Stan Ryan was in touch to report that the mackerel are still in at Ardmore…
On 30th December I brought my two nephews, Leon and Keelan for their annual Christmas fishing outing to the pier in Ardmore. Local angler Ger Dunne joined us.
Usually at this time of the year we would expect to get some nice whiting , up to 2lb, and coalfish. The lads have also landed dogfish and bull huss in previous years.
Off we set with 3 hook traces using size 6 hooks. Bait was frozen mackerel and lug wraps.
The first few casts landed mainly small whiting and one good coalfish. It was time to try something different and cast out a bit further and move the baits slowly back towards the pier. Leon suddenly seemed to have hooked a better fighting fish……a mackerel. Yes a mackerel at the end of December!!! Then Keelan and Ger reeled in more mackerel.
Dusk was upon us and the light was disappearing rapidly. Nonetheless, in a very short space of time 30 mackerel were landed.
December the 8th, a number of years ago, was the latest previous date that any number of mackerel were caught .
Another local angler went out in his boat on 2nd January and managed to catch a box of mackerel in 40 minutes.
Global warming?
