Blackhead, Clare 20/10/12

People:Housemate Dave and myself

Duration: 3-7pm

Tide:low around 3ish

Weather:couldn't have been better

Bait:soft plastics and spinners

Rigs:none

Results:wrasse and pollock




Report:
I recently got myself a new spinning set up and was dying to have a go for some wrasse and pollock on soft plastics. I've been reading some great reports from other lads of the site using plastics and was itching for a go myself! I had posted up a query on the site during the week about spots around Galway and North Clare and fair play to the lads who replied and for the pms!

So armed with this new info myself and my house mate Dave headed for Blakhead in Clare. We arrived just before 3pm and made our way down to the mark. The weather was unbelievable and the sea was dead calm so we were very hopeful of catching a few fish. Dave set up using a black jelly worm with a red tail rigged texas style while I was experimenting with a few different plastics. After about 45 mins Dave shouted 'fish on' and managed to reel a decent baleen wrasse.. We stayed at this spot for about two hours but that was the only fish we managed between us. We both had some bites and I lost one fish but there wasn't a whole pile of action.

We decided that we'd go a for walk to see if things would be any better further on. After about a 10 minute trek we set up at another spot. Second cast in and I managed a mediocre pollock. Blank saved and I was delighted. Even though it was under the 2 pound mark, it was still great craic on the light rod! I managed another two pollock, both smaller than the first one.

My main aim for the day was get a wrasse. I was standing on the rocks working the lure and could see a shelf about two meters out. I cast out a small blueish plastic fish imitation and was slowly jigging it back towards me. I tried this several times and could feel that something was nipping at the lure each time. On about the fifth attempt I managed to hook into a small wrasse. Took a photo and got the fish back in the water.. Target species acquired! I managed to get another small wrasse from the same position shortly after. I took a wander about 10 meters down the shoreline in hope of some bigger fish and again manage another wrasse of similar size to the first one. Meanwhile Dave had managed two others with the black firetail worm.

We packed up and headed for the car around 7ish as the last of the light was fading. It was a great day day out and was my first proper session using plastics. I missed hooking into a lot of fish over the session and I must have tangled my braid at least 10 times.. It's a learning curve and hopefully my technique will improve with practice. I'll be back to North Clare again but might try and find some more remote marks for some of those big wrasse.

Thanks again to the lads who replied to my previous thread!

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A couple more photos

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Nice one, I'm glad things worked out for yis some nice Wrasse and photos. Thumbs up for the lads who helped yis out.

great stuff, well done

Misson Accomplished congrats there will be no stopping you now
tightlines
fergal

Congrats, ye did well to get a few wrasse at black head, they are well earned there.

a couple of stunning looking wrasse there, very nice
keep at it, the bigger fish will come along and ye will soon know about it...

Cheers lads! It was a really enjoyable session and a lovely mark to fish from...