The Beara Peninsula in West CorkEVERY YEAR A group of mates and I take a weeks holiday, when we choose to go fishing. You’ll note from the above that the emphasis is on ‘holiday’ and not the fishing as this is important. All the guys who go have jobs, families, mortgages etc so we all need a break. The fishing is a major part of the break but it isn’t the be all and end all, and so we consider several things before we choose our destination. It’s not a case of big fish or bust, it has to be different, fun, hassle free and without any pressures for it to tick all the boxes. As well as experiencing new fishing I like to experience new places so we rarely return to the same place no matter how good the week away was, although this time plans are already afoot for a return visit. So where did we go that has made us change our mind? In the past we have been to France, Spain, Canada even Gambia without feeling the need to rebook so where was this far flung destination?…Well, Ireland actually. I have been to Ireland many times in the past, and along with a lot of anglers have watched with sadness as the fishing got progressively worse. Graham wrote recently on this website about the decline in the bream fishing and the pike fishing has frankly fared no better. But even when the fishing was poor the ‘craic‘ certainly was not and it is this part of an Irish holiday that keeps coarse anglers returning more in hope than expectation. It was this craic that I really missed about the place, wherever we went in the world nowhere had the kind of down to earth, simple, yet heart-warming welcome you would receive in a small Irish village – the Guinness wasn’t too bad either. So we had decided we missed the emerald isle so much we all wanted to return but had no real desire to target pike or other coarse fish; so what to do? For a while I had heard about the excellent sea fishing south west Ireland had to offer and the Beara Peninsula in West Cork, in particular, sounded like it had untapped potential and was just waiting to be explored. An internet search using the words “sea fishing south west Ireland pubs” came up with the website of John Angles, based at Inches House in the small village of Eyeries John and his wife Maree have a fantastic set-up with a large detached house offering full board, or if you prefer, self catering accommodation in the on-site cottages and a fantastic 31ft pro-charter offshore fishing boat (which he has recently taken delivery of) that is moored in the scenic harbour of Castletownbere just a few minutes drive from the accommodation. John can supply quality tackle if required, in fact his boat is sponsored by Penn tackle so you can imagine the quality of gear available, but we chose to adapt our pike fishing gear, principally lure rods and reels as we felt they would be perfect for fishing with sport in mind. As well as rods and reels John can also supply any terminal tackle you require but in the numerous emails that we exchanged before my visit he gave us a list of bits and pieces to bring and we bought a bulk order from a sea fishing mail order company which would be more than enough to get us through the week. We caught the ferry from Holyhead on Friday afternoon and arrived in the port of Dun Laoghaire at 4.30pm. We had not accounted for the Dublin traffic and this added a good hour or so onto our journey, but as long as we arrived in time for a few pints of the black stuff we would be happy. At this point it is worth mentioning that three of the party, Ivan, Andy and myself were travelling a day earlier than the others (Dave and Tel) as we were planning on watching England’s first world cup match instead of travelling on the Saturday. Tel being rather henpecked would not be allowed this little luxury but as we are all mates you can be sure none of us mentioned this to him throughout the week…yeah right! Saturday: Day 1 After a good gallon of the black stuff we awoke to a full Irish breakfast and decided to spend a few hours rock fishing before the big game started at 2.00pm. Not wanting to travel too heavy we went down to a rock mark pointed out by John and decided to fish with a light lure rod each and spin some jellyworms for the pollack. From the off we were into fish, lovely golden and green coloured pollack of perhaps 2 to 5lb all of which fought like stink and really whetted our appetite for the fishing ahead. In fact we enjoyed it so much we decided to just have a couple of beers during the match (which was crap!) and fish again in the evening. We had chartered the boat for four days during our stay, expecting to mix this with some shore fishing but on returning to the cottage John told us that the weather was blowing up and it was unlikely we would be out in the boat for at least a couple of days. However we still needed a venue for the evening and after a chat with John we decided to try another shore mark he knew, this time in search of conger. I tackled up with a 4lb TC spod rod and a large fixed spool reel loaded with 30lb mono and a 50lb wire trace. As the spot was very snaggy I simply attached the trace to the main line using an 80lb test swivel and tied an old bolt to some 10lb mono, I was not expecting this to come in without losing gear so my half mackerel bait would stay in place until either a conger took it, or it became Guinness time. A conger took it. The fight was awesome, the power unbelievable but the best was yet to come. I knew it was a decent fish but I was a bit unprepared for what came to the surface. When it appeared through the crystal clear water, Ivan and I looked open mouthed at each other for a few seconds before he shouted “what the *$*& is that!?!?!“  One large conger! Then we both burst out laughing as we knew the fish was coming no further, we had no gaff, and to be honest no desire to use one, so we were pretty much at stalemate. When we tried in vain to handline it up, the mono brushed against a rock and the eel slid back into the kelp. But we were not in the least bit bothered, we had had a great first day, a whole week ahead and it was now pub time. Sunday: Day 2 With the wind still blowing we decided on a bit of rock fishing, but this time our target would be the ballan wrasse that abound this area. A couple of hours at low tide soon had enough hardback crabs for a days fishing (or so we thought) and we made our way down a small track to another gloriously rugged piece of coastline. The water was so clear you could see the bottom in 20ft of water and you just knew the big ballans would be down there in the kelp just waiting for a hapless crab to show itself. I tackled up with a 3lb TC deadbait rod, with 15lb mono and a 25lb mono hooklength and another old bolt as a weight. Ivan and Andy preferred a float set up and both methods worked although the day eventually showed that the bigger fish fell to a legered bait. For some reason you got far more bites on a floatfished hardback but these were very difficult to hit and although I got less bites I did seem to hook up on more fish while legering. This may seem like a heavy set up for fish averaging around 3-4lb but anyone who has previously caught wrasse will tell you that this is certainly not the case. They are hard and dirty fighters who find every rock ledge, boulder or strand of kelp on the way to the surface. We lost count of the number of wrasse we caught but we had a bite on every crab we had gathered and we must have gathered over a hundred! We didn’t bother weighing any of them, or photographing many either (as the sport was so hectic) but I suppose the best we had went around 4.08 or 4.12. It really was great fun and as enjoyable a days fishing as I have had in a long time.  Gary into another one! Later we moved to ‘conger rock’ (as we passed it on the way home) and tried spinning the deep water for pollock. Again we caught fish with one of the highlights for me being the landing of a fish of around 7lb on an ultra-light spinning set up. It took one of the new imitation storm sandeels and I was later to find that Dave too had had one of a similar size on the same bait just before we had arrived. Thirsty work and time for more Guinness… Monday: Day 3 Still no boat fishing due to the high winds so we decided on something a little different today. Fishing in a bay sheltered from the winds we used our deadbait rods to ledger sandeels and mackerel for thornback rays. This was probably the only slow fishing we had all the time we were there with very little coming out during the morning. Tel had a small thornback and me a little bull huss. I wasn’t too concerned about it’s size though as we were having a species contest during the week and this just nudged me ahead.  Another species in the bag As the rays weren’t playing, Ivan, Andy and I decided to have some fun with the wrasse again finding a new mark further around the coast where fish after fish fell for the hardback crabs. This part of the world must be absolutely stuffed with wrasse as we again caught loads of them. Dave and Tel decided to return to the ‘conger rock’ and both hooked good fish. Tel finding himself in the same predicament as me on the first night as a fish too big to come ashore was cut free in the margins whilst Dave managed to get a hold of his as it was slightly smaller and only slightly more manageable. Tuesday: Day 4 We’re on the boat! The forecast has improved and we’re planning on four consecutive days afloat. Today is a bit ‘choppy’ to say the least but we’re determined to get out and as John’s boat ‘Tigger’ is more than capable of handling the swell we are going to motor a few miles out to a reef that the skipper tells us will be stuffed with pollack. If you thought the shore fishing was good, the boat fishing was even more spectacular. We started by bait catching adjacent to a breathtaking cliff face into crystal clear water and John managed to put us on a huge shoal of launce (giant sandeel) which were quickly caught by feathering hokkai, they were then placed in the live well to be used drifting for pollack. I was using a medium/heavy Nash lure rod and a small multiplier loaded with 50lb power pro braid. On the end of this a metal boom was attached with a lead (and rotten bottom) on one end and a 6ft 25lb mono hooklength on the other. A large single hook about a 4/0 was threaded through the sandeels gill and nicked into its flank. This was then carefully lowered through 300ft of water until it touched bottom then gently wound back to the surface, if you didn’t get a hit (which was rare) after about 60 turns of the reel you dropped the bait back down again.  Fishing was good from the boat The pollack were on them from the off but we were under strict instructions not to strike. Apparently the secret is to keep winding, no matter how many times the fish hit the bait (or lure), eventually you get a constant pressure as the pollack engulfs the bait and only at that point do you lift into the fish. It is at this stage that it is vital that your drag is set as the fish invariably crash dives back down towards the reef that John has positioned us over, it really is great stuff and I have to say that on balanced tackle these pollack really give a good account of themselves. Again I lost count of how many we caught but the fishing was excellent with a good average size. Most fish were in the 7-8lb range with quite a few nudging double figures. However, a sight that will live for me for some time is the golden flanks of my first, large fish rising slowly through the crystal clear water whilst avoiding a stream of carrots being chundered over the side by Dave and Andy who were fishing slightly uptide of me – marvellous. When we came ashore the sun was out and the weather appeared to have finally broken for the better. We celebrated by going straight into the legendary ‘McCarthy’s Bar‘ made famous by the book of the same name. Both Andy and Dave are complaining of heartburn having spent some considerable time retching, we decide the best medicine is cider and promptly down four pints each…nice! Wednesday: Day 5 Today is flat calm and the sun is blazing, no danger of anyone being unwell today. In truth the main reason a couple of guys were ill yesterday was that we left the pub about 2.30am. Last night we had an early night, about 1.00am; well most of us did, Ivan and I stayed on for another couple of large Jameson’s and once again lost track of time. I almost felt guilty when I woke the sleeping barman lying flat out on the bar to ask for another couple of Guinness – I kid you not! We motor a few miles out to a wreck John tells us is very consistent and should produce ling. Baits were fluorescent squid ‘muppets’ on 6/0 hooks baited with large chunks of fresh mackerel and John would use his sonar and GPS to place us with pinpoint accuracy uptide of the wreck before drifting back down over it. On most drifts at least one of us had a fish and although we took a few nice pollack, ling were definitely the main attraction. Bites were ferocious and you really couldn’t afford to give them any quarter once they were hooked as they would do everything in their power to get back in the wreck. It’s fair to say that perhaps all the bigger fish were lost due to our inexperience. My first couple got back into the wreck but once I’d got the hang of piling on the pressure and pumping, no more beasties made their escape. Most of the lads had high doubles with Ivan and I catching a couple of corkers weighing slightly under 20lb. Having had my share of big ling I had a couple of drifts with a storm shad lure to try and get an oversize pollack on the lighter gear. Not surprisingly it wasn’t a pollack but another near 20lb ling that grabbed hold of the shad. Now that was a fun fight! As it’s a lovely evening we decide to have a few more hours on ‘conger rock’ this time however we were unsuccessful, probably due to the brilliant sunshine and flat calm conditions. Still, it’s a lovely setting and we have another night in the pub to look forward to. Thursday: Day 6 An early start today as we all (including the skipper) want to get back to watch the second England game…I wish we hadn’t bothered! After the usual bait stop for mackerel, which was actually quite good fun, John took us to another wreck where a commercial skipper had told him of some huge coalfish that had been picked up earlier in the season. We were all up for it and it was yet another glorious day weather wise. On the second drift over the wreck I get a take on a pearlescent storm shad lure and it takes me an age to lift the heavy weight through over 400ft of water. The ‘coalie’ weighs only about 7-8lb but my arm is hanging off. I’m almost dreading getting one approaching 20lb. As it happened none of the really big fish showed and after a couple of hours we moved nearer inland. Despite the slow start it’s another all action day with fish coming aboard thick and fast. Most of the action was with the hard fighting pollack taken on storm shad lures on the long flowing traces and lighter sportfishing gear. As we were getting plenty of takes I even tried experimenting with a few other lures and had good fish on some 5″ twin tails and mag grubs. Ivan and I make a hog of ourselves in the pub again and are last home. John tells us he heard us singing about 3am from about 2 miles away, I ask him what we were singing, he has no idea, neither do we. But I do remember falling in a ditch on the way home and looking for Ivan to help me out. At first I couldn’t see him…then I did. He had fallen in the ditch on the opposite side of the road…will we ever grow up? Tel had made some roast chicken and jacket spuds for supper. By the time we got back they were cremated. We still ate them though, crunching through bone and meat with charcoal all over our faces. I think Ivan threw the first spud but he says it was me. Either way a food fight developed and the other lads came downstairs in the morning trying to understand how the chicken had exploded in the night. Last Day: Friday Today we’re going to try for conger over rough ground but the cunning plan doesn’t pan out as we had hoped. Only a couple of fish are caught and these are pretty small, Ivan having the best of about 18lbs. Before we move away and catch a few more pollack and coalfish, I drop a sneaky rod over the side with small hooks baited with small mackerel strips to up the ante in the species competition. A couple of brilliantly coloured cuckoo wrasse make this a wise move and despite the childish shouts of ‘cheat’ ringing out I’m nudging further ahead in the race.  a nice little wrasse John decides to spend the last couple of hours drifting over the haddock grounds. Although I admit at first I had little interest, it became absorbing and fun fishing. Again using light gear we would drift slowly over broken ground, John watching the sounder and letting us know when we were about to drift over the small rock pinnacles that the fish lay behind. Bites were soft, almost spongy affairs and john warned us not to strike as they had very soft mouths. A slow gentle pull was enough to set the hook then the fish were slowly, almost delicately played to the surface to stop the hooks from pulling. This was what we all did until the skipper himself missed a few bites and struck hard enough to hook a barracuda!….we deservedly gave him a load of stick for this and accused him of giving us bum information just so he could outfish us. This of course was not true; John worked tirelessly throughout the week to put us on fish and was always on hand to offer advice, or to take the pi55 if the situation warranted it. I’d like to think he had as much fun as us during the week, there was certainly enough banter flying around the boat to keep everyone smiling. Unfortunately for you lot most of it was totally unrepeatable and I fear Graham’s website would get shut down if it were printed here. Between us during the week we caught ling, pollack, coalfish, ballan and cuckoo wrasse, conger eels, thornbacks, bull huss, three bearded rockling, cod and haddock all of a pretty good size. We saw dolphin, whales, and a vast array of sea birds such as puffin, guillemot, gannet, storm petrels and many more. The weather was kind to us, the skipper was first rate, accommodation spot on, pubs fantastic, locals friendly and the scenery breathtaking, no wonder we are planning a return. So with the fishing over we had just enough time for a final night out. An evening in Castletownbere was rounded off with a fantastic steak and several more pints of the black stuff. Ivan won the best specimen with his ling with Tel coming a close second with a 5lb plus haddock. I won the species competition and the cries of ‘cheat’ and ‘snide’ quickly subsided when I put the 40 euros winnings into the drinks kitty…it was that kind of week. If you want to know any more about the fishing on the Beara peninsula or further information on where we were based and the charters available you can contact John Angles by calling him on +353 (0)2774494 or if you prefer email info@irelandseaangling.com or visit his website at www.irelandseaangling.com |
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