Red Gill, Cork Harbour - 9th August

People:Me

Duration:7:30 - 9:30pm

Tide:21:55pm (LT)

Weather:Rain & mist, steady SW

Bait:Fresh Mackeral, Plugs

Rigs:12ft single hook (pennel) ledger

Results:2 LSD's, Gurnard (?), mackeral

Report:Went out after tea for two hours to a mark close to the moorings. I set up a long flowing ledger with the belly of a mackeral and slipped it back into the dying ebb tide. Putting the rod down after I had set the drag, I turned to set up another rod for plugging. I had no sooner reached the cabin when the drag screeched as line was stripped off the reel. Picking up the rod, I struck and was into a good fish. Ho, Ho,... I'm into a bass I thought. The fish took the line uptide and was abeam of the boat when all a sudden it dropped the bait. Blast! New bait and I was off again. Over the next hour I caught two LSD's. Was it a dog I had on? The fact that it swam uptide makes me think it was a bass. I also caught a gurnard of sorts. My first for this mark. I'm not great on the identification front so I've posted a photo - what type of gurnard is it? As there was plenty of signs of mackeral I upped anchor and feathered for a few for awhile. With a few live ones in the tank, I drifted upto darkness with live mackeral, but to no avail.

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looks like a tub gurnard to me .
slight hint of blue on its pectoral fin.

It's a small Tub Gurnard, there are actually a lot of them around the harbour in the last couple of years.

Thanks for that Dave - what are the small purpled back specled lads that you often pick up while feathering?

Sounds like a male cuckoo wrasse. Off hand it's the only species I know that has purple colouring

No Donal, these are definitely gurnard. I'd say they are the most common type. You'd often pick them up outside while feathering for mackeral. Their underneath is very distinctly white also.

The 3 most common gurnards caught are in order as 1. grey, 2. red. and 3. tubs

The grey is as in it's name generaly grey to brownish in colour with plenty of white freckels

The red is as in it's name totaly red in colour

The tub can come in a mix of the above two or even have simular colouring but the pectral fin is very large and is tipped in a blueish colour.

A more detailed discription can be found on the CFB fish id booklet

possibly grey gurnard.. have had them fairly dark in colour ..

only 3 species of gurnard in our waters afaik, grey, tub and red


below are grey and tub gurnard

[img:1600:1200]http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/2800/aimage119bs1.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img449.imageshack.us/img449/4496/gurnard7gg.jpg[/img]

Thanks Donal & Steve. You've cleared up the confusion. It's a grey gurnard. My fishing buddy always referrred to these as tub gurnard - that's what caused the confusion.