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The town of Westport is renowned for its sea angling festivals. On almost
every weekend during the summer months, festivals and boat angling competitions
are staged in Clew Bay. The most famous event is the Westport International
Festival, one of the oldest competitions on the Irish Sea Angling calendar.
Several purpose-built boats operate daily from the town Quay offering
two different types of fishing. The relatively calm inshore waters among
the "365 islands" of Clew Bay can be fished for ray, bull huss,
monkfish, dogfish and occasional tope. Large skate over 45.4 kilos are
taken with a fair degree of regularity aboard boats anchored in the channel
off Inishgort Lighthouse. These fish are all tagged and released unharmed
as part of a programme to help conservation and scientific research.
Even in difficult weather conditions, visitors to Westport are almost
guaranteed a day afloat because of the many sheltered waters in Clew Bay.
In good weather, the fast boats from Westport fish regularly outside
the bay in the more exposed but very productive waters around Clare Island.
Excellent boat fishing over reefs and sand banks is available and different
species include: cod, coalfish, pollack, ling, whiting, ray, gurnard and
turbot.
Blue shark can also be taken during July and August from the deep water
50 meters to the west of Clare Island. Virtually all blue shark are tagged
and returned alive. The largest fish in recent years weighed 56.7 kilos.
Between the islands of Caher and Inishturk there is good boat fishing
over reefs for pollack, cod, ling and coalfish. Turbot, megrim, dabs,
ray and dogfish can be taken over a sand bank when boat fishing close
to the shore on the southern side of Inishturk. Specimen red and grey
gurnard can be expected from this area.
Little is known about the shore fishing along Clare Island except that
pollack and mackerel can be quite plentiful and are often taken on light
spinning tackle in Summer and Autumn. Nearby there is potential for fishing
deep water over sandy areas where ray, dabs and plaice can be caught.
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