Rockhunter reports from East Cork:
05/10/13: The tides were strong as there was a new moon. I planned fishing a stretch of coast in East Cork which I only fished a couple of times this year. However, when I got out of the car and had a look down at the shore it did not look too good. Although it was a nice sunny day there was a fairly strong southwesterly breeze which had blown up a moderate surf and the water looked highly coloured. So as an alternative I made my way to a more sheltered mark in Cork Harbour. I dislike fishing the harbour and much prefer to be on the open coast but with the conditions it seemed like the best option. I fished from low tide for the next 3.5 hours working my way along a stretch of shore with lots of gulleys and rock ridges. Another angler was fishing from small boat and was drifting 30-40 m out along the same stretch, so between us we had that area well covered but if there were any fish there they were not interested.
It was not looking good so I packed up and headed to a mark on the coast that is partially sheltered from southwesterly winds. I had some good fish there last year on big tides in the September/October period in the last two hours up to high tide. So I got there on what should be the optimum time. The sea was quite choppy but the water clarity was not too bad.
I was fishing for about 25 minutes when I saw the black outline of a fish coming after the lure, again I was using a Delalande Picoleau, and I felt a tug but the fish missed the hook, I slowed down the retrieve and the fish struck again. This time it was well hooked and initially dived with the lure before breaking the surface. I worked it in and eased it onto a rock ledge. It was a 45 cm bass.
06/10/13: Again the Sunday after a nice Saturday was grim with thick fog, light misty rain and a strong southwesterly breeze. I made my way to the same Waterford mark I fished on Sunday 22nd September as it would be sheltered. The conditions looked reasonable and the water clarity was good. I worked my along the bay with just one nibble from a fish that wasn’t hooked. Finally just before packing up in an attempt to at least catch one fish I put on a yellow tailed jelly worm and lobbed it across a kelp lined ledge with a deep drop off. I reckoned there must be pollock lurking there. After a few casts I got a small pollock which didn’t even weigh a pound. It was high tide at that stage so I packed up and made my way up the cliff before it got too dark after another very disappointing session.
Compliments of:
RockHunter
South Coast, Ireland
Web: www.rockhunterblog.ie
