Hi there, first post which comes with the world's crookest photo, so don't be too harsh...
Am staying in Clontarf at the moment, and have recently started fishing again for the first time in probably twenty years. Didn't have high hopes last night, as the only bites I'd had around here had been toads, and plenty of them. But on the spur of the moment, worked out that the tides would be running out, the weather was crappy enough that I'd probably have the place to myself (yes), and had some chicken "on the cusp" in the fridge , so I loaded up a couple of rods and headed down around 9:30 or so.
First the first hour, had a few tentative hits, was working the drop off near the channel on the beach, but nothing much seemed too interested. So I headed back to the little netted area and tried a couple of casts around the outside of that. Within moments, started getting serious interest, and after a couple of near misses, beached a 48cm flattie, which I managed to hang onto despite not having a net with me.
I was so underwhelmed by my chances that I hadn't actually taken down anything to keep a fish either alive or cold - no cooler, no bucket, nothing. But I was going to eat that deliciously ugly little fella, so with the tide running out, I built a little pool in the sand, just deep enough to have some water in it, and in he went...
I was running out of chicken, plus which, flattie number 1 was not really enjoying his stay at the Clontarf Sand Spa Resort, so I cast the last of the strips, and promised myself I'd give my packet of Gulps 5 casts to prove they were as effective as slightly rancid chicken - seriously, they're like $100 a kilo, for that price, the fish should jump up on the beach and perform tricks to get them! (I'd suggest "Play dead" would be a good one...)
I'd tried them a few times before, only to have their tails munched off by the toads, meaning you effectively were trying to attract fish with a small orange ball of plastic. So I wasn't optimistic.
First cast, BANG! another flattie jumps it, is landed, and I'd guesstimate his size at maybe 35cms, but I couldn't be sure whether he'd crack the 36cm mark, so back he went. Trickier getting them back in when you don't have anything to hold them with, either - no glove, no love, as they say...
Had a couple more major strikes, and noticed a few squid cruising around the place, but after another 15 minutes or so, the bites started to disappear, so I packed it in around midnight and headed home with my new PB flathead.
I didn't get to take a photo until this morning, and it's of the filleted carcass, not the whole fish, and it's with the world's worst phone camera, but I'll upload it for fun's sake anyway.
Very happy to be able to bring back a feed to the girlfriend, she's a magic cook, and will do something amazing with it, PLUS stop giving me that slightly pitying look when I tell her I'm going fishing.
All in all, top night!