Duration: 6 hours
Tide: HW at 8.00 pm
Weather: Light rain at first, then clear, light southwesternly then calm, very mild later
Bait: Lug, razor, squid
Rigs: 4/0 and 3/0 pennel pulleys, 2/0 two hook flapper
Results: 1 Flounder, 1 Bass, 3 Five Bearded Rocklings, 1 Dogfish
Report: I decided to try a beach I havn't fished for a while, first time this year. When I arrived there was a big surf rolling in although the strong winds that were present earlier in the day had died down. I got set up and baited one rod with lug/razor and the second with just lug. I wasn't expecting much until after dark however on about the second cast I spotted a subtle knock and reeled in to find a 26 cm flounder that had managed to get its mouth around a 4/0 hook. It was deeply hooked but I eventually got it free and the fish seemed to swim away without a problem.
That was a promising start and I was hopeful of a few fish at dusk and after dark. But the rod tips remained motionless for a long time. There had been a little light rain when I arrived but that stopped and the skies cleared. The wind died down and it got very mild - I even had to take my coat off
After a few hours of darkness when reeling in to change the bait I discovered a five bearded rockling on the 3/0 pennel.
A little later there was a strong knock on the same rod - I grabbed it and struck. I could feel a strong pull and a few minutes later a hauled a 48 cm bass out of the surf
It was caught on the 3/0 pennel baited with just lug. That encouraged me - I had been thinking that I should have headed Waterford direction again.After that weed became a bit of a problem - there were several times when I thought I had a bite only to feel the dead weight of a mass of weed. A one stage I had what looked like a more definite bite but when I started to retrieve it felt more like a clump of weed. However, when I dragged it through the surf I found that the weed was gathered around the weight and there was a dogfish on the 3/0 pennel baited with lug.
Towards the end of the night I switched to a 2/0 two hook flapper, baited with lug. Just as I was thinking of packing up there was a small quiver on the rod with the two hook flapper. I retrieved to find a double of five bearded rockling
Anybody got an idea of why five bearded rocklings are so common this year? Last year I only managed to catch one - this year I have got one nearly every time I have gone out.
), great to get a mix of species too.