Maighdean Mara, Aran Islands 8-10-2009

Maighdean Mara, Aran Islands 8-10-2009

People: Kevin, Mairtin, 6 girls & boys from Mauritius and myself

Duration: 9-18

Tide: all stages

Weather: lovely and calm, sunny all day

Bait: joey's

Rigs: shads, sabikis, feathers, boat rigs, lures

Results: Mackerel, Pollock, Ling, Whiting, Scad, Pouting, Poor Cod, male and female Cuckoo Wrasse, Ballan Wrasse, Lesser Spotted Dogfish, Squid, Grey Gurnard and an unidentified monster


Report:
Another very good day aboard the "Maighdean Mara", although starting a bit slow, apparently the Mackerel shoals are beginning to move beyond the Arans into deeper water and we had to cruise around a bit to locate a few for bait.

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We tried various marks around the bay and coastline first with very little success, tidal flow was slack enough and we decided to head to a spot between the islands, which has a constant currant flow due to their funnel effect.

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After catching a a nice variety of species (no John Dory this time, unfortunately ) and a couple of lovely squid I hooked into a monster of a fish , more than likely a Porbeagle , hiding underneath the hull and taking a fancy to a Pollock which I was reeling up and got foul hooked by one of the 7/0's on my rig.

I played him for around 20 minutes, Kevin had to switch the engine into reverse to recover some of the 150-200 yds 50lb braid the fish has pulled off the reel (brakes on full drag) to prevent that I got completely spooled .

It felt like having hooked a train, just a constant pull and I could clearly feel the powerful slow movements of the fish and head thumps but it was just completely impossible to gain control over it and after another 10 or 15 minutes the 70 lb mono leader was at it's end, the rough shark skin constantly rubbing against it didn't really help either and the line just snapped underneath the first hook, which still had a half decent doggie attached to it .

On the positive side, at least we didn't have the bother with all the tagging and landing lark . It's just a pity we never even saw the fish but who cares, good to know that there are still very big fish to be found around these Islands .

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mmmmmmm fried squid! nice.

sounds like a big porgie!! hard luck.

brian

another great day martin well done!thats some squid!!were the ling any size?

Well done wonder what it was ?? suppose that's what keeps you going fishing

mmmmmmm fried squid! nice.

pure bliss brian, dipped in light whitewine batter, deepfried, some sweet chilli sauce for the tang, the entire family just loves it

sounds like a big porgie!! hard luck.brian

not to worry, there is always another day, wouldn't have stood a chance to land him on that gear, nice to know there are around though

another great day martin well done!thats some squid!!were the ling any size?

thanks Noel, can't wait until next time hope the squid are still around then, we only had the one ling, lenght was around 80cm, didn't bother to weigh him, maybe around 5-6lb.

Well done wonder what it was ?? suppose that's what keeps you going fishing

You're spot on Tony, but isn't it the same with all of us? The dream of a big catch ? Must be in our genes

excellent fishing and well done pity about the monster its a great buzz though when you hook in to the unknown i had a simular incounter this year in howth had him for about 10mins bit right threw the wire but as the lads says thats what keeps us going out once again a great report and good photos well done

like you said pity ye didnt get to see the shark must have been some size, is the lure that got the squid one of those specailized squid lures off ebay

excellent fishing and well done pity about the monster its a great buzz though when you hook in to the unknown i had a simular incounter this year in howth had him for about 10mins bit right threw the wire but as the lads says thats what keeps us going out once again a great report and good photos well done

thanks Derek, you are absolutely right. the adrenaline was still flowing back at the pier and we were discussing if it could have been a tope or a porbeagle, I tend to favour the latter though

like you said pity ye didnt get to see the shark must have been some size, is the lure that got the squid one of those specailized squid lures off ebay

Yes seanie35, it must have been way over 200lb, just pulled and pulled, unstoppable for us .
You can find these squid lures here: http://shop.ebay.ie/?_from=R40&_trksid= ... quid+lures

hard luck on the porgie Martin, we will get him next time!
Pat

hard luck on the porgie Martin, we will get him next time!
Pat

thanks Pat, next time I'll be prepared and have a 80lb rod set up with proper shark gear with me when we are out drifting and might be luck enough to tempt one of these sneaky beasts