Posts Tagged ‘Surf casting’
Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
Finally after weeks of north easterlies the wind shifted and blew southerly, air temperatures rose, creamy white capped waves rolled up the strand, and the air so filled with ozone that you could taste it. A low four meter tide had me on the beach at 13.00pm, my task to dig six dozen large, fleshy, black lug, before meeting up with Joe Carley of South East Bait Supplies to purchase a dozen peelers, when targeting surf bass you need top grade fresh bait. As it turned out Joe kindly drove my order to me, his traps being placed nearby, now that is service and much appreciated, thanks Joe. As is the form we talked fishing and again thumbs up to Joe re little nuggets offered which helped in deciding my final choice of venue.
Having time to spare after digging bait, it not high water until 20.00pm, I drove around and sussed out a number of venues. Low tide is a great time to carry out this exercise as numerous tell tale features are exposed which help in deducing how a particular mark may fish. Today one thing was clear, a big tide combined with a strong southerly breeze has the potential to push weed close in, this factor ultimately deciding my fishing destination. On arrival, with a good rolling sea pushing a single wave up the incline and terns and gannets dipping and diving about 60 meters out my casting distance was decided. A low grey, menacing sky promised rain as I made my first cast, sea fishing season 2012 had begun.
Tightening up against the gripper I stood up to prepare my second rig when bang the rod tip thumped forward hard just once. A characteristic schoolie bite and so it transpired, other than an hour long period over high water shoals of juvenile bass averaging a kilo marauded up and down the surf line, I lost count of how many that I caught but it was easily a dozen, all scissor hooked and returned. At least I was busy and in any other circumstances a two pound fish would be well appreciated, so lets get real “the session was fun and productive“. As light closed in my rod hooped to a smoothie which tore off parallel with the strand, allied to a large plump flounder beached earlier my first sea outing of the year most definitely set a bench mark for the season ahead, a double figure haul with some quality fish and it’s not even mid May, bring it on…..
Tags: Angling, Bass, Bass fishing, Beach fishing, Fishing, Ireland, lugworm, Peeler crab, Sea Angling, Sea Fishing, shore fishing, Smooth hound, Surf casting, Wexford
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Sunday, January 29th, 2012
The 24th Winter Shore Angling Festival was held on the east facing beaches of Co. Wexford over three days, from Thursday the 26th to Saturday the 28th January 2012. Organised by EFSA Ireland this event annually attracts the cream of sea match anglers from both the UK and Ireland, and with many thousands of euro in prize money up for grabs divided between individual, team, zone, and optional pools, competition is keen.
Southerly gales battered the Wexford coastline right into the early hours of Wednesday morning resulting in some competitors being stranded in Pembrokeshire, South Wales due to the ferry not sailing. As luck would have it the prevailing winds abated and swung around to the west resulting in ideal conditions over the three match days. The lucky Welshmen boarded a later ferry, and although lacking in sleep pushed the numbers competing to sixty plus when the whistle blew for the opening joust.
Sea match fishing drives shore angling technology and methods, of that there is no doubt. Specialist rods up to 16 feet in length, matched to fixed spool reels enable seriously long traces with snoods averaging 2.5 feet to be cast effectively. Strong forgiving tips both allow for bite detection and the casting of delicate soft baits, of which on this occasion lug wraps and maddies reigned supreme. Cast into the gutter or channels between banks on rigs constructed with micro beads, size 8 swivels, size 8 fine wire hooks, and weighted with plain leads the matchmen hunted for their fish, speed and accuracy being of the essence.
Day one was fished on Ballinoulart, with Clone pencilled in for day two, and Ballinesker the beach which staged the memorable opening scene from “Saving Private Ryan” marked down for day three. The sun shone and competitors scratched, mainly flounder with a few dab, whiting, rockling, and school bass thrown in for good measure. At lines up on Saturday the winning result couldn’t have been tighter. Dave Roe won the overall event for the second year in succession, with Courtowns Joe Byrne taking second (one place better than last year), and Ballybracks Ian Knight in third.
It would appear that the English dominance of this event has for now been broken. To put icing on the cake both Dave and Joe won the two man team prize and also were members of the winning four man team. A feature of the results which reflects our depleted oceans is the respective size of the longest round and flat fish, a school bass of 37 cms and a flounder of 36 cms. That said the competition was well run, and other than the north end zone on Clone strand (day 2), fish appeared to be evenly spread along the various match stretches over the three days. EFSA Ireland’s Warren Doyle and his team deserve a pat on the back for their organisation, as do the weather Gods for the light winds and blue skies. Roll on next year….
For further reading click on: EFSA Irish Winter Shore Angling Festival 2011.
Tags: Angling, Beach fishing, EFSA, Fishing, Flounder, Ireland, lugworm, Maddies, Sea Angling, Sea Fishing, Sea match angling, shore fishing, Surf casting, Wexford
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Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
Saturday the 7th of January 2012 dawned dull and mild. With winds to pick up from the south west by late evening I had planned the first trip of the year to coincide with a dusk high tide. Arranging to meet Frank Flanagan from the Menapia SAC on the beach at 16.00pm, I headed off initially to dig some lug. With six dozen yellow tail in the bucket and time to spare I decided to hit an estuary mark for a couple of hours in search of flounder.
Today they were not forth coming, two heavy leans gave an indication that fish were present but unfortunately no hook ups. At 15.30 pm I upped sticks and headed to meet Frank. The location we planned to fish had produced some fine codling over Christmas so hopes were high. A full tide mark, form showed that if fish were present they would take from high water to 1.5 hours down, and be very close in following the line of a gully. The venue had been good to Frank over Christmas delivering codling up to five pounds in weight.
Casting two hook flappers out thirty meters as light faded, immediately rapid fire bites signaled coalfish which ranged in size from half to one and a half pounds. Good fun, they kept us busy but their barbuled chinned cousins were noticeable by their absence, just the night that was in it. Further up the coast at a venue not four miles away a couple of friends beached two codling amongst the coalfish, the best going five pounds. Now that’s fishing….
Tags: Angling, Beach fishing, Coalfish, Cod, codling, Fishing, Ireland, lugworm, Sea Angling, Sea Fishing, shore fishing, Surf casting, Wexford
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Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
It’s the 22nd of November and the temperature reads 9 degrees, with only two mild frosts to date we are a far cry from last year when we entered the freezer for a month of snow and double digit minus temperatures. Codling are definitely hitting the beaches with reports of fish to 5/6 lbs amongst the general run of two pounders. On some venues bass to 7.lbs are swimming with the codling, mobile phone images do not lie this really could be the best season in many a year. The key is to get out there regularly and fish the correct marks, tides, and times, high water at dusk or one/three hours after appearing to be the optimum.
Arriving at my chosen location two hours into the ebb tide just as dusk was closing in around 17.00 pm, I quickly set up twin surf casting rigs utilising two hook (2/0 Kamazan 940′s) paternosters baited with lugworm, lobbing one in close and belting the other out. Using long (18 inch) snoods it quickly became apparent that schoolies and or coalfish were resident, quick single thumps of the rod tops announcing their presence. These fish tend to play with the bait, darting in for a quick nibble, shortening the snoods would have resulted in hook ups but I was after bigger things. A rattle and a slack line, rod in hand I tighten up and feel, a thump down is countered with a strike in the opposite direction, fish on. This feels like a good bass, pulling the rod around, quickly swimming in, backing up the beach and reeling like f**k I make contact, head shaking in the surf, a white belly in my headlight beam, MULLET? Now that’s a first, on lug of all baits, hooked fair and square in the top lip.
A few flounder, schoolie bass, coalfish, and dogfish follow in quick succession all on the inner rod before a classic thump thump slack line bite has me running up the beach again to make contact. Thankfully the rod heels over and I feel the kick of a nice codling, running 3/4 lbs lets hope that there is another. Shortly afterwards I get a repeat performance, another good fish on, the fight intensifies as the undertow takes hold then nothing. Reeling in I check the trace only to find that my hook knot has unravelled, you clot Ash.
Shortly after things went quite, I fished on until the bait ran out bang on low water at around 21.00 pm. It had been a good session with certainly the first two hours providing regular bites. In this day and age six species and two good fish in the three/four pound bracket is nothing to be sniffed at. With favourable tides over the weekend here’s to another crack at it.
Tags: Angling, Bass, Beach fishing, Cod fishing, codling, Fishing, Ireland, lugworm, Mullet, Sea Angling, Sea Fishing, shore fishing, Surf casting, Wexford
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Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
The Beara Peninsula is not known for its bass fishing, in fact on the Richter scale of Irish bass angling the area probably doesn’t even register. However there are one or two locations which do produce consistent catches of Dicentrachus Labrax and it is with great thanks that I salute Paul Harris (Dromagowlane House B/B), John Angles, and Mike Hennessy for their collective advice and direction which resulted in a fine evenings fishing for both David Murphy and I.
Sustained for an evening session after bass with a bowl of hearty vegetable soup, brown bread, and a pint of plain courtesy of O’Neills bar in Allihies, David and I headed towards a noted low water bass mark. Having fished the location on numerous occasions with poor results, yours truly was a tad sceptical. Mike, Paul, and John all concurred though that from November through to January bass would show, some to specimen weight.
“Fish close to the stream and you won’t go wrong“, and so it transpired. On casting my peeler and lug baited trace forty meters into the lazy swell, no sooner had it hit the bottom then bang and a slack line indicated bass. Instinctively running backwards I connected with the fish, a spirited schoolie of about 2.5 lbs which took crab. Dave was next in landing a carbon copy before on his next cast landing a fine bass close to 4.lbs. By session end amongst a few doggies we had landed five bass between us, my scepticism melting with each fish. The mark had delivered and upped the species tally for our November trip to a respectable six.
See also: Dab Hand on the Beara.
Tags: Angling, Ballythomas Hill, Bass, Bass fishing, Beach fishing, Beara Peninsula, Fishing, Ireland, lugworm, Peeler crab, Sea Angling, Sea Fishing, shore fishing, Surf casting, West Cork
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Sunday, October 16th, 2011
Collecting bait from Joe Carley of South East Bait Supplies at the unearthly hour of 08.00 am on Sunday morning, I headed towards a favourite mark for a spot of flounder fishing. Timing my arrival to coincide with high water at 09.00 am, and with the venue fishing well for both bass and flounder, I was confident that Joe’s fresh peeler crab and lug would do the business. Setting up two rods with identical two hook paternoster rigs incorporating long flowing snoods, 2/0 hooks, and beads, each rig was baited identically using crab on the bottom hook with lug on the top.
The first hour was quiet accept for the resident crab population who devoured the lugworm within seconds of hitting the water, thankfully the crab was more resilient. With bait being used up at a rate of knots I switched to using only one set of gear. About two and a half hours into the ebb as the surrounding mud banks began to show and the estuary channel became more defined flounder began to show interest. My rod top started to nod repeatedly and then leaned over, fish on. Reeling in I could feel the weight, entering the shallows a quick dip of the head, a few flaps of its tail and a good flounder slides up the bank.
Bites were now coming thick and fast and it wasn’t long before I had beached three good fish. Noticing a couple of anglers setting up near me and wanting to save bait for a few hours beach fishing in the afternoon, I packed up and wandered over. Pat Murphy and Tom Dunphy are locals who fish this estuary regularly and know its form. Within the past week they have had bass to over 8.lbs along with some quality flatfish. They weren’t doing to bad today either with six flounder between them, all on crab.
Chatting about various angling based issues the time flew, Tom beached another couple of fish and then the bites went off. With the tide nearly full out most flounder had passed through or had settled down in the mud waiting for the first push of the flood. That would be two hours from now so with a plan to fish a nearby strand for bass I said my goodbyes to the chaps. Walking towards the car I reflected on what had been a very productive morning. Here’s hoping the afternoon is as good.
See also: Floundering Around in Co. Wexford.
Tags: Angling, Estuary fishing, Fishing, Flounder, Ireland, lugworm, Peeler crab, Sea Angling, Sea Fishing, shore fishing, Surf casting, Wexford
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Monday, October 3rd, 2011
Armed with fresh lugworm and frozen peeler crab I picked up Diego as arranged and headed towards a favourite local mark. The strong south easterly winds had backed around to the south and weakened, however the evening was damp and remained that way with a permanent mist in the air. Muggy, the air temperature being 17 degrees, if it was not for the rain you could have fished in your shirt sleeves. Hitting the beach as light was fading, our first baits entered the water around 19.30pm about two hours into the flood.
Having cast about sixty meters my rig had barely settled on the bottom when I received a serious slack line bite. Running up the beach I did not make contact for at least fifteen meters, then the rod buckled over. Could it be a bass? No, immediately the fish started swimming hard parallel with the shoreline, every so often turning on a sixpence and doubling back, a hound and no mistake. So it proved thrashing in the surf before Diego did the honours.
“That’s it for the night” said I to Diego, a good fish on the first cast always spells a lean session, and so it proved. Yes we caught fish practically every cast including many double headers, but they were all undersize. Whiting, rockling, flounder, and dab took the baits with abandon, plenty of them but all under 30 cms. We fished on till 11.00pm then called it a night. An enjoyable evening, here’s to a good session after bass on the south Wexford beaches next weekend.
Tags: Angling, Beach fishing, Fishing, Ireland, lugworm, Peeler crab, Sea Angling, Sea Fishing, shore fishing, Smooth hound, Surf casting, West Cork, Wicklow
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Wednesday, August 24th, 2011
Beach fishing for smooth hounds on a particular mark that I frequent is all or nothing, long periods of inactivity punctuated by moments of magical mayhem. Not having visited the location in over a month and with bait left over from the night before, the decision was a no brainer. Six bells saw me setting up as the evening sun started to cast long shadows over the shingle from the low cliffs behind. Armed with big yellow tail lug and peeler crab, I cast twin two hook paternosters sixty meters out into the falling neap tide and waited.
An hour went by and not a touch. Up to last year rods would be kept nodding at this venue, with species like flounder and codling filling in the gaps between the hounds and occasional bass. This season they have been noticeable by their absence, although bass do show when there is a roll on the sea from the south. The quietness though enhances the moment when a hound makes its presence felt, and how. I’m looking at the motionless rod tip, momentarily it quivers then bam over it goes, no need to strike just lean in the opposite direction, fish on. Running hard swimming left then right, quick silver turns a smoothie for sure. Eventually beached, in the four to five pound range, boy do these fish fight, defying their size, real athletes.
Fishing two rods and varying the distance, what the hell this time they’re both going out to the same place. Ten minutes later bang over goes the right, a better fish running hard towards the shallow reef. A crash behind me, tripod in a heap and my second rod heading towards the tide. Rod in hand hooped over I pick up number two and wedge the reel behind a now collapsed tripod leg, the reel line taught and zig zagging, my gear is going nowhere get this fish in quick. Hound number one hits the beach, now for number two. Still on and pulling, this is some craic, everything now under control. Number two hits the surf line, both are bigger 5/6 lbs, quick double snap then away, out go new baits, the pack has moved on.
That was it, another fifteen minutes passed with only the waves lapping on the beach breaking the silence. Time to go, the mark has delivered. Stopping to take photos, even for that minute loses a fish or two for sure, but hey it’s not a competition, it’s about capturing the moment. Three fish of that calibre, magical mayhem, quality fishing.
Tags: Angling, Beach fishing, Fishing, Ireland, lugworm, Peeler crab, Sea Angling, Sea Fishing, shore fishing, Smooth hound, Surf casting, Wicklow
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Thursday, August 18th, 2011
The South West Wales Association of Sea Angling Clubs or SWWASAC for short have a long tradition of visiting Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford, enjoying both the fishing and the craic. Penlan SAC are the latest club to make the crossing, and I was really looking forward to spending a couple of days introducing John Richards, his father Dai, and Dai Crocker to some quality Wexford shore angling. Ominously the southerly winds of recent days promised to spoil the show, uprooting tonnes of wrack and kelp and depositing it on the south facing beach and estuary venues which I had earmarked to fish.
Big tides signaled good fishing, and with the prevailing wind swinging around to the west and then subsequently the north east I genuinely thought that we might get a reprieve. Unfortunately though nature won out with mountains of floating seaweed, pushed along by the strong currents, wrapping around traces and masking baited hooks.
An evening on the Burrow shore east of Kilmore Quay hinted at what might have been given more favourable conditions. Although fishing was slow the two Dai’s in particular beached a number of good sized flounder up to 40 cms with Dai Crocker landing a small bass for good measure. The following day Cullenstown strand produced a few doggies but sadly Wexford’s finest bass, smooth hounds, and estuary flounders remained elusive due to the volume of weed present.
Staying at the Quay House B/B, Kilmore Quay, a family run business with a tradition of catering for anglers needs, the boat fishing members of the party enjoyed reasonable fishing catching eleven species of fish to include pollack, codling, ling, wrasse, and bass. All were in high praise for skipper Eamonn Hayes agreeing that given the prevailing conditions he worked hard to find and keep them over the fish.
I would like to take the opportunity of thanking Siobhan, Pat, and Mick of the Quay House for their hospitality over the last three days, and most importantly Penlan SAC for contacting me. It was great to fish with you John, Dai and Dai, swapping stories, having the craic, and God bless your patience and understanding regarding the frustrating conditions. To Martyn, Ian, and all the traveling group, “it was nice to spend time with you, come over again and sample what fishing Wexford really can offer, and most importantly, here’s to Swansea City staying in the Premiership”.
Tags: Angling, Bass, Bass fishing, Beach fishing, Fishing, Flounder, Ireland, lugworm, Peeler crab, Penlan SAC, Sea Angling, Sea Fishing, shore fishing, Surf casting, Wexford
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Sunday, August 14th, 2011
While placing an order for peeler crab with Joe Carley of South East Bait Supplies conversation turned to fishing as you might expect. With strong southerlies most likely putting weed on the beaches either side of Kilmore Quay, I asked Joe about a sheltered alternative that might be on form. One particular venue he mentioned intrigued me and never having fished it I laid plans accordingly. Digging lovely fleshy black lugworm close by I commenced fishing about two hours before high tide at 17.00pm.
A number of anglers were present at the mark on arrival, one having landed a 5.lb+ bass to lug on his first cast. Call me superstitious, but my experience of scoring goals or catching fish in the first minute equates to eventually losing the match or a lean session. So it proved to be, an enjoyable but slow evenings fishing in good company, with enough quality fish landed to show the venues potential.
Fishing two rods, one in close and varying distance with the other, I baited up twin hook paternosters with lug and settled down. Bites were slow although chaps to my right reeled in a steady stream of small flounder as the tide rose. With most anglers I talked to along the shoreline using lug, there is no question that peeler crab will accompany me on my next visit here. Over the top of the tide however things picked up with a number of heavy leans signaling decent flounder, one of which is pictured above.
A funny incident occurred an hour after high water, when a crashing sound to my left caused by a tripod and fishing rods falling over made me turn around. Neighbouring angler Sean Tobin had been chatting with his mates leaving his gear to fish unattended, a good bass had taken his ledgered lug bait and was now heading for the deep Sean’s rod in tow. With the rod snaking over a half submerged weed bed, Sean rapidly made up the ground grabbing the butt and lifting into what turned out to be a fine bass. A spirited tussle ensued before a happy Sean posed for the camera while being subjected to some light hearted mickey taking surrounding unattended fishing tackle and over enthusiastic bass. A great end to a lovely evenings fishing.
Tags: Angling, Bass, Bass fishing, Beach fishing, Fishing, Flounder, Ireland, lugworm, Mullet, Peeler crab, Sea Angling, Sea Fishing, shore fishing, Surf casting, Wexford
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