Xmas Light Line Comp - the result!

Well done to Sylvester Skowronski, Cobh SAC who won the first of this winter's light line competitions. Sylvester is pictured over with one of the many trebles he landed during the day's fishing.

Fishing was excellent with over a 1000 fish landed between the 15 anglers, making it an average of 70 fish per angler. The main species caught were whiting and dab with a good percentage of whiting over the 2lb mark and a good proportion of dabs over the 1lb mark, with one or two touching specimen.

Winter light line series....

Cobh SAC has successfully run light line competitions in Cork Harbour over the last two Winter seasons. Once again Cobh SAC will be running a series of these competitions over the next few Winter months. The first of these will be on next Sunday week, the 13th of November.

These competitions are open to all comers and are not restricted to just Cobh SAC members, nor do you have to be a member of another club. They are intended to be fun competitions and

appeal to all levels of anglers, whether you are a novice or a seasoned campaigner. Indeed, there has been a diverse mix of experience between the anglers who have fished these comps so far and all have had good fishing. The average number of fish caught per angler per day over the 12 competitions so far has been 38 fish. Now that's a good return and ensures that even the raw beginners have something to shout about!!!

In a few of the comps some of the anglers have had over 120 fish...that's some fishing! Species to expect within the Harbour over these months would include Cod, Whiting, Dabs, Lsd's, Poor Cod, Pouting, Coalfish, Flounder, & Plaice. At the moment Dabs will feature highly and some of these will be to specimen size. As the Winter progresses Cod will feature more and more in the catches. In previous March and April comps it wasn't unusual for anglers to average over 50+ codling in their catch. To give you some idea of the fishing have a look at some of the reports of previous events here, here, and here. Best baits to use in the comps will be crab, lug, mack, and rag.

The scorecard used for the competitions is the same as that used for the National Fish-Offs. Indeed, the set-up of the comp is identical almost to the National Fish-Offs competition. As a result the light lines are ideal events for the more seasoned anglers to get in practice for these

comps. For the less seasoned angler it's a chance to see how they measure up to the high standards of the top anglers in the country. In any event there is a lot that all anglers can learn.

To make the light lines easier this season there has been a slight change of rule. Instead, of all lines (ie. mainline, rig bodies, & snood) meeting the 15lb b.s. or lower criteria the only stipulation now is that the mainline should be 15lb b.s. or less. This means that you can use a shockleader of any strength and your rig bodies and snoods can also be of any strength.

The competitions will be run on the following dates over the Winter months:

Sunday 13th November 2011

Sunday 11th December 2011

Sunday 22nd January 2012

Sunday 19th Febuary 2012

Sunday 25th March 2012

Sunday 22th April 2012

Fishing will be from 9:30am till 2:30pm each day with boats departing from Kennedy Pier, Cobh at 9am. Boats used will be from the Cork Harbour Angling Hub charter fleet. The cost of entry is €40 per angler. Now that's great value!!!

To book your place for Sunday 13th November contact Cobh SAC club secretary, Mary Geary, on 021-4812167 or by email on seaangling@esatclear.ie. Come on now....you know its good for ya!!!

Ps. To add an extra element this year, we are accumulating the results over the series of comps on a league basis, similar to a master angler series. So who's going to be the top light line angler in Cork Harbour for 2011/12? Will it be you?

Also, for those anglers travelling, we've negotiated a special deal with the Commodore Hotel if overnight accommodation is required (Oct - March). Bed & breakfast will be available at €29 per person!!!

2011 IFSA Boat Fish-Offs

Cobh SAC hosted the IFSA Boat Fish-Offs over the October bank holiday weekend. The best anglers in the country were pitting their wits against each other in an attempt to make the national team for the World Championships in South Africa in 2012.

This year, the competing 32 anglers sure had their work cut out for them. The weather on Saturday, the first day, was appalling with gale force winds, driving rain, and heavy seas making for very difficult conditions. The fishing as you would expect was very slow. This was further compounded by the storm of the previous Sunday which not only dumped a lot of rain on the South coast, but also kicked up a considerable swell, which hadn't abated by the time the competition started. As a result the water was extremely coloured and there was a lot of 'fresh' coming down the river. This was reflected in the fishing on Saturday which was slow. Despite this anglers averaged approx 40 fish per man over the two sessions. That's the beauty of Cork Harbour...despite nearly storm conditions it is still fishable, and fish will be caught!!!

On Sunday conditions were much improved and with it the fishing improved dramatically also. Most anglers averaged 60 - 80 fish, with the top rods recording over 100 fish. The four charter boats from the Cork Harbour Angling Hub fleet this time stayed put on the western edges of the channel dropping into 'deep hole.' The day before most had started here but opted to anchor on the eastern side for the flood to target the hordes of whiting, which didn't materialise. Nobody was going to take the chance on the Sunday. Despite this whiting did feature in the catches and some fine sized fish amongst them. Dabs were also plentiful with many touching specimen size. Other fish to feature included lsd's, codling, pouting, poor cod, and plaice. By competition's end over 2000 fish had been recorded.

Congratulations to the top five finishers; Kit Dunne, Mick Barry, Gordon Darker, Dave Jolly, and Tony Santry who join Captain Myles Howell, who had qualified from the Masters, on the Irish Team. For the full results have a look here.

Many thanks to the skippers Donie Geary (John Boy), Gerry Keohane (Naomh Cartha), John Geary (Lee Star), and Alan Kennedy (Lagosta II) who, despite the conditions, kept the lads on the fish!

Winter Cod fishing....

The winter cod season has kicked off in earnest here in Cork Harbour with some encouraging reports of good cod catches at some of the Harbour's prolific inner marks such as De Wall at Monkstown, the Station Master's hole and the Halfpenny hole at Cobh.

Donie Geary, skipper of the John Boy, is targeting these winter cod and is offering special discounted rates this Winter for groups of anglers keen to get in on the cod action. Geary Angling Services, in conjunction with the Commodore Hotel, are offering a special rate of €69 to cover one days fishing onboard the John Boy plus one night's bed & breakfast at the Commodore Hotel. You can further upgrade that package to include an evening meal of Haddock in batter and chips and a pint of Guinness (or a beer/lager of your choice), all for the sum of €85 in total. Now that's great value!!! This offer is valid for winter cod fishing trips from Oct 2011 thru to March 2012 and is limited to groups of eight or more.

If the last two winter seasons are anything to go by then the cod fishing should get hectic. Cobh Sea Angling Club have held light line competitions during this winter period and in many cases anglers were catching 50+ codling a trip. Have a look at these reports to give you an idea: March 2011 Light Lines April 2010 Light Lines

Admittedly, many of the codling have been in the 1 - 2lb range. However, a good proportion of the catch have also been in the 3-4lb range. This year we expect many of the fish to be bigger again as there has been superb fishing on the offshore reefs for large cod over the summer. In fact, if weather permits Donie may opt to try the outer reefs for larger fish. However, the beauty of Cork Harbour is that it can be fished in all weathers and many of the marks that have been producing over the last two winters have been in the Harbour itself.

Best baits for the fishing is undoubtedly peeler crab and lugworm. Mussel can also be effective. If the outer reefs are fished then mackeral baited hokkai's are the best option.

If you and your group would be interested in targeting the cod then Mary Geary of Geary Angling Services would only be too happy to give you as much information as possible. Give Mary a buzz on 021 - 4812167 or email on

seaanglingclear@esat.ie, or alternatively you can contact Mary O' Mahony at reservations at the Commodore Hotel on 021-4811277 or by email on commodorehotel@eircom.net. Don't delay, book today!!!

Cork Small Boats Festival - Results

Well the results are out and you can view them here. Well done to Festival newcomers O2B@C from Wales who were outright winners! O2B@C leapfrogged the hardy annuals like team Skua, team Screeming Reels, and others on the last day in what had been a very close competition all week.

Despite the inclement weather over 30 species of fish were recorded. Indeed, the winners had 25 species themselves but were followed by a number of boats on 24. The beauty of hosting this event in Cork Harbour is that no matter what mother nature may throw at the competitors the confines of the Harbour itself allows shelter from nasty weather and still access to good fishing!

Autumn Bass to top-water lures....

Members of French club Liberty Peche recently had a 6 day lure fishing holiday out of Cork Harbour. Using the newest addition to the Bellavista small boat fleet the lads spent a number of days targeting the resident population of bass with surface lures and were amply rewarded for their efforts.

Despite, the dank and dreary conditions many fish were caught off the top with some fine specimens amongst them.

Here are a sample of pics of some of the better fish.

If you'd fancy a days bassing in Cork Harbour why not try out Bellavista's new Raider 18. More information and contact details can be found here.

Fish fantastique....

The run of jumbo cod continues...and long may it do so!!!

This time the lucky angler was fishing directly out of Cork Harbour. French angler, Arnaud Briere landed this fabulous fish weighing just over 20lbs while fishing onboard the lastest addition to the Bellavista self-drive fleet, a brand new Raider 18 boat. Arnaud was fishing out of Cobh with his colleagues from the Liberty Peche Club from France.

In true French style they concentrated on lure fishing for the entire 6 days of their trip. Soft plastics and jigheads were the order of the day and accounted for some fabulous fish. Plenty of cod, pollack and bass gave the French lads top notch sport for the week. In true sporting fashion all fish caught were returned alive. Well done lads!!!

If you'd fancy hiring this latest addition to the Bellavista fleet why not contact owner Kevin Murphy

on 00-353-86-6029168 or for more information have a look at the Bellavista

website here.