Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:26 am
Weather starts really nice and deteriorated into a SW gale with heavy rain, easing to SW force 4 with intermittent heavy rain and mist...
Surveyed Keel beach and tried up at the "far" end, on the coming tide one afternoon, into a depressions surrounded on the right by rocks, with lots of lugworm casts. A few nibbles but no proper bites. Switched quickly down to Keem to find the place inundated with people in wetsuits so retreated muttering under breath. Ended up fishing in Purteen for congers - several straps biggest about 3 kilos - and micro fishing for blennies, scorpions, tiny Pollack but curiously no wrasse of any kind. Watched a large flatfish scoot up and down the harbour, quite bizarre, reckon it was a flounder, but nothing doing beyond that. Lots of dead doggies littering the harbour bottom. Lobster man and his son was chopping up some sizable Pollack for pot bait, and tried to talk to a boat angler but he was very unpleasant with small children hanging around, really uncalled for behaviour and language (not a local I should point out).
Next session was also on Keel and found the exact same with 1/0 circle hooks baited with lugworm, mack and sandeel getting lots of attention but no hook ups, granted again during the day. Finally landed a small flounder, 19 cms. Trundled back up the beach for tea as the tide turned... big swell and nasty easterly breeze.
Thursdays was washed out by the gales and rain. Appalling conditions for July. Felt sorry for the people camping. Even the pancake factory man upped and left!
Friday not much better. Still consoled myself that tides were running later and with the s&&t weather it would be darker. A quick session on Rusheen Point (Frost) produced a single small Pollack (1/2 kilo) and a skitter down the rocked filled bog amid the sheep poo. Sore ankle. No mackerel to anyone anywhere. The appalling weather and some Gannets in the bay had corralled a few fish into Keem Bay but it was up on the extreme left and no one could get near them...
Saturday dawned calm and brighter. Waited for the afternoon tide and decided to try Dooagh beach, from the rocks on the left. Weed city. Bad mistake. I did get one nice bite in amongst all the hauling but gave it up as a bad job. Retreated back to Keel and fished the extreme south down near the cliffs. Plagued with dogs - of the walking variety, trying to pinch last bits of bait. Two small flounder came ashore. Nothing to write home about. Conditions were just unpleasant.
So all in all pretty sh**e. Cant really blame Achill, as the weather was SO awful. Cold and tons of fresh water flooding in everywhere. Flounders was all you could expect.
Don't know how they did on the boat fishing competition out of Dugort - heard there were mackerel there early in the week.
Tight lines all.
Mon Jul 20, 2015 5:31 pm
it seems like keel has never recovered from the big winter storms 2 years ago - huge reefs now exposed and the sand not getting near covering it yet - any reports have been poor - its not just now
keem has been plagued with the guys in suits particularly the lads with the harpoon guns - taking everything - tiddler wrasse you name it - but that beach has been gone to hell for a few years now anway