Howth Bailey/Lions Head

[Wes]

Saturday 5th Bailey 10am-4pm'ish Lions Head 4:30'ish - 6pm
Bait: Rag-Lug-Sandeel-Squid-Mussel

3 of us fished a windy and wet Bailey on a low tide.
First few hours gave up nothing with every combination of baits tried.
About 2:30, one of the lads landed what looked to me like a very small Torsk?
The rest of the trip was a blank for all of us, Lions Head gave nothing, got some nibbles but no takers.
Was a lovely day, if you were out of the wind. I saw IDPearl and MB3 perched on Webbs, could nearly see the wind cutting through them!

Getting back to the catch, we were wondering if it was a tadpole fish, but it hadnt got the colouring. Got back and checked here, and the pic of the Torsk matches best. Continuous dorsal fin, barbel on its lower jaw.
Its not the best pic. Anybody any ideas? Oh, it had what seemed to be a very very small dorsal just back from its head, its hard to describe, but it moved very quickly in a graph like wave.....pretty amazing to see actually.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/wplb/Fish.jpg[/img]

[kieran]

Hi

Was there more than one barbule on the head or lower jaw - looks more like a shore rockling as torsk tend to be a lot fatter, even when they are small...

Interesting catch mind! Almost certain it is a shore rockling - narrow head, light blotches on a dark background, slightly "slimey" to the touch like all rockling, which is why they are often referred to as "slugs"...

FWIW

[George]

Yeah its a rockling. Often the two smaller barbules on the chin can be stuck up unless you flick them down. Not a common catch around Howth though well down wes.

[Wes]

Sweet mother of god

Could none of you have said it to me, lads?
I was looking through the species photos again, and clicked on the Torsk, expecting to see what I thought best resembled my lil' fishy.
Instead I saw a monster from the deep!
Had a quick search on Google Images for the 3 Bearded Rockling, and sure enough, thats her .

Did I really say Torsk

[blaker]

I thought a torsk was a hefty ling like fish! Didn't want to say anything in case I was way off

[m.b3]

i have usually caught a rockling or two from the Lion's Head when i've fished it. seems a bit of a rocling favourite. maybe there's a special offer on the beard trimmings here?!

[steve l]

ba dum dum.funny .strange looking fish. what size is it its hard to tell from the pic

[Rarefish]

The species is most likely a Three-beared Rockling (Gaidropsarus vulgaris), which is not infrequently taken on rod & line in Irish waters.

[George]

Dozens of these fish are caught during Competitions in Wicklow especially in Bray. I guess its the small hooks and small baits.