Moderator: donal domeney
daveyboy wrote:How's it going. I don't know the sea fishing in that area at all. I'm sure some others on the forum will be able to help you out but for freshwater fishing, just so you know the trout season is finished now so it would pike fishing or maybe course fishing. Id recomend getting onto a good guide to take you out on Lough Corrib after pike maybe. Might be the best use of your time once the weather is suitable for getting out on a boat on the lake. It'll cost you a few quid but save you messing around. Maybe try the angling section of Boards.ie for some more info on freshwater fishing.
Like I say I don't know what the fishing is like in Salthill or what the best baits are for flatfish but in general when fishing for flatfish in Ireland you would be fishing over clean ground (sand/mud) so I'd imagine it's the same there. Get yourself a 2 hook flapper rigs with smallish hooks (size 4 to size 2 maybe) in a local tackle shop in Galway. Pulley rig is more a rig for rough ground. Can't think of any fish you'd need to be carefull handling. If you catch dogfish it's best to grab their tail and fold them holding their head and tail in one hand and unhook using the other hand. Otherwise they wrap their tails around your hand/arm and they have very abrasive skin. Bass are very spikey. Not sure how likley you are to enconter them in Salthill to be honest but again, others on here may know.
Roryk11 wrote:As said above also if you want flatfish black lug mackerel and maddies are good baits with 3 hook flappers keep the rod tip low if weather allows don't know much about the area unfortunately
kieran wrote:AJ
The good news is that this time of year is peak season for salt water fishing.
The Salthill area is pretty limited in terms of sea angling, being quite shallow. Mack and lugworm are good standard baits. If you are fishing in daylight, use ragworm if you can get it. It's not cheap but it is worth it especially on rock marks (including harbour walls) where you might pick up some highly coloured wrasse (several species).
Fishing is normally safe, as there is public lighting and often dog walkers and such like around Salthill, so I would not be unduly concerned on that score.
The comment on the 3 hook flapper is spot on. If you want to go for distance, a pulley rig is good.
Truth be told, the entire Galway coast all the way out to Connemara is shallow, and certainly not that different until you get past Spiddal.
Main species you are likely to encounter in daylight are dogfish, flounder, pollack and if you are lucky, a sea trout.
In darkness on a coming tide you may get more species including coalfish, whiting, other flatfish and smaller species like poor cod and pouting.
Distance casting in the summer can locate thornback rays, not sure if they are still around, but likely to be... not heard of other rays being caught there.
Wrasse have very sharp spines in their dorsal fins in particular and serious teeth. Not piranhas but not pleasant.
Whiting have very small but exceptionally sharp teeth. They often graze your fingers and you are not aware of it until much later...
Conger eels have 9 rows of backward pointing teeth, not usually associated with bites given they squirm so much, but would not give them a chance!
If by chance you should catch a triggerfish - unlikely - they have exceptionally sharp teeth and spurs near their tails.
Dogfish have exceptionally abrasive skin and will try to rub against your hands - hold their tail against their head when unhooking them and that's sorted.
The occasional bass has been caught off the beaches west of Galway city, and there are (or at least were) very large shoals of big mullet in the harbour itself.
Bass have sharp gills covers and sharp spines in their fins. You should be so lucky...
If you search using the location, you will see what others have caught in their reports.
If you have access to a car, Connemara and north Clare offer different options.
Hope this helps...
Last but not least, we are heading into big tides, 4 metres +, so pay careful attention to where you are standing especially on any of the western beaches. Tight lines.
corbyeire wrote:hi minnesota - check out this link - http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org/shor ... ay%203.htm
the flatfish are around the beach in Silverstrand - good on a rising tide into darkness dont bother with rag - unless you order them in - none of the shops sell them
unless you like digging for tiny lug - buy packs of frozen lug worm - wraps - in the aquarium in salthill - other bait they sell - also frozen mac and sandeel
the wraps and mackeral frozen or fresh (if u can get it) will cover you around silverstrand for flatties and on the pier in spidal - the beach in salthill is very limited and fun can be had in the rocks for minis there - but its getting a bit late for that
the pier in sppidal should still throw up a few species
the pier is comfortable at night and protects you from the predominant SW winds AND rain this time of year
outside of this for any other types of sea fishing you are out to connemara - round clifden or down to clare for other species
tight lines
corbyeire wrote:maddies are a harbour rag, not very common in galway - good bait but hard to get - again you would have to order it in from the south somewhere - to be honest lug and mack will do
MinnesotaAngler10 wrote:daveyboy wrote:How's it going. I don't know the sea fishing in that area at all. I'm sure some others on the forum will be able to help you out but for freshwater fishing, just so you know the trout season is finished now so it would pike fishing or maybe course fishing. Id recomend getting onto a good guide to take you out on Lough Corrib after pike maybe. Might be the best use of your time once the weather is suitable for getting out on a boat on the lake. It'll cost you a few quid but save you messing around. Maybe try the angling section of Boards.ie for some more info on freshwater fishing.
Like I say I don't know what the fishing is like in Salthill or what the best baits are for flatfish but in general when fishing for flatfish in Ireland you would be fishing over clean ground (sand/mud) so I'd imagine it's the same there. Get yourself a 2 hook flapper rigs with smallish hooks (size 4 to size 2 maybe) in a local tackle shop in Galway. Pulley rig is more a rig for rough ground. Can't think of any fish you'd need to be carefull handling. If you catch dogfish it's best to grab their tail and fold them holding their head and tail in one hand and unhook using the other hand. Otherwise they wrap their tails around your hand/arm and they have very abrasive skin. Bass are very spikey. Not sure how likley you are to enconter them in Salthill to be honest but again, others on here may know.
Thanks for the freshwater info, do you think imitation baits like Gulp! would work well while fishing for coarse fish? I've fished for pike before (We have the same species in Minnesota that you have in Ireland), and me and my father are going out on Corrib with a guide for them. It is good to know that we have made the right choice. Thank you for your suggestion on the two hook flapper rig, and for the info on the dogfishes skin and the pulley rig!!
kieran wrote:Mullet are hard to catch here too - but they will take bread and I've caught them on lugworm when seeking other species, without targeting them I hasten to add. Keep the hooks small and use light snoods. They can be very suspicious. Most people float fish for them using light gear.
I don't think you will have too much difficulty in catching the dogfish - they prefer slack water periods at either HW or LW but are pretty much your constant companions! Any nice biat that offers a scent trail will bring them in. Their bigger brother, the bull huss, or greater spotted dogfish, might show up. Anything that looks like a small shark but weighs over 3 lbs is probably a huss. You tend to do better with them at night or into darkness. Again they prefer relatively calm conditions.
The further west you go from Galway, especially after Spiddal the more varied the coastline becomes. You have massive and complex inlets and bays around Casla but you can also access deep water marks. There's some interesting marks such as beaches made entirely of smashed local coral, which are not very productive but look nice. The deeper water marks will give you access to mackerel as well as an opportunity for other species like scad (horse mackerel), garfish and some other summer migrants.
A few years ago, a visiting US scientist caught several species that belong in the Caribbean by casting baits towards a lump of floating Sargasso seaweed so you never know... and triggerfish have become far more common in recent years.
If you are looking for mini species, the one to catch is the connemara clingfish - good luck with that - since this is pretty much they only place they live. They have modified fins that they use to create a partial vacuum that allows them cling to rocks in strong tidal surges. I think someone here posted a picture...
Anyhow tight lines, post a report or two to let us know how you get on. Heading out on Sunday myself, after a long lay off. Tight lines
corbyeire wrote:Minnesota, just remember those reports in that site link are over 10 years old and may not be the case on the ground
the minis are as you say blennies, scorpions etc.
there are plenty of mini whitefish with the change to winter - coalies, pouting, poor cod and some rockling too
Return to Shore Angling Q&A / Forum
Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 71 guests