Emails were exchanged, money changed hands and Ryanair boarded (eventually) and we were off to sunny Ireland. I had booked two days with Adrian on the 19th & 20th of September so I set off for Donegal on the 18th arriving in Kilcar at about 8pm. Things were looking good as even the B & B was expecting me. I was supposed to contact Adrian on arrival to have a chat and get to know him, but was unable to contact him (I’ll explain later), however, he collected me the following morning and we headed off to Teelin Bay where his boat Naomh Cartha is moored. So finally after all the anticipation we were on our way.
Again things were working out in my favour, as I had been due to share the boat with a couple of journalists who had cried off at the last minute (Ahhh!). Adrian had booked a couple more in their place, a father and son from Belfast, John & Johnny. Neither was too keen to get into the harness so the honours were down to me. We headed west out of Teelin Bay and along the coast towards Rathlin O’Beirne Island. We passed some stunning scenery on the way out, passing under Slieve League, Europe’s highest sea cliffs at almost 2000 feet. Rathlin O’Beirne Island is where last year Adrian encountered a Bluefin of 970lbs. The fish was hooked about 300 metres from the shore and was boated about 3 miles further west and north of the island. We had cleared Rathlin by a few hundred metres when we spotted the first fish of the day. A huge splash was all I saw, but it was enough to get the adrenalin flowing. On went the harness and out went the lures. These consist of an array of plastic squid-shaped lures attached to a stainless steel spreader bar and these are trolled on the surface about 30 metres behind the boat on an outrigger. Two rods are employed with the surface lures and outriggers and a further three rods can be used with a variety of other methods, either lures on a downrigger or straightforward diving plugs (usually big Rapalas). The baits are trolled at between 4.5 and 5 knots. Meanwhile over to starboard (that’s to the right) more Tuna were putting in an appearance, this time I got a good look at them; absolutely awesome, probably 10 – 12 feet long and weighing between 600 and 1000lbs.
The next few hours passed slowly with only the odd fish spotted We probably only saw a dozen fish all day, so at 5.30 we called it a day and headed for home, leaving the survey ship still steaming in and out of the area. A new day and I was lucky again A new day brought new fishing partners, but again I was the lucky guy. Two Northern region fisheries officers who were just out to see how it was all done and John Martin from West Virginia who just wanted to see one caught. Reluctantly (Yes! Punches the air with glee) I pulled on the harness for a second day. Once out on the fishing grounds Bluefin were soon in evidence with several fish active on the surface in various locations around us we were soon trolling with 4 rods deployed as described earlier. The Bluefin feed on Garfish and I could see a small fish breaking the surface being chased by a gull, almost immediately other small fish broke the surface followed by a 10ft monster! All this within 30 metres of the boat! All eyes were now on lures, but sad to say no strikes were registered. We must have seen between 60 and 100 Bluefin on the second day, so who knows how many we passed over?
When I arrived in Kilcar on the Wednesday evening, as I mentioned earlier, I had tried to contact Adrian without success. The reason I discovered the following morning was, he was in Killybegs weighing in a new European record Bluefin. The fish a Bluefin Tuna was 9ft 1in long and weighted 870lb 2oz, took two and a quarter hours to bring alongside the boat and a further twenty minutes to take aboard. Michael Callaghane from Killibegs was the only other boat out that day and landed a Bluefin of 660lbs. The following day two fish were caught in Galway Bay, so there is a chance I could catch them off the Mayo coast. Adrian Molloy’s set-up is first rate, he has invested a considerable amount of money into this venture, with a superb boat and top quality Rods and Reels. Adrian has set the standard for this type of fishing off the west coast of Ireland. I for one will be going back for more. See Adrian’s website www.tunacharters.ie for more info, or contact me at colin@accony.freeserve.co.uk. To go on this trip I booked flights on Ryanair to Knock in Co. Mayo, rented a car from Hertz. Adrian booked the B & B in Kilcar. Total cost for two days fishing, three days car hire, two nights B & B and the flights about £ 450. Great value! Great scenery! Great BIG fish!! |
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