Galway Bay 22nd. June

People:Self only

Duration: 8 hours

Tide: down then up. Low tide was most productive

Weather: Fog clearing to fine conditions.

Bait: Feathers and mackeral.

Rigs: Baited feathers and paternosters.

Results: Good fishing : Mackeral, pollack, cod, poor cod, pouting, ling, spurdog, conger, thornback and wrasse.

Report:

Mackeral were plentiful close to the shore but scarce further out. After catching a half dozen for bait by Black Head, moved to a mark within the outer bay about 2 miles offshore in about 90 feet of water.. Soon struck plenty of fish over rough ground. Yes, even caught a thornback there! Tried other marks in bay but not as good as the first location. So returned and soon got back into the fishing fun. A larger fish chewed a wire trace and was lost. Wire was about 40lb BS, so should have been thicker. Exciting, nevertheless.
Pouting were a nuisance so moved to larger baits.
Tip - put suntan cream on end of nose

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Looks like a homelyn ray Peter, not a thornie?

Super fishing well done!

Great fishing Peter.

Bradan, would say that you are spot on there! The line of spikes along the spine proved misleading. Having looked at my "Observers Book of Sea Fishes', the Sea Angling Ireland species identifier page and the picture of a Homelyn in the Irish Specimen Fish 2008 publication, I am now sure that it was indeed a Homelyn ray. Now wish that I had weighed it, as it appeared to be in the 8lb range, round about record weight. Happily, it swam off to grow bigger.
As a matter of interest, it took the bait, a mackeral flapper, as it hit the bottom. No waiting for a bite.

That's a big spotted ray there, nice one.

decent conger there, nice session.