Mullaghmore - Sat, 17th July - Kiwi Girl

OLd Boat Reports are moved here for Public Viewing

Mullaghmore - Sat, 17th July - Kiwi Girl

Postby arthurg » Mon Jul 19, 2004 12:06 pm

There's so much good fishing around that it pains me to write a bad report ........................... but I'm in pain so here goes:

Nominally a works outing, I must admit that I didn't have too high a hopes for the trip as you generally get inexperienced anglers who don't have their sea legs coupled with loads of frustrating last minute call-offs. As it transpired, we had loads of frustrating last minute call offs and a couple of inexperienced guys who spent the day calling for their maker. Predictable so far. The two bonus's however was that there was plenty of room on the boat and also I had managed to offer a guy from this board a berth - and JGF was indeed good company.

The day was all wrong from the outset. The wind was strong and from the west which severely limited our fishing grounds with us having to take shelter between Mullaghmore and the Cliffony coast - kinda uninspiring, but not the skippers fault. Also, we were fishing an ebbing tide with low water around 2p.m. - far from ideal.

After spending some time half filling a box with Joey Mackerel we, along with the other three Mullaghmore boats, drifted over and over the same rough, tackle-sapping ground. Pollock were promised but were bloody hard to come by. Shads, rubber eels, hokkais, mackerel strips, everything we could think of was tried. One Pollock in the first hour and a half. So uninspiring.

The wind blew and the showers fell - some heavy too. No fish.

I had some ragworm so I decided to go for Wrasse. Must admit to having a wee Wrasse fetish. They give you some fun when there's nothing else about. True to form I started getting them virtually every drop. They weren't big but in a dull day they were beautiful! Apart from the Ballan, I caught three Cuckoo's - two male and one female (for any inexperienced anglers looking in, you could tell it was female because of the huge mouth! :wink: ). I offered the worms to the others in a bid to get them catching something and JGF duly obliged with some Wrasse.

Towards late afternoon a few Pollock started to show. No real weight in them, the biggest being no more than about three and a half pounds.

All-in-all a poor fishing day. Trying to salvage some good from it, Pat suggested that it took days like this to make us appreciate the good'uns. Aye, fair do's ...................... but clutching at straws a bit!

Highlight of the day (or absolute lowlight of the day for the two boys who were already calling for their friend Hughie) was our part in a real-life dramatic rescue of a stricken boat about to be washed up onto the rocks. OK, that's a bit over-dramatic, but I need to liven up the day with something.

At about 2:30p.m., the skipper told us to bring in the gear and move to the shelter of the cabin. It transpired that a boat out lifting Lobster pots out in the full force of the westerly wind had lost power. Now for anyone knowing the area, west of the Mullaghmore peninsula with its' jagged reefs in the middle of a strong westerly wind and in rough seas is no place to have your engine pack in! Fortunately he had contacted us quickly and he was still some distance out to sea.

We sped to the rescue from the security of the sheltered side of the penisula out into the rough stuff - well actually we just stood about and held on - the skipper done all the good stuff. Unfortunately the two landlubbers did not see the thrill-seeking andventure in the same light as the rest of us! The boat was very impressive in rough seas. Very powerful and stable.

We got to the other boat, got a line on board and towed him back into harbour. No harm done ......................... but I couldn't help but think what might have happened if circumstances were even just a wee bit different. Bloody dangerous place the sea - must be treated with respect.

Kiwi Girl - Report on the new boat:

A fine boat - powerful with a cruising speed of 28 knots in decent weather and capable of dealing with the rough stuff. It has an adequate wheelhouse and cabin and a very good-sized fishing deck. I was impressed.

Primarily purchased to go for shark and tuna, it is unusual in these parts to the extent that it is a kinda double-decker affair with the driver being able to climb on top of the wheelhouse and do his steering up there (I'm deliberately showing my ignorance of nautical terms here - is it a flying bridge?).

Once back on dry land, we were in the restaurant having a meal (Aye, OK, we were in the pub having a pint). A local angler who was fishing on one of the other boats mentioned that the Kiwi Girl drifts much faster than the other boats due to the fact that it has the high superstructure which acts like a sail catching a lot of wind. I must admit that I hadn't thought of that but it was certainly true that we were drifting past the other boats.

All things considered - good boat, terrible days fishing. I know that we were victims of the westerly wind and that on a different day we could have fared better, however, I've fished Mullaghmore a few times now and even on good days I consider that there is better fishing available within driving distance with my home turf of the Swilly being a prime example (surely the wrong expression) of a much more positive alternative.

Look forward to joining JGF again for a fishing trip where fish are actually caught rather than talked about and looked at in last years specimen guide!

Next time we'll go in the summer!!!
arthurg
 

Postby JGF » Mon Jul 19, 2004 12:31 pm

Totally agreed Arthur, and if you look a few boat reports down, there's another bad day's fishing on Kiwi Girl. Not that the boat & skipper weren't top-class - rather the unfortunate weather on the day.

Good to meet arthurg, and have a bit of craic on the day also. After browsing the 2003 specimen book, it was agreed that a trip to Courtmacsherry is on the cards!
User avatar
JGF
SAI Bait Ball
 
Posts: 130
Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2003 12:46 pm
Location: Too far from the coast
Has thanked: 0 time
Have thanks: 0 time


Return to Archived Boat Angling Reports

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests