dun laoghaire west pier=grafton street!?!?

inigo

i was down in dun laoghaire the last couple of saturdays, but by the last bent of the west pier rather than the very end, which looked like bloody grafton street!!! i saw them getting the mackerel by the 6 at a time! i got some myself but i was really trying to learn (i couldn't even cast properly the first day!).

i presume howth is also a nightmare, so i was wondering if anyone knows whether the piers in bray and greystones, or any other accessible ones by bus/dart/etc. are so overcrowded and if there's a chance of getting anything else than mackerel.

thanks

Blub2k4

You won't really get much more on the piers than mackerel. If you think that Dun laoghaire is bad you'd want to try split rock out in Howth that's even worse.
If you want other fish than mackerel then you're better off going to the likes of the Pigeonhouse in Sutton for Bass and possibly Poolbeg lighthouse, although it's a nightmare for losing rigs.

Are you just talking about feathering or do you have a shore setup that you can do a bit of surf fishing?

inigo

Hi Blub2k4. I thought so much about Howth! Any ideas down south (Bray/Greystones)?

I've only been fishing twice now. Caught some mackerel with feathers and lost a lot of tackle the first day (hazards of being a beginner), little the second. I'm not looking for big catches or fish, I mainly want to learn... I've only got an 8ft rod and a ****ty reel, which I've been told (here) is fine for pier/rocks. I'm even considering fishing inside the pier if I'm likely to catch anything at all. How about float fishing? I heard it's not complicated. And spinning? Which technique should I try first? I'd like to go step by step...

Thanks for the advice!

Blub2k4

I'm only at the sea-fishing a short while myself but grew up fishing freshwater.
An 8 footer should be alright for piers, you could get yourself some bass plugs maybe and head for sutton. Or if you're feeling foolhardy you can go around howth hill and down the back of it and there is a good spot there, very dangerous to get to, if you slip you wont be replying here again
There were a few float fishing inside the pier in Dunlaoghaire the other day one guy was definitely catching some smaller fish.
You could also grab yourself a small mackerel spinner if you want to try them that way it's possibly a little more sporting than feathers which is a slaughter fest once they're biting.

I doubt you could fish Poolbeg too well with that setup so I'd say you need to stick to piers mostly.

Have a look at the following link for information about some northside fishing marks, http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org/shore%20-%20dublin.htm.
Most of them wont be suitable for your setup but it's worth a look anyway.

You could also try malahide or portmarnock from the rocks with a float set with a very short line.

Blub2k4

Killiney is supposed to be good, I just remembered, apparently the beach has a shelf in pretty close to the shore.
Greystones would be good, but as I've not been there yet I don't know but I think you'll need a beach caster rig for good fishing down there.

uch

You would need a bigger rod for casting any reasonable distance on Killiney or most beaches to get to the fish. You can get fish closer in but generally the Cormorants have them.