Misty Dawn - Dublin Bay - 27-07-2008

[MAC]

People: Just me

Duration: 4:30 till 9pm

Tide:Rising and High water

Weather : Really Nice

Bait: Mack

Rigs: Running Ledger to 150lb mono and a Owner 9/0 semi circle

Results:The first Tope on Misty Dawn

Report: I was thinking of fishing High Water for a Ray or Tope, but was struggling to muster up some crew. After a few phone calls, I said feck it and decided to go it alone. I wasn't worried about being out there on my tod, just the Launch and Retrieve. Luckly I was launching at Howth, so there is always someone willing to hold the boat, while you go grab/park the trailer...

I got stuck in traffic on the way to Howth and was starting to question the decision to Launch on a Sunday afternoon in nice weather. Managed to get to howth after a little over an hour and suprisingly the slip wasn't too busy. Just the usual jet ski's that like to get ready on the slip and take up the whole place. I met a couple of lads launching and one of them held the boat for a few minutes while I parked.... I managed to find a spot, but it was well away from the slip.

No hassle's pushing off. On exiting the harbour, there was force 3 or 4 Southerly pushing accross Dublin bay. Windguru and Windfinder were giving the wind to ease so I was hopeful of getting out into the bay.

I set off for the back of Irelands Eye for a few Macks. I didn't see too many been caught. I managed a full string on the first drop, so I was happy enough. I took my time getting the next couple of strings... With the bait on board it was time to head off into the bay. It looked a little lumpy, but I decided to head out and keep the speed down.

I was able to head out at about 14kts without too much hassle at all. Given the conditions I was really happy with the way the Raider performed. She really did ease back down into the waves with little or no slap.

After about 20 mins I was at the mark.... The wind was already starting to ease, so conditions were looking good. I dropped the anchor and began getting the baits down.

It was half mack (for Tope) on the 20lb class Masterline rod and Mack belly strip (for Ray) on the 8lb Diawa Vertice.
I was getting Dog after Dog on the Mack Belly, so I decided to change to Mack Head on the light rod. All went quite for a while, the dogs were pulling at the bait, but not hooking up so I was pleased enough. I had just brought the 20lb rod in to re-bait, when the rachet on the 8lb rod started to scream. I lifted in to the fish and I knew it was decent enough. I was had to take it easy with the 8lb rod, but even then I was waiting for it to crack.... I don't know what Diawa put in them, but the rod held up well and after 15mins I had the fish at the side of the Boat. I made an effort to lean over and lift the fish, but it wasn't going to happen...... I just couldn't grab the tail The fish took off again making another nice run. A minute later I had it back at the side of the boat. This time I t-bared it off and away it went.
Sorry
The fish was between 35 to 40lbs. I nice long Tope, but it didn't have the Girth to go over 40lb. Sorry, no photos guys, being by myself I didn't manage to get any on the phone. I'll bring the pocket camera next time.

Although I prefere fishing with someone, you are going to be by yourself at times. I was glad that I took the decision to head out by myself, I was even happeir that I managed my first Tope on Misty Dawn.

Kev

[Matt]

Good Report Kev, and well done on christening your new boat!

[BRACKEN]

Fair play Kev, hope thats the first of many tope for ya man!

[roger de dodger]

next one on the fly?

[yappo]

Very good fishing on an 8lb rod.

What reel were you using

Yappo

[shamoo0804]

Fairplay Kev,

Some fish on an 8lb rod

If ever ya need a deckhand, drop me a pm

Mark

[keith]

Good stuff Kev

[MAC]

Cheers Lads

next one on the fly?

Ye Never Know...... I need a fly rod first though.

Yappo, I was using an Abu 6500 with 30lb Braid The Drag just about held it together.

I don't think that 8lb rod will ever be the same again.

Kev

[The Dirty Fecker]

Cheers Lads

next one on the fly?

Ye Never Know...... I need a fly rod first though.

Yappo, I was using an Abu 6500 with 30lb Braid The Drag just about held it together.

I don't think that 8lb rod will ever be the same again.

Kev

Well done Kev and fair play for using the 8lb rod. The Vertice is a fine rod and well worth the money. I use the 8lb Daiwa Vulcan X which is an earlier version of the same rod. I hope you enjoyed the fight on this rod with a Tope. It is the way to go with tope in my opinion as the fight is very over rated and the rod is well capable of dealing with a Tope. i would be more inclined to commend you on the use of the small ABU reel in the battle. That is an excellent bit of angling there since it is really the reel that brings in a tope and the use of the drag system. After a couple of runs they usually swim toward you. Big rods really have no place in Tope angling with a 12lb class being the max to use. It is more important to have more give in the top half of the rod for to absorb the lunges you get when you get them to the side of the boat

I have landed a 40lb Tarpon on a 1/4oz-3/4oz bait casting rod in the states which is a much whippyer rod than an 8lb class and in my opinion for that particular fish (Which is far more powerful than a tope ) is the way to go as it absorbs so much of the sharp luges big fish make. Your rod will not break. No rod will as long as you use your drag correctly. The key is to never put it in full lock and wear the fish out. Sadly this never takes too long with Tope but using such gear is the only way to let Tope perform as close as you can hope for in this country to a propper sport fish. I use the same set up you used above for Smooth Hounds and its a blast!

Hats off to you on your first Tope on your boat and doing with this set up. Keep using it its the best fun way to go. One tip i will give you that would have solved your tope boating problem when alone is to forego the use of a wire trace and use an 8ft straight though length of 200lb mono. I have never had a tope bite through this. this will stop the need for a rubbing leader all together and does not kink up like wire does When you get the tope to the boatside you can grab the trace in one hand and put the rod in a holder. Now you will have a 200lb leader to the fish and when he trashes and rolls he will not snap that! all you need do is hold the trace in one hand and grab his tail with the other. simple as that

[yappo]

Kev,

That's very good fishing on that setup fair play.
You obviously know how to set the drag to let the rod and reel do the job with you in the driving seat.
I have found when you bring the tope up after all the runs and dives near the boat if you just gently move them back and forth on the surface until they calm down a bit you have a better chance to grab the tail and get them on board.

Good start with the new boat.

Yappo

[JOHN1]

great report kev.

fair play on the first of many to be brought to the boat well done

[JimC]

well done Kev!

[MAC]

Cheer Guys,

I agree Luke, and have been advocating the use of lighter stuff for a long time now. The 8lb rod was undergunned when the Tope made lunging runs, but I just point the rod at the fish and let the reel to the work..... I think on the east coast, you could use an 8lb or 12lb outfit for almost anything... and the bonus is that you get so much more craic out of these outfits... I would have prefered the Penn 525 but the abu done the job perfectly.... Even if I was sweating a bit.

Thanks for the input guys.


Kev

[jw]

congratulations on the tope, if you're heading down towards greystones
later this month looking for the men in grey suits give me a shout if you
need a deckhand to chop bait my boat is moved to kilrush

The 22lb tope Tommy landed on our recent trip aboard the clare dragoon
finished sawing through 200lb
mono just as the landing net closed around it, so be careful out there

[MAC]

I will for Sure John..... I hope you don't suffer cloustraphobia When was the last time you were on a 16 footer Will be starting to head that way in a couple of weeks John.... Hoping to clear a few weekdays as well. Your first on the list for the call.

Kev

[MAC]

One tip i will give you that would have solved your tope boating problem when alone is to forego the use of a wire trace and use an 8ft straight though length of 200lb mono. I have never had a tope bite through this. this will stop the need for a rubbing leader all together and does not kink up like wire does When you get the tope to the boatside you can grab the trace in one hand and put the rod in a holder. Now you will have a 200lb leader to the fish and when he trashes and rolls he will not snap that! all you need do is hold the trace in one hand and grab his tail with the other. simple as that

Luke,
I would be interested in how you "feel" this presentation fishes. I am a fecker (excuse the pun) for trying to present a bait well, especially for predators. I know there are days when they just hammer anything, but I "feel" they have their fussy days as well. This opinion is based on years of Pike fishing where suttle adjustments in the way a bait was presentated, would mean the difference between getting a few fish or not getting a run. I am finding it very hard to switch from this approach when Tope fishing. I fish a running ledger attached to 6 foot rubbing leader of 80lb. I then attach an 8 to 10 inch 150lb mono bite trace. I just get a feeling that this setup fishes better. Although, I don't have the numbers or research to back it up.

Kev

[The Dirty Fecker]

Well to be honest i used to really enjoy Tope fishing but now i just find them a little too predictable. I think since they are the biggest fish many anglers will encounter that they are extreamely over rated. Their fight certainly is anyway! For this reason i think many anglers fish far too heavy for them. 30lb class rods and big reels are used which just ruins the experience.

Personally i use an 8/0 - 10/0 hook. Even a small Tope is well capable of swallowing this. The mistake many anglers make with hooks in my humble opinion is they try to match the hook to the fish when in reality you should be matching the hook to the bait you are using. The barb needs to be well clear of the bait to ensure a good chance of a hook up. With small baits hooks can be smaller but when using a big Mackerel bait the hook should be BIG. If a fish is capable of swallowing a mackerel it is capable of swallowing a 10/0

Secondly i use a full length of 8 ft of 200lb mono. this is your biting trace and rubbing leader in one. This means the only knots are on the hook and to the main line. This means you have hook, 8ft 200lb mono, big swivel and then tie the mainline to that. When you are dealing with big fish try to cut down the number of knots you use. They weaken the set up considerably. With this i use a boom in a typical ledger set up. as for baits, i find a half mackerel to be the best bait. I cut them diagonally at an angle to expose as much blood as possible. This now creates two baits a tail cone and a head and guts. I do not cut them into flappers. In my experience this just makes it easier for dogs to tear your bait apart. When hooking the bait i put the hook through the wrist of the tail exposing the hook completely or with the head, into the mouth and out the forehead. When the fish picks it up let him run with it until he stops taking line and then just lean pressure into the rod rather than strike. When you watch a shark take a bait on tV they grab it and then manouver it head first into their mouths while they swim away with it. Based on this you should let the tope run and give him time to swallow it. Yanking the line may well just pull it from his mouth tearing the bait. Smaller baits make it easier for them to wolf it down. Of course flappers work too but i just find this system works better.

As for the fight... I prefer Smooth Hounds. They fight much harder for much longer.

[jw]

hi luke

interesting points, i agree with you it is unsatisfactory using a setup which is too heavy
for a particular species. It is possible to carry this thinking too far though, so
that you go too light and then land say 70% of the target species, losing 30% say.
That in my view is even more unacceptable than going too heavy. The trick is
to use the right technology and setup just strong enough to land the fish you are after