Fishing and Fashion on the Shannon 22nd of July

People:Me and Gok Won (Joebhoy)

Duration:6pm till 11pm

Tide: Dropping

Weather:Perfect, except for one whack of a shower

Bait:Frozen Mack

Rigs:Pulleys and Flappers

Results:4 Speices, Ray, Conger (not me ), Dab and Doggies




Report:
Was trudging away at work yesterday and got a call from Joe with the propostion of a improntu session on the estuary as he and the family will be leaving soon, not much persausion needed, so first call was to the war office for the green card. Finished work at around 5ish and literally lobbed the gear into the van and a change of clothes and like a bullet i was off. Joe was picking up the bait so i hit straight out for the mark. We had picked an easy fish mark where you can fish out of the back of the van. When i arrived his nibs was setting up and to my horror there was a load of young lads swimming not what i wanted to see but hey, we were here to fish. There was a huge tide on the estuary and at the top of the tide things were fine to fish on the inital turn of the tide it was a different kettle of fish, but we will get to that. First things first, got out of the van and went over to Joe to find him dressed more for a fashion show than a fishing session , the shoes took the biscuit, all will be revealed in the following photos
So after the inital slagging and banter it was time to gear up. We both had to fish straight out due to our swimmers but that was ok at first, suddenly the tide turned and it was coming down like a jaggernaut and it was bringing a huge amount of debris with it. At this point the swimmers moved position to the calmer side of the pier, which allowed to fish straight down the estuary. It was at this point i got off the mark with a wee dab, no size in it but el blanko saved, ensued a heated discussion to was it legally hooked Slightly foul hooked but sure i couldn't admit that. Now Joe and myself have being fishing together for about a year now since he moved down from dublin and it all that time not once have we crossed lines, not once but Joe fixed that last night and in style not one line did he manage to cross but both lines were done but i have to say it was a mighty cast because not one bit of gear was lost
After about an hour of a savage run of tide it calmed and became fishable again and we were able to fish straight out again. Joe was first off the mark with a lovely wee Ray to the enjoyment of 2 young lads who now thanks to Joe believe that i am his father At this point our lucky charm turned up in the shape a wee old man who was out for a spin, i call him our lucky charm because the fishing really picked up for us I caught a wee ray and a chunky doggie along with a wee strap conger. Joe had doggie and then after a really subtle bite he picked up a beauty of a 7lb Ray. After this things got quiet again so i just resorted to slagging off the shoes again
Just after 10pm we started to lose light and we came up with the ultimate head torch as neither of us had brought a head torch with us as we did not think we would be there that long, So Joes Fiesta and my berlingo filled in the gap. We were chatting away when Joes rod took a decent knock, he struck in and was straight into a good fish, after a great scrap Joe was rewarded with a new pb in the shape of an 8lb Ray, quick pic and off it went
We decided that we would give it one more cast before we packed up, so Joe loaded up and unleashed a big macky bait when suddenly all i could here was that sickening whoosh and the dreaded crack of a snap off it created such a bed of spaghetti on the reel we felt it deserved a photo all of its own with an added close up at this point all we could do was laugh, definately time to go home. Have to say Joe i will miss the crack and banter we've had over the last 12 months, i wish you and Louise and the lads all the best back in Scotland, Good Luck Joe

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And the Close up of the spaghetti

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Well done lads, great report and some lovely fish . Congrats on the new PB's. Best of luck to Joe and family on the move to Scotland. Sad times to be losing so many people,,,,,,,,,,,even sadder to be losing those shoes to Scotland ,,,,,,,,only joking Joe

fantastic report very enjoyable read, some cracking fish and well done on the PB's, if that was your final session before joe moves you's sure done it in style

Super report as always Seamus. Was a great wee impromptu session, just hope that our luck hasnt been used up for the weekend.

On the shoe front........ Listen Mr Gucci I never knew you had such a keen eye for fashion....! You better watch out or you might get them as a going away present......

Top notch fishing lads

Great report Jim

Fairplay lads nice to see joebouy getting some fishing in before he moves,great report and photos to go with it.

John Ainsworth.

Great report Seamus.

That used to be my favorite mark.

Best of Luck to Joebhoy on his move.

You may need to text me now after Joe moves. I can go back and wet my line instead of casting at the farm in our backyard.