads of Whiting, 2 Dogs, A shorey
Report:
A night at the local
yngkmd, Bingham & Drew
Well, Brians got a new computer, affectionately christened "Skynet" due to it's awesome gaming power! So I didn't think I'd be able to drag him away from it, But what do you know, an invite to a local beach had him jumping to get out, forgetting his headlamp in the process! I also had an oul gurn at Bingham who seemed to have put fishing on the back burner and he finally conceeded defeat and agreed to a little session.
Before the light had left us, we were already picking up whiting, so we kind of knew the sort of night that we were in for, and right enough, with the fading of the light the "Belfast lough" bonefish came on in numbers, In order to avoid the plague Bingham had Penelled a whole dirty squid, which he launched out to distance. Meanwhile, Brian had brain stormed and figured all these whiting were bound to be a natural food source for bigger fish, boy was he right, with Whiting Fillet accounting for 2 dogs for him.
After seeing this I followed suit and soon had a dog on myself, not that I knew... and the greedy little mutt managed to get over to Binghams rig and eat one of his snoods too! So we called that one 1/2 a Doggie each! Whiting were coming in trebles by this point and we were certainly being kept busy! Bingham reeled in yet another doggie... on my trace.... Bingham had to go early, but being the good samaritin he lent Brian his headtorch and so enlightened his evening. Another dose of whiting later, and we heading home, nothing special caught, but great craic with the lads!
An offer from Dawsey
Dawsey, Stuarty & Drew
Picture if you will, the look on my face when I exited work at midday, a day with no fishing plans, seemed like boredom would ensue... Will that was until 5 minutes later I got a text from Dawsey offering me a trip up the coast! "Sure it's my turn to drive", was good enough reason for me, and at 3.20pm (Thats 3pm Dawsey time), we left Ards with high hopes. Met Stuarty at Waterfoot pier a couple of hours later, he hadn't faired too well, only catching 1 dab, even though he'd been fishing from 11am! We'd decided on fishing a nearby rock mark, but when we got there it was crawling with Anglers, a rethink was in order, and we ended up on Waterfoot Beach, I expected flounders from the off, as is usually the case from the beach, but the tips stood idle, we started blaming the size of the tide, as we were down on sand we'd never seen on Waterfoot before! It was a good 45 minutes into dark before I finally broke the duck, with a t-bag sized Flounder, not much of a fish, but a relief to see after idle tips for so long.
Slowly but surely the fishing before to improve, a steady stream of flounders started hitting the beach, nothing big, but enough to rattle the rod tips and bring a smile to your face. Stuarty had to go (he'd been out for 9 hours and had nothing but 2 club orange biscuits), But Dawsey and I ploughed on, it certainly wasn't hectic sport but we did manage some variety, and I even got my first beach Plaice, a beautifully marked fish in the mid 20's. As it was getting Late, Dawsey hoked out a better flounder, probably in the early 30's.
A Few more fish, and time to head home... Well, saying that, we hadn't seen a huge gulley flooding as we were fishing, and it was filled up to our waists by the time we were crossing it.... 2 lucky anglers, lesson learned. Wee stop at the Chinese in Carnlough before Dawsey dropped me home. Top lad.
The Search for old Red-Spot Part 1
Drew
I had the day off, and Stuarty had been kind enough to give us his leftover rag from the Sunday session, So, at 10am I left Millisle and ended up somewhere on the Antrim coast. The weather was lovely, and the water shon turqoise blue under the haze of low cloud. I set up 2 rods, 1 with my Plaice rig on it, I figured I could target Plaice during the day with some success due to previous experience, the other with a Blingy 2up1down. Only had 1 rod in, and had cast the other, when I looked round to see the first rod bouncing away! Result! 2 Dabs in the first 2 casts boded well for a cracking session... But, as the tide picked up, the bites dried up and by 2pm I'd only had 3 fish! A rethink was in order....
The Search for old Red-Spot Part 2 : Mission Accomplished
Drew
Settled on a Banker, Waterfoot Pier seldom lets me down so I scooted round there to see if I could improve my luck, again, 2 Dabs in 2 chucks! But would this venue stay on the boil?? Stuck the Plaice Rig out towards Garron while fishing relatively close with the other rod, didn't have to wait long for another fish close in, A Plaice! Target species captured! and not even on the Plaice rig... Speaking of the Plaice rig, I suppose I better check it too, had a little slack line so wound that in before lifting into weight, not substancial, but noticable, Top snood was stripped, 2nd was a shore crab, and on the bottom... A much better Plaice! Happy days! At least I knew the rig worked! Spent the rest of the session happily plodding away at the dabs... Then I got a call from Dawsey! "Hello mate, Gabbey and I are going local tonight, do you fancy it?".... Did I drive 60 odd miles to fish with my mates?? You're damn right I did!
In Conclusion
Gabbey, Dawsey and Drew
It was a case of finishing the way I started I guess, back on a Down beach, Gabbey & Dawsey arrived at about 6.20pm (That's 6pm Dawsey time), and we hit the beach... A slow start, not flats showing and a rapidly dropping tide.... Started dandering out a bit to get the baits a bit further, this worked and I was first into the whiting. The lads followed suit and soon we were all hitting them, for the duration the whiting were coming in 2s and 3s, Gabbey added variety with a shorey and Dog, while Dawsey also managed a dog...
I'd love to write a more detailed report for this one.... But it was pretty standard fare... A relaxing end to some Brilliant fun fishing.
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Last edited by Drew on Thu Mar 15, 2012 7:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:19 pm
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Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:32 pm
great report drew and some good fishing you and the lads had nice to see a few half decent size plaice being caught well done
Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:59 pm
Aw lads I'm jealous!!!! 
Nice going!
Nice going!
Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:23 pm
Good man Drew. Nice to see someone is putting in the hours I want to!
Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:26 pm
nice to see a few plaice they dont seem too common anywhere any more ! 
Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:34 pm
im such a geek 
Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:17 pm
Excellent results in a very busy few days and congratulations on the place a beauty! 
tightlines
fergal
tightlines
fergal
Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:34 pm
Fair play Drew and Co some nice fish there and a great report and enjoyable read
Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Wed Mar 14, 2012 11:10 pm
well done all
Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Wed Mar 14, 2012 11:52 pm
WOW that is a report of epic proportions 
Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Thu Mar 15, 2012 9:56 am
cracking read there drew glad to see there was plenty of flats about for you all man.
glad to see there was plenty of flats about for you all man.
Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Fri Mar 16, 2012 12:46 am
Great report drew well done
Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Fri Mar 16, 2012 8:13 am
tight lines wrote:great report drew and some good fishing you and the lads had nice to see a few half decent size plaice being caught well done
Cheers man, it was nice to get the bigger one, especially during the day
Creep wrote:Aw lads I'm jealous!!!!
lol, Cheers man, was a good day!
dfella25 wrote:Good man Drew. Nice to see someone is putting in the hours I want to!
Man, I'm loving the amount of fishing I've been getting to do thus far this year, most of it's been thanks to Al, I've gotten out to new venues I've never go to see before!
roger de dodger wrote:nice to see a few plaice they dont seem too common anywhere any more !
You're right they don't Rog, had to travel 120 Miles for mine!!! lol
yngkmd wrote:im such a geek
It's only a matter of time before it becomes self aware...fishy1987 wrote:Excellent results in a very busy few days and congratulations on the place a beauty!
tightlines
fergal
Cheers man, yeah it was hectic alright!
sparkey+1 wrote:Fair play Drew and Co some nice fish there and a great report and enjoyable read
Cheers man, I guess a 5 session report finally bulked it up to a decent reading standard!
Tom H wrote:well done all
Cheers Tom!
billy the fish wrote:WOW that is a report of epic proportions
YepAl and Jordan wrote:cracking read there drew
Alright, cheers dude, it was a mental couple of days with plenty of fishing... great fun like...
Tonyo wrote:Great report drew well done
Cheers!
Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Fri Mar 16, 2012 11:27 am
That's an excellent report - a great read!!!
Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Fri Mar 16, 2012 2:41 pm
Cheers Drew for throwing up another cracking report, hopefully a bit more fun over this weekend and next then.
Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Sat Mar 17, 2012 2:19 pm
Really enjoyed reading that report dude. Fair play to ya for putting them hours in
Monty.
Monty.
Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Sat Mar 17, 2012 10:44 pm
great stuff lad, chompin at the bit to get out after reading that,well done to all
Re: Report of epic proportions! Antrim+Down Rocks,Piers&Beaches
Sun Mar 18, 2012 1:33 am
Very enjoyable read, thanks for taking the time puting it together