county antrim rocks and beach sat 16th feb 2013

People: myself and junior

Duration: dawn to 8pm

Tide: all states

Weather: flat calm and sunny

Bait: ragworm, sand eel and mackerel

Rigs: 2 up 1 down, spinners, rubber shads, slug-go's

Results: pollack, coalfish, flounder and a 5 bearded rockling




Report:

well it was the weekend again and the forecast was finally looking up for a change
so we planned a full day of fishing via a few different disclipines and marks to see what the fish were gonna fancy. so a daytime rock session followed by an evening on the beach was on the cards. with the car loaded and a 6am alarm call we high tailed it up the county antrim coast to get our fishing fix
we got onto our rock mark when it was still dull and headlights were needed to safely navigate our way to our spot. but when we got there the fishing began in ernest and i thought we were gonna be quids in when a nice coalfish nailed my spinner just as dawn was breaking. but sadly not as the next 5 hours were fishless
but i was just made up to christen my new spinning rod and finally beat junior to the punch by landing the first fish
but my happiness was soon cut short when by brand new rod imploded mid cast . i was gutted a 45g lure somehow managed to snap my new shakespeare salt xt spin 10ft rod just above the reel seat. the rod is rated to a 3oz cast weight so i have no idea what the heck had happened to cause this catastrophic failure in the blank. so it will be returning to the shop this week to be replaced
ahy hoo, back to the fishing
the rest of the day on the rocks was fishless for me, but junior did well getting a couple of pollack weighing a couple of pounds on a shad and on ragworm under a sliding float set up. he was made up and "yet again" outfished me
so none of us blanked on the rocks and we went back to the car to sort a feed and get set for an evening on the beach
as it turned out the beach fishing was a dead loss
i had 2 tiny flounder and a 5 bearded rockling and junior blanked!! i finally got one up on him for a change
and one of my flounder was a lefty. the first lefty of the year for me which was a nice bonus
so by 8pm our bellies were grumbling and we packed up and headed for home. when we were up at the car darren from ballycastle was setting up and we had a chat and a catch up. good to see you again man, i hope you did better than us on the beach
another end to another weekends fishing and we both caught fish, what more could ya ask for

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Nice n early in the year to be catching Pollock from the rocks Al, nice one!

cheers paddy. we've been having good success from the rocks for them so far this year on the co antrim coast. hopefully it's a good sign for the comings months with things livening up so early in the year

Nice session lads - hoping to give the pollack a go with the fly this year

Fair play lads nice fishing for this time of year.

Lovely photos and nice fishing Al and Jordan. Grand bit of fishing for February. I need to get out a spin myself.

Nice fishing lads To be honest I've found the North Coast tough fishing this winter compared to last with too many blanks and its heartening to hear of success being had. I have even heard reliable reports of 3lb+ Bass being landed in recent days on beach marks

I must get myself out again before I get used to sitting in front of the fire

Keep 'er lit lads, might bump into you both
Martin

Great stuff Al,,,that's great winter fishing off the rocks at this time of year,,i'm sure those decent pollack and coalie helped you over the 5 fishless hours . Junior's not so Junior these day's Pity about the rod,,but i'm sure your tackle dealer will sort you out

good stuff lads,some fine pollack there!, well done to you both, and nice one getting one up on the (not so) wee man for a change

fair play lads, looked like a nice day all the same. and a few decent pollack there for junior that cant be sniffed at, very nice
not much luck on the beach unfortunately, tough goin by the sounds of it
im sure our paths will cross again at some stage this year... will look forward to it
nice pics

Nice session lads - hoping to give the pollack a go with the fly this year

SNAP!! thats what jordan has his sights set on as well davy
i can't wait to see the mayhem that would follow a take on his wee light fly fishing rod

Fair play lads nice fishing for this time of year.

cheers al. we seem to be having better sucess from the deep water rock marks than from the shore recently.

Lovely photos and nice fishing Al and Jordan. Grand bit of fishing for February. I need to get out a spin myself.

that spot out the back of your mates house off the rocks is fishing well for them at the minute cathal

Nice fishing lads To be honest I've found the North Coast tough fishing this winter compared to last with too many blanks and its heartening to hear of success being had. I have even heard reliable reports of 3lb+ Bass being landed in recent days on beach marks
I must get myself out again before I get used to sitting in front of the fire
Keep 'er lit lads, might bump into you both
Martin

cheers martin. yeah the beaches have'nt been too kind to us up there, but if you get into some deep water rock marks they seem to be doing the business

Great stuff Al,,,that's great winter fishing off the rocks at this time of year,,i'm sure those decent pollack and coalie helped you over the 5 fishless hours . Junior's not so Junior these day's Pity about the rod,,but i'm sure your tackle dealer will sort you out

cheers dave, yeah he's sprouting rightly at the moment costing me a fortune in wellies, waders and wet gear thow he's up to a size 8 in the feet now .
yeah, harry will sort the rod out for me. thankfully all pure fishing products are covered with a 12 month warranty from date of purchase.

good stuff lads,some fine pollack there!, well done to you both, and nice one getting one up on the (not so) wee man for a change

i'm sure he'll put me back in my place at the weekend lol

fair play lads, looked like a nice day all the same. and a few decent pollack there for junior that cant be sniffed at, very nice
not much luck on the beach unfortunately, tough goin by the sounds of it
im sure our paths will cross again at some stage this year... will look forward to it
nice pics

yes charlie, keep in touch with us around august and get down to wexford/wicklow for a go at the smoothies with us

Nice fishing mate.

Nice fishing and an excellent report and read as always!!..
I can't wait to get into the pollock here in donegal, been out twice just so far this year but nothing!!..

Tight lines!

Was just thinking about a throw there at low tide today Al but it was bitterly cold and the wind coming from the SE I think. Its a hairy mark in anything easterly. Maybe tomorrow as low water is in mid afternoon. Its my only low tide pollack spot and probably one of the best! It fishes even better from a boat- cover more ground.

Well done lads nice to see a few good Pollock being caught up there. I had to do a double take on the bigger one as it looked like a cod, but the dark lateral line gave it away for what it was.
As usual a great report and very well written, with great pictures.

Regards Wez

fair play lads, looked like a nice day all the same. and a few decent pollack there for junior that cant be sniffed at, very nice
not much luck on the beach unfortunately, tough goin by the sounds of it
im sure our paths will cross again at some stage this year... will look forward to it
nice pics

yes charlie, keep in touch with us around august and get down to wexford/wicklow for a go at the smoothies with us

sounds like a plan
ive put it onto the calendar for the year
nice1

great report and fishing as ever! well done

good session and catch for this time of the year
and as always a good report with nice photo's, well done Al' & Jordan

A good days fishing well done , looks like the coast is starting to wake up again. Great photos.

A good days fishing well done , looks like the coast is starting to wake up again. Great photos.