“There’s mackerel showing north of the point and I’ve had a few bass and a nice sea trout to kilty lures while fishing of an evening over the last week or two“. It had been too long since I had met and spoken with Ger, too long since I had last cast a line. The beach called though and I responded, life is instinctive, maybe I was not meant to fish for ten months, a break to rekindle the desire, what better way to reconnect then to revisit a happy place filled with special memories.
“The lads are catching mackerel this last week“, it was good to catch up with Dot’s, matriarch to a creative bohemian family and witness to great change along the strand rooted in both our lives. “Drop in for a cup of tea on your way back“, acknowledging in the affirmative I departed the cottage and initially followed the railway line north for a spell before scrambling over the rocky sea defences to fire my first cast seaward into the steadily rising tide.
A four meter 13.30.pm full tide pushed southwards at a clip speeding up as it rounded the point. The sea calm and relatively clear due to a glorious two month spell of fine weather, a warm north west breeze lengthening the flight of my 32 gram kilty lure, breaking the surface I count to twelve and wind slowly. The lure pulses, my rod top dips and the line zig zags, flashes of blue/white and a skittery tail run in the receding wave, a beached mackerel drum rolls the shingle.
Shimmering silver/white, black and green striped, slippy, scales everywhere and that oily fresh smell of the sea. Mackerel are where it started for most sea anglers and they never lose their appeal. A nice stroll, good conversation and a half dozen for tea, batteries recharged………..
Tags: Angling, Beach fishing, Fishing, Ireland, Lure Fishing, Mackerel, Sea Angling, Sea Fishing, shore fishing, Wicklow