Donegal Bay, 8th and 9th Jan 2014

People: Me

Duration:4hrs each day

Tide:3 hrs flood and 1 hr ebb on 8th, 3hrs ebb and 1 hr flood on 9th.

Weather: Cool, dry, calm on 8th, milder with slight breeze on 9th.

Bait:Frozen lug, prawns, razor, mackerel.

Rigs:, 2 and 3 hook flappers.

Results:Coalfish, flounder, sea trout.




Report:
8th January. It was time to get the 2014 ball rolling and shed the remnants of Christmas and New Year. I set up 2 rods and within seconds of casting out the first, the bites started and the first fish of 2014 came ashore. It was a small coalfish and it was the vanguard of an army of coalfish, all in the 20 - 25cm range. They came in doubles and trebles and didn't seem to care what bait was on offer. No other species had a look-in. I set up 1 rod with a Pennell rig baited with a side of mackerel and cast out; it returned stripped bare by the coalies. Enough!
9th January I decided to try a beach this time during daylight and hopefully avoid the plague of small coalies. First cast into the surf produced a really good bite which resulted in a nice 34cm flounder weighing just over a pound. As I re-baited and cast out again the other rod started to rattle and on retrieving, a double of flounder came flapping through the foam. A good start. Another double of flounder was followed by a couple of singles. Then as darkness approached a small sea trout about 33cm showed up, a very lean fish. Around low tide things went quiet which allowed me to grab a quick coffee and ham roll and shortly after the tide started to flood, I began to get some nibbly bites which heralded the arrival of a few small coalies. A couple more flounder turned up with one at 12oz and one unusual left handed one. In total I got 10 flounder, 6-7 small coalies and the sea trout, a bit more variety than yesterday. The fish seemed to prefer the mackerel, razor and prawns got no offers.

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Some nice flats there fairplay to ya for gettin out and getting some results

great way to start the year. some nice flounder there man

Nice flounder

Nice flounder! Those small coalies can be very frustrating at times..

Some lovley fish there fairplay good start for the first session of the year

fair play JW

Nice session to start the year lad
any pics of the seatrout? What bait did he take off you,if you don't mind me asking lad...

Nice session to start the year lad
any pics of the seatrout? What bait did he take off you,if you don't mind me asking lad...

Thanks Lucky13, here's a couple of pics. It was about 32cm long so with a bit of luck he'll improve on that this year! I was fishing for flounder using small mackerel strips on size 4 hooks. Tight lines for 2014.

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Fair play JW. I see d coffee n sambo did the trick for u again some nice fish.

Nice start to the year j.w long may it last

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good to know there is some good fish about, hope to get out on my 1st session soon.

Nice fishing, well done!

Great start to the new year John, i'll be out myself next week to get the ball rolling!!!

Nice fishing and report! Tight lines

nice fishing and great report. keep it up

Great start to the new year John, i'll be out myself next week to get the ball rolling!!!

I'm hoping to get out again this week to keep the ball rolling but Met Eireann need to get their act together first!

Fair play JW. I see d coffee n sambo did the trick for u again some nice fish.

I never leave home without them.

Nice flounder! Those small coalies can be very frustrating at times..

Thanks gerty86, the small coalies can be a pain but at times they can save a blank too. I'd love to know where the all go when they get bigger....


Thanks to everyone else for the replies.

Some nice fish for your efforts there Skipper, well done.