David from Arklow is a joy to read. His adventures when fishing are captivating and make you wish you could leave the confines of work and get out there to share in the fun!! Here is his latest escapade:
30/05/12 River or estuary mullet and open sea mullet are two different species for me. I’m still talking about the grey mullet like species but the behaviour of fish in the river and the sea I wouldn’t like to compare. River residents are very easy to locate and to keep them fed. Open sea fish are like ghosts-showing up in a small shoals and very quick disappearing. Knowledge about their paths is the key , but may not guarantee a successful catch. Patience mixed with luck and good weather are neccessary too.
There are a few places along the East Coast, where the chance of meeting with the grey ghost are pretty high.
Today was my red letter mullet day. Having a couple of spare hours to fill, I decided to hit one of my local beaches.
Geared up with match rod, 1000 size reel loaded with 8 lb mono and 5gram float I was ready to action. Just a quick visit to my local market to get some bait and that’s it.
Fishing was very good. I threw some secret mixture to the water which attracted the mullet shoal. Three fruitless casts and shortly after -fish on!
Sea mullets are strong fighters and there was no exception this time. After a five minute battle I landed my first mullet of the year.
The fish was in a perfect condition and fought well. After short rest in the shallows she strongly swam back. I was lucky to capture this moment with my camera.
After that action , I just left my float baited with bread flake for a drift with the sea current. It took more than an hour for another bite.
My float burried rapidly and- fish on!
This battle was longer. I struck fish on the distance, and she was much bigger. Finally I landed my new personal best sea grey mullet – 5 lb 2 oz !
David