Ballycotton Pier, 14th Feb 2015

People: Me

Duration: approx 3 .5h

Tide: Rising

Weather: Calm, dry, cold

Bait: Black lug, mackerel, squid. Mack/Squid cocktails. Mack/Lug cocktails

Rigs: 4/0 Pennel Pulley, 2 hook Flapper size 1

Results: Whiting, shore rockling




Report:

Arrived to the pier about 9pm. Very nice eastern european fella was there and pulling in a whiting just as I set up. He had a few in his bucket at that time.

Had two rods, a light 2-4 Oz bass rod and my heavy rod. Set up the heavy rod with a nice big black lug bait tipped with squid on a pulley pennel and sent it out in the hope of a cod.

Rigged up a flapper on the other rod with size 1 hooks and beads/flashers in the hope of a flattie maybe. Bottom hook had a bit of the black lug and top hook had mackerel. From the off this rod was getting bites. First reel in the mackerel was gone and the lug was shredded but no fish on. Rebaited and cast out. This time I decided to leave the baits there in the hope that the fish would swallow the bait rather than nip on it. Better luck this time- pulled in a nice whiting.

For the next while, there was a lot of action on the lighter rod. I pulled in a tiny whiting, next cast a shore rockling, then a bigger fish dragged my gear into the debris that is in patches near the pier and I lost the hook and the fish with it

After this, I was getting a lot of bites from small fish, casting out was like mackerel fishing, as soon as the bait hit the water, dud-dud-dud-dud. The bites felt decent enough, but my rod is pretty tippy so maybe that just showed them up a lot. However, each time no hook up. By this time, it was the mackerel strips that were getting the attention. Each time the bait was coming back stripped, so I'm guessing there was a shoal of small fish there attacking the bait.

While this was ongoing, I pulled in a the biggest shore crab I've seen on the pulley rig.

Eventually, I said I'd try catch one of the bait robbing culprits to have a look, so I put on tiny size 5 hooks onto the flapper with a bit of mackerel. But at this time that shoal must have moved on.

All in all, a pleasant evening, conditions were grand, kept busy and a few fish too

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Nice to see a report from cork a good read and not a bad nite out

good report and fishing well done.

should have put the small hooks on after the first cast bet you would have more fish

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Erra to be honest I was trying to pick out the bigger fish that might have been there. The effort with the small hooks was more an exercise in curiosity than anything

nice report and lesson learned, small hooks catch big fish and small fish , tight lines

nice report I fished there tonight with two other forum members , it was rough still managed dogfish , whiting and my mate had a lovely flounder.
I still can't figure out why coalfish are not showing as much only the odd 1/4 pounder every so often .
normally I would catch a few around ballycotton each year not this time round

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Good stuff Dave .It's a grand spot on a winter evening I must say. Some difference from the summer when it's like a war zone!

very early morning or after midnight in the summer. otherwise you need a crash helmet.
I want to cover the cliffwalk this year.
its a great spot alright and only a half hour drive for me.

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the pier is for old men to fish or kids...not exactly an amazing fishing spot if u really are into fishing its kind of a lazy option......try the silver beach ..jus before the 50 km sign as u drive into ballygo backwards there is a left turn that leads down to small car park try along there I hav been catchin nice fish all kinds along there all winter long... u can even fish from your car if your one of them kinda people lol

I have seen snobbery over where you're from or how you talk but snobbery over where someone likes to fish is a new one, haven't seen that before

bad call bossdog , I've fished that pier for years and will do until I'm an old man.
fishing isn't all about scaling down cliffs or walking miles to a secret mark, sometimes its standing on a pier for a few hours with some mates sharing a joke, a cigarette and a coffee while having a laugh.
a lot of people miss that when they go out .
me and my mates beach fish, rock fish and from a boat , we fish a pier especially ballycotton even if the tide and weather is wrong as a get together and sometimes to plan further trips out , test new rigs, theories that kind of thing.


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Any spot you fish is an amazing fishing spot , it lets you persue the sport you love . There are better spots and worse spots than ballycotten pier but who gives a s*** , it's gives the opportunity to wet a line and that's enough sometimes , my first sea fishing trip as a four year old was catching little pollock off the end of a harbour , and a trip down memory lane every now and again is fun .
Being an angler is not all about catching fish and how many you have killed to put in the freezer , fishing might be to some , but there is far far more to angling than fishing . Thumbs up to ballycotten pier and all those sorts of marks , they can all put a smile on your face and a bend in you rod , even if most do stink of piss !

nice report I fished there tonight with two other forum members , it was rough still managed dogfish , whiting and my mate had a lovely flounder.
I still can't figure out why coalfish are not showing as much only the odd 1/4 pounder every so often .
normally I would catch a few around ballycotton each year not this time round

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As you say Dave coalies conspicuous by their absence down Waterford way also, I have seen them in plague proportions in Saleens channel once darkness comes, but not this year for some reason that I cannot figure out.

everytime i fished there its been great sessions, cant get down the far so much tho, great spot

the pier is for old men to fish or kids...not exactly an amazing fishing spot if u really are into fishing its kind of a lazy option......try the silver beach ..jus before the 50 km sign as u drive into ballygo backwards there is a left turn that leads down to small car park try along there I hav been catchin nice fish all kinds along there all winter long... u can even fish from your car if your one of them kinda people lol

At least get the name right the beach is called "Silverstrand"

I have seen snobbery over where you're from or how you talk but snobbery over where someone likes to fish is a new one, haven't seen that before

+1 a new unchartered low for angling.