Mon May 11, 2009 1:52 pm
Kilmore Charter
Crew: 9 lads, 4 beginners, (3 pukers)
Duration: 2.30pm – 8pm
Tide: ebb to flood
Weather: windy, choppy sea
Bait: rag, crab,
Rigs: hokkais, feathers, all sorts
Results: Codling, Pollack, Wrasse, Ling, Doggies
We were supposed to leave at 11am but it was too windy with sizeable swell. So we were pushed back to 1pm, then 2pm then eventually left at about 2.30pm. We were all glad we had to wait as it was far calmer when we went out than earlier and it was pretty rough. One poor fella never got to fish, he just hurled every time we stopped; his last time on a boat. Ever! One other guy was ropey but picked up towards the end and one other was a bit unwell but quickly rebounded. He’s a hardened fisherman and claims not to have been sick on a boat in years. So it was pretty rough, particularly once the engine was cut. All others seemed ok and a great day was had by all (well, most).
Biggest fish was a pollack and he was approx. 4.5 – 5 lbs. An nice selection of species caught also. No photos; I’d never have been able to hold the camera steady enough even while holding on!
Not a huge haul of fish but a great day out.
I've forgotten the name of the skipper we went with; maybe Stephen8wood can recall.
Tue May 12, 2009 7:51 pm
The boat is owned by Declan Bates but I'm not sure of the skippers name. He was a nice guy.
It's a bitch when you have been looking forward to a great day's fishing for weeks and then the weather does the dirty on you. It was very lumpy. At 2.30 a car pulled up beside us as we were unpacking the gear near the slip. The guys in the car wanted to sell us their bait as their skipper wasn't going to go out. They said that even the lobster men had been warned not to leave port.
As we were motoring out towards the saltees the boat started taking a battering. Within five minutes the first casualty came down with sea sickness and spent the next four and a half hours in agony. I was a bit worried but when we stopped and got busy things improved.
A few good fish were taken over the day. The Kilmore Killiers worked well but the green hokais were the most consistent. A Ballan fell to a flowing trace but anything more complicated, large or fancy produced nothing. I had brought a cart load of rag and only two boxes were used. It was just easier to hold on to the rail and jig those hokais. It was a lot easier to do that and watch the waves as they rolled in than to try to coax a reluctant rag onto your line.
Of the beginners about half really want to go again and the other half never want to see another boat as long as they live.
After the fishing we hit Keoghs with all the force of a wet fart. The very good meal and a couple of pints we had there brought the colour back into a few very white faces as the strength returned.
I'm looking forward to warm settled weather and another day out.