Lucky~B Estuary Tope

At last I went and got my first ever tope, after telling a chap in Kilkee that I couldn’t find the hole that “Big Kev” told me about some time ago, the chap said I was going there at low tide when I should be there around high water,
He must have sensed how slow I was at taking the directions to the mark he was giving me so he rang to meet up with him the next day, when we met he gave me a log book with all the marks he found over the years and pointed out the 2 tope marks that I was looking for, He then gave me the log to copy other marks along the estuary and west coast, “How nice some people can be”

So off I went yesterday with a renewed sense of anticipation, I got to the mark at high water “I thought to myself I was late again”

Everything I read and heard about tope told me I needed fast water for best results, but here I was on the mark in flat calm water, all I could think of doing was rigging up a sliding lead rig, “4oz lead that ran up the 25ft shock leader”

didn’t feel too confidant, also didn’t want a double hook up while on my own in the boat so just set up one rod and sat back thinking I should have got there an hour before high, after about 5 minutes the rod tip started to quiver as it would on a sensitive beach rod when the crabs attack, so I got to thinking it was a small fish nibbling on the mackerel flapper so I let him have a feed for awhile then pulled it away from what I thought was a little fish… did this about five times before I realised he was getting more aggressive, “I would only pull it about 2 yards away each time thinking any bits this little fella rips off might attract the Tope,”

The last time I pulled it away I felt a nice bit of weight then noting so I let him play with it a little longer, this done the trick he got more confidant and ran about 20yards and I hit into this fine fish that I been wanting for so long, had a couple of nice runs but nothing like what I expected from a fish of this size, in his defence I have to add that it was flat calm so he didn’t have the run of water to help him,

Of all the fish I caught over the years I would say that this one gave me the best Buzz because after 15minutes of fishing I had to make a dash for Carrigaholt before the water dropped at the slip which would have meant waiting for the tide to come in again before I could take my boat home, on the journey back to the slip I found myself singing and yeehaaing at the top of my voice, so to say I was happy would be an understatement

First Tope 003 (Small).jpg

First Tope 001 (Small).jpg

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ooohhh yeahhhh . id be singing too well done on the first of many i hope .now you are loaded with the knowledge there should be no stopping you.

Congratulations on catching your first Tope - that is a very fine fish indeed. I'm really happy for you. I'm still trying to get my first one When I do I'll be singing just as much as you where.

well done...what a cracker to start with...

pure magic and brilliantly told, big well done to you

nice fish mann, looks to be in the mid 30's from the photo.
from what i see as well, high water seems to be the best time

Amazing fish and a great report. Well done.

well done lovely fish

Many thanks lads,

I seemed to relive the capture while reading all your posts, I did a measurement while out and did a quick calculation when I got back to the van with pencil and paper, maths wouldn’t be my best subject so after multiplying the girth 23.5 then multiplying that be the length 54 inches, Then I devided that by 800 I somehow came up with 29.75lb

After showing my result to a few of the lads they said I should recalculate so we did but this time we used a calculator and it showed I should have stayed on at school a little longer by telling me it worked out at 37.276875lb ,

I read that this way of finding a round fish’s weight is accurate to 3% “but not if I do the sums” needless to say arriving at this new figure has really put me on a downer because now I will have to go out more often to try beat my personal best Oh man my life is so hard

Have to say that this fish scared the living daylights out of me when I placed him on the deck, it got a new lease of life and went crazy making me jump up on the seat hoping it would chill out for a picture, it “the fish” got its head under the splash tray and for a moment I thought it would bite threw the fuel line that was under its head to leave me stranded on the Kerry side of the estuary,

The words “up the creek without a paddle” comes to mind when I think about it,

Thanks again for your comments lads, and thanks to JW for giving me the final push I needed by telling about the four Tope they caught last time out,

I really need a bigger boat before I attempt going after the Blues, if this little fella put the wind up me I can only imagine what I would be like with a big blue nipping at my heels

A great result for you there, fine looking fish. Last August I just about ran over one that was sunbathing on the surface....

I'd invest in a spare pair of shoulders before going for the Blues, they're heavy work .....

A great result for you there, fine looking fish. Last August I just about ran over one that was sunbathing on the surface....

Sound Hugo,

I'd invest in a spare pair of shoulders before going for the Blues, they're heavy work .....

I know what your saying there man but I will be ready for them when the time comes It was about 2 years ago that I heard about the Tope on the Estuary and decided to try for one, so it took this long before I found the mark and went and done it, I think the wait made it all the more special so I’m in no real hurry for the blue, but I do feel I need to get one,

I read or heard somewhere that “once you get what you want you wont want it anymore” I find this is true with most things in my life so I learned to chillout till the time was right,

A good friend once said to me if I relaxed a little more I would be in a coma