DONEGAL GOLD! 19th/20th october 2013

People: myself, jordan and mark

Duration: 19 hours in total

Tide: all states

Weather: torrential rain broken by sunny spells (sure it's ireland, what would you expect )

Bait: rag, sand eel and mackerel

Rigs: sliding float, 1 up 1 down and every spinner and soft plastic imaginable

Results: doggies, pollack, coalfish, ballan wrasse, corkwing wrasse, mackerel and thornback ray





Report:

after last weeks success we decided to get back out on the rocks for another session to see if we could squeeze out a specimine ballan wrasse . i reckon there must be one or two cruising about up there or a decent pollack or two as well. sadly the forecast was'nt looking as good for us this weekend with heavy rain and a bit more of a swell predicted. but not to be put off we left belfast at 4am and were on the mark and set up for 7am. it was still dark so we had a coffee break while we waited for the sun to make an appearence, then got into it trying all different tactics. jordan had a eureka moment at home on friday night and decided that he wanted to try for a specimine ballan wrasse on his fly rod. now he did'nt have any worm type flys in his box so decided that he would try a 3/0 hook baited with a worm and a split shot above it to get it down to the fish. technically not fly fishing, but it was all gonna be about enjoying the scrap of a hard fighting wrasse on a trout rod
he also invited his friend mark to come along with us as he usually only gets to fish portrush or blackhead. so the chance for a run up to donegal for a few quality fish was'nt gonna be missed by him
from the first cast it was obvious that the 1lb coalfish and pollack were just as abundant as they were last week. it was a fish a cast and my herring type spinners were getting nailed before they could even get down into the kelp. meanwhile jordan was having great sport with the wrasse an the fly rod and mark was having great success with the float. it was like this for the next 7 hours with the only slow bit being about an hour either side of low water when the bites died off. sadly there were no decent pollack this time but the wrasse were more than accomodating happily munching every worm we offered to them. we even caught the same wrasse from last week again this fella never seems to learn that those yummy worms have a steel backbone attached to line . mark came up trumps getting the biggest fish of the session with a new personal best wrasse of 4lb 1oz and jordan had a great time landing countless wrasse up to 2lb on the fly rod. his wrist was sore by then end of the session as those wrasse fight something powerfull on a light trout fly rod
no specimines this time but great fun all the same. even the torrential rain could'nt dampen our spirits .
so we went for a bite to eat and returned to fish into darkness before heading to the guest house for some well deserved sleep. on our return the 1lb coalfish and pollack were back and we could'nt get through them to catch anything else. so it was time to pack up and get ready for our 8.30am sunday session before going home.
the day started off great with blue skies and light winds as we sat waiting for our full irish breakfast. so after a good feed at the guest house we were set for the day.
i decided to fish bait on the bottom at this mark and the boys went for spinners, feathers and floats. this spot did'nt fish as well as we had expected it to, but i was getting doggie after doggie on the bottom until something better hit the mackerel and a nice thornie was landed. then a mackerel took a sand eel on my top hook, so i let the boys do a bit of tinsel tossing in the area i had been bait fishing in resulting in 49 mackerel destined for the pan and the bait freezer
after the shoal had passed on the boys went back to the float annoying the wrasse. the wrasse were smaller here with the biggest only getting to about 2lb, but still good sport even thow we were now soaked through with the rain. but all to soon we were nearing 2pm and had to pack up and head for home. another great weekend away and donegal was more than good to us yet again

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Jaysus Al another mighty session, looks like some crack with the wrasse on the fly, great to see the young lads hooked into the fishing, my older lad that did a couple of sessions with me has just gone rugby mad and thinks I'm now daft fishing for hours
Well done again lads, I think the fish are trembling

Deadly, great photos well done.

Another epic report Well done lads, inspirational stuff!

Awesome....I might hit the rocks this evening...

fantastic session mate, I am going to have join you some day and get Jordan to teach me a thing or two

Jaysus Al another mighty session, looks like some crack with the wrasse on the fly, great to see the young lads hooked into the fishing, my older lad that did a couple of sessions with me has just gone rugby mad and thinks I'm now daft fishing for hours
Well done again lads, I think the fish are trembling

cheers man. i've no fear of jordan dissappearing off to another sport any time soon. not when he keeps trashing me every time we go out fishing . i think he enjoys beating me each week better than the fishing it's self
i reckon i could start my own fishing school now with all his friends that want to come out with us these days
but it's good to see the young lads really getting into it as it seems that it gets harder with each passing year to kids into something that is'nt connected to a flat screen tv.

Deadly, great photos well done.

thanks richie

Another epic report Well done lads, inspirational stuff!

cheers man

Awesome....I might hit the rocks this evening...

cheers man. there are so many marks out that way i have yet to try. the choice is amazing. i could spend a fortnight up there and still not get around them all!!

fantastic session mate, I am going to have join you some day and get Jordan to teach me a thing or two

cheers martin. no problem at all man, your more than welcome to join us. it would take the pressure off me for a bit and jordan could concentrate on beating someone else for a change

It's nearly time a certain wrasse was given a name!

Great report lads. Sounds like a good weekend fishing. Was it mixed ground where you got the ray ?

great fishing lads , another awesome session, wrasse on the fly rod sounds like mighty craic, and muscle building too, nice one on the thornie!!, and on the free macs for the pan and freezer, glad ye had a great time more of the same please

great stuff - what sort of fly did he get the wrasse on - will have to have a go for them one of these days - id say they must fight like mad on the light fly gear

i think the wrasse kings have been found in them 2 lads there. awesome fishing!!!!

awesome stuff al. really glad to hear you getting some good times.

dave

Great report Al, as usual. Nice one Jordan getting the Wrasse on the fly rod, OK it was not flies he was using but the point was to, as you said, to have a good fight with a strong Wrasse or Pollack in the fly rod. Well done to all.

Regards Wez

you need more sambos Jordan eating all that cork is not good for you

It's nearly time a certain wrasse was given a name!

i know man. he never learns.

Great report lads. Sounds like a good weekend fishing. Was it mixed ground where you got the ray ?

yes dan. i had a look at the mark over low water and spotted a few sandy patches among the kelp and weed. that's where i was casting my baits to.

great fishing lads , another awesome session, wrasse on the fly rod sounds like mighty craic, and muscle building too, nice one on the thornie!!, and on the free macs for the pan and freezer, glad ye had a great time more of the same please

cheers man. it was another good trip for us. no decent pollack this time, but still plenty of quality fish to be had

great stuff - what sort of fly did he get the wrasse on - will have to have a go for them one of these days - id say they must fight like mad on the light fly gear

no flies for the wrasse davy. he just tied on a hook with a split shot above it and put a bit of ragworm on the hook. the wrasse were right below his feet just off the edge. so no real casting was needed. some craic on a cheap trout starter rod and reel thow

i think the wrasse kings have been found in them 2 lads there. awesome fishing!!!!

thanks man. jordan's friend was amazed at the size of the wrasse and just how many of them there was at the mark. his father dose'nt drive so he usually only gets to fish a few marks that are handy to the train and bus. so they are pretty well known and hard fished marks. he was amazed that during all our sessions that we never saw another angler. him and his dad usually have to get to their marks early to make sure they can get onto them before it get crowded. it was something else for him

awesome stuff al. really glad to hear you getting some good times.
dave

cheers dave. it's good to be back

Great report Al, as usual. Nice one Jordan getting the Wrasse on the fly rod, OK it was not flies he was using but the point was to, as you said, to have a good fight with a strong Wrasse or Pollack in the fly rod. Well done to all.
Regards Wez

thanks wez, he did offer me a go with that set up. but i was holding out for a decent pollack on the spinning gear. i'll have to get a chuck the next time

you need more sambos Jordan eating all that cork is not good for you

he's stocking up on his new internal floatation methon neil

A memorable session by any stretch, top job lads.