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Species hunt part 9 Cuckoo Ray
Cuckoo Ray Fact file Name Cuckoo Ray (info ID, click here) Latin name Raja naevus Irish record 5lbs 11ozs taken on 3.08.1975 on the Causeway Coast by V.Morrison Specimen weight 4.5 lbs     The trip It is amazing how fate has the ability to barge its way into an angling trip and alter a carefully organised plan. Often, this is for the worse, but sometimes, on that rare occasion, it can be of benefit. My recent adventure in search of this month’s target species, the Cuckoo...

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Species hunt part 8 Cuckoo Wrasse
Cuckoo Wrasse Fact file Name Cuckoo Wrasse (ID info, click here) Latin name Labrus mixtus Irish record 2lbs 7ozs caught on 15.09.1998 at Causeway coast by Brian McLoughlin Specimen weight 1.25 lbs or 0.567 kilos     The trip Over the past two months, I have felt as if the angling gods were conspiring against me. Never mind the relentless easterly winds that seem to kill all chances of catching fish, other forces were also at work. My dreams of catching a forty-pound Pike were ...

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Species hunt part 7 Smooth Hound
Smooth hound Fact file Name Smooth-hound (ID info click here) Latin name Mustelus asterias Irish record 16.58 lbs taken on 25.09.2000 at Carne by Keith Gray Specimen weight 7 lbs or 3.175 kilos     The trip In order to catch a Smooth hound for this month's target species, there was no getting around the fact that I needed to travel. They have been known to migrate as far north as Dundalk, but any further north and the depths increase dramatically, with seabed habitat generally...

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Species hunt part 6 Thornback Ray
Thornback Ray Fact file Name Thornback Ray (fish ID info click here) Latin name Raja clavata Irish record 37 lbs taken on 28.5.1961 at Ling Rocks, Kinsale by M.J.Fitzgerald Specimen weight 20 lbs or 9.072 Kilos       The trip It can sometimes be quite strange how angling trips simply appear out of thin air. My wife does not believe this fact. She insists that I am far too devious, and that I secretly manipulate situations that end up with me either on the sea, by the sea...

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Species hunt part 5 Pollack
Pollack Fact file Name Pollack (fish ID info click here) Latin name Pollachius pollachius Irish record 19 lbs 3 oz taken in 1904 in Ballycotton by J.N.Hearne Specimen weight 12 lbs or 5.443 kilos       The trip My plan for this month’s article was to launch my trusty old Red Bay 21 on the north coast, and drift alongside the wealth of headlands and rocky outcrops, lead-heading and spinning for Pollack on light tackle. The weather forecast gave light south-westerlie...

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Species hunt part 4 Sea Trout
Sea trout Fact file Name Sea trout (fish ID info click here) Latin name Salmo trutta Irish record 16 lbs 6oz taken on 29.10.1983, Shimna River, Co.Down by Thomas McManus Specimen weight 6 lbs or 2.722 kilos     The trip As a self confessed and struggling all-rounder, my passion lies with all fish, in and around our Irish countryside and inshore coastal waters. However, if asked to choose a particular weakness in my approach, my “Achilles heel” would have to be the...

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Species hunt part 3 Roach
Roach Fact file Name Roach (fish ID info click here) Latin name Rutilus rutilus Irish record 1.425 kilos caught on 6.10.2002 at Drumacritten Lake by T.Jackson Specimen weight 2 lbs or 0.907 kilos     The trip When it comes to Roach fishing in Ireland, anglers are quite literally spoilt for choice. Roach are present in almost every wild, natural system; such is the versatility of this fresh water species. The biggest problem is actually differentiating between Roach and their h...

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Species hunt part 2 Blonde Ray
Blonde Ray Fact file Name Blonde ray (fish ID info click here) Latin name Raja brachyura Irish record 37 lbs caught on 10.10.2005 at Cobh by Paul Tennant Specimen weight 25 lbs or 11.34 kilos       The trip I recently found and marked an interesting sand bank that required some serious investigation. It was on the way back to harbour after a successful day targeting Pollack and Ling on an offshore reef. We stopped for an hour before sun-set and managed to tempt five beau...

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Species Hunt part 1 Flounder
Flounder Fact file Name Flounder (fish ID info click here) Latin name Platichthys flesus. Irish record 4.91 lbs caught on 2.10.93 at Ballyteigue, Wexford by Brian Russell. Specimen weight 2.4255 lbs or 1.1 kilos.       The trip Where did that year go? It wasn’t too long ago that I sat scratching my head and wondering how to plan the last specimen hunting series. Now we are ready to begin again and face a whole new year of angling prospects and challenges....

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My Pike-Guiding Debut
My Pike-Guiding Debut   “Four English lads want a day’s guided piking, it’s not my thing, you wanna do it?” That was a call I received from local guide, Stephen Kennedy. “Have a think about it and ring me when you make your mind up.”       To explain the situation, Stephen is a qualified angling guide and instructor and had been approached by a tourist company, to guide four professional English rugby players in search of Irish Pike...

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