Fished a well known and relatively safe rock marks on the Achill drive, past the cleft, into a coming tide in daylight. Usually produces and has sand further out, where for some reason you get gurnard instead of flats. Don't know why...
Squally unpleasant conditions gave way to fe***K****g HELL fiendish conditions with the occasional drop back into yes-we-are-certifiable spells of relative calm.
Was using frozen baits, mostly mack and some dodgy pinkish squid, which was appropriate given the wind chill.
First cast came back in after a few minutes of excitement with a kelp stalk, fully a metre long complete with tail. Definite specimen size. You could whip a giant with it.
Second cast fell victim to foul ground, left the hook snoods, but got the main rig back.
Dropped to a one hook wrasse hunting rig and punched it out with a big 3/0 holding half a squid around a strip of belly mack on a six ounce gripper. Crabs. Weed. Lots of twitching but nothing definite. Cleaned.
Third cast (was counting on the basis that we needed to makeat least six casts before being allowed to retreat honourably into the hotel on the sound) got cleaned too.
Fe*k me but Peter goes and lands a coalie from under our feet on a float fished mack strip. About 30 cms, maybe a bit bigger, superb condition. Classic Mayo ribble.
Peter drops a bigger coalie on the way up. Squid strip proving effective. Decided to try a jelly on the spinning rod, and try to keep it under the floating crap. Got a few tentative plucks but nothing after fifteen minutes. Blue and orange spots on the hands now, never a good sign. Put away the spinning rod.
Fourth cast produced another specimen kelp stalk. Decided to switch to float fishing in about 5-7 metres but it required constant recasting as the weed and crap in the waves was bouncing the float all over the gaff and sweeping it into the rocks under us. Think I spotted a seal head pop up. Foam floating up to us from below...
Peter dropped another coalie (small, had to laugh) so persuaded him to try circle hooks instead - you just need to let the bite develop a bit more.
Float rig landed my third specimen kelp stalk (FFS!) but this one had been badly chewed up on the way in (it must have been a shark JW!!!!
jk jk...)Then a real surprise. Peter pulls in a wrasse, small ballan, about 1.5 lbs in old money. A ballen in this sh**storm: -unreal.
Would have expected them to be a mile offshore...
Darkness approaching so decided to pack up.
Peter won on weight, but I reckon I definitely won on length! Ended 2015 with a blank. Had very few this year, very few decent sessions but there you go.
Glad to have that one out of the way!
Happy New Year all...
PS: anyone venturing out in Mayo - all the beaches are COVERED in kelp, don't bother unless we get a few days of calm dry weather. So... June is looking good!
