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Good mixed sea fishing in pleasant autumn weather

I had a group of Dutch men in over the last 4 days and they enjoyed some very fine weather with light easterly winds and a light frost in the mornings. The fishing held up very well too. The Mackerel seem to have moved out of the estuary but are still plentiful from Loop head north. There seem to be an increase in whitefish showing on the ground with quite a few codling about. 

We did a day at the shark and although it should be coming to the end of a shark season we had a great drift. The morning started with a nice breeze and the first 2 and a half hours of the drift showed 3 Blue shark. However the wind fell very light and we had no run for the rest of the drift. This was even more frustrating as we could see shark swimming around the boat. I think it is safe to say if conditions had stayed with us we could have had one of our best days. Other boats were also reporting good catches of shark.

Even with the very big tides the bottom fishing at anchor was also good with some nice Conger and a good Skate landed. It was very noticeable though, that this was best at slack tide. This was the last group booked with me for a multi day fishing package for this year. While I still have a lot of day charters booked and hope to keep fishing till after Christmas (weather permitting!!) things are going to slow down. However I will still send in the occasional report if I get out for a few days.

Reefs west of the Loop and Querrin Pier providing most of the action this week

REPORT TO SEPTEMBER 26th ....

Fishing over the last week has been hampered not for the first time this year by the weather. I spent 4 days of the last week fishing east of Carrigaholt in the estuary. The best day we had was at a mark about 400 yards off Querrin Pier in about 5 meters of water. Here we got well over 20 Ray with an average weight of 8lbs and also had at least 10 Bullhuss of over 10lbs. Fishing on the south side of the estuary also produced a lot of Ray but the size was not as good. The fishing on the marks east of Scattery was not much good.
We got onto the reefs west of the loop on 2 days and the broken weather did result in some very good fishing. Pollock provided great sport on shads, with baits and pirks turning up some nice Cod and Ling. Even the Mackerel were back in force!
Because the weather had been poor I did not want to commit one of the days just to shark so on a long drift over broken ground I put out a bag of rubby dubby and a few shark baits. This produced 1 Blue shark of 65lbs while at the same time good fishing was had on the bottom. While not ideal and with a few extra tangles, it was great to see that there were still some Blues about.

Some of the best mixed fishing of the year so far west of the Loop

REPORT TO SEPTEMBER 12th ....

Had a few days off this week to get away with the family. I only got back fishing on Friday for a day trip booked for shark. Conditions were bad, flat calm and very sunny….!! We drifted about half a mile in almost 5 hours and did not even get a run. But it was just so nice to be out there and we had lots of big Whiting off the stony bottom we were over. Saturday was another day charter, this time on the reefs west of the Loop for mixed Whitefish. With a little moving about we got on a mark that produced some of the best mixed fishing we have had this year. Fish were coming in 3 at a time with all kinds of combinations of species. On Sunday I had a group of Germans arrive who are here for 6 days fishing. We were doing some mixed ground fishing north of the loop when one of the party was pulling in what turned out to be a fine Cuckoo wrasse on a rubber eel. Just as it came to the surface we could see a Blue shark following it up. The wrasse was left on the surface and sure enough the shark snapped at it and got the eel stuck in the corner of its mouth with the long hook over its teeth. After a great fight we got a 58lbs shark into the boat!
In general it is noticeable that it is a lot harder to get Mackerel. The shoals seem to have broken up. There are also a lot of small fish close to the land with the odd fine Cod or Pollock through them. There are also a lot of fine Coalfish about further off which put up a great show on light tackle.

Last week has been all about Shark

REPORT TO SEPTEMBER 5th ....

This last week has been about shark. I had two groups in over the week and both were hoping for at least one day’s sharking. With the weather being kind we got that in and a few days at the reefs west of the Loop. Indeed Sunday of this past week was the only day hampered due to weather.

The 3 days sharking produced 19 fish on the boat! The best one was 95lbs with the majority in the 40lbs to 60lb range. The bottom of the range was only 14lbs.
The fishing on the reefs was steady with a good range of species. There were a lot of Red Gurnard of a good size (1.75lbs) about.

On Sunday we fished for a short day in the estuary and had 1 Tope in the boat with a few Ray and Doggies. The Tope fishing has been a bonus this year. We are now well out of the normal Tope season here (May to July) but I am still getting a few and other boats are also reporting a few good catches.

Specimen Pollock rounds off a good week

REPORT TO AUGUST 29th ....

This week started with strong northerly wind but at least the forecast was good! As it turned out we have at last got some more seasonal weather and have had a very good weeks fishing. The start of the week saw us still confined to the estuary but the winds dropped and it was easer to fish. Catches included many Ray and Dogfish and after all the missed fish the previous week at the same mark east of Beal strand we got a Tope into the boat.

The northerly winds also meant I could get down the river onto some Conger and Bull Huss marks and this was much improved on the previous week.  By mid week we could get out onto the open sea again and a day on the reefs produced some good and varied fishing. It was nice to see some codling about and this has indeed continued over the last few days. Ling were also coming to the boat each day. The Pollock proved patchier but some good fish were turning up.

Our first shark trip was on Thursday and dare I say it but by then the winds had dropped so much that it was hard to get a drift! However one nice Blue of 30lbs was boated with some 3 other half hearted runs missed. Another day’s drift fishing north of the Loop produced good mixed fishing.
On Saturday I had the lads from I.S A. back, this time on a shark hunt. Like their Tope trip earlier in the year conditions were perfect and a good drift, starting 9 miles north west. of Loop Head, saw 6 Sharks in the boat. That day was the best day’s sharking so far this year and it is safe to say that with the right conditions and preparation there are lots of shark to be caught here at the moment.

Sunday was another day on the reefs west of the Loop and because the day was so good I was able to get further off that I had been this year. This extra distance paid off with about 6 double figure Pollock and one Specimen of over 12lbs.

Weather hampered sea angling on the Clare Dragoon forcing a retreat to the shelter of the Shannon Estuary

REPORT TO AUGUST 22nd ....

Well I think I have just put down the worst week weather wise since I started doing this job!! From 7 days fishing I only got out of the estuary for a day and a half. During the rest of the week I had to shelter from some very strong northerly winds. Even anchored close to a lee shore it was hard to fish as the boat swung around a lot.
Fishing for the week consisted of one day on the reefs west of Loop head. With the weather very changeable and the drift all over the place, it was had to get any consistent fishing. The next day I tried some broken ground north of the loop and this produced the best day of the week with about 120kg of white Pollock, some nice ling and cod mixed with a haddock or 2 and some fine whiting. In the afternoon we got stuck into another Skate but after about 20 minutes this got the better of the tackle we were using. The rest of the week was mostly about Ray and Dogfish, with one reasonable day at Conger and Bullhuss.
One bit of excitement was when we got a run from aTope on the Ray tackle. Needless to say this could not stand up to the pressure and although the fish was hooked it got away. This excitement was followed, to our surprise, by another hook up shortly afterwards which resulted this time in a straitened hook. Tope tackle was duly rigged and deployed but except for a few half hearted runs that was that!! Still it shortened the Day!!

Fine Skate to 120lbs boated on the Clare Dragoon

REPORT TO AUGUST 15th ....

This week I fished with a group of Dutch fisherman who had also fished with me last year. It’s really nice to welcome back fisherman from year to year and to see how they have followed through from their previous trip with changes to their fishing gear and tactics. The one thing I worry about is keeping the fishing fresh and interesting for them, but this group certainly got something different when they hooked into and landed a male Skate with a length of 2 meters and a wing span of 1.5 meters. Using some Scottish tables we worked out its weight at 119lbs.

We were bottom fishing some ground at anchor, mainly targeting congers. Earlier in the week we had been talking about the possibility of catching a skate so I had anchored on ground where I had caught Skate in nets in another life! Fishing was going ok with a selection of Whitefish, Doggies and a couple of Congers coming to the boat, when one of the lads got stuck in something big. The rest of the lines were brought in and a 15 minute struggle ended in much disappointment when the line parted. I was thinking of calling it a day but one of the fishermen had got his line back in the water while I was getting ready to haul the anchor. As I started the engine there was a shout from the back of the boat that something big had taken the bait. That was the start of a 1 hour 15 minute struggle to get the fish to the surface and into the boat. Once in the boat the measuring tape was got out, the fish was tagged and photographed and with much delight and backslapping the fish was safely returned to the water. The rest of the week was more “normal”. A days sharking saw one 60lb fish landed in the boat from 4 good runs. On the day we also had some great fun with some Garfish and some fine whiting from 90 meters of up to 2 and a half pounds all on light tackle.
The drift fishing was ok without being spectacular. We did have some fine Pollock to 10lbs. A try for Bullhuss at the south side of the Loop was less successful with only one of about 7lbs landed.
Fishing which did show a big improvement on the previous week was a day in the estuary. The Rays were cooperating again and a pleasant surprise was 3 Tope on the turn of the tide.
 

Shark season commences on the Clare Dragoon

REPORT TO AUGUST 8th ....

Fishing last week was much more like it should be at this time of year. I did not have to worry too much about the weather and it was a pleasure to be at sea. Alas it was not to last and we are back again to our unseasonable summer!
For most of last week I had a group of Scottish lads fishing with me. We had some very nice fishing on the reefs west of Loop Head, with a good range of fish coming to the boat. I also tried for a Tope although going off other years we are now coming to the end of our tope season. This session produced only one fish, but it did weigh in at a healthy 37lbs.
But the highlight of this week was the first Blue Shark of the season for me. A 5 hour drift produced 4 fine fish to the boat. The best an estimated 90lbs. Unfortunately we did not get him into the boat as he broke the line on what must have been his last run before I could rope him. However he gave us a good 20 minutes with much sweat. I could have landed him if I used a gaff but I don’t think a photo is worth that.
The week ended with a strong wind which confined me to the upper estuary. We did have a short session at the Tope but got no run. It would be nice to get another few but unlikely now. However they gave us a good season. The rest of the fishing was also very bad with Ray very hard to come by. It would be nice to think I would not have to try them again for a few weeks but that looks unlikely! But fishing is like that and next time might be fine, I hope so!!
 

Weather settled after a broken week

REPORT TO AUGUST 1st ....

This last week I was host to a group of fisherman from Holland and Belgium, from a fishing club called the delta fishers. This group is lead by a man called Koen who has been coming to fish here for the last 5 years and has had some great fishing. This year however we were badly hampered by the weather and only got out of the estuary for 3 out of the 6 days they were here. It must have been hard on them to wake up on the day they left to a complete change in the weather with light westerly winds and lots of sunshine!

The fishing with them over the last week was mixed. We managed about a day and a half fishing on the reefs west of Loop Head. The fishing there was spotty with easterly winds holding the boat against the tide resulting in hardly any movement over the ground. Fish came in spurts, nice sized fish coming to the boat each time we moved position, but slowing till we moved again. We did my first try for Blue shark which only resulted in one run and no fish in the boat, but conditions were again not ideal.
Some fishing at anchor in the estuary did produce a steady flow of Ray and doggies and as the wind eased and I managed to get to anchor closer to the mouth of the estuary we had one great session which produced quite a few Bullhuss, Conger and a Tope. Koen has booked again for next year and hopefully the weather will be much better!

The last 2 days have been day charters and Long drifts aided by a light westerly wind have been most productive and easily the most pleasurably days I have had at sea in the last 5 or 6 weeks. Let’s hope this fine weather is here to stay for a while!!
 

Sea fishing good in the shelter of the Shannon Estuary

REPORT TO JULY 25th ....

Over this last week I have done most of my fishing in the estuary. This was because I had a group of fisherman from Holland here for a few days and they wanted to keep to sheltered waters as much as possible. Then I had a Tope hunt on Saturday and Sunday and was the only day this week that I spent any time outside the Loop.
Tope fishing aside, when fishing in the estuary you are never going to get the catch rate or size that is on offer further off. But spending this last week there did bring home to me again that it does offer great sheltered water fishing. The fact that my group had a competition going between themselves did add to the excitement, but with out leaving the estuary we had Pollock, Cod, Ling, Mackerel, Scad, Cuckoo Wrasse, Ballan Wrasse, Poor cod, Whiting, Bullhuss, Conger, Dogfish, Ray, Red and Gray Gurnard and Tope!! One first for me was catching Bullhuss while jigging with baited lures and as if to push home the point 3 Bullhuss were caught using this method with the best clocking in at 12lbs. Saturday was a Tope day with the lads from Sea Angling Ireland S.A.C. The turn of high tide saw 9 Tope tagged and some more dropped runs. The day was perfect and the fishing matched! Sunday was a family day out with a couple with their grown up daughters and some friends. The day was fine and we had some nice varied drifts on the reefs further off.  

Sea fishing better than expected despite the poor weather forecast 

REPORT TO JULY 18th ....

Well I started last week looking at a forecast that was giving strong winds for the second week running and I was starting to feel somewhat down hearted. I had some hope from a web site that some fisherman from Holland had put me on to and that I had come to trust. But at the back of my mind was a boat man from Cork who had said to me, “forecast’s….FORCAST’S? Just keep looking till you find one that suits!!” and the internet can be a bit like that! Years of relying on the “Irishman” on RTE still mean that it is hard to ignore it completely. Any way as the week went on “strong winds” was mentioned less and as it turned out we had a great week.
Fishing was again all day charters and a bit of everything was working out well. With a little searching, good sized Pollock could be turned up with a nice mix of other species through them. The Tope fishing was ticking over without ever being spectacular, one or 2 fish being the norm. One thing that was noticeable about the Tope fishing was the number of runs that looked solid but with the fish dropping the bait after a few minutes of fight.
The week end trips were slightly different in that Saturday was more directed towards Tope and Sunday was out and out Pollocking. While Saturday did produce quite a few runs only 3 fish were tagged. Sunday produced about 220kgs of Pollock.