A window of opportunity East Cork Coast - 25th February

People: Me

Duration: 8.30 pm - 12.30 am

Tide: HW at 2.20 am

Weather: Calm, dry, cold

Bait: Razor

Rigs: 4/0 pennel pulley, 1/0 single hook flapper

Results: 1 Flounder, 1 Bass




Report: After the most prolonged period of wet and windy weather that I can remember we finally had a calm day yesterday (Tuesday 25th) so I took advantage of the window of opportunity and headed to a beach that I reckoned would be fishable. February is almost over and this was my first time to get out fishing this month apart from a brief 20 minute session a couple of weeks ago which I abandoned due to gale force winds and heavy horizontal rain on what had been forecast to be a dry calm night. Although I still managed to get a small codling on the first and only cast of that night.

This time I choose a mark facing away from the wind so there was not a monstrous surf pounding the beach. In the past this has fished well early on the rising tide with the fishing slackening off closer to high tide. I arrived about 8.30 pm, just after low tide. It was a clear dark moonless night and a good surf was breaking on the beach. The first thing I noticed was that a rock floored depression which I used to fish beside was now infilled with sand removed from the beach farther along the shore. That was not a good omen as I think that the depression served to concentrate the fish. But as it was the only low water mark close by I decided to give it a go regardless.

I didn't have time to dig lug and with the slack tides I probably would not have been able to get crab so I just used razor which has been a good bait for this beach in the past. I set up two rods; one with a 4/0 pennel pulley baited with a full razor, the other a single hook flapper with a 1/0 circle hook with a small piece of razor. I cast the latter in close and the pennel pulley farther out into the surf.

There was not much happening, the rod tips remained motionless. Normally at this time of year coalfish would be pestering the bait within minutes of it hitting the water but this time the baits were coming back untouched. After a couple of hours I finally noticed some very light taps on the rod with the pennel pulley. I lifted the rod and could feel very subtle tugs from a small fish. I lifted into it and began to retrieve. I couldn't feel anything on the end and thought the fish was not hooked but as I lifted the bait out of the water there it was, the smallest flounder I have every caught not much more than 5 cm in length. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera.

After that I thought that maybe the fishing would pick up. But again there was a long period of inactivity, apart from one bite that I lost when the line snapped. It wasn't a big fish, probably a flounder, and I wasn't snagged but the line broke as I was lifting the rod. It was line I had been using over the winter when fishing the Blackwater estuary for cod so it had probably been damaged. Time to change the line!!!

A little later I had a stronger tug on the rod with the pennel pulley. I stuck fairly gently in case the line on this rod snapped too and slowly retrieved. The fish was putting up a bit of a fight but didn't feel to be big, either a small bass or a dogfish. As I got it in close I could see a glint of silver - a bass!!! It was a small fish, about 42 cm.

I fished on for about another hour but there was no more activity. So I packed up at 12.30 am. It had been a slow session; the wet stormy weather over the last few months seems to have pushed the fish farther out to sea. But at least I did get one bass so it was not a total disaster.

Thanks for the report Frank, its always a good session when you land a bass. Hopefully this will be the end of the really bad weather and we can get a little more fishing in.

Good report id consider that a good session especially with a bass well done lets hope the weather is clearing a bit;)

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

Good to hear of a bass being caught Frank well done. I haven't been out since 2013!!!

Nice to add another one to your tally Frank.
I dare say many a beach around the coast has changed considerably, gullies, banks E.T.C.
Had similar experience with line snapping a while back and that was after one session at Ferrypoint,
ROLL ON THE GOOD WEATHER

A 5cm flounder on a 4/0 Pennell; that would have been some photo!

[RockHunter]

Thanks guys,

Good to hear of a Bass being caught Frank well done. I haven't been out since 2013!!!

Thanks Pat, indeed with this weather it is not so enticing to get out fishing. I used to have three or four sessions per week, usually Saturday and Sunday and one or two evenings during the week but over the last year it has more of a ordeal to get motivated to get out starting with the very cold spring of 2013 followed by the poor fishing over the summer.

Good report id consider that a good session especially with a Bass well done lets hope the weather is clearing a bit;)

I used to consider a good session was three or more bass but now just catching a fish is a bonus!!!
I don't think we have seen the end of the wet and windy weather just yet.

A 5cm flounder on a 4/0 Pennell; that would have been some photo!

The bait was bigger than the fish!!!

Last edited by RockHunter on Fri Feb 28, 2014 1:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

nice going frank ,its encouraging to see bass around after all the crazy weather we have had ,check the top eyes on your rod you might have damaged one of them .

Any day catching beats a day at work stairing at bad weather out the window knowing you can't even get out fishing when your released at half five, 3 to 4 days a week fishing down to once or twice a month if your lucky is torture, I can't wait to get out Sunday, excellent report a s usual

Thanks guys,

nice going frank ,its encouraging to see Bass around after all the crazy weather we have had ,check the top eyes on your rod you might have damaged one of them

Thanks Gerry, I checked the rod tip and its fine. I think it was just the battering the line took in the estuary when I was cod fishing.
I would expect some bass to be around as it has been a fairly mild winter, if we just got a few days of calm weather I reckon there could be good bass fishing to be had.

Any day catching beats a day at work stairing at bad weather out the window knowing you can't even get out fishing when your released at half five, 3 to 4 days a week fishing down to once or twice a month if your lucky is torture, I can't wait to get out Sunday, excellent report a s usual

I will have to get out myself at the weekend although Sunday is not looking as good as was forecast earlier in the week

Im after cancelling plans for the weekend reluctantly, Cabin fever already setting in

great report frank!
glad to see you made the best of what little breaks we are getting from the constant storms at the moment man .