Ardglass in Northern Ireland is considered only as a commercial fishing port. No wonder being as it has over 30 trawlers working out from here, and also sports a busy fish market. Even if anglers did consider trying their luck here, so many trawlers might put them off, they thinking that the local fish populace must be all but wiped out. But any angler passing through Ardglass and dismissing it as a potential angling venue would be missing out.
Catches of average sized fish in quantity and close to port are available. Many anglers prefer this option than having to graft hard for the half chance of a few big fish. And if Ardglass can establish itself as a sea angling venue, then potentially, there is much more beyond the horizon, as we'll see.
Nick and myself were scheduled to fish out of Ardglass with Noel Taggart aboard his 21' Cheetah catamaran "Riainne" in the company of three local lads, Belfast angler Mike McVeigh, the ports Harbourmaster John Smith, and Northern Ireland angling consultant Francis Duffin. Also aboard was a huge aerated plastic bin which we were going to use to retain certain fish for the Exploris Sea Aquarium at Portaferry, this in the charge of Jeremy Rodgers.
STARTING OUT
Waiting on the quay for our boat that morning, we noticed an "Irishism" in that the local tackle shop had advertised by painting an unmissable white slogan "Shop Here" on the inner quay wall, forced to be noticed by all as you enter the harbour. Subtle!
A stone breakwater guards the ports entrance and combined with all the waste fish from the boats my thoughts quickly turned to night conger potential here, this instantly confirmed as we boarded by Noel who told me of conger in the 25lb bracket as being fairly common.
We motored through the entrance and headed northward a couple of miles out on to fairly clean ground, but broken by occasional rough patches that claims some tackle, but holds codling to 4lbs.
The first drift was set up working northeastwards towards Killard Point aiming to cross frequent rough ground areas where the codling would be holed up. Nick was first in with two codling between 2 and 3lbs taking rag baited Hokkai lures followed by the rest of us with peas in a pod codling between 2lbs and just short of 4lbs. The cleaner sand holding whiting over the pound, gurnards and good stocks of mackerel.
A couple of boxes of codling were quickly secured, before we headed further north to clean sand where we intended to drift for rays. This was less successful with only dogfish and more gurnards found.
The rays, mostly thornbacks, are little fished for but are available in good numbers early in the year and accompanied by turbot to 6lbs, plaice and occasional brill.
It's no surprise then, that Mike McVeigh set up an attractor spoon rig with the prime flatties specifically in mind, but also because the spoons attract the better gurnards.
Next move was tight inshore where the rocks drop off in to about 40' of water. Loads of smaller coalies and pollack here eager to take feathers and small redgills. Mackerel were in good numbers and forcing brit in tight to the rocks. These inshore marks also produce huss, strap conger, codling and wrasse when at anchor, and I noted easy access to shore marks right along this coast as we drifted by.
MOVING ON
Way back at the turn of the century, a coal carrying ship, the "Kilbronei", sank on her maiden voyage just north of Ardglass and the remnants of this ill fated vessel are now the home to 30lb conger, huss, small ling, dogfish, pollack, coalies, codling, ballan wrasse, and masses of cuckoo wrasse including many over specimen size. Next stop the "Kilbronei".
We arrived just before low water so Noel elected to anchor for the first hour. Several conger rods sent baits over the side, but then eagerness took over and we all doubled up using lighter "fun" rods with small baits aimed at upping the species count.
Bites came instantly. First ballan wrasse to nearly 3lbs savagely engulfing rag baits, followed by hungry hordes of small codling, pout and poor cod. Dogfish and ling to 3lbs then homed in on this commotion wolfing down the baits and forcing out the smaller species.
I'd been getting savage little pecks on the smaller baits, but kept missing bites. I thought I knew what these might be, so changed down to size 2 hooks baited with small thin strips of fresh mackerel. I noticed Mick McVeigh doing something similar and we both hooked and landed cuckoo wrasse instantly.
These were plump little cuckoo's, some weighing a couple of ounces over the pound. As the tide slacked to dead low water, the cuckoo's went mad and everybody bagged a few. The more select specimens being retained in the aerated bin for the aquarium.
Once the tide started to flow we swung off the wreck and decided to up anchor and take a few drifts over it with the redgills and hokkai's. Pollack to 3lbs and coalies to 2lbs were swung aboard and added to the fish boxes, but smaller fish were carefully returned. We accounted for maybe 25 pollack before calling it quits.
It was early evening by now and we had time for just a few more drifts before going in to port. These were made over the broken ground near Guns Island on the edge of the Ardglass Bank. More codling and pollack here, again fish to 4lbs.
Nobody fished hard on the day, but in excess of 35 codling had been boated, the pollack, a couple of dozen cuckoo's, maybe the same of ballan's, plus the ling, coalies, mackerel and bits. Like I said, a quantity of average fish!
DOWN THE MARKET
To get some inkling of the ports offshore potential, I went to the Fish Market that night and, having chatted to the locals, checked out the boxes brought in by vessels working within logical angling range.
Angler fish to 40lbs instantly took my eye, lots of cod, most about the size we caught, but odd fish to double figures, haddock, hake, and some good plaice, the latter still twitching.
Further on the boxes held spurdog to a guessed 14lbs, a belting turbot I reckon would have gone 20lb plus, some tidy brill, rays, huss and sole. An interesting collection of species for anglers to consider.
I worked in Northern Ireland back in '92 and made noises then about the superb wreck fishing that must exist here courtesy of Hitlers wolf packs. There is good wrecking here, tasted briefly by the keener local skippers and anglers, but little real wrecking has been undertaken yet due to a lack of suitable boats, though this looks set to change in the near future.
Pollack and coalfish to possible record size are known to be present, huge cod to 50lbs show up commercially, big ling and torsk. Porbeagle shark are also occasionally brought in by trawlers. Tides may restrict conger returns, but the rest is there for the taking. The Isle of Man grounds are also within easy travelling range. The verdict? It looks rosy for Ardglass!