Greenore gets thumbs down!

[arvanduin]

Went to Greenore, Co. Louth on Sunday 15 August: can't see what all the fuss is about this place being a good venue Not a venue I would recommend at all!

Really disappointing day's fishing.
Only a very few mackerel were being caught by the crowds on the shore. Shore was very congested (but people very friendly) Lots of kids messing about.
Lures and rigs whizzing through the air in all directions. Lost count of the number of times my line was fouled by crossed lines.

Rubbish on shore and in water. Hooked several submerged items of rubbish, including bin bags, a nappy, a shoe and a condom (not a flying C but an actual contraceptive!)

Water traffic was awful: powerboats, speed boats, fishing boats and waterskiers, close to shore. Large cargo ships frequently passing.

All this must scare the hell out of any fish present.

Plus points: nice scenery looking out to sea and at mountains (don't look behind you from the shore: derelict buildings and ugly harbour. Friendly people and there is car park right by the shore.

In general, thumbs down: I will not be back (Fish are probably of the same opinion: well they don't have thumbs, but you know what I mean).

If you want a relaxing, good day's fishing: forget going to Greenore (Co. Louth).

PS Since writng this post I am aware that there may have been some confusion arising from the fact that there is also a place called Greenore in Co. Wexford (which, although I have not visited the place, I believe it has very good bass fishing).

I have since edited the post to refer to Greenore Co. Louth

[Headlander]

I am visiting Strangford Lough at the beginning of September and intend to bring some fishing gear across from England. What should I bring? Beachcaster, Bass rod, Spinning Gear? What am I most likely to catch in the Lough or surrounding areas and is bait readily available locally to collect (crabs) or dig?

Similarly, what is the charter boat scene like and how easy would it be for me to tag on to a party as an indivdual or pair.

Not very taxing questions I know, but any information would be most greatly appreciated.

[Mick the Fish]

Hello,

I'm glad you didn't catch anything on Greenore! I'll have more room for myself now! Only kidding. If you were getting crossed lines, perhaps you should have moved down the beach a little? Most of the mackerel bashers fish up near the pier end of the strand. If you had moved down a couple of hundred yards towards the mouth of the lough, you would have had more room. Although, this year has been exceptionally busy for some reason, I'll give you that!

I'm interested in what way you fished? Were you fishing bait or lures?

I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts, as I catch here regularly!

Mick

[arvanduin]

Hi there,

I guess I sounded a bit harsh about what, at other times, may be a rather pleasant place with reasonable fishing. I tried fishing along the shore from the rocks and rubble near the pier and at various points along the shore for about 300yds. The shore was really crowded. I did on a few occasions find a spot with plenty of elbow room but I was soon sandwiched by flailing lure lobbers and hokkai hurlers and was entangled several times by enthusiastic, but not quite co-ordinated casters. Well, as they say, it's a free country and those happy people have just as much right to be there as the author of this entry (my wife calls me Victor Meldrew in waders!)

I was doing a bit of mackerel bashing, both for bait fish and to bring home to eat (great eating!). I did manage to catch a few small mackerel on small spinners and lures. These were returned to grow a bit bigger and to fight another day. I used the following terminal tackle:

Weighted mackerel spinners (various colours) (7g)
Delta Dervish rotating lure (18g)
Small Dexter Wedge (20g)
Small metal sandeel imitations in blue/green and gold/silver (15g and 20g)

Various 3-hook (size1) Hokkais, mackerel flashers and tinsel lures with either a 50g lead weight or a 32g Dexter wedge (acting as a weight/lure combo that might attract a bigger fish).

I guess I covered the field pretty well but still had poor returns.

Didn't have any bait left from a day's fishing on Saturday (a great day's fishing on the South Down Coast near Ardglass) and I didn't think I needed to bring any of the mackerel caught the day before, as I was sure there would be loads of mackerel at Greenore. I ended up not using bait to fish and ended the day casting a combination of plugs and poppers to see if I could entice a nice bass as evening fell. I suppose I could have walked further along the beach but by this time I was a bit fed up and there were no quiet spots on the shore as far as the eye could see. Is it really possible to bag a bass with such disruption from a crowded shore and watercraft constantly passing close to shore?

Maybe I will try again on a week day, but I guess the rubbish (plastic bags, bottles, cans etc.) on the shore that I encountered on the Sunday may still be present during the week. Does Louth Co. council not have an interest in cleaning this place up? I still maintain that I will not return on a weekend and would advise anyone with an interest in having an enjoyable day's fishing to do the same. I'll leave the place for the enjoyment of the happy mackerel bashers (really nice people I must add!)

Greenore is only a few casts away from Carlingford, a place that has been spruced up so much in the past few years.

I think I have vented my spleen as much as I care to on this matter and would not like to take up any more space on this great web site; leaving room for positive comments on really good marks.

I guess I was grumpy as I wrote: I just read an article in a Sunday newspaper about the incredible number of mackerel being caught on the west coast! I suppose it was a case of tasting sour grapes rather than the pan-fried mackerel with lemon and mustard mash I was looking forward to!

Regards.

[Mick the Fish]

I'm stunned!!! As I've stated, greenore and balagan are very much my stomping grounds. I've had some cracking fishing along here. Like yourself, I'm not really into fishing among crowds so I usually just carry a fly rod and walk towards the mouth of the lough at Balagan and fish for bass there. My best this year is 8 1/4lb!! So if that stamp of fish is big enough for you, then yes there are big bass to be caught!

As to the mackerel fishing, I took 14 on fly there last week! I don't know if you read Total Sea Fishing, but I fished there a couple of weeks ago with Dave Barham and Daz Taylor. The lads were bottom fishing for bass or rays and to pass the time we set up for some mackerel fishing. Dave was on the spinners, Daz was float fished mackerel strip while I fly fished and we hooked and returned literally dozens of fish in a couple of hours!

Your comment about the beach being dirty is a new one on me. This is a very picturesque part of the country and is usually very clean. I will be investigating this further and I intend to notify the council of the problem. Thanks for the tip off!

Good fishing!

Mick

[fergal]

theres really only one way to settle this... fishin at greenore!!!
im up for heading down the first weekend of september with the fly rod. i've never fished the place but if anyone else fancies heading down we could have the first WSF IRELAND fishin??? what you all think

[Mick the Fish]

Sounds good Fergal! Count me in. Hopefully the weather will hold.

Mick

[fergal]

nice one mick i'll get a few flies tied up and keep an eye on the weather

[arvanduin]

I have returned twice to Greenore, Co. Louth since the day I referred to in my original post with a view to experiencing the place in a better light and being prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, I am pressed by what I experienced there to make comment.

On two afternoons and evenings, I fished the length of Greenore strand (still a popular location but with more elbow room during the week). I was alarmed to see several rather well-fed rats scuttling about the shore as darkness fell and the strand emptied .

Not a place I would be happy to bring kids and I certainly wouldn't be happy about eating a sandwich or rubbing my eyes without thoroughly scrubbing my hands after handling tackle that has been lying on the shore (Weil's disease can be contracted from infected rats' urine).

See article below from a local newspaper, The Newry Democrat (July 2005). The article appears to be a bit sexist (if the author is refering to his partner/wife in parts) but otherwise comments on Greenore concur with my own observations.

The Newry Democrat: Wednesday, July 20, 2005:

Angling: A day at the seaside


WELL, over the last week, with the lovely weather we’ve been having, a lot of anglers are turning to the sea for a bit of sport, and that includes yours truly.

My first outing was on Sunday, to Temple Town. A great spot - while the rest of the family swam in the sea; I cast my lines out and waited for a bite.

The Dragon was a bit wary about going in too deep, in case her fire got put out. No such luck, as all I heard was her roar and those familiar words “I thought this was a family day out.”

“Are we all here?” I replied.

“Don’t get smart with me!” she retorted with a quick snap of her jaws. I know when to stop (when the smoke starts pouring from her enflamed nostrils).

We went down at about six in the evening to avoid the hot sun. After about four and a half hours of crab ruining my efforts by nicking my bait, I was starting to get a bit anxious as the tide was coming in. Out of the blue the sea suddenly came alive, with fry jumping out of the water and completely surrounding me, the Dragon and Conor. At first I thought it was Mackerel that had chased this shoal of fry into the shallow water but there was no sign of the Mackerel. But I switched to feathers anyway, as the fry seemed reluctant to move and were constantly jumping to keep clear of what ever was chasing them. I carried on casting, with a rig of white feathers, and reeling them back constantly for well over half an hour with no luck and the dragon constantly telling it was time to go and put the kids to bed.

I finally packed up with nothing but a sore ear to show for my efforts. I started talking to a local angler who informed me that it was probably Sea Bass chasing the fry. I had bought some preserved Rag Worm to see if they would be any good to stock in the shop. But after my session I have decided stocking them was not such a good idea - they turned out to be very expensive crab bait.

On Tuesday I thought I’d make it up to the Dragon and said “Sorry about Sunday. Why don’t we make a family day and go to the beach for some real fun?”

“Great.” she replied. I told her to go in her car and I would follow shortly in mine.

I arrived a little later with a car full of fishing gear. “I thought we were going to have a family day out.” pipes up the dragon

“We are - we’re all fishing.”

I could see by the look her face she really wanted to be fishing (not.), especially as she walked off with the kids. Hooray, I had four rods to fish with. But I decided to just use the best two. This time I was better prepared for the sea bass with Sand Eels (which are, in my opinion, one of the best baits for Sea Bass) and Peeler Crabs. I had a few casts early on and then took a rest to wait for the tide to turn.

I thought I’d spend some time with the family. I invented a new game called “Catch the Child and use them as Bait”. But the kids just wanted to play annoy daddy and the Dragon joined in. It was about 9:30 in the evening when the missus said she was going home and would take the kids with her. I asked her if she was really sure she had to go as I was enjoying her company (not.). Needless to say, I didn’t push her to stay on any longer.

Hooray (again) - peace and quiet, or so I thought. But unfortunately there were a load of people who were still swimming in the water at 11.30 p.m. Having no luck I decided to go to Greenore. I was just putting my rods in the car when I heard a voice saying “Hi Mark.” It was Joe Clark, his wife and brother-in-law (whose name escapes me - as regular readers will know, there’s nothing new in that). I sometimes forget Martin McAleenan’s name - but that is possibly because I try my hardest to forget about him.

After telling them I was going to Greenore for a bit of Macky Bashing, as it had been so poor at Temple Town, they decided to come with me. On arrival at Greenore, Joe’s wife was very concerned about the large rats that live round and about the beach front. She was telling me that there are hundreds of big rats by the rocks, and if we were to come back in the morning you can see all their towels on the best spots (they’re even quicker off the mark than the Germans). After about half an hour, having lost a rig of feathers and not being able to see anything as there was no moonlight, I went home with nothing for breakfast.

There have been a number of Mackerel caught at Greenore and Greencastle over the last week and this year there seems to be more people out to catch them. But remember there are other types of fish in Carlingford Lough. Like Dogfish, Codling, Mullet, FlatFish, Sea Bass, Sea Trout and many other varieties.

Perhaps the author of the newspaper article and myself would have had more luck if we had fished lures in the shape of a rat (like those used in pike fishing!)


I also fished Templetown & Balagan: somewhat cleaner (with regard to rubbish) but high tackle loss on mixed rocky/weedy gound. Mackerel and doggies (thankfully no rats or Weil's disease) caught, but no bass, despite lure and bait fishing.

The caravan park at Templetown is really convenient for the shore and the scenery is very pleasing. However, there have been reports of anglers' cars being broken into in this area . Community alert notices are apparent in this location.

Well, I came, I saw, I commented, returned twice and I am still of the opinion, if not more so, that Greenore shore gets the thumbs down as a fishing and recreational venue. This may contrast markedly with the golfing facilities nearby (privately managed?).

The Greenore shore area appears to have developed little (with exception of the car park) since the times when I used to visit as a child in the 1960's. In fact, with the decay of the old hotel and its environs and the detritus and vermin present, I would say that this necrotic part of the Celtic Tiger needs immediate attention. Dundalk and its immediate environs has successfully struggled to emerge from its image in the 70's and 80's as a dull, decaying location (perceived by many as an oft-used a bolt-hole for those on the wrong side of the law in the North of Ireland) and a place best quickly passed through en route from Dublin to Newry & Belfast.

Carlingford and parts of Dundalk have greatly improved in the past years and are places that have invested in and embrace tourism: it's just a pity that some of the resources could not have been spent to make Greenore a cleaner and more welcoming place. It's more of a shame, because anyone I have met there has been friendly and helpful (but many have been critical of the place).

Sorry to all those anglers and locals who this may offend and the best of luck and congratulations to those who have had good fishing there. Long may your good fortune continue.

[Mick the Fish]

It's interesting to read your comments about my 3 main marks! Greenore, Balagan and Templetown. I think maybe you'd be more at home at a tree hugging conference than angling for bass. Your willingness to voice your angling ignorance astounds me! Anyone that has ever even seen Balagan would know that there are going to be tackle losses here. It's ROCKS covered in WEED!! That is why it's fished with flies and poppers. Make sense?

As for your comments about the rats and the rubbish at Greenore, quite frankly I don't believe you. In 10 years fishing along here I've never seen a rat and very little rubbish! Post photos of both and I'll eat my words. As for your friend who noticed the fry jumping clear of the water, but did not see any mackerel would the logical explanation not be bass? If he had put on a small chug bug or even fly fished he would have taken bass, but he kept on battering away with feathers? Hmmmm... I've experienced the same event here myself and caught five bass in about 45 mins!

Don't even get me started about your comments about Dundalk. This is my home town and any derogatory comments you may have should surely be aired in some other forum where people are interested in that sort of thing. I think your time would be better spent reading the excellent articles on this site on how to actually fish rather than slagging off some very good fishing marks.

If anyone reading this has any positive comments to make about Carlingford lough and it's adjacent marks don't hesitate to contact me!

All the best,

Mick