The remnants of Hurricane Katia struck the coast this week, with mountainous seas leaving behind a huge swell, and boat fishing has been impossible for the last number of days. Hopefully the improvement in the weather will allow boats to head out again soon, and fishing should be good for the next few weeks, with plenty of species available at this time of year due to the high water temperatures.

The sixth leg of the West Coast Shore League took place in atrocious weather conditions on Sunday on Streedagh beach, Co. Sligo, hosted by the Mullaghmore club. Fishing was tough on the day in spite of a good surf, with only small numbers of flounder and turbot coming in, and quite a few blanks recorded, including yours truly. At least I was in good company, with some very good anglers not landing fish either!

The winner on the day was Andrew McDermott from Oranmore, representing the Galway Bay club. Andrew has done very well this year in his first season competing, and the win was well-deserved. He landed 3 fish for 78 points.

The winner of Zone A was Kevin Barber from Western Vikings SAC, with 3 fish for 70 points. Second was Peter Atkins (GBSAC), with 2 fish for 50 points, and third was John Callaghan (Defence Forces SAC). The winner of Zone B was Michael McGettigan from Mariners SAC, with 3 fish for 78 points, second was Ed Kilroy (Newport SAC) with 2 fish for 46 points, and third was Sean Ivory (Western Vikings) with 2 fish for 37 points.

With 2 legs left in the league, it’s still very tight at the top, with Mike Curtin leading on 582 points. Peter Atkins is hard on his heels with 574 points, with Frank Rixon and Ed Kilroy fighting it out for third place at the moment. With competitors allowed to drop their two lowest scores at the end, however, that could bring a host of other contenders into the reckoning, and nothing will be settled until the final leg in late November.