Tralee Bay Grand Slam

Where: Derrymore & SPA
Baits: Fresh Mackerel and some Frozen Eels
Rigs: Up and Overs
Results: 1 painted, 1 Stinger, 2 Undulates( 1 specimen), multiple thornies and 2 huss
Tide: Fished from mid over high both tides.
Weather: Session 1 - Derrymore, North west wind blowing straight in my face. Session 2 was northerly wind with plenty protection from trees/bushes in SPA

Session1: First session I fished Derrymore, just in front of the car park. Weed was bad close in so had to keep rods high and at distance. Only used Mackerel here. First cast resulted in a painted before I could get the second rod baited. The second cast resulted in a huss of about 7/8lb which was a nice surprise. The rest of the incoming tide was slow. On the outgoing Tide I picked up the last huss on a mackerel head that I had out for a sneaky Tope.

Session2: Resulted in Non stop action. Arrived in SPA around 6 fished from 6:30pm to 1am. One rod was dedicated to Sandeel and the other was mackerel. Was almost non stop action and did not matter what bait was out. They were equally effective. First cast was a small undulate , probably the smallest one Ive ever had. Soon after I had my second Undulate which happened to be 87cm and my first recorded Specimen undulate. Nice Guy fishing above me took the pic. There was a lull for roughly an hour before I had a small stinger. This definitely had my spirits high as All i needed was a thornie to complete my grand slam at this point. Unfortunately by now my 24 hours was after finishing and I then got my first of many thornies. I wanted to keep going to try get a painted before the session ended to have all my rays in 24hours from the bay but it was not to be. Had more and more thornies once the sun set. I realised I needed to hit roughly 130 yards to get the fish. If a cast didnt feel good I never got a fish.

Here is a video of the sessions: https://youtu.be/VqXAJaM1YRE

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Congrats and well done
some sessions

130 yards is not in my arsenal, maybe explains why its a barren wasteland for me, most of the time

Congrats and well done
some sessions

130 yards is not in my arsenal, maybe explains why its a barren wasteland for me, most of the time

I was surprised myself Brian. I tried in close with one of the rods at the start but realised quickly that i really needed to get the lead moving to get the fish. I was hitting a bank of weed maybe 100 yards out when i was reeling in so my assumption is that theres a channel or maybe a sandbank the other side of that the fish were sitting on.

Nice going there James. Congrats on your specimen undulate which was accompanied by your smallest ever undulate, you really broadened your horizon there! I get a kick from catching the smallest of a species, (but not as big as catching the largest).

Nice fishing James. Great videos
I wouldn't have a clue if I was hitting 130yds or not, but I doubt it. Must get the measuring tape out some time to check it, lol

Catching a stinger - I think there's every chance it has beaten me down there. Too much effort and expense with no reward

Great stuff,, I've blanked at SPA 3 years in a row but always had something at Derrymore,, I loved SPA for shelter, although said I'd never go back again, this report has changed my tune,, 130yards might be an ask though,, some cast

Nice going there James. Congrats on your specimen undulate which was accompanied by your smallest ever undulate, you really broadened your horizon there! I get a kick from catching the smallest of a species, (but not as big as catching the largest).

Its funny because I got the small one on a 6/0 so it goes to show that even big hooks catch small fish .

Nice fishing James. Great videos
I wouldn't have a clue if I was hitting 130yds or not, but I doubt it. Must get the measuring tape out some time to check it, lol

Catching a stinger - I think there's every chance it has beaten me down there. Too much effort and expense with no reward

Ah it always can be hit and miss as you know. Ya I really had to wind up to get it out to the distance alright. One mistimed cast resulted in a massive birds nest Ah tis a laong auld drive for you to be fair.

Great stuff,, I've blanked at SPA 3 years in a row but always had something at Derrymore,, I loved SPA for shelter, although said I'd never go back again, this report has changed my tune,, 130yards might be an ask though,, some cast

The exact reason I fished SPA, needed shelter from the wind. Derry more has been more consistent over the years. I always get something but SPA has thrown up some suprise sessions I find. When I was there, there was 4 other people fishing and from what I could see there were no fish got by anyone. Most left by mid tide and I had non stop action over high and well into darkness

nice fishing, love the video

nice fishing, love the video

Thanks man. Was a nice session alright

Great fishing. No place like the kingdom


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Great stuff James two great sessions and a well made video to boot.

I just noticed that you seemed not to be using grip leads.Does that make it difficult to tighten down to the lead and get the good bend in the rod tip ?

Great stuff James two great sessions and a well made video to boot.

I just noticed that you seemed not to be using grip leads.Does that make it difficult to tighten down to the lead and get the good bend in the rod tip ?

Personally I try to avoid using grips if I can. I only use them when fishing big tides or big surf. My thinking is if theres something spikey that the fish may swim into it might just put them off sitting down and eating the bait. Might be a load of crap but its just something in the back of my head so Ill try get away without them. Also in certain areas if there is a bit of a tide the lead will roll to find a hollow where possible fish might sit out of the current waiting for food to come to them.

For tightening up on the lead to put a bend in the rod im never too worried about it. I usually just tighten up enough so that the line isnt slack. Saying that the rods I use tend to be a bit stiff so if I put a bend in the rod it probably would pop the lead wires if a wave or piece of weed hit it.

Hope that all makes sense