Fingal Head – Tailor – 7 December 2012

Friday

On Friday I decided to give Fingal Head another try. Perhaps the bait would return. The northerly wind was up again, but it had a bit of west in it. It was a grey morning and there was not much of a sunrise. The swell had picked up overnight and there was plenty of foamy water.

I started at about 4.10 a, just after first light. The swell would make fishing with a soft plastic too hard until I could see what I was doing. So I decided to start with the RAPALA SXR 12 hard bodied minnow, that has been tempting the tailor.

I cast out from the northern side of the platform, as this was the only area safe from the swell. The lure caught quickly in the current that was sweeping round to the south. The water was moving fast so it started to wiggle nicely as I retrieved. High tide had just passed at 3.30 am and the moon was about 50% full.

After three or four casts, I felt a couple of bumps and knocks and then, on the next cast, a fish grabbed to lure. As usual it tried to make its way round to the south, using the sweeping current, but it was not a big fish and I soon subdued it. It was a 45cm tailor.

The cloud blocked out the sun as it came over the horizon. It was a gloomy morning but as it got lighter it was clear that the bait schools that had been hugging the rocks, had disappeared. The water was choppy and foamy but clear – perfect conditions for tailor. But the sun eventually peeked through the clouds it was clear that the fish were off the bite.

A few other locals arrived and we fished on, hopefully for another couple of hours, but the fish did not materialise.