Tralee 27 & 28TH July

People: Me, Seamus and Brian

Duration: 1 1/2 days

Tide: all

Weather: Really hot and sunny, monsoon rain, thunder and lightening (only thing missing was the snow)

Bait: MASSIVE lug, fresh peeler, sand eel, spinners, plugs, SP

Rigs: Flappers and Pulleys

Results: Me- Turbot (2lbs), Bass (schoolie) and Flounder
Seamus- BLANK (lol)
Brian- BLANK

Report:
As I am soon to leave Ireland I had arranged a final session with the lads to say Bon Voyage...! After much deliberation and debate Tralee was choosen as a good location that would allow us a variety of marks using a mix of tatics. After collecting the baits (thanks John) we hit the road from a wet Limerick heading to Kerry. On route a few calls were made to see where is fishing and what the weather had in store.......... Reports were that the fishing was extremely patchy with there being very little surf on the beaches. Initially we had thought about Inch for the night session but reports from the night before was that only one tiny bass had been caught With this in mind we decided to fish and camp for the night on Banna Srand as we felt that it might produce some surf.

First things first, get the supplies (beer, sausages and disposable BBQ's) then get fishing. We decided to fish LW at the Black Rock with all the fancy lures that we had. After a couple of hours it was apparent that the fish were not interested in feeding, not one follow or take. It was decided that we would get camp set up for the night when the heaviest shower I have experienced (thats saying something considering I am Scottish) fell upon us. It was like the end of the world.......

On wading back to the car the sea was full of life. The water was crystal clear with every step taken causing small fish and crabs to scarper. There were Sand Eel, ray, turbot, flounder and mullet everywhere....... To say the signs were looking good was the understatement of the year....!

We arrived at the mark on Banna to find the beach free from fisherman. Wasnt sure if this was a good or bad thing but feck it lets give it a shot. Tent up, quick bite then lines in the water. We were fishing the last 3 hours up and 2 down. Tactics varied from large baits to small baits long and short. From the off I had a few knocks on the distance rod, nothing massive but at least there was fish on the beach. A solid knock produced a lovely Turbot about 2lbs on a large crab bait. The stupid fish had inhaled the bait and taken the x2 3/0 right down. This was my first ever Turbot and I couldnt believe the size of its gob, absolutely massive. Spirits were rising, I could see the others fishing hard just waiting for their rods to go....... A short while later another nice knock on the flapper in close produced a wee schoolie. At this stage I was delighted as we had put a €10 per head for the biggest and most fish. That was me well in the lead..........

Again we were starting to feel optimistic with a couple of fish on the beach in the first hour and still a while to go before HW......How wrong we were. We didnt get one more bite for the rest of the session (which finished at 3am). Decided to have a wee BBQ as the hunger was setting in. The BBQ did not light despite a monumentus effort from Seamus who turned into a human bellow. Cheese and ham rolls it was so.....

Despondant, we decided to get the head down for the night as we had planned to get up early and fish the rise if the surf made an appearance. After a few Whiskeys I was shattered and climed into the tent. Silence until I heard a very concerning noise coming from under the tent. A scraping knawing noise that in my head was a rat under the tent, cue pandamonium........ Weapons were dispatched (a giant roll of industrial toilet paper) and the culperate was killed. On lifting the tent in the morning it would appear that it was not a rat but one of our peelers that had made a dash for freedom

We got up early and packed up and decided to give the beach a miss and head to a spot that has produced multiple bass in the past to the lads. Everything looked great with the tide ripping through the channel at an almighty rate of naughts. This mark is deep and I knew that there must be macks running through. 2 hrs later nothing other than a solitary Launce

We had loads of bait left so we decided on the SPA to see what was happening. The lads opted for the bigger baits for Ray whilst I decided on one ray and one flapper in close. Now as it was getting close to us heading up the road I switched to 2 flappers in close in an attempt to get some flatties to boost my total and scoop the money..... This paid off as I ended up with three further fish to ensure the victory

The trip was originally aimed at targeting bass so on that front it was a massive disapointment however the craic was great with plenty of slaggings and messing. What a great way to finish up my fishing in beautiful Ireland........

One last trip...?

Pity the bass and Ray didn't oblige, but savage Turbot from shore, well done.

love your report especially the rat nice turbot, and hope things work out for ye when you move further afield.

Pity the Bass and Ray didn't oblige, but savage Turbot from shore, well done.

Cheers man always good to pop your cherry on a new species

love your report especially the rat nice turbot, and hope things work out for ye when you move further afield.

Thanks nice fish. Always a drama when you fish with Seamus (Conger). Its good to get a report up as i really enjoy others reports and I dont like being a troll

Great report Joe, mind you the only drama I remember is been woken up by a mad Scotsman in the middle of the night Great weekend, also another thanks to Tippjohn for bringing down the bait for us, those lug were huge nearly argued with one while I was trying to get it on the baiting needle Just a pity about the fishing, well more about losing a bet to you and then hearing about it the whole way home I will throw up some of the photos that I got later, things have been crazy at work so only getting a chance to post a reply now,

Great report Joe, mind you the only drama I remember is been woken up by a mad Scotsman in the middle of the night Great weekend, also another thanks to Tippjohn for bringing down the bait for us, those lug were huge nearly argued with one while I was trying to get it on the baiting needle Just a pity about the fishing, well more about losing a bet to you and then hearing about it the whole way home I will throw up some of the photos that I got later, things have been crazy at work so only getting a chance to post a reply now,

Great read That's a cracker of a turbot, I've caught a good few up in Donegal but all of them together wouldn't hit 2lbs!