Timing can be particularly important in boat angling. Seasonal variation, tidal range, even specific periods within tides. Arriving at Blacksod on the evening when the tail end of hurricane Fabian hit the west coast of Ireland could hardly be called getting the timing right. Neither was the fact that a second rapidly deepening low pressure promising winds of 45 miles an hour was following hot on Fabian's heels. The best that could be hoped for was that the isobar free gap between the two would arrive in daylight hours and would be sufficiently quiet and lengthy to allow a few hours for skipper John O'Boyle to get his Lochin 33 'Fionnuala' out past Blacksod pier and across to Achill Island where we might get some degree of shelter, and would almost certainly find some fish. The TV forecast held out the faintest glimmer of hope that this might happen. But how many times have seen TV weather forecasts fall well short of the mark.

Josie Geraghty, wife of Mattie the boats owner was looking after us during our stay. I've someone I'm keen for you to meet she said as we dropped our gear in at the front of the house. They're not here just at the moment, but they are lovely people and you'll have a lot in common. Then right on cue, a white Landrover towing a stainless steel cask welded to a small trailer turned into the lane leading to the house. The people in it who she was so keen for me to meet were angler Steve Boyle and marine biologist Keith Todd, over on a visit from south west Scotland. As Josie made the introductions, Steve who was stood there soaked to the skin from the days fishing in Achill Sound butted in saying he already knew me. It seems we had tope fished together a couple of years earlier aboard Ian Burrett's boat 'Onyermarks' out in Luce Bay. Small world. But would we be fishing together again the following day.

Steve knows the Blacksod area like the back of his hand. So much so that Mattie had let him take the boat out on his own when regular skipper John O'Boyle had to take his wife to hospital following a fall. Steve has been fishing the area for years, both from his own boat, and aboard 'Fionnuala' with John. Keith on the other hand was less of an angler. He runs a business setting up the infra-structure and filtration systems for large scale salt water live stock systems. Much of this has to do with the storage of commercial catches such as lobsters. He has also been heavily involved in turbot farming. Another aspect to his work is public aquaria, which, when up and running, need to be stocked with interesting exhibits, This is where the trip to Blacksod towing the live stock tank with a Landrover filled to capacity with fishing, diving, live storage and aeration equipment comes into the story. Catching interesting and unusual fish is one thing. Transporting them alive for long periods while maintaining them in pristine condition is another matter altogether.

Keith had asked Steve where he thought he could catch the greatest variety of species possible for aquarium exhibits. Without hesitation Steve had come back with the Achill area off the coast of Co. Mayo. The range of terrain, depth and species, not too mention specimen quality to be found in the area is every anglers as well as marine biologists dream, and is probably without equal anywhere in the British Isles. The inner bay area was once famed for its monkfish and big tope. Sadly, the monks are no longer there. But the big female tope still arrive in good numbers at the start of each summer moving right up into the more sheltered reaches towards Belmullet. Otherwise, the inner bay is rarely fished. Much of the activity now comes from a myriad of clean and rough ground marks dotted around the north coast of Achill; from around the Black Rock renowned for the numbers and size of its pollack, and from the area between Black Rock and Achill which is where all the blue sharks come from.

Our options were always going to be severely limited, if indeed we could manage to get afloat at all. Much of what we might get would be tight in over heavy ground. Just the kind of species rich stuff that would suit Keith, with the possibility of extending the drifts onto the sand to bring some clean ground species as well. The tides in these parts are never strong which means that species such as rays which are normally fished for at anchor can be picked up on the drift. In the recent past drift fishing the sand, Steve had picked up thornback, spotted and cuckoo rays, plus turbot and megrim. There are some very big gurnards there too with all three common species on the cards. But if its non stop rod bending action you want, the reef marks with their pollack and coalfish are the place to be. These can be tackle hungry spots unless you fish a flying collar lure rig on a slow retrieve from the bottom to the top. This said, the compensation for a few lost leads can be huge with decent cod and ling always on the cards. These however were not what Keith had in mind. His idea was to have us catch fish at the smaller end of the range. It's funny how when you want big fish you tend mainly to catch small ones. Perhaps the reverse might also be true. Least ways Steve and I would be hoping so.

The wind did drop back a little after dark, and the overnight forecast continued to hold out its glimmer of hope for the morning at least. After that, expect wind and plenty of it was the prediction. Over breakfast I couldn't take my eyes off the tree tops and clouds looking for movement and wondering if the lull would last. Residual swell from both the Atlantic and the hurricane could also prove to be a problem. But at least they were giving south westerlies which is the prevailing wind in these parts allowing Achill to shield us from the worst of it, providing we could make the three quarter hour run across. At the floating pontoon we were pleasantly surprised at how good things looked. This was my first look at the boat which was typical of today's Irish charter fleet - sturdy and bristling with the very latest in safety gear and electronics in order to meet some particularly stringent safety regulations. With no time to waste we loaded up the gear and the fish tanks and we were off with Achill in our sights.

There was a bit of swell on the run across, but nothing a boat of this pedigree couldn't eat up. As we made head way across the sound, this became more of chop than a swell, fading to nothing as we lined up for a spot of bait in the shelter of Saddle Head. The mackerel came aboard by the string full from the first drop to the last. So bait was never going to be a problem. A lone herring mixed amongst them came close to receiving mouth to mouth from Keith to keep it alive but eventually failed to meet its public calling. Tiny belly strips of mackerel tipping the feathers were sent down as our opening shot bringing back some beautifully marked male and female cuckoo wrasse plus pouting which went straight into the holding tank. The previous day the same gear had brought up red, grey and tub gurnards. Keith then added a coalfish to the species count which due to its size was shown the inside of the fish box instead.

SAs we drifted away from the inshore section of the reef, bigger fish came into the reckoning. Baited feathers and muppet's are one way of picking up numbers of cod, ling and pollack. But if its sport you are after, a light outfit kitted up with a 12 to 20 foot mono trace tied to a boom with a small lead directly attached and either a redgill of a jelly worm down at the business end is much more fun. It can be less costly in terms of tackle losses too. Some people like to retrieve to around mid water before letting the weight back down to the bottom again. Over very deep water marks and wrecks this is probably good practise, particularly if you have some indication of feeding depth. Over shallower ground it can pay to retrieve all the way to the top as pollack will often track a lure very close to the surface before hitting it. One pollack in particular tracked Steve's rubber eel right to the boat before going in for the kill. An amazing sight and a good adrenalin rush to actually see a fish moving in on a lure then hit it and make for the bottom all in one fluent powerful move.

It would have been nice to have sampled the more productive heavy ground marks, but the increasing strength of the wind combined with the swell ruled that option completely out. Instead we switched from the heavy ground gear to clean ground outfits each time we cleared the rough. Unfortunately, though the tide was not a problem, beyond the immediate shelter of the island, the wind was pushing the boat along faster than we had hoped for. John was constantly coming out of the wheel house to access the situation with the radio keeping us up to date on the forecast situation. Its one thing to be out fishing sheltered waters away from base. It's the journey back you need to be thinking about. A tail wind, a short journey, and whatever shelter the mountains of Achill would give us were all part of the equation John had to juggle with. The sudden appearance of a twister spiralling white water up into the air before briefly shooting across the bay turning the waters surface white was the clincher for me. There were no complaints from Steve and Keith either when John suggested we head back into the shelter of Blacksod Bay to finish off the remaining few hours of the day.

The sheer strength of the breeze had killed any chance of rays over on the Achill side. Though very much calmer inside the bay, without the shelter from the wind afforded by Achill's height, the drift was unfortunately even faster still. A day or two earlier, Steve and Keith had taken rays and gurnard over the same ground, and had parted company with three tope on their monofilament traces using the same tactics, We gave it an hour putting a dozen of more whiting into the live fish tank before reluctantly calling it a day. We had caught some very good fish to 15 pounds and had counted eight species in total which for a day many would have consigned to the dust bin was very good going indeed. With a taster for what might have been under different circumstances, and a good look in the fish holding tanks back at base holding a wide range of small fish taken by diving and push netting in addition to the rod and line fishing, I can fully appreciate why Steve and Keith put Blacksod at the top of their list as a species venue.

INFORMATION PACKAGE

Fionnuala is owned and chartered by Mattie and Josie Geraghty who also offer accommodation with tackle storage, clothes drying and fish freezing facilities within a few minutes drive of the moorings at Blacksod. Telephone (Ireland +) 353 9785741 or Email: bruclannlir@eircom.net There is also a web site at www.bruchlannlir.com