what can i catch this time of year?

SimonS1237

I live in Dublin near the ocean if i went out tomorrow at high tide what can i expect to catch? and also what type of bait or lure should i be using to catch x fish. I'm going to go fishing for mackerel in late July, but i'm to eager to go out fishing sooner. Thanks in advance for anyone who can help out.

ardinn

Beach fishing, or shore fishing, is not something you just run out and do and expect to catch fish.

First thing I would ask is what equipment have you - will you be spinning off rocks or longcasting bait from the sand.

With regards species, - Its the sea - you can catch anything from a crab or sandeel to a porbeagle shark ha. But your most likely species around dublin in this weather are the following

Bass
Dab
Flounder
Rockling
Dogfish
Smoothound
tope (maybe)
Various Rays

All the above from the sand

From rocks

Wrasse
Bass
Pollock (maybe - never fished in dublin)
coalies
Various Rays

they are probably the most likely species you will encounter - but not limited to.

Before you go get familiar with identifying weaver fish - they will put you in hospital fairly quick, again not sure if they are about the dublin area but some beaches I fish in Wexford are plagued with them.

So again, it depends whats in your arsenal, let me know the gear you will be using and i'll see if I can help.

The other piece of advice I would give you is head south - south wicklow or wexford, or even south wexford - its only 90mins away and 100 times better fishing!

casscass4444

Late August all September is the best time for mackerel.july your only hitting a few and they are small.to be honest the last 10 years saw a huge drop in numbers of mackerel reaching the shores.they are getting hammered out at sea by factory ships fishing sold out quotas and supplying Irish fish to foreign lands. The Irish politicians would sell their souls for a fiver and our fishing grounds have been thrown under the bus by a greedy few.if I was to advise you I would say don't bother wasting your money or time.or else join the rest of the frauds and go gill netting your local lake if there's anything left in it.

ardinn

casscass4444 wrote: »

Late August all September is the best time for mackerel.july your only hitting a few and they are small.to be honest the last 10 years saw a huge drop in numbers of mackerel reaching the shores.they are getting hammered out at sea by factory ships fishing sold out quotas and supplying Irish fish to foreign lands. The Irish politicians would sell their souls for a fiver and our fishing grounds have been thrown under the bus by a greedy few.if I was to advise you I would say don't bother wasting your money or time.or else join the rest of the frauds and go gill netting your local lake if there's anything left in it.

Jesus that's ridiculous answer to a simple question, way to turn a guy off getting out on the water!

OP there is plenty of shoals of mack appearing - its just quite hard to get to them in time, by the time you hear reports they have usually gone somewhere else so when your going out for mackeral you need to be fishing mackeral marks 4-5 times a week and hope you hit when they are in!

casscass4444

And don't forget when you head off poaching your local lake bring a hape of cheap cans of muck beer and one of those tin foil barbecues with you.when your finished "fishing" just leave all your rubbish there on the bank.its great for nature.and to make it really original you need to include about 200 yards of ravelled fishing line thrown on the bank aswell. The nesting birds love it.

SimonS1237

I'd be fishing from the rocks in the Balbriggan area, i'm completely new to fishing so i have no idea on what to use as bait and so on, the only one thing i know is that you use feathers for catching mackerel.
All i can tell you is that i have some old rod called the -Shakespeare Alpha X Pier Rod. and a Shakespeare Beta 70 FD Reel
And i'd love to fish in south wicklow or wexford but right now im only 17 and noway of getting there. but for now i'll stick with my local waters.
I need advice on what type of lure or bait should i use.

SeaFields

casscass4444 wrote: »

And don't forget when you head off poaching your local lake bring a hape of cheap cans of muck beer and one of those tin foil barbecues with you.when your finished "fishing" just leave all your rubbish there on the bank.its great for nature.and to make it really original you need to include about 200 yards of ravelled fishing line thrown on the bank aswell. The nesting birds love it.

Mod- seriously, that escalated quickly. No need for it. OP is asking how to start out like many of us had to do at one stage or another. Post constructively or don't bother posting.

ardinn

SimonS1237 wrote: »

I'd be fishing from the rocks in the Balbriggan area, i'm completely new to fishing so i have no idea on what to use as bait and so on, the only one thing i know is that you use feathers for catching mackerel.
All i can tell you is that i have some old rod called the -Shakespeare Alpha X Pier Rod. and a Shakespeare Beta 70 FD Reel
And i'd love to fish in south wicklow or wexford but right now im only 17 and noway of getting there. but for now i'll stick with my local waters.
I need advice on what type of lure or bait should i use.

ok cool

The beta reels are not top of the range in fairness but it'l get you by for now. Shakespeare dont make bad anything anyway.

I think those rods are rated to cast 4-8oz which is great as you can go from either rocks or the beach and the rod should be strong enough to take anything you hit from the water. The reel may struggle on bigger fish.

As you have never sea fished before, I'll send you links in a pm you need to have a look at. You have lots of options though, with regards lures for spinning, there are simply too many to mention, if thats what your looking at get to your local tackle shop and tell them your going LRF (LIGHT ROCK FISHING) and ask about lures and jigs. You need to have a good chat with the lads in there and get all the info you can on what, why, how and where to go. They should be very helpful, if your catching fish you will stay with the sport and it's in their interest to put you right. Tell them you are just starting out.

Baits you will be using most likely will be (in order of importance)

Ragworm
Peeler Crab
Lugworm
Mackeral
Sandeel
Razor
Squid

You will hit almost everything on rag, they bite back too
Crab specifically if your targeting bass or smoothies.

The links I will send you will get you up and started for both the rock and the beach. PLEASE make sure that rods 4-8oz before you go castling lead on a beach and learn how to tie a shockleader!

Also when on the beach or rocks - chat to everyone with a rod (within reason obvs) and learn from them too.

Have fun, sea fishing is my favourite form of fishing, well above coarse or fly, be patient though - you will not always catch fish, blanks are more common than good sessions. expect 4-5 trips with nothing until you get familiar with it!

Steve

casscass4444 wrote: »

And don't forget when you head off poaching your local lake bring a hape of cheap cans of muck beer and one of those tin foil barbecues with you.when your finished "fishing" just leave all your rubbish there on the bank.its great for nature.and to make it really original you need to include about 200 yards of ravelled fishing line thrown on the bank aswell. The nesting birds love it.

SeaFields wrote: »

Mod- seriously, that escalated quickly. No need for it. OP is asking how to start out like many of us had to do at one stage or another. Post constructively or don't bother posting.

casscass4444 seems to be settling in as a troll on many forums in the sports category. you won't hear any more from him.

.red.

ardinn wrote: »

PLEASE make sure that rods 4-8oz before you go castling lead on a beach

The rest of your post is grand but that's bad advise.
A light rod is more than capable of landing big fish if used correctly. Plenty of 10lb+ bass caught each year on lure rods rated to 1oz or less. Unless the surf is huge then there usually isn't a need for anything bigger than 4oz.
I've a rod rated to 4.5oz and regularly target bass and rays on it. I've another one rated to 110g and I use it for bass and flats. I've had ray to over 6lb on it.
Most fish are very close in, especially in darkness so no need to cast big leads huge distances.
If the lad is buying something at the lower end of the price scale a 4-8 oz rod is either gonna be a poker or like a bit of spaghetti.
Best bet is something like an 11 or 12ft, 2-4oz or 3-5oz bass rod. Shakespeare used to do a good range that were very affordable, I presume they still do.
Used right it'll be perfect for flats and bass and if he wants hell have fantastic sport on the hounds with it. It'll also be a good rod for feathering for macks in the summer.
Just my tuppence worth.

ardinn

.red. wrote: »

The rest of your post is grand but that's bad advise.
A light rod is more than capable of landing big fish if used correctly. Plenty of 10lb+ bass caught each year on lure rods rated to 1oz or less. Unless the surf is huge then there usually isn't a need for anything bigger than 4oz.
I've a rod rated to 4.5oz and regularly target bass and rays on it. I've another one rated to 110g and I use it for bass and flats. I've had ray to over 6lb on it.
Most fish are very close in, especially in darkness so no need to cast big leads huge distances.
If the lad is buying something at the lower end of the price scale a 4-8 oz rod is either gonna be a poker or like a bit of spaghetti.
Best bet is something like an 11 or 12ft, 2-4oz or 3-5oz bass rod. Shakespeare used to do a good range that were very affordable, I presume they still do.
Used right it'll be perfect for flats and bass and if he wants hell have fantastic sport on the hounds with it. It'll also be a good rod for feathering for macks in the summer.
Just my tuppence worth.

What I meant was - make sure the rod is rated for 4-8oz before he goes casting 4-8oz leads - I linked him to beach fishing tips, longcasting heavy weights, so the advice was to make sure if using them the rod could handle the weight and not kill him!

cd07

Hi I fish all around the rocks around balbriggan and surrounding areas. I've had everything from bass to weevers in around balbriggan. Fishing isnt always easy in the area tho. This time of year spinning the rocks around Hampton cove can throw up pollack not much else . Best best is the mullet it the harbour! Some huge ones in there and they're great craic to catch. Hope this helps. Pm me if u want anymore advice on the area