donegal and red bay co antrim 29th & 30th march

People: 29th myself Jordan mark willie. 30th me and jordan

Duration: 29th 18 hours 30th 5 hours

Tide: all states

Weather: 29th 20mph westerlys and dry. 30th rough to start, but calm later

Bait: rag, lug, mackerel, bluey and sand eel

Rigs: 4/0 pennel pulleys and 2 up 1 down

Results: thornback ray, flounder, whiting, coalfish and herring




Report:

SATURDAY 29TH MARCH 2 DONEGAL BEACH MARKS 7AM TO 8PM

we hatched a mid week plan to try to get willie and young mark into contact with a few thornies and decent flats. so a trip up Donegal way was planned. the 4am alarm call had us on the road with willie and mark in toe, all be it a bit sleepy and groggy headed . i'm not too sure they are too fond of our stupid o'clock start times for our fishing trips
but hopes were high and with the appropriate amount of coffee consumed we were all buzzing with high hopes of what the day might hold
we got to the first mark to see the water coloured up like chocolate milkshake due to all the heavy rain from the previous days. it shouldn't annoy the thornies too much, but it spelt disaster for the rest of the species of fish who would normally feed by sight over scent. but what the heck,,, we were here and the baits went out regardless.
to cut a long story short, the fishing was pretty pants
Jordan got a little whiting, both willie and mark blanked and I got a solitary thornie. the only bonus was that she happened to be a PB for me weighing in at 8lb on the nose so I was chuffed
willie was amazed as he had never seen a thornie in the flesh and thought these things should belong in a sci fi movie as an alien creature instead of in the sea
I gave him a hold of her and he couldn't get over just how spikey these fish are and how strong and muscular they can be.
we got her back in quickly as I spotted that she had began to try to expel a purse. so with a flap of her wings and a flick of her tail she was gone back to the briny depths to get on with her business
I spotted 2 lads in waders walking towards us a bit later on and recognized them straight away as cathal and Dylan from the forum so it was good to get a yarn with you and a bit of a catch up lads. they had been out bait collecting for the competition the following day and I heard this morning that Dylan did well at it so congrads mate
after a good yarn they headed on and left us to it, but we gave up and went on to our next venue.
sadly it wasn't any better the conditions were ideal, but sadly the fish didn't want to play ball. I was the only one to catch with a decent flounder of 36cm and that was our lot.
but both mark and willie were just grateful to get out to another part of the country and fish new marks and see new species of fish. so we all went home happy enough with our day out

SUNDAY 30TH MARCH RED BAY CO ANTRIM 4PM TO 9PM

with a lot of bait left over from yesterday we decided to take a scoot up the coast somewhere handy. so a favourite spot in red bay we use as a banker mark was decided on and we arrived with high hopes. the sea was a bit rough, but at least the water was clear and the weather was decent
now my first cast when we are getting set up is usually just with a plain lead to loosen up the braid on the spool in case it had tightened into it's self from it's last outing. I was a bit alarmed to feel that as I bumped the lead across the sea bed the entire way in that it was all rocky . not a good sign as this spot for the last 5 years we have fished it has always had a sandy bottom . in fact that's why we get so many flat fish and codling from here. the entire area must have been stripped clean of sand from the winter storms. so things were not looking too hot
our worst fears were realized after a 5 hour session produced a solitary coalie and herring for Jordan and I blanked
something we have never done at this mark before. in fact we have had sessions here in the past where you would easily expect to get 6 or 7 species of fish and loss count of just how many fish you would be catching at this time of year. but sure, what can you do
Jordan was just chuffed to bag a nice sized herring on his LRF rod and see me blank
not a bad weekend considering our other option was to be stuck doing chores around the house

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last pic

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a few fish for your efforts,always an added bonus beaching a catch one of the lads,with you aint seen before.
good read too lads...
nice one

Well done lads, ye are certainly clocking up the species as well as the miles.

Good variety and some nice fish, that was a nice herring there for Jordan, well done. Things are going well for you this year, so far boys, your species count must be well up by now. Great and very readable account Al, many thanks again.

Regards Wez

a few fish for your efforts,always an added bonus beaching a catch one of the lads,with you aint seen before.
good read too lads...
nice one

cheers man. I was just gutted that willie didn't get one. but sure there is a long summer ahead of us yet with plenty of time for him to get his first ray

Well done lads, ye are certainly clocking up the species as well as the miles.

ah sure you know us man. I should have bought shares in shell years ago. I must be single handedly keeping them in profit with our country wide adventures

Good variety and some nice fish, that was a nice herring there for Jordan, well done. Things are going well for you this year, so far boys, your species count must be well up by now. Great and very readable account Al, many thanks again.
cheers wez. not that we are starting to get back to normal at home, we are going to make up for a lot of lost time this year. it's safe to say that the fish should be getting worried

Regards Wez

good to catch up again Al we will have to get a session together again, and yeah Dylan had a zone win at the comp whipping my ass again

lol you and Dylan must be the new al and Jordan
driving him around the country just so you can photograph his fish for him

well done lads nice ray great pics and report

Nice one lads good stuff!!!