Specimen Ray, Donegal Bay ,2nd+3rd September 2014

[johnwest]

People:Solo

Duration:8 hrs and 6hrs

Tide:mid to low to mid

Weather:Warm, calm, dry.

Bait:Mackerel,

Rigs:Sliding boom, baited muppet, twin boom pater noster

Results:Specimen painted ray and 8 other species

Report:
I hadn’t been sea fishing for a while and the promise of a few settled days had me hitching up the boat and heading for the slip.
Day 1, Tuesday. First mark was for mackerel and first drop produced a string of decent mackerel so a mere three drops had enough bait for the day, along with one small pollack for the species count. Next stop was to try for rays but they didn’t want to play, not a single one. However a few dabs showed up followed by a steady stream of dogfish. Between small tides and a lack of breeze, the boat was barely moving so I just wasn’t covering enough ground to find the rays, they do move around this mark. After a couple of hours I headed for a rough/mixed ground mark to fish a 2 boom rig with mackerel, this threw up 4 ballan wrasse to about 2lb, 7-8 small pouting and a poorcod. A change of rig to baited muppet continued to attract pouting but they weren’t able to take the whole bait but after a while the rod bent over into something a bit bigger. Up came a ling around 4-5lb and just as I was reaching for the net, (and contemplating fish and chips for tea) it shed the hook and swam off to the depths. There were fish showing on the sounder at times but not taking the bait so I rigged up a plastic worm and dropped it down to the bottom, slow retrieving produced a few smallish pollack, max. about 2.5lbs. One last roll of the dice and I headed for a deeper clean bottom area but this produced only a succession of 25-30cm whiting. By now it was home time.
Day 2, Wednesday. Again I headed for the mackerel mark and didn’t manage to get any until the second drop! Enough bait within a few minutes and off to the ray mark again to try a different part. First drift turned up quite a few dogfish and it looked like the rays weren’t interested today either. A second drift in slightly shallower water wasn’t looking much better with more dogfish and a couple of dabs to show until at last the rod set up with a sliver of mackerel intended for flatties keeled over and the ratchet sang out. At last, a ray and a decent one. Eventually I netted a 9lb 4oz painted ray, my first of this year. Back it went and a few minutes later, the other rod did likewise and after a great scrap, I dragged a better ray to the surface. I was beginning to think “we’re going to need a bigger net” but it just about fitted after the 3rd attempt. This one weighed in at 12lb 8oz, comfortably over the specimen weight for painted rays. I have come close a few times over the last 3-4 years with several at 9lb 12oz. As I was unhooking it, the other reel started singing again so I had another great scrap with a third painted ray at 9lb 8oz. With both rays returned, no more showed up; usually this mark gives about 7 thornies for each painted, I must have drifted over a small group of them. A plague of dogfish then broke out so I headed off to the mixed ground again. By now the breeze had died completely and the boat barely moved, all I got was a few pouting though one weighed 1lb 12oz, the biggest I have got in a long time. With 9 species and 1 specimen (but no supper) I headed for home.

[hugo]

Great pictures of a grand day out, congrats on the catches. What's your boat?

[FisherKing]

Great session's & that's a fine specimen, nicely done John

[Moody Marlin]

Cracking sessions, very nice painted, congrats.