REBEL COUNTY SAC fished their 2nd match of 2025 l0n 01 February at MONATRAE Bay, west Waterford. Shane Olden reports…
Winds were southerly and ferocious with speeds of 36mph. True to form in these conditions the bay fished it’s socks off once again. With some members cancelling we still managed a turn out of 26 anglers which was a great show of strength and new burst of life for the club for 2025.
Fishing was great from the off with Gabriel being the first out of the traps to put a fish on the cards with a codling on his now famous fresh pumped black lug. On came the domino effect and the whole line of anglers came to life as lads were seen frantically sprinting up and down the bay to get their fish measured by the angler to their right hand side. The beauty of these tough conditions is that the bay doesn’t end up being as dependent on darkness for numbers of fish nor species. It was a tough slog for the REBEL’S with head on winds, high surf and masses of weed within the first 20 yard section from the shore, but the REBEL’S knew all to well that it would be worth the hardship. They hunkered down, secured their gear, shelters and tripods and once again got the job done safely .
Two and a half hours into the comp myself and Vlad decided to support the lads and join forces for the remainder of the session as we were on our way home from a great few days fishing the 36th annual winter beach fishing festival held on the Wexford beaches. Tired and drawn from the few days fishing (and the extra long walks to our pegs lol) we arrived in darkness unprepared as such with our light lines, scratching gear and normally too small of a hook for this venue with the said conditions but still got straight on the fish. I had 2 casts myself producing a double shot of a flounder and codling, next cast was a codling and my third cast resulted in a crack off as the light gear couldn’t withstand the distance I was pushing for. The fact that my prized rod crashed from the tripod onto the stones twice with raging surf and stones being pushed over it probably didn’t help either. With all that going on I decided to call a halt for myself and to walk up and down the line to make sure everyone was safe and ok. In the mean time Vlad was doing his thing and also had 3 fish on his card at this stage putting in a good show as usual.
As some anglers fish counts were moving into double figures there were also reports of a few big fish being met and lost, presumed to be large bass and cod.
New members on the day were CHRIS GREENE traveling all the way from Dublin who enjoyed his first outing with the REBEL’S and put a few fish in his card making for a great debut. Next was newest member to our juvenile section was DONAL MCDONNELL who also put on an excellent show and not only caught his first codling with us but managed a top shelf count of 19 fish on his card. Not so new members but their first mention with the club were JAMES KENNEDY and SEAN O SULLIVAN who also put in a great performance and put plenty of fish on their cards and were shocked of their capabilities since joining and us and the knowledge and tips that have being shared by club members. Welcome aboard lads.
The front runners on the day and still battling hard for the top positions were STEPHEN WATKINS, JACOB MURPHY, KEVIN ROCHE AND GABRIEL MATACHEKO, all managing high double figures in count. The final whistle was blown and one angler pushed through it all and out of the high teens count of fish managing 26 fish to cement his place at top spot for this session STEPHEN WATKINS aka (Weather wat) as the lads have christened him being our usual bad weather informant on our private group chat. So watch out at MET EIREANN he’s coming for top spot on yer panel as well lol .
BAITS USED ON THE DAY: peeler crab , lug , black lug , mussel , sandeel , razor clam , king rag , and squid
SPECIES CAUGHT ON THE DAY: codling , flounder , whiting , coalies , bass and rockling.
TOP 10 PLACINGS ON The DAY
1st place STEPHEN WATKINS 26 fish 811 points
2nd place JACOB MURPHY 14 fish 517 points
3rd place KEVIN ROCHE 15 fish 495 points
4th place GABRIEL MATACHEKO 12 fish 382 points
5th place JAMES KENNEDY 11 FISH 361 POINTS
6TH PLACE VLAD 7 FISH 227 POINTS
7TH PLACE DANNY O SHEA 6 FISH 193 POINTS
8TH PLACE JEFFREY OLDEN 5 FISH 185 POINTS
9TH PLACE CHRIS GREENE 5 FISH 177 points
10th PLACE JIM COTTER 3 fish 115 points
A big well done to all who attended and stuck out the extra tough but rewarding conditions, and those who gathered bait for our lads.
Go Fishing…
We are always open to taking on members and can be contacted through social media , what’s app, messenger, facebook, and Instagram. If you’d like to get in on the fun, good fishing, making great friends and learning a lot contact us on the above and get your name on the list as it’s filling up fast and spaces are limited.
Our next comp is in COBH and hopefully as predicted it will be a good session and great craic as usual . Once again Thanks to all our followers, supporters and sponsors .
CATCH YE ON THE NEXT ONE , UP THE REBELS
Join the club
Rebels SAC are based in Cork and are are always happy to welcome new members.
The REBEL COUNTY SEA ANGLERS will be open for membership through out the year and we can be contacted on mobile 083 0198017, what’s app, messenger, facebook and Instagram. Catch you on the next one ……… UP THE REBELS
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