A Couple of Days in Donegal, 20th and 28th Oct 2017

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A Couple of Days in Donegal, 20th and 28th Oct 2017

Postby johnwest » Mon Oct 30, 2017 1:30 pm

Not Donegal Bay, 20/10/2017. With a break in the weather imminent, the first step was to hit the lug beds to get a few worms. On the way to the beach, this year’s supply of pheasants was enjoying their last weeks of safety as they fed in the stubble fields and along the long acre. The spot where I normally source my lug is gradually disappearing as the storms of recent years erode the sand revealing the underlying stones and clay; another couple of years and I’ll be looking elsewhere. Wind strength, direction and likelihood of heavy rain suggested somewhere not too far from the car and giving some shelter, so a mark which I had on my “to do” list was selected. It was quite windy but the high dunes gave shelter. There was a lively surf rolling in and the 5oz grip lead merely slowed the left to right drag but somewhere along the drift a couple of small turbot ambushed the mackerel strips on the first cast. Unfortunately, there was also a fair amount of fine red weed lying about 30yds out, strangely none of it was washed up by the waves and ebbing tide; the sand was clean as a whistle. Second cast with the lighter rod produced another small turbot so I thought I was going to be kept busy, not so, as that was the last activity until the tide turned and was about half way in when the first of three dogfish showed up. I was surprised at how close in they were, it was still daylight and they seemed to be foraging in the surf. By now the amount of weed was becoming intolerable, the bites had dried up and when the wind suddenly veered through 180 degrees blowing the increasingly heavy rain straight into my face, it was time for home.
Donegal Bay, 28/10/2017 “The Bro” was game for a day out so with frozen mackerel, squid and lug topped up with some fresh(-ish) mackerel we headed for the bay. The Bro opened his account with the first of 2 dabs, I almost scored when a tiny mackerel took one of the flapper baits on the retrieve but dropped off almost at my feet. It would have been the smallest mack I had ever caught, who says it’s always the big ones that get away? In response I spent half an hour letting fly with a set of feathers to see if any mackerel would respond, they didn’t and all I managed was a small beautifully marked pollack from the weeds in close. I find spinning and feathering a very tedious way to fish, I prefer to catch nothing on bait than nothing on lures and that’s what I did for the next while, caught nothing on bait. When the tide turned, the fishing picked up a bit, the Bro got his second dab and I got a small flounder. The dogfish started to feed including a few decent ones, my best went 2lb 7oz on the scales. It was pleasantly mild and the constant light rain and drizzle didn’t dampen our spirits, just everything else, a soft day. The light faded and the night shift clocked on; The Bro landed a double of poorcod and I followed with a small conger with a poorcod of my own in hot pursuit. These are a delicate little fish, it didn’t survive unhooking so I set up a rig to use it as a bait for a bigger conger. 20 mins later the rod tip started bouncing and I tightened into a .........greedy dogfish which dropped the bait at the surface. Next cast produced a large brown crab which had reduced the poorcod to tatters but after disentangling the crab, the poorcod was out again. This time it did attract a conger, one of about 5-6lb but as I was swinging it in, it caught in a piece of rope and as I took a second swing, it escaped. The conger’s teeth had rasped through the 50lb mono, the heaviest I had. Who says it’s always the wee ones that get away? Just to rub things in, The Bro produced a double of dog and conger, not as big as the one I didn’t catch but bigger than the one I did. A couple more dogfish between us saw the bait supply run out but with about 15-16 doggies, 3 flatties, a few poorcod, small pollack and a couple of small conger between us, it had been a busy enough session and as Zebedee of The Magic Roundabout fame would say, “Time for Bed!”
Attachments
PA131569.JPG
Get the Flock outta here, it's nearly November!
PA201577.JPG
1st cast double turbot
PA201580.JPG
1 of 3 "Surfdogs"
PA286981.JPG
Small pollack on Feathers
PA286988curlydog.jpg
Curlydog for The Bro
2013 species; 31

2014 species; 27

2015 species; 28

2016 species; 32

2017 species;28

2018 species; 33

2019 species; ballan wrasse,blonde ray, coalfish, cod, cuckoo wrasse, dab, dogfish, flounder, goldsinny wrasse, ling, mackerel, plaice, pollack, poorcod, pouting, scad, sea scorpion, spotty ray, spurdog, thornback, tub gurnard, turbot, whiting.

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corbyeire (Mon Oct 30, 2017 1:42 pm), lucky13 (Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:26 am)
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Re: A Couple of Days in Donegal, 20th and 28th Oct 2017

Postby johnwest » Mon Oct 30, 2017 1:35 pm

A few more pics.
Attachments
PA286987.JPG
2lb 7oz doggie, best of the day
PA286992.JPG
Double poorcod for The Bro.
PA281568.JPG
Small conger
2013 species; 31

2014 species; 27

2015 species; 28

2016 species; 32

2017 species;28

2018 species; 33

2019 species; ballan wrasse,blonde ray, coalfish, cod, cuckoo wrasse, dab, dogfish, flounder, goldsinny wrasse, ling, mackerel, plaice, pollack, poorcod, pouting, scad, sea scorpion, spotty ray, spurdog, thornback, tub gurnard, turbot, whiting.

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lucky13 (Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:28 am), zeke (Tue Oct 31, 2017 1:46 am)
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Re: A Couple of Days in Donegal, 20th and 28th Oct 2017

Postby chuckaroo » Mon Oct 30, 2017 3:27 pm

Very good Paddy, yous seemed busy enough all right in that second session, a nice mixture of stuff 8)
Funny looking background in one of those pics, lol
Charlie

2024 targets:
porbeagle, stingers, seatrout, shore skate, shore tope

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Re: A Couple of Days in Donegal, 20th and 28th Oct 2017

Postby mickser » Mon Oct 30, 2017 5:22 pm

Another great report and some fine photos we; done johnwest
I have not fished in two years hoping to change that this year with anything ?

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Re: A Couple of Days in Donegal, 20th and 28th Oct 2017

Postby MC » Mon Oct 30, 2017 6:51 pm

You where busy sir,great report

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Re: A Couple of Days in Donegal, 20th and 28th Oct 2017

Postby zeke » Tue Oct 31, 2017 6:11 pm

great session guys!


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tight lines,
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2013 species:
seatrout,plaice,dogfight,wrasse,Pollack,thornback ray,spotted ray,red gurnard,tompot blenny,sandeel,herring,mackerel....

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Re: A Couple of Days in Donegal, 20th and 28th Oct 2017

Postby zeke » Tue Oct 31, 2017 6:12 pm

great session guys!


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tight lines,
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2013 species:
seatrout,plaice,dogfight,wrasse,Pollack,thornback ray,spotted ray,red gurnard,tompot blenny,sandeel,herring,mackerel....
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