The waters of West Cork are home to a huge variety of species, rough ground, reefs, sand and plenty of wrecks. The tides are relatively weak so heaving huge lumps of lead is rarely necessary with 6-8oz being enough for drift fishing.On the average days fishing, depths are usually between 35-60 meters.

Most days drifting will produce,Mackerel, Cod, Pollock, Coalie’s, Ling and Wrasse. Pollock being probably one of the most abundant and although they are not everyone’s dream catch they certainly keep everyone entertained between the more desirable catches and they take the bait with quiet a tug.

Ground fishing will usually produce plenty of Conger, Ling, Pouting, Bullhuss and Common Skate always being a possibility. The latter have been turning up in reasonable numbers in this area. They are the one of the biggest fish to be caught in Irish waters with many of them weighing in excess of 200lb. Hooking one is a fine reward for those patient enough to wait. They are a protected species and are therefore strictly catch and release only.

Shark fishing is done further offshore and the target is mainly Blueshark. These arrive in big numbers in the early Summer and generally stay around until mid October. Fishing for them is usually done on the drift while trailing ‘Rubby dubby’ A mix of mackerel, bran and fish oil to attract their attention and using balloons as floats, not unlike float fishing on a lake but you are in for considerably more of a fight.Our best Blue Shark was caught last year at 2.9 meters (over 9ft long) and close to 200lb. They are also caught on a Tag and release basis only.                                                   Blue shark are the most common but Porbeagle and even 6 Gill Shark are not unheard of as well as other types straying into the area. Although sharking is primarily done on the drift we often set a shark line if ground fishing for a good length of time and this can be quiet successful.

The fish mentioned are the more common catches but there is a huge array of other species that turn up  such as, Garfish, Wreckfish, Angler fish, Rockling, Dab, Plaice, Gurnard, Hake, Haddock, Herring and Scad to name but a few.