Puca-Loop head/shannon estuary Tue 12 July

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Puca-Loop head/shannon estuary Tue 12 July

Postby bigkev » Wed Jul 13, 2005 1:53 pm

Dave_B and I made the run out to Loop head in tropical sunshine with the intent of gathering bait(mackerel) for a tope session in the estuary.
On arriving at the head we drifted into a thick fog, strange considering the blistering heat. Even stranger was our inability to catch mackerel. For the last few weeks the area has been paved with them. Two hours fishing with hokkais produced pollack to 5 lbs, 12 mackerel and a whiting of 2.5 lbs. A personal best , and a bit unexpected. When the fog refused to burn off, we decided to steam for the tope mark with the aid of the GPS, and I got my first real lesson in navigation. Must add more way points to my GPS, as the few marks I have entered , are miles inside the estuary, and didnt really aid our trip back to loop head.Lesson Learned!
One back inside the estuary, we emerged into scalding sunshine, with the white blanket of fog like a curtain across the estuary mouth. Real bermuda triangle stuff!
An uneventful run back to my now favourite tope mark, saw us anchor at low water off littor strand in 60 feet of water. Whilst waiting for the anticipated sizzling runs, we watched the now familiar dolphins chasing each other through the surf in no more than 4 feet of water.Amazing!
The tope action was noticeable by its absence. Not a run, or hint of a run.
We did get some doggies, and a huss of 9 pounds, but no tope. And as is now the tradition in my boat, Dave hooked a stonking great fish on the bottom that swam away slowly and bent a 6/0 varivas hook till it gave way.
Not great fishing, but in the carribean sunshine, no complaints
Kev
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Postby RobertMcClean » Wed Jul 13, 2005 2:54 pm

Thats interesting Kev, I have found the estuary and loop head to be like that sometimes, some weather factor or pressure change has to have a bearing on it though!
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Rare fish

Postby bigkev » Wed Jul 13, 2005 3:48 pm

I forgot to post in the report
Whilst drifting in the fog, we saw a fin scything towards the boat, very jaws like. The fin was approx 2 feet in height and quite thin. As it approached the boat right on the surface, it noticed us and dived away at quite a rate of knots. We're pretty sure it was a sunfish, and looked to be about 40-50 pounds, so just a juvenile.
I think these are a tropical fish and very rare in our waters
Kev
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sunfish

Postby PMU » Mon Nov 14, 2005 11:14 pm

have seen them for last 2 years around Aran
lots of reports from along the clare coast
is your boat a Warrior ?
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Small boats

Postby bigkev » Tue Nov 15, 2005 10:47 am

Is the boat a warrior?
Nah, afraid not.
Its actually a predator 160, http://www.douglas-marine.co.uk/PredSite2/predator.htm

I couldnt quite bring myself to pay second hand for a warrior, what I actually paid for the predator new.

A great boat, perhaps not quite as well finished as the warrior, but just as good in the water.

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sunfish

Postby steve t » Tue Nov 15, 2005 9:46 pm

i saw one in killala bay last year, we approached slowly and it stayed on the surface right next to boat, looked like a bale of silage with a fin. saw a basking shark this year, immense, it was one of the last days of the drift netting season, there were nets everywhere, dont know how it avoided the nets, we didnt!!!
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Postby PMU » Tue Nov 15, 2005 10:53 pm

kev
did you buy direct,or is there an irish dealer
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Boat buying uk

Postby bigkev » Wed Nov 16, 2005 11:51 am

Hi Pat
I went to Liverpool to buy the boat from a dealer. All in, I got a fishing boat with engine, trailer, gps, vhf and echo sounder for 8k sterling, or 11k euros.When you see what Irish dealers are trying to charge, it makes sense to go buy in the UK, for the savings are huge
Some of the dealers will even put your boat on the ferry for you for collection
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