Sligo Marks, 10th Jan 2022

Now well into the new year, it was about time to get the 2022 ball rolling. Tide times didn’t require an early start so after a leisurely breakfast I was on the road west. At my first choice of mark I wasn’t impressed by the surf; fairly flat interrupted by occasional groups of 3-4 big waves crashing in, flounder pounders, and in my experience, not good. I headed to a more sheltered spot with a chance of a few flatfish but probably not big flounder. Two rods were set up using mackerel strip and prawns on 2 and 3 hook flappers sporting size 2 or 4 hooks. I took a little trip down memory lane today as I gave an old, as in 1985, Daiwa Moonraker Bass 2-4oz rod a rare run out. It’s quite a soft, through-action rod with great bite detection but not so good at setting hooks at range. Nothing happened for an hour when the Daiwa rod was rattled a few times before being pulled right over, how did I miss a bite like that? Re-baited and re-cast, the same rod rattled again after 45 mins and this produced the first fish of 2022; a 23cm dab which took a prawn bait. Overhead the skies had cleared revealing the half moon encircled by a halo which I believe is caused by tiny ice crystals in the air and is a sign of cold air coming in, but for now it was calm and very mild. Twenty minutes later the other rod produced a small (19cm) whiting, bearing in mind the time of year and the darkness, I was surprised it was the only one of the night. The next 45 mins produced a flurry of activity with several missed bites on the soft rod and three small dabs coming ashore before things went quiet. The smallest dab was noticeably very thin; you can read the Tronixpro logo through it. At one point a cormorant came flying close and parallel to the shore, dropped onto the water and paddled ashore about 20 yds from me. Being surprised at how close it came, when it had settled on a rock I went off, camera in hand to see just how close I could get. The camera flash didn’t perturb it in the least and I got my last picture at no more than 6 feet from the cormorant, I was amazed to get so close to a wild bird. I then suffered a couple of tackle malfunctions; I recently acquired a few very cheap tiplights, (at £1 they’re cheaper than replacement batteries for my usual Delta lights), which clip on to the rod and need to be removed for casting. I forgot to remove it and off it flew into the tide and sank to the bottom. I’ll hardly end up in Stubbs’ Gazette because of that loss. Worse was to follow when a leader knot caught in a ring causing a break-off and a bird’s nest. I recently changed leader knots so I hope this won’t be a recurring problem. The fish and bites had dried up and the settled weather had been interrupted by a squally shower so I decided to move to another spot close by where, if necessary, I could fish out of the car. Fresh baits were soon fishing but only one bite registered, a dogfish and the only rod-bender of the night. I had no more bites and the rigs were coming in bedecked with lots of gunge so after just over an hour, I called it quits. I quite enjoy driving home late at night; it can be surprising how much wildlife you see. (Apologies for the pics but the Dashcam isn’t great at night). I was barely 10 yards down the road when a rabbit dashed across the road and hopped up on to the wall and away. Later I rounded a corner to see a deer on the right of the road, facing away. Luckily I slowed down “just in case”, wise decision as it did a 180 turn and ran across in front of me. If I hadn’t slowed I might be sporting antlers on my bonnet!
Four small dabs, a pin whiting and a doggy, the 2022 ball may not be rolling but it is certainly Trundling.

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Great report as usual Jw but the weather is settling down now so I guess a trip in the boat is not far off.

Excellent report and good to get off the mark
unreal about the cormorant letting you get that close- refreshing too to hear the trials and tribulations with the gear - its not only me!

some nights you spend most your time untangling rigs, cracking off, retying snoods - murphys law etc. and get very little fishing done

good to see you got the 2022 ball started to roll, may get out on the Antrim coast this weekend

Very good JW, good to get a run out
Funny, I had an enjoyable wee settled session on Sunday (only one doggie, and a pile of small edible crabs) and had exactly the same experience, though it was my Delta light that decided that it had 'had enough' and threw itself into the drink!..
It's amazing how the biggest bites are missed
Looking forward to a few days fishing in Donegal coming up

You're a hardy man, JW, thanks for yet another entertaining report.

Great report again
I thought I might be the only one left with a moonraker. I bought mine by leaving 5 pound a week in rorys tackle till I'd enough to buy my first beachcaster and multiplier. That was 1980 or 81 and the rod is still going strong.

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