Last night saw the final match of our shore league sponsored by Daiwa.
Venue: Ballyhornan Co.Down
Tide/sea-state: Fished 4hrs up and 1 down on a gentle surf.
Weather: Swirling wind and heavy rain.
Species caught: codling, coalie, pollack, whiting, rockling and flounder.
This looked like a disaster waiting to happen as strong winds and torrential rain battered the country. We took a gamble and decided not to cancel as the forecast was giving straight westerlies and the reckoning was that we would be OK tucked down the mud cliff which backs this beach.
For the first time in forever the weather gods smiled on us as the conditions in South Down were bearable and the beach fishable.
There were fish from first cast with large coalie smashing the rods out of the stands as they hit baits 30yds out. There were a lot of coalie in the 40-45cm bracket along with a lot of other species including whiting in the low thirties.
Zone A
1st Harry Jr 23 fish 909pts
2nd Harry McKee 17 fish 696pts
3rd Paul Hill 15 fish 542 pts
4th Gareth Bell 13 fish 376pts
Zone B
1st Stephen Hodge 18 fish 626pts
2nd Paul Beggs 16 fish 561pts
3rd Ali Wall 13 fish 437pts
4th Barry Platt 9 fish 340pts
Longest round fish:51cm pollack Harry Mckee
Longest flat fish: 29cm flounder Paul Hill
Ballyhornan can be a nightmare venue if conditions aren't just right, with weed often being an issue along with the possibility of getting trapped between the tide and cliff. Many thanks to Mike Henry for walking the beach during the week to make sure it was fishable.
This match concluded our league which was tight going into the last match with four anglers in contention for top spot depending on results.
Top five for the year where
1st Harry Mckee Sr 17pts
2nd Drew Ferguson 19pts
3rd Paul Beggs 19pts
4th Paul Hill 22pts
5th Barry Platt 24pts
(Drew pips Paul on number of zone wins)
Top Junior was Jackson Mooney.
Well done to Harry Sr on the overall win and to the chasing pack. Prizes will be presented at the agm in Jan.
Our first league match of 2024 will be in Jan when we will be sponsoring the prize fund with an additional £1k.
For detail on joining in 2024 message the page.
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