A wander along the rocks of North Clare.

People:
Myself and herself
Duration:
3/4 of an hour
Tide:
out
Weather:
Lovely, flat calm seas
Bait:
Sp's courtesy of Martin McGowan (thanks again) mounted on 3/0 hooks with a cone lead sliding on the line.
Rigs:

Results:
3 wrasse about a pound and a pollock about 4 pounds





Report:
I was spinning for bass the other day and looking along the shore to a finger of rocks which protuded out into the sea and I reckoned it would be a good spot for Wrasse and Pollock spinning so I set off with herself for a bit of a trek this evening. I would say the walk was every bit of a mile before I found a place that was fishable and I didnt go any further even though there is plenty of scope for exploration around there. I stopped at a sea cave with a very deep gully flowing into it that was about 10-15 meters wide. First cast I had a wrasse and got hit on nearly every cast but failed to connect on most of them but I was too lazy to put on a 1/0 . I let herself at it for a while and she let off a few angry splutters as the wrasse were hitting the lure but she didnt connect either. I landed a nice pollock just before I left which put up a great scrap. I didnt spend long there because I was a bit tired after a long day but its nice to know there are a few fish there. Would a mark like this be good for conger do ye think?

Lovely looking mark, looks ripe for a bit of float fishing. How deep is the water there?

Lovely looking mark, looks ripe for a bit of float fishing. How deep is the water there?

30+ feet I would say, im not a great judge but its a good bit deeper than the other marks I fish for wrasse. The water was very clear and I couldnt see the bottom. It's a shear drop off to the bottom on the edge of the gully too and its very sheltered, perfect for wrasse, would be shocked if it has seen a rod and line before.

"I was a bit tired after a long day" What kid of an excuse is that???? lovely little spot there joe, dont let me down now by not giving it your best

well done on the fishin!! thats a class lookin mark you have found urself. very fishy indeed..

"I was a bit tired after a long day" What kid of an excuse is that???? lovely little spot there joe, dont let me down now by not giving it your best

I will return Neil dont worry, you said to walk the lesser walked paths...I have done a bit better over the last week and just walked where there was no path at all Had a great session with pete the other day, I was showing him how to get wrasse on sp's, he hooked a good one on his first cast and made bits of a brand new rod Worth looking at the video when he puts it up. I found an overhang where the pollock hide under aswell and we had a lot of them too in blistering sun which I thought to be a bit strange.

Beautiful mark, Great report to !

Great looking spot, kinda looks like ross and I always do well around there, whether its bottom float or spinning, enjoy!

I went to another mark for an hour yesterday evening, Had a nice almost black ballan and Im not sure what the other small fish was. One of ye might be able to give me an id.

What a beauty of a spot redzer, and beautiful fish too. Is it a red scorpion fish????
Heading to Clare for some wrasse at the weekend, i hope the seas stay calm.

you got a lovely red Long-spined Bullhead (Taurulus bubalis) there, fairly easy to identify through the white lappets in the corner of the mouth, it's definitely not a Red Scorpion Fish or sometimes named Rock Cod (Scorpaena papillosa) which would have a black dot on the first dorsal and grows much bigger. Well done

What a beauty of a spot redzer, and beautiful fish too. Is it a red scorpion fish????
Heading to Clare for some wrasse at the weekend, i hope the seas stay calm.

Its a nice spot alright, not to far off the beaten track but enough that people wouldnt bother with it. There are still a few wrasse around but I have noticed that it is only the small ones I have been catching, I was catching much larger ones a month ago. Where the bigger ones are I dont know and its a pity because I thought I had a good chance of winning the nominated species competition, oh well sure

What a beauty of a spot redzer, and beautiful fish too. Is it a red scorpion fish????
Heading to Clare for some wrasse at the weekend, i hope the seas stay calm.

Its a nice spot alright, not to far off the beaten track but enough that people wouldnt bother with it. There are still a few wrasse around but I have noticed that it is only the small ones I have been catching, I was catching much larger ones a month ago. Where the bigger ones are I dont know and its a pity because I thought I had a good chance of winning the nominated species competition, oh well sure

when they go they will take the pollack with them and the mackerel will disappear shortly after. You can spend the winter looking for those out of the way spots and be ready for when they all come back next may

when they go they will take the pollack with them and the mackerel will disappear shortly after. You can spend the winter looking for those out of the way spots and be ready for when they all come back next may

I have done a good bit of fishing the last week and havnt managed one even near 2 pounds and between myself and pete we probably landed well over 30. Do the bigger ones leave first

I think you have answered your own question Joe, you are not finding big ones any more. I do not know where or why they go. Maybe it is just slightly off shore into deeper more temperature stable waters? all I know is they disappear around the same time as the swallows go to Africa. You will have to go back to the bait when you stop getting any takes at all. Some nice winter bass and flounder near you though.

I think you have answered your own question Joe, you are not finding big ones any more. I do not know where or why they go. Maybe it is just slightly off shore into deeper more temperature stable waters? all I know is they disappear around the same time as the swallows go to Africa. You will have to go back to the bait when you stop getting any takes at all. Some nice winter Bass and flounder near you though.

Or put the spinning rod away until next april It gets a bit cold sitting down watching the rod tip!! The bass are still evading me and I watched a few break the surface 30 feet in front of me the other evening, couldnt even get a follow not to mind a hook up

Are they definitely bass or were they mullet, can be quite deceptive at a distance.
Send me a few of your wrasse photos and write a little story and i will blog it for you as there is no one doing it now. And can you get pete to send me the url for the video.

nice mark *drool*

Are they definitely Bass or were they mullet, can be quite deceptive at a distance.
Send me a few of your wrasse photos and write a little story and i will blog it for you as there is no one doing it now. And can you get pete to send me the url for the video.

No they were bass in a known bass mark taking on the surface the same way a great white takes a seal. I will send on pics and stuff tomorrow, I think he has another video to put up yet.

Video here of an earlier session if anyone is interested.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IjbOrtb9jR0