With age comes wisdom, or so they say but I had to question this when waves were soaking me with spray Tuesday night. As usual I had been following XC Weather for any sign of a let up in the wind and late last week the forecast for Tuesday was winds dying off and leaving a good evening. Digging the morning tide the breeze was stiff but fishable. Why didn’t I listen to myself then? If there was a good breeze that far inland what was it going to be like further round the coast. I knew the answer, I just chose to ignore it.
I met up with Joe a few hours later, armed with buckets of fresh lug , razor and good intentions. The wind was still there, but now it was a headwind and about 35 mph which reduced the total duration of the session to around an hour. The combination of wind and big tide making it near impossible to hold bottom. Even on the retrieve once the lead was in the surge I could not wind fast enough to keep up with it.
Back at home the fresh bait was sorted out into damaged worms and good worms. Rather than prepare them for tanking I just wrapped them with their purged sand in some dry newspaper and them in the bait fridge. Rods and reels were laid out to dry.
Thursday came round and the weather was good, the webcam was showing nice waves, not a white-out of surging foam, a quick check on the worms, they were perfect and finally tide time, which was good. Left with no choice(in my head) I had to go and after 40 minutes in the van I was setting up my rods.
Pulley pennel rigs. 4/0s on one rod and 2/0s on the other. The water was still very dirty so big baits were the way forward. I tried a single sandeel with a strip of mackerel just to see but I settled on the multi-wormed strings of big lug and live razor on the other. I have noticed that I seem to do well on the broken worms. I believe this is because there is lots of opportunity for scent to dissipate. I always start with the broken worms as they will not keep well in the fridge.
The rods were sitting nicely in the stand and when a gentle drop back showed I picked up and struck, winding down to meet the now slack line. Fish on but very little weight. I was pleased to land a plump schoolie. Anyone know when they stop being classed as schoolies and just become ‘small’? it would be interesting to hear what other people think. I have my owns thoughts but will hold them back for now. Anyway this one was a borderline keeper or slightly smaller but it was lightly hooked through the top lip and released easily even if its entry into the water wasn’t as gentle as I would usually try for, the waves chasing me back up the steps as I dropped it into the onrushing tide.
Soon after re-baiting the second rod rattled and then relaxed again. It looked like a flounder tapping at it and sure enough it was one of the smallest flounders I have caught, fitting snugly into the palm of my hand
A tip eye malfunction made me pack away the second rod. It didnt break so much as just fell apart. when ever I am sending away for tackle I always forget the replacement Fuji eyes because I have made do with the generic replacements I can obtain locally.
I found it easier fishing with the single rod due to the nature of the mark I was fishing on. Unusually I could see at least two other anglers fishing of to my left obviously taking advantage of the good weather. I was told by a walker that one of them had caught a couple of small bass.
After a similar gentle slack line another small bass came to the big lugworm baits, again nicely hooked and easily released
As the tide dropped away a third bass was landed, this one much smaller and a definite schoolie. I didnt even see the bite and he reeled in like a small lump of weed. Before the water left the steps a slightly better flounder took the lug and 4/0s. The flounder was very fortunate that it is not May already otherwise his fate would have been an 8/0 hook and wire trace instead of being slipped back into the sea.
I could see the digital thermometer on O’Looneys pub as I loaded the van and at nine O’clock at night in the second week of January it was reading 10 degrees, what is going on with the weather?? does it have a nasty shock in store for us or do we have a mild year in front of us.
With conditions improving and the weather settled the water will be fining down, anybody local with the chance of getting out tonight would probably do very well on the steps of Lehinch over high water.
An enjoyable session over, I just wonder if I saved enough worms for Saturdays RNLI fundraiser at Salthill
