Pete Davis of West Cork and District SAC put together this great report of their recent club match on Caliso Bay beach in west Waterford…

Saturday evening saw West Cork and District head for Youghal to fish their last fixture of 2023. A smaller than usual crew of 10 were on hand not deterred by the 30-40mph gusts from a howling SW wind. Whilst fishing conditions weren’t going to be particularly comfortable outside the confines of the beach shelters, the sea state itself was superb. Small close together tables of surf, clean and free from weed. It looked optimal for the time of year and hopes were high at lines in at 5pm.

It didn’t take long for fish to materialize with a number of Painted ray making an appearance from the first casts with Troy Francis and Liam Davis (the only junior angler on the night) pulling in fish. Looking down the line it was clear that there were numbers of fish arriving. Yours truly on Peg 6, sandwiched between Troy and Liam had an unhappy start with the first 2 casts coming in empty until a change of tactic with bigger baits started to draw in fish starting off with the winter whiting staple.

Liam on peg 5 having never caught a painted ray before followed up with several more as eventually having found the range on peg 6 fish started to flow. A double of whiting with one beauty of 39cm was followed by a dream cast that pulled in a treble shot consisting of 2 painted ray, 1 of 81cm, another of 56cm and sandwiched in the middle a lump of a coalie of 40cm. A Carlsberg cast if ever you saw it yielding a huge 192 points. Liam had followed with yet another ray of 72cm this time as reports from down the beach started to come through with Stephen O’Donovan making hay on the end peg with numbers of Ray coming after a few whiting.

Peg 5 and 6 were steadily producing fish throughout albeit at a slower rate than earlier but with barely a blank cast coming back. A strange double shot to yours truly with a dogfish whiting double shot coming in, both on the same hook with the whiting halfway down the doggies throat. I could understand that if it was a small pin whiting but that fish measured at over 20cm! It had to be seen to be believed and not something I have ever seen before. Think your having a bad day, you have to feel some bit of sympathy for that whiting. Opted for a free lunch, got hooked and then attempted to be devoured by a dogfish biting off more than it could chew!

Fishing for most had slowed coming into the closing stages but Stephen O’Donovan was the man to beat on the night with a late Dogfish/Ray double shot to go with an earlier double shot of Painted rays put him past the point of catching up. Fine fishing from SOD with 15 fish to his name to take the honours on the night. A great evenings fishing with 27 Ray landed between 10 of us amongst numbers of other fish, fine whiting etc. Only disappointment being there were no cod landed.

As anglers retreated to the carpark to await the final results, the committee had a treat in store for all attending with a mountain of piping hot pizzas delivered from the local Apache down to the beach for us. A wonderful way to end the evening and there wasn’t a whole lot left after the lads had finished!

Results

Scores on the night as follows. Stephen O’Donovan taking the win with 15 fish for 709 points followed by yours truly in second place with 13 fish for 604 points and Troy Francis in 3rd with 7 fish for 304 points. Liam Davis, fresh from his gold medal exploits at the World Championships, fishing his last comp at junior level with West Cork and District put in a sterling effort to finish with 12 fish for 557 points and would have placed 3rd overall on the night had he fished as senior. He will compete as a senior at club level next year and he has constantly shown over the past 3 years he is well able to mix it with the big boys so you can’t say you haven’t been warned!

Winners

1st place Stephen O’Donovan 709pts
2nd place Pete Davis 604pts
3rd place Troy Francis 304pts

Longest flatfish pool

Pete Davis, Painted Ray, 81cm.

Longest roundfish pool

Pete Davis, Coalfish, 40cm.

Junior winner

Liam Davis 557pts

With that concluding things, it was Troy Francis who took overall honours for the year winning the Master Angler title with a super consistent run of results, never outside the top 3 all year. Well done Troy, a worthy winner. Stephen O’Donovan followed in 2nd with Mark O’Sullivan in 3rd. Liam Davis signed off for the final time at this level winning the Junior title for 2023.

Massive thanks to all concerned in relation to the organizing and running of our club and the competition. There is a ton of work goes into this and would like to particularly thank SOD and Sully for their efforts over the year. Well done men. With that, I will sign off and wish all of you a very happy Christmas and New Year.

Join the Club

Have a look at our facebook page for fixtures and drop us a message if interested in joining.

Best wishes all!

Pete Davis
West Cork and District Sea Angling Club

All about West Cork and District SAC…

The club was formed on march 19th 2009, in the small picturesque harbour town of  Kinsale County Cork. We’re an inclusive club, this can be seen in our membership profile; from anglers who are new to match fishing all the way up to members of the Irish World Shore Team 2010, two of which are in the club! The club holds circa 10 competitions per year, members are encouraged to practice a catch and release policy in the interests of conservation. Anybody wishing to join our club is always welcome, just use the contact us page and we will give prospective members full details.
Web: http://westcorkanddistrict.webs.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/West-Cork-and-District-SAC/201776589958897