Beara Peninsular - October Mulleting

[Bearafisher]

Hi,

First time poster here, so go easy on me. I am a regular October visitor to Beara from England for fishing and walking. After following the fishing advice on this brilliant site for some time, I thought it time to give something back!

I managed to fit in half a dozen short sessions on Beara from 1 - 6 Oct this year, slotted around trips out with my wife. Work and some PC issues have prevented me from posting until now - my apologies.

Last year I had a great session at Dunboy catching thornbacks on mackerel (5, all around 5lb to 6lb). This time round I blanked, my only bite looked to be from a doggie, but I missed it irrespective.

I have never seen as many mackerel as there were around the head at Dursey on all of the other days I fished - there were thousands! Very visible, as they were milling around me directly where I was fishing. The boats fishing the other side of the peninsular at Garinish were almost sinking under the weight of fish they were carrying from their nets. This made it handy for fishing bait on the bottom, although I only landed a couple of small bull huss, both around 3lb or so.

Unlike in previous years, spinning for pollack was really poor, and I doubt whether any thing I caught was over 1.5lb. Probably not helped again by the vast quantities of mackerel.

On my first session at Dursey Head I came across a massive shoal of mullet (literally hundreds), swimming on the surface with their noses out of the water. The fish ranged from a few ounces up to ones I would estimate (conservatively) at 7-8lb. Needless to say I hotfooted it to the supermarket at Castletownbere to stock up with bread (and a visit to MacCarthys Bar ) and gave the mullet my attention for the remaining days of my stay. After groundbaiting for an hour or so I got them feeding and landed 4, weighing 4-6, 3-12, 3-10 and 2-10. Another bigger one shed the hook. All taken on a small float weighted by a couple of small shot with a size 10 hook about 6 feet depth. Thinking I had cracked it, I repeated the session the next day, only to blank (other than mackerel, which took bread flake), as the shoal refused all groundbait, let alone offerings with my hook in it. The same happened the next day.

On my final trip I satisfied myself by knocking out mackerel. gars and pollack on the mullet gear - literally one every single chuck, and great sport. I then spotted a smaller shoal of mullet of around 3lb in weight and threw a few bits of bread in, not expecting them to feed, but got a few takes. Changed my hook over and immediately struck into the leader of the shoal, which gave me a fantastic scrap before I finally landed it. My second best ever mullet at 5-1, which I was well chuffed with.

All fish (bar a few of the mackerel) were returned alive. Have tried unsucessfully to load up the pictures of the mullet and mackerel shoals, or the fish I caught) - it appears that the images are all c750kb, and the limit is c250kb. Being a bit of a technophobe, I am not to sure how to get around this.

Thanks to all on this site for the catch reports - I just wish I could spend more time over with you to contribute some of my own!

[fishinmidget]

go on this site here.[url]http://imageshack.us/[/url]

you can resize the pictures to 800 by 600 and then you can download them and attach them OR put them on the site by using the "Img" button the appears under the subject when you post.

do do this first click on the "Img" button and you get this

[img]

then put the address for the picture(it will come up when you use imageshack) next to it leaving no space. like this

[img]insert address here

then just click the "Img" button again and you will end up with something that looks like this

[img]insert%20address%20here[/img]

hope this helps and it isnt too confusing.

Also well done indeed, sound like you had a good stay. i love mullet fishing meself

Alex.

[Bearafisher]

Thanks "Fishinmidget" - much appreciated. Hope the attached works. My apologies if it doesn't. This (hopefully) is a picture of the 5-1 mullet.

[img]http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/1827/dscn1039hs7.jpg[/img]
By [url=http://profile.imageshack.us/user/roger_ball]roger_ball[/url], shot with [url=http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=E4100&make=NIKON]E4100[/url] at 2007-11-04[/img]

[MC]

nice photo mate and nice mullet

[PollocKing]

Just had to post to this thread, I've been glued to this brilliant website since I found it last week.

Last summer was the best year for shore mackerel in Beara for at least ten years, with 06 being good too. Good memories. Theres a place called Cleanach where the mackerel come in first in the spring. They were so plentiful there in times past an entire fishing village grew up around the marks to salt and barrel them for export.

On the pollock, they move offshore in September in my experience. Got a seven pounder off my favourite mark in July.

Next time youre at Dursey try for Wrasse (or Conor as they call it down there) to the right of the cable car on the Garnish side on the float.

Never went for the mullet, but I'll try this year, so thanks for the post and pics!

[thelegend]

Just had to post to this thread, I've been glued to this brilliant website since I found it last week.

Last summer was the best year for shore mackerel in Beara for at least ten years, with 06 being good too. Good memories. Theres a place called Cleanach where the mackerel come in first in the spring. They were so plentiful there in times past an entire fishing village grew up around the marks to salt and barrel them for export.

On the pollock, they move offshore in September in my experience. Got a seven pounder off my favourite mark in July.

Next time youre at Dursey try for Wrasse (or Conor as they call it down there) to the right of the cable car on the Garnish side on the float.

Never went for the mullet, but I'll try this year, so thanks for the post and pics!

nice one lad , have a few relations down ur neck of the woods be down in glengarrif,early august headin to castletown for a day or two give ya a pm before maybe we can meet up

[blackiemc]

Next time youre at Dursey try for Wrasse (or Conor as they call it down there)

Hello PK,
Apart from the info on fish available I'm really interested in your mention of 'Conor' being the name for Wrasse in this neck of the woods.
The reason - where I'm from, near Clifden in Connemara, wrasse are only known as 'Gunner'. Asking from Donegal to Mayo, even the Gaelteacht in south Connemara never shed light on where the name came from or how widespread it was in the old days - Gunner/Conor, can't be a co-incidence...

Worth some investigation down your way by the sound of things

Blackie

[PollocKing]

nice one lad , have a few relations down ur neck of the woods be down in glengarrif,early august headin to castletown for a day or two give ya a pm before maybe we can meet up

Yeah no worries I live in Dublin but my family is from there and I've fished there every summer since I was about 6. I have no idea when I'll get down this summer though, it's a hell of a drive!

I'm really interested in your mention of 'Conor' being the name for Wrasse in this neck of the woods.
The reason - where I'm from, near Clifden in Connemara, wrasse are only known as 'Gunner'. Asking from Donegal to Mayo, even the Gaelteacht in south Connemara never shed light on where the name came from or how widespread it was in the old days - Gunner/Conor, can't be a co-incidence...

Very interesting indeed - especially as 'Conor' and 'Gunner' in a Beara accent are even more similar! Irish survived there longer than most too; my Grandfather, athough english speaking would name everthing in Irish (all nouns it seems: individual fields, insects, animals and of course fish). You know the kind of old timer I mean. Must ask around when I'm down next, pretty sure they were saying 'Conor'!

One memory of being a kid down there was Grandad salting the conor (and others) and hanging it in a shed for the winter. We couldnt understand it as all, and used to hit each other with the rock hard fillets.
Needless to say, it was very feckin bony.

[PollocKing]

Oh one other thing re. Dursey Sound for anyone who is visiting, why it is well known as a fantastic fishing spot. If you havent been there before, you'll see what I mean. There dangerous currents boil beneath the cable car (thats why it was built, the currents are so strong), doubtless stirring up a fishy feast.

It's a snaggy bottom, but a great and safe spot to get a kid rock fishing for example. There's always something to be had. Many times I got a pollock every cast spinning there.

[Keeper]

hi blackiemc,
I'm originally from Cork City and we always used the term Rocky Conor for Wrasse. Maybe its more widespread than you think.
I'm wondering did it ever travel up the East Coast. ?

[Bearafisher]

Thanks for the feedback. Will certainly check out the wrasse / connors. Many years ago in my youth I used to target the bigger ones with hardback crab, and suspect this might be the best tactic.

I am back over in July, and really keen to try for bass. So far, in about eight visits I have only caught one, more by luck than judgement, whilst spinning a toby lure for pollack. Has anyone fished Garinish beach? It looks very fishy - I thought that a night session here with mackerel or sandeel might pay dividends.

This time around I plan not to spend too long feeding up the local mullet population, but I guess they could persuade me otherwise!

[andy.rabs]

just like to add a report from last june (2007) sorry its late i have had difficulties getting sighned in here. two of us came over from south wales for a weeks angling at castletownbere, what a fantastic time we had. we fished a few differant marks but we had some amazing conger and ray catches iaround the dunboy castle area. we hooked and lost at least 3 huge congers and landed (well almost) one of aprox 50lb possibly bigger. we had at least six rays to 11lb one of which was taged. the mackeral were thare but not in huge numbers as were tha pollock. would like to know if there are any particularly good pollock marks in this area?. we saw pods of dolphins, a sea otter! and even a conger of about 10lb came right to the edge of the ledge where we were fishing and stuck its head out of the water right where the mackeral blood an juice was dripping in of the bait cutting board!, i love ierland! . andy. ps will be back this july awsome

[blackiemc]

Some more good reasons to visit Beara Andy!

On the conor/gunner, the use of the wrasse (salting for winter) around Dursey sounds exactly the same as in Connemara.

I'm surprised to hear that this name was/is used around Cork City, maybe it's from an Irish name.

Blackie

[Bearafisher]

Some quality fish Andy. Good to see the thornbacks were still around last year. In terms of pollacking, I am no expert, but I think you are best heading out to the tip of the peninsular, and fishing Dursey Island (you get over via a cable car). Henry Gilbey featured this in one of his programmes, and I have had fish up to 7-10 spinning toby lures or jellyworms. There are also plenty of coalies and mackerel. If you are over in the third week in July I would be happy to meet up for a session.

[andy.rabs]

Myself and my mate will be over on july 12 for one week if your around that would be great to have a sesh. the mulleting sounds bloody good too we did see lots in the harbour at castletownbere but didnt target them. we did put a lot of hours in during the week we were there mostly getting to grips and sussing the couple of marks we fished and maybe one or two nights in mcarthys! great bar!. Bit more detail on the large conger that was almost landed....the bites we were getting from them were realy small finiky twitchy bites (espesialy when fishing huge mackeral baits) but any way my mate hit one and after a mad thumping heavyduty scrap he managed to bring one to the edge of the ledge we were on. i was there waiting , the eel came to the surface and it rolled and spat what i thought was the bait, but was in fact anouther conger of about 6-7 ponds(shreded). i did manage to get my arms around the eel but it had better things to do and dived. it was large!. i did have a couple of pollock of about 3 lbish and loads of smaller on deep spun sandeels great fun for the macks too. andy

[corbyeire]

Some more good reasons to visit Beara Andy!

On the conor/gunner, the use of the wrasse (salting for winter) around Dursey sounds exactly the same as in Connemara.

I'm surprised to hear that this name was/is used around Cork City, maybe it's from an Irish name.

Blackie

well blackie

the irish on the cfb guide is

ballan = Ballach
cuckoo = Ballach muire
corkwing = Bod gorm

but ofeannachtas might be the man to ask

[blackiemc]

Thanks for bursting that theory Corby (I'm not from the Gealtacht part of Connemara, obviously)

How do we get knowledge from this fountain known as ofeannachtas????

Blackie

[corbyeire]

post a pm to him!



but you know yourself those connies can be fierce cranky

(only kidding sean)

id say its nearly guaranteed the locals in each gaeltacht have their own name for the wrasse and all

for instance pollack is mangach out west and pollog (apparently) down in kerry

[PollocKing]

Not sure if it more colloquialism than Irish though. Coalfish are known as blackjacks in Beara for example (and much maligned too, considered inedible). I remember they has an Irish name for sunfish, damned if I can remember though.

Man those Dunboy conger sound fantastic. Thing about Beara is, almost everyone fishes with artificial lures, so it's prectically a virgin fishery for bait fishing. Have a look at the local tackle shops - all plastic.

I'm still learning how to fish with bait after using lures my entire childhood. I think this is because it is almost all rough bottom around Beara, and people have been loath to leave a bait sit.

I'd love to see more shore anglers down there, even though I am used to having a mark totally to myself. There is massive scope for it. For example, I'm going to target ling off the rocks, and I reckon I have a good chance too.